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Leamington Spa
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Leamington Spa, properly Royal Leamington Spa, commonly Leamington , and "Leam" to locals, is a spa town in central Warwickshire, England.
According to the 2001 census the town had a population of 45,114 making it the third largest town in the county after Nuneaton and Rugby. It is named after the River Leam which flows through the town.
ington is a relatively modern town.
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Encyclopedia
Leamington Spa, properly Royal Leamington Spa, commonly Leamington , and "Leam" to locals, is a spa town in central Warwickshire, England.
According to the 2001 census the town had a population of 45,114 making it the third largest town in the county after Nuneaton and Rugby. It is named after the River Leam which flows through the town.
History
Leamington is a relatively modern town. Until the beginning of the 1800s, Leamington was a village named Leamington Priors. Leamington was first mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Lamintone. For 400 years, the settlement was under the control of Kenilworth Priory, whence the older suffix.
Leamington would have probably remained as a small village near Warwick, had it not been for the rediscovery of the healing properties of spa waters (they had been known about in Roman times). The first spring to be used for commercial purposes was discovered in Leamington in 1784 by William Abbotts and Benjamin Satchwell, and steps were soon underway to develop the town.
Its name came from Anglo-Saxon Leman-tun or Lemen-tun = "farm on the River Leam".
The town centre "Old Town" was originally located on the southern bank of the River Leam. At first, development only took place south of the river. Soon however speculative builders, tired of building around the old village concentrated much of their effort on the land north of the river, resulting in the current Georgian centre "New Town" north of the river, with the Leam flowing through the centre of the modern town.
In 1814 the Royal Pump Rooms and Baths were opened close to the River Leam. This grand structure attracted many visitors, hoping to soothe various aches, pains and ailments by bathing in pools filled with the salty spa water. It also included the world's first gravity fed piped hot water system in modern times, which was designed and installed by the engineer William Murdoch. Leamington soon became a popular spa resort which attracted the wealthy and famous, and construction began of numerous Georgian townhouses to accommodate visitors.
Leamington's reputation soon spread. The town gained its "Royal" prefix in 1838, granted by Queen Victoria, who visited the town as a Princess in 1830 and as Queen in 1858, and whose statue still stands in the town. The statue was almost destroyed by a German bomb during World War II, and was actually moved by an inch on its plinth in the blast. The statue was not returned to its original position, and in fact a small plaque on the statue's plinth makes note of this incident.
The function of the Royal Pump Rooms changed several times over the following years. While retaining its assembly rooms and medical facilities, around 1863 it was extended to include a Turkish Bath and swimming pool and in 1875 the Royal Pump Room Gardens were opened to the public. A further swimming pool was added in 1890. In 1997 the local district council, which now owns the building, closed the facility for redevelopment, reopening it in 1999 as a cultural centre. It now contains Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum, Library, Tourist Information Centre, refurbished assembly rooms and a cafe. Spa water can still be sampled outside the building. Further information about the history of the building and the services it now contains can be found in the website.
In the mid-19th century, spa resorts went out of fashion. Whilst Leamington suffered something of a financial crash as a result, it became a popular place of residence for retired people and for prosperous members of the middle-class moving out from Coventry and Birmingham. The spending-power of its wealthy residents led to the development of Leamington as a popular place for shopping.
By 1901 the population of Leamington had grown from a few hundred to nearly 27,000. During the twentieth century, the population has grown further, to over 45,000.
Leamington has subsumed the villages of Lillington and New Milverton (though the village of Old Milverton still exists just outside of the town) to the north. The area of modern and more run-down housing, Sydenham, to the south-east is a major suburb of Leamington.
Leamington is closely associated with the foundation of the game of lawn tennis, and the first tennis club in the world was formed in 1872 just behind the former Manor House Hotel. It was in Leamington Tennis Club that the modern rules of lawn tennis were drawn up in 1874.
During the Second World War, Leamington was home to the Free Czechoslovak Army. A memorial in the Jephson Gardens commemorates brave Czechoslovak parachutists from Warwickshire.
