| Royal Leamington Spa | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
_(adjusted).jpg) .jpg)    Clockwise, from top: theParade; theRoyal Pump Rooms;Leamington Spa Town Hall;Jephson Gardens; theRiver Leam withAll Saints Church. | |
  Royal Leamington Spa Location withinWarwickshire | |
| Population | 50,923 (2021 census)[1] |
| OS grid reference | SP316660 |
| Civil parish |
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| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | LEAMINGTON SPA |
| Postcode district | CV31, CV32, CV33 |
| Dialling code | 01926 |
| Police | Warwickshire |
| Fire | Warwickshire |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
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Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known asLeamington Spa or simplyLeamington[note 1] (/ˈlɛmɪŋtən/ ⓘ), is aspa town andcivil parish inWarwickshire, England. Originally a small village calledLeamington Priors, it grew into aspa town in the 18th century following the popularisation of its water which was reputed to have medicinal qualities.[2] In the 19th century, the town experienced one of the most rapid expansions in England.[3] It is named after theRiver Leam, which flows through the town.
The town contains especially fine examples ofRegency architecture,[4] particularly in parts of theParade, Clarendon Square and Lansdowne Circus. The town also contains several large public parks, such asJephson Gardens, theRoyal Pump Room Gardens andVictoria Park.
Although originally founded around its spa industry, Leamington today has developed into a centre for retail, and digital industries, which has gained it the moniker "silicon spa". In 2023The Sunday Times named Leamington as the best place to live in theMidlands.[5][6]
In the2021 census Leamington had a population of 50,923.[1] Leamington is adjoined with the neighbouring towns ofWarwick andWhitnash, and the village ofCubbington; together these form aconurbation known as the "Royal Leamington Spa Built-up area" which in 2011 had a population of 95,172.[7]
Leamington lies around 9 miles (14 km) south ofCoventry, 20 miles (32 km) south-east ofBirmingham, and 81 miles (130 km) north-west ofLondon.
Leamington was originally a small village known asLeamington Priors. Its name came fromAnglo-SaxonLeman-tūn orLemen-tūn = "farm on theRiver Leam".[8] It was first mentioned in theDomesday Book of 1086 asLamintone. For 400 years, the settlement was under the control ofKenilworth Priory, from which the older suffix derived.[9][10] Leamington began to develop as a town at the start of the 19th century, due to the rediscovery ofspa waters, which had been known inRoman times, and their rediscovery in 1784 byWilliam Abbotts andBenjamin 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.[9][11]
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 theGeorgian centre of New Town with the Leam flowing between the two.[11] 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 toBertie Greatheed, a wealthy plantation owner and landowner fromGuy's Cliffe, and a member of the syndicate.[12] In 1814, theRoyal Pump Rooms and Baths were opened on the site, designed by C.S. Smith, who also designedThe Regent Hotel and the Upper Assembly Rooms in the town. Spa water can still be sampled outside the building.
Leamington became a popularspa resort attracting the wealthy and famous, with numerous Georgian townhouses to accommodate visitors. Construction of what is now theParade began in sections from 1808,[13] theRegent Hotel in 1818, atown hall in 1830.[14] and theJephson Gardens in 1834. In 1838Queen 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.[9] In 1840 the Victoria Bridge was opened, connecting the old and new towns, replacing an old, narrow, and inconvenient bridge.[11] Nine years earlier, the opening ofPortobello Bridge, a three-arch bridge over the River Avon, reconnected the town to neighbouring Warwick—an earlier bridge nearby having been condemned and demolished in 1830.[15]
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,[11] and by 1901, the population had reached 26,888.[16][17]
TheLondon and North Western Railway opened the firstrailway line into Leamington; abranch line from Coventry in 1844, followed by abranch to Rugby in 1851. In 1852 theGreat Western Railway's main line betweenBirmingham, Oxford and London opened through Leamington, upon which the firstrailway station at the current location was opened.[18][19]
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 themiddle class, many of whom relocated fromCoventry andBirmingham. Its well off residents led to the development of Leamington as a popular place for shopping.[16]
In 1832 the town's main hospital,Warneford Hospital, opened, named after philanthropistSamuel Wilson Warneford. At first a semi-private affair it was taken over by theNational Health Service after the Second World War, before succumbing to budget cuts and closing in 1993.
