Places

“This place from a mean, inconsiderable village, has, within the last 25 years, owing to the virtue and fame of its springs, risen into great eminence, and now justly ranks with the most elegant and celebrated watering places.” In 1801 Leamington Priors was a small village of 310 people, comprising about 67 houses, situated on the south side of the River Leam. By 1828 when this description was included in Pigot’s Warwickshire Directory the population of Leamington Priors had risen to in excess of 5,000. By the census of 1851 it was 15,724 and still rising.

This phenomenal expansion was set in motion in 1784 by the discovery of a spring in Bath Lane on land owned by William Abbotts. He and Benjamin Satchwell decided to exploit the healing properties of this water and opened Abbotts’ Original Baths. During the next few years other springs were discovered and baths opened. An influx of people arrived to take the waters and, with a visit from members of the royal family giving its seal of approval, the building bonanza begun earlier gathered momentum.

At first, most of the growth was in the Bath Street/High Street area, but at the same time speculators started to plan a new town north of the river, which included new Pump Rooms and Assembly Rooms opened in 1814. Although the old town continued to expand, the new town quickly became the more fashionable place to be.

This was further compounded with the arrival of the Great Western Railway in the 1840s, followed in 1852 by the London and North Western Railway, which cut a swathe through the old town with two lines and two bridges. The railway brought more people to the town but it meant the demolition of several buildings such as Wise’s Baths and Copps Hotel which had been considered the best hotel in town, as well as dirt and noise in close proximity to many of the houses and shops. In addition, several manufacturing companies such as Flavells set up business. The old town never really recovered and continued to decline while the new town prospered.

In recent times a regeneration programme has breathed new life into South Town as it is known.