THE historical importance of the last spa to be opened in England has been marked with a plaque.

Civic leaders were joined by swimming teachers outside Ripon’s Spa Baths yesterday (Tuesday, June 11) to celebrate the role of the building which was opened in 1905 by Queen Victoria’s youngest daughter, Princess Henry of Battenberg.

The plaque was unveiled by Councillor Pat Jones, Harrogate Borough Council’s cultural services chief, and Sylvia Grice, who has taught generations of the city’s residents to swim at the baths, which have included a public swimming pool since 1936.

The plaque notes that the art nouveau-style building, the only one of its type in the area, was built to mark the tercentenary of Ripon’s 1604 Charter.

It was served by water pumped from sulphur springs in Aldfield, four miles away and featured stained-glass windows made by craftsmen of national standing.

The city paid extra to have pomegranates carved on the mahogany doors and to have a river god on the pump room wall, with the end of the Aldfield pipe gushing from his mouth.

In 2008, when the council announced a plan to sell the building to housing developers to generate funds for a modern swimming pool elsewhere in the city, it generated an outcry as residents called for the building to preserved for public use.

David Winpenny, chairman of Ripon Civic Society, said: “There are few buildings of this date and quality in the country, so the society is pleased to be able to place a plaque on the Spa Baths to let visitors know something of its important and fascinating history.”