Leamington is closely associated with the founding oflawn 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.[20] 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 theSecond World War, Leamington was bombed a number of times duringThe Blitz; although this caused substantial damage it caused relatively few casualties.[21] The town was also home to the Free Czechoslovak Army; a memorial in theJephson Gardens commemorates the bravery of Czechoslovak parachutists from Warwickshire.[22]
Leamington is divided by theRiver Leam running east to west, which is susceptible to flooding in extreme weather, with especially heavy floods in 1998 and2007.[23][24]
The Leam is a tributary of theRiver Avon, which it joins just to the west of Leamington. The ancient town ofWarwick lies adjoined directly to the west of Leamington, on the opposite bank of the Avon, with parts of Warwick (Myton and Heathcote) extending to the southwest and south of Leamington. Also contiguous with Leamington, directly to the south, with no natural border, is the smaller town ofWhitnash. Whitnash and Warwick are themselves contiguous with new housing developments within the parish ofBishop's Tachbrook. The village ofCubbington is adjoined to the north-east. Just outside the town lie the villages ofOld Milverton to the north andRadford Semele 2.5 miles (4 km) to the east.
Leamington has several suburbs; the town has encompassed the former village ofLillington, directly to the north of the town centre. Other suburbs include Milverton to the northwest, Campion Hills to the east, andSydenham the east. The rapidly expanding Heathcote (or "Warwick Gates") district to the southwest, though often referred to as part of Leamington, actually lies mainly within the boundaries of Warwick, with parts in Whitnash and the parish of Bishop's Tachbrook.
The main road running through the town centre is theParade (called Lillington Lane until 1860).[3] This shopping street contains high street chains andThe Royal Priors shopping mall.
Destinations from Leamington Spa | |
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Leamington Spa falls under three tiers of local government, county, district and parish: it is acivil parish in theWarwick District, an administrative division of the county ofWarwickshire, it thus falls under the jurisdiction ofWarwickshire County Council, based in Warwick as the upper-tier authority. Between 1875 and 1974 Leamington was amunicipal borough.[25] As part of the1974 local government reform it was merged withWarwick,Kenilworth andWhitnash, and surrounding rural areas into the Warwick District, which has its offices in Leamington. Since the2023 elections, Warwick District Council has been run by a coalition of theLabour Party andGreen Party, it was previously run by aConservative-led minority administration.[26]
In 2002 Leamington Spa became a civil parish and gained a newTown (parish) Council, as the most local tier of government.[27]
Leamington is part of theparliamentary constituency ofWarwick and Leamington. From the1997 general election until the2010 general election the constituency was represented in parliament byJames Plaskitt of theLabour Party; until then this had been aConservativesafe seat, counting former Britishprime ministerAnthony Eden among itsMembers of Parliament (MPs). The seat became highlymarginal at the2005 general election, where James Plaskitt won with a majority of just 266 votes. In the2010 general election the seat returned to the Conservative Party, withChris White winning the seat by 3,513 votes. White remained the MP until the2017 general election, when the seat was won byMatt Western of the Labour Party with a narrow majority, he retained his seat at the2019 general election with his majority reduced from 1,206 to 789, and again at the2024 election with a greatly increased majority of 12,412.
Buildings in the town include a variety ofGeorgian and earlyVictorian architecture, andlisted buildings such as the Grade II listed Lansdowne Crescent inneo-classical style, designed byWilliam Thomas between 1835 and 1838.[28]
Amongst theAnglican churches in Leamington is the Gothic parish churchAll Saints' Church, andSt John the Baptist's Church.
St Mark's Church on Rugby Road was designed byGeorge Gilbert Scott Jr. 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 ofSir Trevor Wheler.[29]
There is aRoman Catholic church,St Peter's Church, twoUnited Reformed churches (one being in Lillington), a smallmosque and aHindu temple. In 2009, theSikh community built theGurdwara Sahib Leamington and Warwick in Warwick which also serves Leamington.[30][31] There are alsoChristadelphian andJehovah's Witnesses meeting halls in the town.
