As the Victorian age progressed, Harrogate's popularity as a tourist destination grew, helped both by the popularity of hydrotherapy and the development of the railway. The White Hart was ideally situated to take advantage of this increased trade, being both near to the railway station and overlooking the popular Royal Pump Room. Booming business led the White Hart's owners to build a new structure on the old site in 1846, designed by architect George Townsend Andrews. According to the distinguished architectural critic Professor Nikolaus Pevsner the rebuilt White Hart was "the best building in Harrogate" with "nothing gaudy or showy about it".
