centre
was on the southern bank of the River Leam. Later builders began concentrating
the town's expansion on the land north of the river, resulting in the Georgian
centre of New Town with the Leam flowing between the two. In 1767 Parliament
passed an Act, proposed by Edward Willes, a local landowner, for dividing and
enclosing the open and common land on the south and west of the River Leam.
Following a survey of the area by John Tomlinson in 1768, the land was
estimated to be 990 acres (4.0 km) and was subsequently divided, and new
public roads were laid out. After the division on the south of the river most
of the land east of the village was owned by the Willes family and to the west
by Matthew Wise. To the north of the river most of the land was owned by the
Willes family, the Earl of Warwick, and Bertie Greatheed. The main landholders
of the village and adjacent land were the Earl of Aylesford, and a number of
smaller landowners. In the following decades some of the land was sold. By
1901, the population of Leamington had grown from a few hundred to nearly
27,000.
In 1814, the Royal Pump Rooms and Baths
were opened close to the River Leam. This grand structure attracted many
visitors, expecting cures by bathing in pools of salty spa water. It also
included the world's first gravity fed piped hot water system in modern times,
which was designed and installed by the engineer William Murdoch. Leamington
became a popular spa resort attracting the wealthy and famous, and construction
began of numerous Georgian townhouses to accommodate visitors, and a town hall
was built in 1830.
With the spread of the town's popularity,
and the granting with a 'Royal' prefix in 1838 by Queen Victoria, 'Leamington
Priors' was renamed 'Royal Leamington Spa'. Queen Victoria had visited the town
as a Princess in 1830 and as Queen in 1858. A statue
