Description

ROYAL LEAMINGTON SPA

SP3165NE PARADE
1208-1/7/291 (South West side)
01/03/49 Royal Pump Room and Baths

GV II

Spa pump room and swimming baths. 1813-1814 with later
additions and alterations including ladies' pool of c1870;
1885; 1889; 1910; those of 1926-7 probably include side
pavilions; those of c1948 include remodelling of windows, and
1956.
By CS Smith of Warwick, a pupil of Sir Jeffry Wyatville and
financed by a syndicate; of this only the colonnade remains,
with additions of 1870 by J Cundall of Leamington.
1885 rebuildings including pump room, and 1899 baths extension
by W de Normanville, the Borough Engineer.
Sandstone ashlar with red sandstone columns and dark grey
brick plinth, slate and glass roofs.
STYLE: late Classical, with Turkish-style interior.
EXTERIOR: main range of 2 storeys, 9 first-floor windows, the
outer bays project slightly to full height, between
single-tall-storey, 3-window pavilions, and with ranges to
rear. Pump room to main range at front with baths to rear.
Ground floor has Doric colonnade: Dodecastyle centre between
distyle with antae ranges with full entablature with
triglyphs; balustraded parapet has panels and vase-shaped
balusters. Portico has patterned tile floor. Plinth.
Entrances: to outer bays are double 4-fielded-panel doors; to
centre, a shallow recess with double part-glazed doors with
overlight. Otherwise four 1/1 sashes with plain reveals.
Cornice.
First floor: outer bays have broad pilasters with horizontal
rustication to angles. Otherwise, 8/8 sashes with tooled
surrounds.
Continuous frieze, cornice, blocking course.
Side ranges (alike): Doric pilasters between bays and to
angles. Three 8/12 sashes with fanlights with radial glazing
(that to left centre with stained glass) with pilastered
surrounds and tooled round-arches with central keystones;
tooled and chamfered sills, aprons. Balustrade of panels and
vase balusters continues to returns. Hipped roofs.
Pilasters and fenestration continue for 6-window bays to left
return.
Further range to rear projects to left with Tuscan pilasters
clasping angles and elliptically-arched entrance to left with
board door.

To right return a similar 4-bay arcade, but first two bays are
blind, then two 2/2 sashes with horns.
Further range has three 2/2 sashes and three 1/1 sashes with
tooled sills and plain reveals. Above these are two
round-arched openings, that to left with 12-pane, round-arched
windows, otherwise blind. Modillion cornice and continuous
balustrade.
INTERIOR: late Neo-Classical style pump room runs the front of
the building and is two storeys in height. Decoration in 7
bays, balconies, 3 ceiling roses. Turkish-style rooms to rear
include octagonal, domed room with Islamic arches, dome with
stained glass and 2 rose windows. Ladies' pool has red and
yellow decorative brickwork, elliptically-arched arcades;
modillion cornices, open trussed iron roof.
(Leamington Spa Courier: 3 February 1989; Storrie J: William
de Normanville: Engineer, Architect and Inventor: Royal
Leamington Spa: 19-21, 22-33; Victoria County History:
Warwickshire: 155; The Buildings of England: Pevsner N and
Wedgwood A: Warwickshire: Harmondsworth: 1966-1990: 336).

Listing NGR: SP3186365517

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Royal Pump Rooms at Wikipedia
• Royal Pump Rooms official website
• Wikidata Q7374745

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Wiltshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Kent: West and the Weald: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Gwent/Monmouthshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales)
• 
  Yorkshire West Riding: Sheffield and the South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair by Hunt. Roger ( 2008 ) Hardcover
• 
  Hampshire: Winchester and the North (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)