Royal Pump Room and Baths

Details

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

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

481801

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
The Victoria History of the County of Warwick, (), 155
Pevsner, N, Wedgwood, A, The Buildings of England: Warwickshire, (1966), 336
Storrie, J, William Louis de Normanville Engineer Architect and Inventor, (), 19-33
Leamington Spa Courier in 3 February, (1989)

End of official list entry

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