ABSTRACT
The Yorkshire spa town of Harrogate was identified as the focal point for research in the knowledge that ‘spas’ or ‘watering places’ are historically reputed for their social activities of which dancing was an integral and important feature. The social life of the south of England spas such as Bath and Cheltenham is fairly well documented but, although the north of England spas are frequently referred to, little seems to be known of their dancing activities. The aim of the investigation was to discover whether this Yorkshire spa would prove to be characteristically similar to other better-known spas in terms of social dance trends. It is possible that the processes outlined here could be applied to historical studies in other regional cultures.
