Across The Ages

This year’s Harrogate International Festivals will celebrate culture which transcends generations.

- Sharon Canavar

WATCHING the news reader Sophie Raworth on the BBC series Who Do You Think You Are? explore the tragic but inspiring tale of her ancestors, made me think about legacy. It threw into sharp light our overarching theme for 2017’s Harrogate International Festivals – Generations.

Edwin Raworth became a solicitor in Harrogate in 1885. In 1890 he met Jabez Butterworth, the son of a police inspector who was head of Harrogate’s police force. It was a time when the Empress of Russia, Princess Alix, would visit Harrogate. In 1907, they went into partnership together operating as Raworth and Co. The firm witnessed world events and huge social and technological change, supporting families and businesses in the town and playing a successful role in the history of Harrogate.

In 2012, in celebration of its 125th anniversary, and its long relationship with public life in Harrogate, the firm sponsored our Raworths Harrogate Literature Festival, with an appearance from Sophie as the great-grand-daughter of Edwin Raworth. It is a family success story like Bettys or Ogdens.

The Raworths Harrogate Literature Festival, now in its seventh year, has grown into a leading event on the literary calendar. Harper’s Bazaar picked the event as one of the UK’s ‘best literary festivals’.