The Royal Pump Room Gardens is a popular open space found in the centre 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 ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, next to the
Royal Pump Rooms
The Royal Pump Rooms is a cultural centre on the Parade in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England. It was the most famous of several spa baths opened in Leamington between the late-18th and mid-19th centuries. People would travel from throughou ...
and just north of 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 ...
. Despite being named "gardens" there is only one area divided by footpaths with an ironwork
bandstand
A bandstand (sometimes music kiosk) is a circular, semicircular or polygonal structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts. A simple construction, it both creates an orname ...
in the centre.
Opened in 1814 with the Pump Rooms themselves, to begin with the gardens were only for the use of patrons of the Pump Rooms ''"to afford them pleasant promenades."'' The original bandstand was later erected and bands played in the afternoon and evening during the summer (and other public holidays) for those paying to use the baths. During these early days the famed
tightrope
Tightrope walking, also called funambulism, is the skill of walking along a thin wire or rope. It has a long tradition in various countries and is commonly associated with the circus. Other skills similar to tightrope walking include slack rope ...
walker
Charles Blondin
Charles Blondin (born Jean François Gravelet, 28 February 182422 February 1897) was a French tightrope walker and acrobat. He toured the United States and was known for crossing the Niagara Gorge on a tightrope.
During an event in Dublin in ...
crossed the area in July 1851. However in 1875 the gardens were opened to the public. In 1881 plans were made to build the town hall on the gardens but at the last minute a change of site was agreed and it was built further north near
The Regent Hotel
The Regent Hotel is a hotel in the town of Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England. It is located in the centre of the town on the Parade.
History
In 1809, a plot of land was purchased to build the hotel on, which cost £1,000. The foundation ...
. In 1893 a pedestrian bridge called York Bridge was built over the river. The second bandstand was designed by Walter MacFarlane & Co and founded in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
. It was installed in 1896. Also the only remaining examples of the original Leamington cast iron gas lamps can be found alongside the south side of the gardens.
The gardens originally contained decorative flower beds but with the decline in fortunes of the Pump Rooms themselves these have been grassed over. Bands still play in the bandstand, although very infrequently but the gardens host the annual Leamington Peace Festival, a fun fair once a year and
farmers market
A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or ...
s once a month. It is also a popular place for young people, especially those from the nearby
Warwick University
, mottoeng = Mind moves matter
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £7.0 million (2021)
, budget = £698.2 million (2020â ...
to sunbathe and play
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
. As it lies so close to the river it is part of the town that is most frequently flooded. The last two times such floods occurred were at
Easter
Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...
1998 and in the summer of 2007.
In March 2012 new lights in iron arches (commonly known as the Linden Arches) were erected along the pathway furthest from the river. They were officially unveiled by
Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester
Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, (Richard Alexander Walter George; born 26 August 1944) is a member of the British royal family. He is the second son of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, as well ...
. This is the first major alteration to the park's superficial appearance since 1896. This was followed later in the decade when the bandstand was removed in autumn 2018 and returned re-furbished and painted different colours in spring 2019. The paths were slightly re-routed and totally re-paved and a new seating area with rock features and a small pond was constructed at the western end of the gardens. The £1.4 million project also included new railings and new trees being planted.
Notes
References
* Cave, Lyndon F (1988) ''"Royal Leamington Spa"'', Phillimore,
Chichester
Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ci ...
{{coord, 52.2873, -1.5356, type:landmark_region:GB-WAR, display=title
Urban public parks
Jephson Gardens
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, wit ...
Leamington Spa
1814 establishments in England