Eden Court in Lillington is a residential tower block and one of several tall landmarks.[32] In December 2010, theWarwickshire Justice Centre was completed in Newbold Terrace. As well as a police station, the complex houses amagistrates' court, and theCrown Court,County Court, and other agencies such as theProbation Service andVictim Support.[33] It was officially opened byQueen Elizabeth II on 4 March 2011.[34]
An oak tree just to the northeast of the town centre is marked by a plaque stating that it commemorates theMidland Oak, a tree that grew near the spot and was reputed to be at thecentre of England.
At the2021 census, there were 50,923 residents in Leamington, up from 49,662 in the 2011 census, and 45,459 at the 2001 census.[1]
In terms of ethnicity in 2021:[1]
In terms of religion, 44.6% of Leamington residents said they hadno religion, 42.1% identified asChristian, 5.6% wereSikh, 4.4% wereHindu, 1.9% wereMuslim, 0.5% wereBuddhists, 0.2% wereJewish, and 0.7% were from another religion.[1]
The popularity of the town's waters in the 19th century led to the town's initial growth, makingtourism Leamington's primary industry in the 19th century.[35] In the 1950s, theLights of Leamington Festival held in Jephson Gardens drew large crowds.[36]
In the town centre there are a variety of shops from high street chains to independent retailers, plus an indoor shopping centre,The Royal Priors. There is an out of town retail park called the Leamington Shopping Park (formerlyThe Shires Retail Park), even though it sits within the boundaries ofWarwick.[37] It opened in 1989.[38]
Tourism was initially driven by the spring waters. The arrival of theWarwick and Napton Canal (later amalgamated into theGrand Union Canal) officially opened in 1799 as the primary means of cargo transport and led to growth in other industries until rail gradually took over in the mid 19th century,[35] The canal supplied coal to the gasworks on Tachbrook Road, providing gas to light the town from 1835.Pig iron,coke andlimestone were delivered by canal, allowing a number of foundries to be established in Leamington, specialising in cast ironstoves. Today the Eagle Foundry, dating from at least 1851, continues to manufactureRangemaster Aga stoves. The Imperial Foundry, dating from around 1925, was subsequently taken over byFord, casting engine blocks until its closure in 2008.[35]
The prominent car parts manufacturerAutomotive Products based in the south of the town grew from a small garage to occupy a large site. Throughout the 20th century, while tourism took a downturn, Automotive Products expanded and built a factory in the South of the town in 1928 that is still operative in 2009, although on a much smaller scale.[35]Karobes Limited, with its headquarters in Queensway, was one of Britain's major suppliers of accessories for cars between World War II and the 1970s.
Commercial parks for service providers and light industry and offices are primarily located to the south of the town: Althorpe Street Industrial Estate, Queensway Trading Estate, Shires Gate Trading Estate and Sydenham Industrial Estate.
In June 2014,Detroit Electric announced that they would be building their SP.01all-electricroadster in Leamington Spa.[39]
Leamington Spa and the surrounding area, known as Silicon Spa,[40][41] is a significant global centre for thevideo game industry,[42] with a higher than average proportion of digital media companies involved in games development, digital design and publishing,[43][44] and over a thousand employed directly in game development.[40] Companies based in or around the town include Third Kind Games, Super Spline Studios, Lab42, Sumo Leamington, Caperfly, Widgit Software,[40] DNA Interactive,Fish in a Bottle,Ubisoft Leamington, Unit 2, Electric Square,Full Fat,Kwalee, Pixel Toys,[40]Playground Games, Red Chain Games,[45] Stickman Studios,[46]Supersonic Software and Midoki.[47]Codemasters are based atSoutham near Leamington and were the initial impetus behind the cluster, providing many of the staff for the companies in Leamington.[48] In 2013,Sega's mobile platform studioHardlight Studio[49] set up in Leamington, and Exient[50] opened a satellite studio.Former companies wereBlitz Games Studios,FreeStyleGames,Bigbig Studios andTitus Software UK Limited.[51]
Local hospitals include theLeamington Spa Hospital[52] and theWarwickshire Nuffield Hospital.[53] On 13 July 2021 acoronavirus "mega lab" was opened in the town. Named after English chemistRosalind Franklin, the laboratory is intended to be capable of processing hundreds of thousands of samples a day, making it the largest of its kind in the UK. It is expected to create up to 1,500 jobs.[54]
There are a number of schools either located within Leamington, or which include Leamington in their priority (catchment) area. Those within Leamington include the statesecondary schools ofNorth Leamington School,Campion School,Trinity Catholic School, and the independent schools ofArnold Lodge School, a co-educational school for pupils aged 3 to 18, andThe Kingsley School, a school for girls.Myton School in Warwick, although located just outside Leamington, includes parts of Leamington as being within itspriority area.[55]
As well as these schools, Leamington children can attendStratford-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 andPrincethorpe College, a mixed independent school in the nearby village ofPrincethorpe.
