Richard Ellis | |
|---|---|
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Richard_Ellis_as_mayor_(1b).jpg) Ellis in 1884 | |
| Born | November 1820 Harrogate, West Riding of Yorkshire, England |
| Died | 21 August 1895 (aged 74) Harrogate, West Riding of Yorkshire, England |
| Burial place | Grove Road Cemetery, Harrogate |
| Monuments | Large red marble obelisk at his grave |
| Occupations |
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| Known for | Joining High and Low Harrogate by development to make a single spa town |
Richard Ellis JP (November 1820 – 21 August 1895) was an English builder, property developer, alderman, mayor, and a public benefactor to his town. The son of a blacksmith, he was a self-made man who started as a joiner and became a rich developer who joined High and Low Harrogate into a single town, helped obtain a Charter of Corporation, and promoted the erection of civic buildings appropriate for a spa town. Thus he became known as the Bismarck of Harrogate, his achievement in joining two villages to create a single town having been wittily compared in the 19th century with Bismarck's unification of Germany.
Ellis was a benefactor to Ashville College and Harrogate Royal Infirmary, and paid for the town's Jubilee Memorial and the land on which it stands. While the present centre of Harrogate was yet under construction, he negotiated with the Duchy of Lancaster to exchange land so that the existing railway line could be diverted to High Harrogate, and Harrogate railway station built. Historian Malcolm Neesam said, "Ellis' devotion to Harrogate must be classed as outstanding".