Happy TravellerWelcome to Royal Leamington Spa, a charming spa town located in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village, Leamington Spa grew into a popular spa town in the 18th century due to the medicinal qualities of its water. Today, the town is known for its stunning Regency architecture, public parks, and thriving retail and digital industries. In fact, Leamington Spa has gained the nickname ‘Silicon Spa’ due to its growing tech industry. The town was even named the best place to live in the Midlands by The Sunday Times in 2023. With a population of 50,923, Leamington Spa is adjoined with the neighboring towns of Warwick and Whitnash, and the village of Cubbington, forming a conurbation known as the Royal Leamington Spa Built-up area with a population of 95,172. Leamington Spa lies around 9 miles south of Coventry, 20 miles southeast of Birmingham, and 81 miles northwest of London.
History:
Leamington Spa 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. Its name came from Anglo-Saxon Leman-tūn or Lemen-tūn = farm on the River Leam. The spa waters had been known in Roman times, and their rediscovery in 1784 by William Abbotts and Benjamin Satchwell led to their commercialization, 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. 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, the Regent Hotel in 1818, a town hall in 1830, 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. In 1840 the Victoria Bridge was opened, connecting the old and new towns, replacing an old, narrow, and inconvenient bridge.
Geography:
Leamington Spa 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. The Leam is a tributary of the River Avon, which it joins just to the west of Leamington. The ancient town of Warwick lies adjoined directly to the west of Leamington, on the opposite bank of the Avon. Also contiguous with Leamington, directly to the south, with no natural border, is the smaller town of Whitnash. The village of Cubbington is adjoined to the northeast. Just outside the town lie the villages of Old Milverton to the north and Radford Semele 2.5 miles to the east. Leamington has several suburbs; the town has encompassed the former village of Lillington, directly to the north of the town center. Other suburbs include Milverton to the northwest, Campion Hills to the east, Sydenham to the east and the rapidly expanding Heathcote district to the southwest. The main road running through the town center is Parade (formerly Lillington Lane until 1860). This shopping street contains high street chains and The Royal Priors shopping mall.
Notable Buildings:
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. Amongst the Anglican churches in Leamington is the Gothic parish church All Saints Church, and St John the Baptists Church. St Marks Church on Rugby Road was designed by George Gilbert Scott Jr. in 1879. It is a Gothic revival design, in red brick with stone dressings. There is a Roman Catholic church, St Peters Church, two United
