The Jephson Gardens are formal gardens, together with a grassed

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

, in the town of

Leamington Spa Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply LeamingtonEven more colloquially, also referred to as Lem or Leam (). (), is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Pri ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

. The gardens, once a place for the wealthy to 'take the air' and 'be seen', are found in the centre of the town on the Parade, with the River Leam flowing to the south of them. One of the town's most popular

tourist attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural beaut ...

s, they have facilities such as cafes and floral displays. The gardens are often marketed in tandem with the nearby all-grassed Mill Gardens on the south side of the river. The gardens have a total area of with Mill Gardens and its boating lake, both on the opposite side of the river, providing an extra .

History

The gardens began as farmland which belonged to Edward Willes, a member of the Willes family who played an important part in the shaping of early Leamington. The original gardens, covering just under , were laid out in 1834 at the request of the landowner with free entry to anyone between 7 am and 10 am. For the remainder of the day the gardens were open only to paying customers and patrons of a nearby spa bath house. The gardens were soon expanded to their current size and a right of way passing through them was sunk down so it could be used without walking through the gardens. In 1836, two years after starting the project, Willes leased the land to a local

consortium A consortium () is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations, or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for achieving a ...

for £30 a year.Bird, Vivian: ''Warwickshire'', page 109. Batsford, 1973 In 1843, the gardens were improved, the ground being levelled and an ornamental

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

being excavated. In 1846 a local committee meeting declared that the gardens be renamed ''The Jephson Gardens'' in honour of Dr

Henry Jephson The Jephson Gardens are formal gardens, together with a grassed park, in the town of Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. The gardens, once a place for the wealthy to 'take the air' and 'be seen', are found in the centre of the town on the Parade, wi ...

who had helped to promote the healing properties of the town's spa waters and built houses for the town's poor residents. A Corinthian-style temple was added to the gardens in 1849 and inside it a large

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

statue of the doctor by the Birmingham sculptor Peter Hollins.Bird, Vivian: ''Warwickshire'', page 110. Batsford, 1973 Most of this early work was undertaken by poor labourers, given employment by another of the town's early

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

s, Dr John Hitchman. In 1869, Hitchman received recognition of his efforts when a

fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" ( genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were o ...

bearing his name was erected in the gardens, near the boundary with the town's main street. This was followed in 1875 by a grey granite

obelisk An obelisk (; , diminutive of (') ' spit, nail, pointed pillar') is a tall, slender, tapered monument with four sides and a pyramidal or pyramidion top. Originally constructed by Ancient Egyptians and called ''tekhenu'', the Greeks used th ...

memorial to Edward WillesNicholson, Jean et al: ''The Obelisks of Warwickshire'', page 38. Brewin Books, 2013 and in 1925 by a clock tower dedicated to Alderman William Davis, who was mayor of the town three times. All four memorials still stand today. The twentieth century saw yet more development in the park. Tea rooms were opened in the centre of the gardens in 1899 and were later used as an

aviary An aviary is a large enclosure for confining birds, although bats may also be considered for display. Unlike birdcages, aviaries allow birds a larger living space where Bird flight, they can fly; hence, aviaries are also sometimes known as flig ...

. From 1901 to 1903, Mill Gardens, Mill Bridge and the boathouse were developed. A 1909 a replacement bandstand was built as the current one was used so often it was a noise nuisance to neighbours.Watkin, Jeff: ''The Benevolent Despot'', page 27, Warwick District Council, 2018 The year 1926 saw two further additions to the gardens. The first was a clock tower in the eastern half of the gardens and the second was a fountain for the lake. A second fountain was added in 1927. The two fountains were based on the fountains at

Hampton Court Hampton Court Palace is a Listed building, Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. Opened to the public, the palace is managed by Historic Royal ...

.Watkin, Jeff: ''The Benevolent Despot'', page 27, Warwick District Council, 2018 In those early years, the attractions of the park were just as strong as today, perhaps more so. There were flower shows which drew entrants from all over England,

firework Fireworks are Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large numbe ...

and fairy light displays,

balloon A balloon is a flexible membrane bag that can be inflated with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, or air. For special purposes, balloons can be filled with smoke, liquid water, granular media (e.g. sand, flour or rice), ...

ascents and band concerts.

Archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a Bow and arrow, bow to shooting, shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting ...

and

croquet Croquet ( or ) is a sport which involves hitting wooden, plastic, or composite balls with a mallet through hoops (often called Wicket, "wickets" in the United States) embedded in a grass playing court. Variations In all forms of croquet, in ...

