Leamington Spa

Lansdowne Crescent

Formerly a small village known as Leamington Priors, Leamington began to develop as a town at the start of the 19th century. It was first mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Lamintone. For 400 years, the settlement was under the control of Kenilworth Priory, from which the older suffix derived.[6][7] Its name came from Anglo-Saxon Leman-tūn or Lemen-tūn = "farm on the River Leam".[8] The spa waters had been known in Roman times, and their rediscovery in 1784 by William Abbotts and Benjamin Satchwell led to their commercialisation, with invalids beginning to resort here in 1786. Six of the seven wells were drilled for; only the original spring at the site of the Aylesford Well, adjacent to the Parish Church, occurred naturally.[6][9]

The old village of Leamington Priors was on the southern bank of the River Leam, and early development was based around this. During the early 19th century, developers began concentrating the town's expansion on the land north of the river. This resulted in the Georgian centre of New Town with the Leam flowing between the two.[9]

Royal Pump Rooms and Baths

By 1810, the town's existing bath houses could not cope with the increasing visitor numbers, and a syndicate was formed to build a new bath house north of the River Leam. A new saline spring was found on land close to the river, belonging to Bertie Greatheed, a wealthy plantation owner and landowner from Guys Cliffe, and a member of the syndicate.[10] In 1814, the Royal Pump Rooms and Baths were opened on the site, designed by C.S. Smith, who also designed The Regent Hotel and the Upper Assembly Rooms in the town. Spa water can still be sampled outside the building.

Leamington became a popular spa resort attracting the wealthy and famous, with numerous Georgian townhouses to accommodate visitors. Construction of what is now the Parade began in sections from 1808,[11] the Regent Hotel in 1818, a town hall in 1830.[12] and the Jephson Gardens in 1834. In 1838 Queen Victoria granted the town a 'Royal' prefix, and 'Leamington Priors' was renamed 'Royal Leamington Spa'. Queen Victoria had visited the town as a Princess in 1830 and as Queen in 1858.[6] In 1840 the Victoria Bridge was opened, connecting the old and new towns, replacing an old, narrow, and inconvenient bridge.[9]

The growth of Leamington was rapid; at the time of the first national census in 1801, Leamington had a population of just 315, by 1851 this had grown to 15,724,[9] and by 1901, the population had reached 26,888.[13][14]

The Victoria Bridge over the Leam

The London and North Western Railway opened the first railway line into Leamington; a branch line from Coventry in 1844, followed by a branch to Rugby in 1851. In 1852 the Great Western Railway's main line between Birmingham, Oxford and London opened through Leamington, upon which the first railway station at the current location was opened.[15][16]

As the popularity of spa resorts declined towards the end of the 19th century, the focus of Leamington's economy shifted towards becoming a popular place of residence for retired people and for members of the middle class, many of whom relocated from Coventry and Birmingham. Its well off residents led to the development of Leamington as a popular place for shopping.[13]

In 1832 the town's main hospital, Warneford Hospital, opened, named after philanthropist Samuel Wilson Warneford. At first a semi-private affair it was taken over by the National Health Service after the Second World War, before succumbing to budget cuts and closing in 1993.

Leamington is closely associated with the founding of lawn tennis. The first tennis club in the world was formed in 1872 by Major Henry Gem and Augurio Pereira who had started playing tennis in the garden of Pereira.[17] It was located just behind the former Manor House Hotel and the modern rules of lawn tennis were drawn up in 1874 in Leamington Tennis Club.

During the Second World War, Leamington was home to the Free Czechoslovak Army; a memorial in the Jephson Gardens commemorates the bravery of Czechoslovak parachutists from Warwickshire.[18]

Leamington Spa Town Hall (1884) with Queen Victoria's statue

Leamington Spa is a town and civil parish in the Warwick District, an administrative division of the county of Warwickshire. Between 1875 and 1974 Leamington was a municipal borough.[19] As part of the 1974 local government reform it was merged with Warwick, Kenilworth and Whitnash, and surrounding rural areas into the Warwick District, which has its offices in Leamington. In 2002 Leamington Spa became a civil parish and gained a new Town Council.[20]

Leamington is part of the parliamentary constituency of Warwick and Leamington. From the 1997 general election until the 2010 general election the constituency was represented in parliament by James Plaskitt of the Labour Party; until then this had been a Conservative safe seat, counting former British prime minister Anthony Eden among its MPs. The seat became highly marginal at the 2005 general election, where James Plaskitt won with a majority of just 266 votes. In the 2010 general election the seat returned to the Conservative Party, with Chris White winning the seat by 3,513 votes. White remained the MP until the 2017 general election, when the seat was won by Matt Western of the Labour Party.