Governance
Leamington Spa is administered by several local authorities, each with different responsibilities, the two main authorities are Warwickshire County Council and Warwick District Council. Since 2002 Leamington has also been a civil parish and therefore has its own Town Council.
Between 1875 and 1974 Leamington was a municipal borough. As part of the 1974 local government reform it was merged with Warwick, Kenilworth and surrounding rural areas into the Warwick district, the headquarters of which are based in Leamington.
Leamington is part of the Parliamentary constituency of Warwick and Leamington. Since the 1997 general election the sitting MP has been James Plaskitt of the Labour Party, but before then was considered a safe Conservative constituency, with former Prime Minister Anthony Eden once a Leamington MP. At the 2005 general election, James Plaskitt had a majority of just 266 votes.
Geography
Leamington is split north and south by the River Leam, which can flood at times (notoriously so around Easter 1998 and to a lesser degree in July 2007). The town is extending rapidly, particularly to the south. Many people commute from Leamington to Coventry, 10 miles north and Birmingham, 25 miles northwest.
The town is noted for its parks and gardens, particularly 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 even improved, with funding from the National Lottery. The other side of the River Leam, on Priory Terrace close to All Saints Parish Church, features a 19th-century slipway down to the river which was specifically constructed so that circus elephants in winter quarters in Leamington could be watered. Other well-known parks include the Mill Gardens on the opposite bank of the river to Jephson Gardens, Victoria Park, the Royal Pump Room Gardens, Newbold Comyn, The Dell and Welsh’s Meadow nature reserve.
The central part of the town is the Parade, a street which hosts amongst other things, a selection of shops, including high street chains and the Royal Priors covered shopping centre.
A number of students and staff from the University of Warwick, which is on Coventry's southern outskirts, reside in Leamington, adding to the variety of nightlife, restaurants and bars.
There is much Georgian and early Victorian architecture, including numerous Georgian townhouses, giving Leamington a somewhat grand appearance. It is generally considered as one of the most prosperous and affluent towns in the English Midlands. Population growth has led to Leamington forming a small conurbation in excess of 85,000 inhabitants with the neighbouring towns of Warwick and Whitnash and several sizeable satellite villages such as Cubbington and Radford Semele.
It has been claimed that Leamington lies near the centre of England. A young tree called the Midland Oak, at Lillington, just to the northeast of the town centre, is marked by a plaque claiming that it is at the very centre of the country, although there may be little evidence to back this claim.
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Suburbs
Lillington, Milverton and Sydenham are the main suburban districts within Leamington Spa.
Whitnash is a town which merges with Leamington directly to the south of the town and is generally considered as a suburb.
Similarly, Cubbington (comprising of the old village Cubbington and New Cubbington) is a sizeable village which merges with the Leamington urban area to the northeast and is often regarded as a suburb of the town.
The village of Radford Semele only 4 km to the east is sometimes referred to as one of the town's suburbs, however it does not quite merge with Leamington's urban area at any point and is distinctly separate.
Demography
| Year | Population |
|---|
| 1801 | 315 | | 1811 | 543 | | 1821 | 2183 | | 1831 | 6269 | | 1841 | 12812 | | 1851 | 15723 | | 1861 | 17402 | | 1871 | 20917 | | 1881 | 22976 | | 1891 | 23124 | | 1901 | 26888 | | 1911 | 26713 | | 1921 | 28954 | | 1931 | 29669 | | 1941 | | | 1951 | 36344 | | 1961 | 42561 | | 1971 | 43424 | | 1981 | 42953 | | 1991 | 42304 | | 2001 | 45114 |
Economy
Tourism
The popularity of the town's waters in the 19th century led to the town's initial growth by fuelling Leamington's main industry - tourism - until the late 19th century when the rise of passenger rail made seaside resorts more accessible to many, reducing the attraction of inland holiday destinations.