, as well as boating, were two sports allowed in the gardens. There were also

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

courts in the park from 1878 to 1942, when the courts were removed during the '' Dig for Victory'' campaign of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. From 1951 to 1961 the gardens hosted the Lights of Leamington Festival. It involved lightshows, animated displays, fireworks, illuminated replicas of skylines, and music and dance. Visitors came from the wider

Midlands The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefor ...

area.

A lasting connection that the gardens have to the war is the Czech Memorial Fountain, unveiled in 1968. Its purpose is to honour those who served in the Czech Free Army, which was based in the town, especially seven men who were parachuted into

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

for the assassination (

Operation Anthropoid Reinhard Heydrich, the commander of the German Reich Security Main Office (RSHA), the acting governor of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and a principal architect of the Holocaust, was assassinated during the Second World War in a coordin ...

) of Nazi general

Reinhard Heydrich Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich ( , ; 7 March 1904 – 4 June 1942) was a German high-ranking SS and police official during the Nazi era and a principal architect of the Holocaust. He held the rank of SS-. Many historians regard Heydrich ...

. The fountain was restored in 2018 and given Grade II listed status in July 2018.

Funding and redevelopment

Since the end of the Second World War, investment in the gardens had fallen and the task of running them had passed to the Warwick District Council rather than private individuals. In the 1990s, many people felt that the gardens had lost their shine. For this reason the council began major work on the gardens in 1999 and eventually won a £3 million grant from the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

. One of the first jobs to be completed was the removal of a children's play area by the river which was looking outdated. It was replaced by a new one in Mill Gardens near the boathouse. The aviary, which had long been disused, was turned into a cafe, and the Czech War and Jephson memorials were given a well-needed clean. The flagship development however was a sub-tropical glasshouse which contains exotic plant life, ''The Restaurant In The Park'' (which replaced an old restaurant by the old children's play area) and a teaching studio used by

Warwickshire College WCG (formerly ''Warwickshire College Group'' and ''Warwickshire College'') is the managing body that administers several colleges of further education in the English West Midlands (region), West Midlands, namely in the counties of Warwickshire ...

students. In addition to these the public toilets were upgraded, the paths were resurfaced and a sensory garden was created. In 2010, the

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

building, East Lodge, at the Willes Road entrance to the park, originally built in 1846/7, was redeveloped into a

sustainability Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

visitor centre.

Recognition

The investment in the gardens has proved to be worthwhile as they were voted, along with Mill Gardens, "Best Park in Britain 2004" by the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

. In 2006, the gardens won its first

Green Flag award The Green Flag Award is an international accreditation given to publicly accessible parks and open spaces, managed under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, a UK Government department, by Keep Britain Tidy, ...

. It has won again every year until present, 2018, making 12 consecutive years. It has been voted a Green Heritage Site by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

. There are also a number of Grade II listed buildings in the gardens. Most recently, the gardens have received the AS Nagra award for “Leamington Spa’s Most Outstanding Area”.

Popular culture

The 1970 "

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...

" world tour in support of the ''

'' album included a date at the Jephson Gardens pavilion on 17 May 1970. The Jephson Memorial was featured on the cover of the

Ocean Colour Scene Ocean Colour Scene (often abbreviated to OCS) is an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1989. They have had five top 10 albums, including a number one in 1997. They have also achieved seventeen top 40 singles and six top 10 singles to d ...

album '' Moseley Shoals'',Purplerevolver.com's review of the album's re-issue
/ref> and the park's underpass was found on The Shapes, ''Songs For Sensible People''. In September 2010 scenes for a

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

re-make of the TV series '' Upstairs, Downstairs'' were shot in the park.. In May 2016 the park was used as the location for the ''Great Day in Leamington Spa'' photograph featuring 92 local musicians. A year later the film '' You, Me and Him'' starring

David Tennant David John Tennant (; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He is best known for portraying the Tenth Doctor, tenth and Fourteenth Doctor, fourteenth incarnations of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction series ''Docto ...

and

Lucy Punch Lucy Alice T. Punch (born 30 December 1977) is an English actor. She has appeared in the films '' Ella Enchanted'' (2004), ''Hot Fuzz'' (2007), '' You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger'', '' Dinner for Schmucks,'' (both 2010) and ''Into the Woods'' ...

was filmed in the park.

References

External links