Map of Leamington, Warwick and Whitnash

Leamington is divided by the River Leam running east to west, which is susceptible to flooding in extreme weather, with especially heavy floods in 1998 and 2007.[21][22]

The town has several parks and gardens,[23] including the Jephson Gardens, close to the Royal Pump Rooms and next to the River Leam. These were seriously damaged in the floods of 1998, but have been restored and improved with funding from the National Lottery. The other side of the River Leam, on Priory Terrace features the "Elephant Walk" 19th-century slipway down to the river located near the suspension bridge in Jephson Gardens. It was specifically constructed so that circus elephants in winter quarters in Leamington could be watered.[24] Other parks are the Mill Gardens on the opposite bank of the river to Jephson Gardens, Victoria Park, the Royal Pump Room Gardens, The Dell and Newbold Comyn which includes the nature reserves Welches Meadow and Leam Valley.[25]

The main road running through the town centre is Parade (formerly Lillington Lane until 1860).[3] This shopping street contains high street chains and The Royal Priors shopping mall.

All Saints' Church

Buildings in the town include a variety of Georgian and early Victorian architecture, and listed buildings such as the Grade II listed Lansdowne Crescent in neo-classical style, designed by William Thomas between 1835 and 1838.[26]

Amongst the Anglican churches in Leamington is the Gothic All Saints' Church.

St Mark's Church on Rugby Road was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott in 1879. It is a Gothic revival design, in red brick with stone dressings. It was endowed by the Carus-Wilson family, in memory of Frances Carus-Wilson (d.1872), wife of Sir Trevor Wheler.[27]

There is a Roman Catholic church, two United Reformed churches (one being in Lillington), a small mosque and a Hindu temple. In 2009, the Sikh community built the Gurdwara Sahib Leamington and Warwick in Warwick which also serves Leamington.[28][29] There are also Christadelphian and Jehovah's Witnesses meeting halls in the town.

In August 2010, a Warwickshire Justice Centre was opened in Newbold Terrace. As well as a police station, the complex houses a magistrates' court, and the Crown Court, County Court, and other agencies such as the Probation Service and Victim Support.[30] It was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 4 March 2011.[31]

An oak tree just to the northeast of the town centre is marked by a plaque stating that it commemorates the Midland Oak, a tree that grew near the spot and was reputed to be at the centre of England.

St John the Baptist's Church (Church of England)

At the 2011 census, there were 49,491 residents in Leamington in 22,098 households, and the median age of Leamington residents was 34.[32]

In terms of ethnicity:[32]

• 86% of Leamington residents were White (Comprising 77.2% White British, 6.7% Other White, and 2.1% Irish).
• 9.2% were Asian (Comprising 6.4% Indian, 0.8% Chinese, 0.5% Pakistani, 0.1% Bangladeshi and 0.8% from another Asian background)
• 1.1% were Black (Comprising 0.5% African, 0.5% Caribbean and 0.1% other Black)
• 2.7% were Mixed.
• 0.2% were Arab, and 0.9% were from another ethnic group.

In terms of religion, 51.5% of Leamington residents identified as Christian, 32.1% said they had no religion, 7.5% did not state any religion, 5.1% were Sikh, 1.5% were Hindu, 1.3% were Muslim, 0.4% were Buddhists, 0.3% were Jewish and 0.5% were from another religion.[32]

There are a number of schools either located within Leamington, or which include Leamington in their priority (catchment) area. Those within Leamington include the state secondary schools of North Leamington School, Campion School, Trinity Catholic School, and the independent schools of Arnold Lodge School, a co-educational school for pupils aged 3 to 18, and Kingsley School, a school for girls. Myton School in Warwick, although located just outside Leamington, includes parts of Leamington as being within its priority area.[51]

As well as these schools, Leamington children can attend Stratford-upon-Avon Grammar School for Girls, a state run selective school, Warwick School, an independent school for boys, the King's High School for Girls, Warwick's twin school and Princethorpe College, a mixed independent school in the nearby village of Princethorpe.

Leamington is the location of the first of Warwickshire College's six sites, and additionally another site is located just outside the town. The closest higher education institutions are the prestigious University of Warwick, in southwestern Coventry, and Coventry University. The town is particularly popular with Warwick University students seeking housing and entertainment.

Leamington is also home to two national educational charities – The Smallpeice Trust and The Arkwright Scholarships Trust. They specialise in making young people aware of how STEM fields studied in school can lead to fulfilling and exciting careers in science and engineering sectors of industry.

Leamington Spa experiences the oceanic climate which covers most of the United Kingdom.

Famous people who were born in Leamington include the world champion boxer Randolph Turpin (1928-1966),[62] and the poet, mountaineer, magician, and occultist Aleister Crowley (1875-1947) and the pathologist Sir Bernard Spilsbury (1877–1947)[63]

Other famous people to live or have lived in Leamington include the inventor of the jet engine Frank Whittle (1907-1996) who lived in Leamington as a child,[64] the television presenter Anne Diamond, and the comedian Russell Howard.[63]

Royal Leamington Spa is twinned with:[65]

• Sceaux, France (since 1969)
• Brühl, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany (since 1973)
• Heemstede, Netherlands (since 1987)

• List of spa towns in the United Kingdom
• Listed buildings in Warwickshire

• Storrie, Janet (1990) Elephants in Royal Leamington Spa Weir Books ISBN 0-9514433-1-3, ISBN 978-0-9514433-1-6

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Royal Leamington Spa.

• Royal Leamington Spa travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Royal Leamington Spa Town Council