Leamington is the location of the first ofWarwickshire College's six sites, and additionally another site is located just outside the town. The closest higher education institutions are theUniversity of Warwick, in southwestern Coventry, andCoventry University.
Leamington is also home to two national educational charities – TheSmallpeice Trust and TheArkwright Scholarships Trust. They specialise in making young people aware of howSTEM fields studied in school can lead to fulfilling and exciting careers in science and engineering sectors of industry.
Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum is located in the Royal Pump Rooms, on the Parade. It holds a collection of over 12,000 objects, including fine and decorative arts, as well as items relating to local and social history.[56] It provides exhibitions in the visual arts and about the history of the town, supported by workshops, talks and other events.
There are several local community centres.
Since 1978, the annualfree festival and celebration of alternative culture called thePeace Festival has been held in the Pump Room Gardens,[57] however the event was cancelled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic and not been held since 2019.[58]
Live music is provided by local bands in a variety of venues. In December 2005 the bandNizlopi from Leamington, reached Number 1 in theUK Singles Chart with"JCB".[59] TheWoodbine Street Recording Studios has been used by several well-known music acts such asPaul Weller,Ocean Colour Scene,Felt,The Specials, and local bandThe Shapes, whose single "Batman in the Launderette" charted first in 1979.[60] Classical music concerts are organised throughout the year in the Leamington and Warwick area, including the International String Quartet series at the Royal Pump Rooms.[61]The Assembly, is a 1,000 capacity music venue attracting national and international artists,[62] and was awarded 'Live Music Venue of the Year' at the 2010 Music Week Awards.[63] and theLeamington Spa Competitive Festival for Music Dance and Drama is staged annually.[citation needed]
Two theatres are located in Leamington: theSpa Centre and the amateurThe Loft, with outdoor summer productions in Jephson Gardens. Leamington also has two cinemas: theSpa Centre and a multiplex.
There are a number of sports clubs and leisure facilities in Leamington Spa, including the oldest purpose builtReal Tennis court in the world at Leamington Tennis Court Club, the football clubLeamington F.C., a disc golf courseQuarry Park, a leisure centre including swimming poolNewbold Comyn Leisure Centre, rugby groundsLeamington Rugby Union Football Club,Leamington Rugby Club – Youth Section andOld Leamingtonians Rugby Football Club, Leamington Cricket, Khalsa Leamington Hockey Club, Leamington Cycling club, Leamington Athletics club, Spa Striders Running Club, Royal Leamington Spa Canoe Club,Leamington Chess Club, formed in 1851, and municipal tennis courts.The Royal Leamington Spa Bowling Club in Victoria Park hosts the annualNational Lawn Bowls Championships.[64][65]
The town has several parks and gardens,[66] including theJephson 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 theNational 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.[67] Other parks are theMill Gardens on the opposite bank of the river to Jephson Gardens,Victoria Park, theRoyal Pump Room Gardens,The Dell andNewbold Comyn which includes the nature reserves Welches Meadow and Leam Valley.[68]
TheLights of Leamington Festival was an annual lights festival held in Jephson Gardens from 1951 to 1961.[69]
TheLeamington Observer is the town's local newspaper.[70]
The cover of theOcean Colour Scene albumMoseley Shoals features the Jephson Memorial inJephson Gardens.[71] The town has been used as a filming location in various television series. BBC'sUpstairs Downstairs used the Georgian terrace at Clarendon Square as a main exterior location.[72]ITV's Sherlock Holmes episode 'The Last Vampyre' featuredGuy's Cliffe House, which was severely damaged in a fire during production.[73] Leamington also appeared as a location inChuckleVision,[74] and often appeared in the 1990s sitcomKeeping Up Appearances.[75][76]
The town is 3 miles (5 km) away from theM40 motorway, which links it toBirmingham andLondon. It is also served by theA46, which connects it to Coventry andStratford-upon-Avon.