Retail
Leamington Spa offers a variety of shops from some of the more common high street stores to the independent retailers. The Royal Priors is the only indoor shopping centre in the town centre and the Shires Retail Park offers out of town shopping. Leamington vies for popularity as a retail destination with the nearby towns of Solihull, and Banbury.
Manufacturing
Meanwhile, the presence of the then Warwick and Napton Canal (later amalgamated into the Grand Union Canal) led to growth in other industries. Officially opened in 1799, the canal was the primary means of cargo transport until, beginning in the mid 19th century, rail gradually took over.
The canal supplied coal to the gasworks on Tachbrook Road, providing gas to light the town from 1835 onwards. Pig iron, coke and limestone were delivered by canal, allowing a number of foundries to be established in Leamington, specialising in cast iron stoves. Today the Eagle Foundry, dating from at least 1851, continues to manufacture Rangemaster stoves. The Imperial Foundry, dating from at least 1925, was subsequently taken over by Ford, casting engine blocks until its closure in 2008.
The world's largest car parts manufacturer also grew from a small garage in the south of the town (on the canalside behind the current Somerfield supermarket) to occupy a huge site in the south of the town, famous for filling the town with bicycles at every shift change.
Throughout the 20th century, while tourism took a downturn. Automotive Products prospered and built a factory in the South of the town in 1928. The site is still
running, and the automotive industry is well represented in the area.
Other industries
Commercial parks for light industry and offices are primarily located to the south of the town, where they are conveniently located for the M40 motorway.
Video game industry
Leamington plays host to a large number of game developers, with well-known development studios including Blitz Games, bigBig Studios, FreeStyleGames, Supersonic Software and Aqua Pacific all in the town itself. Very close to Leamington are Codemasters, CustomPlay Games and Fishinabottle.
Education
Its main secondary schools are North Leamington Community School and Arts College, Campion school, Trinity Catholic School, and Kingsley School, an independent school for girls. The main campus of Warwickshire College is also in Leamington. The college also has centres in Moreton Morrell, Rugby and Henley-in-Arden, and the newest Trident Park centre just outside of Leamington.
Transport
Leamington is close to the M40 motorway which links it to Birmingham and London. It is also served by the A46, which links it to Coventry.
For rail Leamington railway station is served by the Chiltern Main Line, which links London (Marylebone) to Birmingham (Snow Hill). Fast train services on this route are operated by Chiltern Railways. London Midland operate local services to Birmingham and onwards to Worcester.
There is also a line connecting Leamington Spa to Coventry which is used by Arriva CrossCountry services to Reading, Oxford and Bournemouth to the south. And to Coventry, Birmingham (New Street), Manchester, Newcastle and Edinburgh to the north.
The Grand Union Canal runs through the town.
Regular bus services to Kenilworth, the University of Warwick and Coventry are operated competitively by Stagecoach in Warwickshire and National Express Coventry. Services to Warwick, Banbury, Stratford Upon Avon and Rugby are operated by Stagecoach in Warwickshire and other independent companies.
Associations
See :Category:People from Leamington Spa for a list of biographies of people from Leamington Spa.
The John Betjeman poem Death in Leamington portrays one view of Leamington's milieu.
Charles Dickens used the town for a scene in his story Dombey and Son, and gave readings from his work there in 1855 and 1862. Nathaniel Hawthorne lived in the town, in Lansdowne Circus.
The occultist and mountain climber Aleister Crowley was born at 30 Clarendon Square, Leamington, in 1875.
Frank Whittle, the inventor of the jet engine, and the biographer Lytton Strachey both attended Leamington College for Boys on Binswood Avenue (now Binswood Hall part of North Leamington Community School and Arts College).
The boxer Randolph Turpin was born in Leamington. He defeated Sugar Ray Robinson to become world middleweight champion in 1951.
The eminent police chief and police reformer Sir Arthur Young was Chief Constable of Leamington Spa from 1938 to 1941. When the Watch Committee selected him he was aged only 31 - the youngest anyone has ever been appointed as a chief constable in the UK. After the Coventry Blitz in 1940, he was seconded to help the daily running of their police force.
