The Royal Pump Rooms is a building in Leamington Spa

Leamington Spa

Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or Leamington or Leam to locals, is a spa town in central Warwickshire, England. Formerly known as Leamington Priors, its expansion began following the popularisation of the medicinal qualities of its water by Dr Kerr in 1784, and by Dr Lambe...

, Warwickshire

Warwickshire

Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It was the most famous of several spa baths opened in Leamington between the late-18th and mid-19th centuries. People would travel from throughout the country, and indeed Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, to benefit from treatments using the town's healing waters. When 'taking the waters' became less fashionable after the mid-19th century the Pump Rooms became Leamington's only surviving spa facility, later also being extended to include the town's public swimming pool

Swimming pool

A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...

. After a major redevelopment in 1997 - 99 the building now houses Leamington Spa Art Gallery

Art gallery

An art gallery or art museum is a building or space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art.Museums can be public or private, but what distinguishes a museum is the ownership of a collection...

 & Museum

Museum

A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...

, a public Library

Library

In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...

, Tourist Information Centre, cafe and assembly rooms.

Background and beginnings

By the time that a spring had been found at the site of the rooms in 1811 Leamington already had a reputation as an up and coming spa resort. Five wells had been discovered south of the River Leam

River Leam

The River Leam is a river which flows through eastern and southern Warwickshire. It is a small river about 25–30 miles long. The town of Leamington Spa lies on, and is named after, the River Leam....

 in and around the village. The influx of tourists to bathe in these springs and 'take the waters' had led to speculators developing land to the north of the river. It was decided by these men that they needed to find a spring on their side of the river so that they could erect a suitably grand building to match the town they aimed to develop. The sixth spring was found in 1811 on the land of Mr Bertie Greatheed and the architectural work was passed to local man C.S. Smith (who also designed The Regent Hotel

The Regent Hotel

The Regent Hotel is a hotel in the town of Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England. In recent times the hotel, like the town, has seen a decreasing number of guests from the celebrity and nobility circles. It has however had a colourful past with many famous guests and interesting events and is still...

 and the Upper Assembly Rooms in the town). The building named The New Pump Rooms and Baths was opened three years later in July 1814. Within months of opening however the baths

Bathtub

A bath , bathtub , or tub is a large container for holding water in which a person may bathe . Most modern bathtubs are made of acrylic or fiberglass, but alternatives are available in enamel over steel or cast iron, and occasionally waterproof finished wood...

 proved so popular that the building needed to be extended. The building was finally complete two years later in 1816. Including the wings at the north and south end the building was 166 feet long with 17 hot baths and 3 cold baths. The total development cost was a fraction under £18,000. One of the most interesting, although not at the time most famous or notable, parts of the development were the pumps which were manufactured by the engineering giants Boulton and Watt

Boulton and Watt

The firm of Boulton & Watt was initially a partnership between Matthew Boulton and James Watt.-The engine partnership:The partnership was formed in 1775 to exploit Watt's patent for a steam engine with a separate condenser. This made much more efficient use of its fuel than the older Newcomen engine...

 of Smethwick

Smethwick

Smethwick is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands of England. It is situated on the edge of the city of Birmingham, within the historic boundaries of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire....

, Birmingham

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

. Although some individuals expressed reservations about the baths, most notably a doctor who claimed that the healing waters could be contaminated by soiled river water, the baths were a huge success with visitors including some of the most famous people of the time.

Hard times, development, and modernisation

From the 1840s onwards the British spa town tourist industry began to wane thanks to the growing popularity of spas in continental Europe

Continental Europe

Continental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European islands....

, notably Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 and France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. Faced with the decline in demand for spa health treatments the decision was made in 1860 to close the Pump Rooms with a view to demolishing them and selling the land. However a group of local investors clubbed together and bought the building in October 1861. After spending £17,000 refurbishing the building, including adding a Turkish Bath and swimming pool, it proved impossible to operate at a profit and it was sold to the Local Board of Health in 1868. Since that time the building has remained in the public sector

Public sector

The public sector, sometimes referred to as the state sector, is a part of the state that deals with either the production, delivery and allocation of goods and services by and for the government or its citizens, whether national, regional or local/municipal.Examples of public sector activity range...

 and in 1875 the Royal Pump Room Gardens

Royal Pump Room Gardens

The Royal Pump Room Gardens is a popular open space found in the centre of Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England, next to the Royal Pump Rooms and just north of the River Leam...

 next to the building were opened to the public. In 1890 a further large public swimming pool was opened. An annexe was added to the south of the main assembly room in 1910 and another to the north some years later. Around 1950 the tower added in the 1860s was demolished. By the 1980s, now under the control of Warwick District Council

Warwick (district)

Warwick is a local government district of central Warwickshire in England. The current leader of the district council is Conservative Party member Michael Doody. The council is currently controlled by the Conservative group, who hold 23 of the 46 council seats...

, the building again faced an uncertain future. In 1989 the swimming pool was closed and relocated to a new building in Leamington and in the following years the future of the Royal Pump Rooms became a matter of public debate. During this dormant period the video for Mick Jagger

Mick Jagger

Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....

s song Sweet Thing was filmed in the baths.

After a number of different schemes to redevelop the Royal Pump Rooms had been considered, in 1997 work began on a major project to reuse it as a cultural complex. This opened after two years of redevelopment led by Warwick District Council in partnership with Warwickshire County Council, South Warwickshire Tourism and a catering company. The main swimming hall was used to house Leamington's public Library

Library

In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...

, the smaller swimming hall and Turkish Baths converted to house Leamington Spa Art Gallery

Art gallery

An art gallery or art museum is a building or space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art.Museums can be public or private, but what distinguishes a museum is the ownership of a collection...

 & Museum

Museum

A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...

, the Tourist Information Centre was relocated into a newly built entrance concourse, the assembly rooms were refurbished, and a cafe installed. A drinking fountain was placed outside the building so that passersby could taste the spa waters. The redevelopment cost £7.1 million.

The local history exhibition in Leamington Spa Art Gallery

Art gallery

An art gallery or art museum is a building or space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art.Museums can be public or private, but what distinguishes a museum is the ownership of a collection...

 & Museum

Museum

A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...

, which presents the history of the town and its communities, includes several sections dealing with different aspects of the history of the Royal Pump Rooms. Items on display include medical equipment formerly used in the building for hydrotherapy and physiotherapy treatments.