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Leamington Spa railway station is served by threetrain operating companies:
Local bus services are operated primarily byStagecoach Midlands; destinations include Warwick,Banbury, Stratford-upon-Avon andRugby.National Express Coventry operates a high-frequency service toKenilworth, theUniversity of Warwick and Coventry.[80]
Leamington's nearest international passenger airport isBirmingham Airport.
Coventry Airport is a nearbygeneral aviation airport and former tourist charter hub. It currently (2023) has no scheduled passenger services.
TheGrand Union Canal is used for recreation. It crosses theriver Avon between Leamington and Warwick, and then passes the town to the south, parallel to theRiver Leam to the north. The rivers are not used for transportation, but there are proposals to render them navigable.[citation needed]
There are national and local cycleways into and around Leamington including a cycle path to Rugby following the formerrailway line part of National cycle route 41.
Between 1881 and 1930,Leamington & Warwick Tramways & Omnibus Company operated trams between the two towns.
Leamington Spa has a diverse religious landscape, reflecting the town's history and its role as a spa town attracting people from various backgrounds. The most prominent religion is Christianity, with several historic churches and modern congregations.
Famous people who were born in Leamington include the world champion boxerRandolph Turpin (1928–1966),[82] the poet, mountaineer, magician, and occultistAleister Crowley (1875–1947), the pathologist SirBernard Spilsbury (1877–1947),[83] the artistSir Terry Frost (1915–2003), the actor, broadcaster and writerNorman Painting (1924–2009), actor and casting directorLeon Vitali, and professional footballer andYouTuberBen Foster.
Famous people to live or have lived in Leamington includeLouis-Napoléon Bonaparte; who became the President of France and then Emperor Napoleon III, who lived in Leamington whilst in exile between 1838 and 1839,[84] the inventor of thejet engine,Frank Whittle (1907–1996) who lived in Leamington as a child,[85] the television presenterAnne Diamond, the comedianRussell Howard.[83]Grime artistStormzy lived in Leamington while studying for an apprenticeship.[86][87]
Royal Leamington Spa istwinned with:[88]
Royal Leamington Spa has friendship agreements with:[88]
Leamington Spa experiences theoceanic climate which covers most of the United Kingdom.
| Climate data for Leamington Spa | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 6.0 (42.8) | 6.2 (43.2) | 8.9 (48.0) | 11.9 (53.4) | 15.3 (59.5) | 18.8 (65.8) | 20.6 (69.1) | 20.1 (68.2) | 17.6 (63.7) | 13.8 (56.8) | 9.2 (48.6) | 7.1 (44.8) | 12.9 (55.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 0.3 (32.5) | 0.1 (32.2) | 1.5 (34.7) | 3.3 (37.9) | 6.0 (42.8) | 9.2 (48.6) | 11.1 (52.0) | 10.8 (51.4) | 8.8 (47.8) | 6.2 (43.2) | 2.9 (37.2) | 1.3 (34.3) | 5.1 (41.2) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 53 (2.1) | 48 (1.9) | 51 (2.0) | 48 (1.9) | 56 (2.2) | 56 (2.2) | 46 (1.8) | 66 (2.6) | 53 (2.1) | 53 (2.1) | 58 (2.3) | 66 (2.6) | 660 (25.9) |
| Source:[89] | |||||||||||||
Royal Leamington Spa travel guide from Wikivoyage| International | |
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