The theologian Leonard Hodgson lived at 34 Newbold Terrace, Leamington.
Television
Leamington has been featured in a number of television series, including the 1990s BBC situation comedy Keeping Up Appearances - filmed in and around the area. Notable episodes included one with Walton Hall which had footage of the actual town in them, including the River Leam being featured as a fishing and boating spot. Other series include the drama Dangerfield, BBC's comedy children's show on CBBC ChuckleVision, Broke starring Timothy Spall, and comedy detective series Mayo.
Culture
Peace Festival
Leamington has held an annual Peace Festival since 1987, a celebration of alternative culture, at the Pump Room Gardens.
Music
Leamington has a thriving music scene. In the punk era, the best-known band were The Shapes, led by singer Seymour Bybuss and bass guitarist Brian Helicopter, who released an E.P. called "Part Of The Furniture" in 1979, and went on to record a session for John Peel and played with bands such as The Cure and The Fall. Other punk bands from Leamington included The Varukers, Depraved, Visions of Change and the Joyce McKinney Experience.
Anti-establishment musical revolutionaries the Edgar Broughton Band hail from Warwick and after four decades are still going strong with their own brand of clever, counter-cultural rock. There is now a thriving local music scene with local bands playing most nights in the town's bars. In December 2005 the Leamington band Nizlopi, a product of the Leamington scene, reached Number 1 in the UK Singles Chart with The JCB Song. The Woodbine Street Recording Studios has been used by several well-known music acts such as Paul Weller, Ocean Colour Scene and The Specials. Also Bolt Thrower, an influential death metal band formed in 1986, are from Leamington. They too have recorded sessions with John Peel.
, the successor organisation to the Warwick Arts Society, organises many classical music concerts in the Leamington area. The minimalist composer Howard Skempton resides there also. The separate Leamington Spa Competitive Festival for Music Dance and Drama, which has run annually since 1910 continues to thrive.
August 2008 saw the opening of The Assembly, a new 1000 capacity music venue which has so far played host to The Blockheads and Buzzcocks.
Colloquialisms and the North-South Divide
The town is colloquially referred to as "Leam" by some locals and is commonly thought to have a north–south divide. The "North" of Leam contains prestigious townhouses (and the new town centre), where the "South" (generally accepted as being south of the river Leam) contains poorer quality, higher density housing often occupied by students from the University of Warwick, a major demographic group in the town.
Contrary to local belief, including that of the press, the north of the town has higher unemployment rates and poorer crime statistics
http://warwickshire.crimemapper.co.uk/map/?q=Clarendon+Ward&url=clarendon-ward
http://www.warwickshireobservatory.org/observatory/observatorywcc.nsf/RefDocs/EBSH-72LHTT?OpenDocument
Theatre & Cinema
There are two theatres in Leamington, the Spa Centre and The Loft, with outdoor productions throughout the summer in the Jephson Gardens.There are two cinemas - the Spa Centre cinema and the multiplex Apollo Cinema.
Nightlife
Leamington has many bars and three night clubs of note. There is a vibrant scene, especially in university term time. Smack, formerly Sugar, is popular on Tuesdays and Evolve on Thursdays. At the weekend the many bars and all the clubs are busy, as the Spa swells with revellers from neighbouring towns and villages.
Sport and leisure
There are a number of sports clubs and leisure facilities in Leamington Spa, including the football club Leamington F.C., a disc golf course Quarry Park, a leisure centre including swimming pool Newbold Comyn Leisure Centre, rugby grounds Leamington Rugby Union Football Club, Leamington Rugby Club - Youth Section and Old Leamingtonians Rugby Football Club, Leamington Cricket Club, , municipal tennis courts, and an Ultimate Frisbee Team the Leamington Lemmings.
Twin towns
Leamington is twinned with:
Leamington has friendship agreements with:
Further reading
External links
Official
Commerce and business
Education
Community Centres
Media
- A local newspaper
- A local newspaper
Pictures
- Photo archive of Leamington Spa
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History
Politicians
Culture
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