The Jephson Gardens are formal gardens, together with a grassed

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

, in the town of

Leamington Spa Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply Leamington (), is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Priors, it grew into a spa town in the 18th century following ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

. The gardens, once a place for the wealthy to 'take the air' and 'be seen', are found in the centre of the town on the Parade, with the

River Leam The River Leam (), anciently Leame, etc, is a river in England which rises at Hellidon Hill in Northamptonshire then flows through Warwickshire, including the town of Leamington Spa, named after it. It then flows into the River Avon near Warwi ...

flowing to the south of them. One of the town's most popular

tourist attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural b ...

s, they have facilities such as cafes and floral displays. The gardens are often marketed in tandem with the nearby all-grassed Mill Gardens on the south side of the river. The gardens have a total area of with Mill Gardens and its

boating lake A boating lake is a lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, a ...

, both on the opposite side of the river, providing an extra .

History

The gardens began as farmland which belonged to Edward Willes, a member of the Willes family who played an important part in the shaping of early Leamington. The original gardens, covering just under , were laid out in 1834 at the request of the landowner with free entry to anyone between 7 am and 10 am. For the remainder of the day the gardens were open only to paying customers and patrons of a nearby

spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...

bath house. The gardens were soon expanded to their current size and a right of way passing through them was sunk down so it could be used without walking through the gardens. In 1836, two years after starting the project, Willes leased the land to a local

consortium A consortium (plural: consortia) is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for ...

for £30 a year.Bird, Vivian: ''Warwickshire'', page 109. Batsford, 1973 In 1843, the gardens were improved, the ground being levelled and an ornamental

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

being excavated. In 1846 a local committee meeting declared that the gardens be renamed ''The Jephson Gardens'' in honour of Dr

Henry Jephson The Jephson Gardens are formal gardens, together with a grassed park, in the town of Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. The gardens, once a place for the wealthy to 'take the air' and 'be seen', are found in the centre of the town on The Parade, Leam ...

who had helped to promote the healing properties of the town's spa waters and built houses for the town's poor residents. A Corinthian-style temple was added to the gardens in 1849 and inside it a large

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...

statue of the doctor by the Birmingham sculptor

Peter Hollins Peter Hollins (1 May 1800 – 16 August 1886) was a British sculptor operating throughout the 19th century. Life He was born on 1 May 1800 at 17 Great Hampton Street, Birmingham, the fourth child and eldest son of the sculptor and architect W ...

.Bird, Vivian: ''Warwickshire'', page 110. Batsford, 1973 Most of this early work was undertaken by poor labourers, given employment by another of the town's early

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

s, Dr Hitchman. In 1869, Hitchman received recognition of his efforts when a

fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or Spring (hydrology), spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. ...

bearing his name was erected in the gardens, near the boundary with the town's main street. This was followed in 1875 by a grey granite

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...

memorial to Edward WillesNicholson, Jean et al: ''The Obelisks of Warwickshire'', page 38. Brewin Books, 2013 and in 1925 by a clock tower dedicated to Alderman William Davis, who was mayor of the town three times. All four memorials still stand today. The twentieth century saw yet more development in the park.

Tea room A teahouse (mainly Asia) or tearoom (also tea room) is an establishment which primarily serves tea and other light refreshments. A tea room may be a room set aside in a hotel especially for serving afternoon tea, or may be an establishment whic ...

s were opened in the centre of the gardens in 1899 and were later used as an

aviary An aviary is a large enclosure for confining birds, although bats may also be considered for display. Unlike birdcages, aviaries allow birds a larger living space where they can fly; hence, aviaries are also sometimes known as flight cages. Av ...

. From 1901 to 1903, Mill Gardens, Mill Bridge and the boathouse were developed. A 1909 a replacement bandstand was built as the current one was used so often it was a noise nuisance to neighbours.Watkin, Jeff: ''The Benevolent Despot'', page 27, Warwick District Council, 2018 The year 1926 saw two further additions to the gardens. The first was a clock tower in the eastern half of the gardens and the second was a fountain for the lake. A second fountain was added in 1927. The two fountains were based on the fountains at

Hampton Court Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chief ...

.Watkin, Jeff: ''The Benevolent Despot'', page 27, Warwick District Council, 2018 Parachute Fountain

In those early years, the attractions of the park were just as strong as today, perhaps more so. There were flower shows which drew entrants from all over England,

firework Fireworks are a class of low explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large number of devices in ...

and fairy light displays,

balloon A balloon is a flexible bag that can be inflated with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, and air. For special tasks, balloons can be filled with smoke, liquid water, granular media (e.g. sand, flour or rice), or light so ...

ascents and band concerts.

Archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...

and

croquet Croquet ( or ; french: croquet) is a sport that involves hitting wooden or plastic balls with a mallet through hoops (often called "wickets" in the United States) embedded in a grass playing court. Its international governing body is the Wor ...

, as well as boating, were two sports allowed in the gardens. There were also

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

courts in the park from 1878 to 1942, when the courts were removed during the ''

Dig for Victory Victory gardens, also called war gardens or food gardens for defense, were vegetable, fruit, and herb gardens planted at private residences and public parks in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Germany during World War I ...

'' campaign of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. A lasting connection that the gardens have to the war is the Czech Memorial Fountain, unveiled in 1968. Its purpose is to honour those who served in the Czech Free Army, which was based in the town, especially seven men who were parachuted into

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

for the assassination attempt,

Operation Anthropoid On 27 May 1942 in Prague, Reinhard Heydrichthe commander of the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA), acting governor of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, and a principal architect of the Holocaustwas attacked and wounded in an assassinatio ...

, on Nazi general

Reinhard Heydrich Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich ( ; ; 7 March 1904 – 4 June 1942) was a high-ranking German SS and police official during the Nazi era and a principal architect of the Holocaust. He was chief of the Reich Security Main Office (inclu ...

. The fountain was restored in 2018 and given Grade II listed status in July 2018.

Funding and redevelopment

Since the end of the Second World War, investment in the gardens had fallen and the task of running them had passed to the Warwick District Council rather than private individuals. In the 1990s, many people felt that the gardens had lost their shine. For this reason the council began major work on the gardens in 1999 and eventually won a £3 million grant from the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

. One of the first jobs to be completed was the removal of a children's play area by the river which was looking outdated. It was replaced by a new one in Mill Gardens near the boathouse. The aviary, which had long been disused, was turned into a cafe, and the Czech War and Jephson memorials were given a well-needed clean. The flagship development however was a sub-tropical glasshouse which contains exotic plant life, ''The Restaurant In The Park'' (which replaced an old restaurant by the old children's play area) and a teaching studio used by

Warwickshire College WCG (formerly ''Warwickshire College Group'' and ''Warwickshire College'') is the managing body that administers several colleges of further education in the English West Midlands, namely in the counties of Warwickshire and Worcestershire. Its m ...

students. In addition to these the public toilets were upgraded, the paths were resurfaced and a

sensory garden A sensory garden is a self-contained garden area that allows visitors to enjoy a wide variety of sensory experiences. Sensory gardens are designed to provide opportunities to stimulate the senses, both individually and in combination, in ways that ...

was created. In 2010, the

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

building, East Lodge, at the Willes Road entrance to the park, originally built in 1846/7, was redeveloped into a

sustainability Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livi ...

visitor centre.

Recognition

The investment in the gardens has proved to be worthwhile as they were voted, along with Mill Gardens, "Best Park in Britain 2004" by the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

. In 2006, the gardens won its first

Green Flag award The Green Flag Award is an international accreditation given to publicly accessible parks and open spaces, managed under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, a UK Government department, by Keep Britain Tidy, ...

. It has won again every year until present, 2018, making 12 consecutive years. It has been voted a Green Heritage Site by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

. There are also a number of Grade II listed buildings in the gardens. Most recently, the gardens have received the AS Nagra award for “Leamington Spa’s Most Outstanding Area”.

Popular culture

The 1970 "

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

" world tour in support of the ''

'' album included a date at the Jephson Gardens pavilion on 17 May 1970. The Jephson Memorial was featured on the cover of the

Ocean Colour Scene Ocean Colour Scene (often abbreviated to OCS) are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Solihull in 1989. They have had five top 10 albums including a number one in 1997. They have also achieved seventeen top 40 singles and six top 10 sin ...

album ''

Moseley Shoals ''Moseley Shoals'' is the second album by the British rock group Ocean Colour Scene which was released during the Britpop era. The album reached #2 in the UK charts, and amassed 92 weeks on chart, making it the band's most successful album in t ...

'',Purplerevolver.com's review of the album's re-issue
/ref> and the park's underpass was found on The Shapes, ''Songs For Sensible People''. In September 2010 scenes for a

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

History

Funding and redevelopment

Recognition

Popular culture

See also

References

External links