Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 2.djvu/564

Rh LEAMINGTON PRIORS. 556 LEARMOUTH, OLD AND NEW. who esteem this as the best spa in England. The hotels and lodging-houses are numerous, and built on a scale suited to the requirements of the visi- tors. The principal arc, the Regent Royal Hotel, on the Lower Parade, erected in 1819, at the coat of 25,000, and recently refitted and enlarged it has attached to it a mews affording accommodation for over 100 horses and carriages ; the Clarendon Hotel, situated at the top of Lansdown Place, in the most fashionable part of the town, and resorted to principally by the aristocracy; the Bath Family and Commercial Hotel, with extensive billiard-rooms, bowling-green, and quoit- ground ; besides numerous other hotels on a more mode- rate scale. The most conspicuous buildings in the town are the bath-houses and pump-rooms. These establish- ments have hot, cold, vapour, and shower baths and pump-rooms. The old well, or spring, noticed by Cam- den, has a pump-room over it, standing to the W. of the church in Bath-street. The Royal Spa, built at the cost of near 25,000, stands near the extremity of the Lower Parade, on the N. side of the river Learn : it is a massive structure of stone about 160 feet in length, ornamented in front with a colonnade of Doric columns, and con- taining a lofty pump-room and 15 baths, consisting of all kinds, besides two reserved for the use of the Lea- mington hospital. The Victoria Baths, situated in Vic- toria-terrace, have a frontage of 112 feet facing the river Learn, and are adorned with a colonnade running the whole length of the building. Wood's Baths, situated in Bath-street, consist of warm and cold mine- ral water baths, also vapour and hot-air baths. Hudson's Baths, in High-street, are warm, sulphur, and warm and cold saline baths. Oldham's open-air swimming- baths, near Leam-terrace, are not saline, but are fitted up with every convenience for the enjoyment of the healthful recreation of swimming. Tho other public buildings are the Warneford Hospital and General Bath- ing Institution, founded in 1832, mainly through the munificence of Dr. Warneford, who contributed 2,625 for that purpose ; tho townhall, and police station, in High-street, built in 1831, where the town commissioners meet on the first and third Tuesday in each month, and the county magistrates hold petty sessions every Wednesday. The Proprietary College, in Binswood- crcscent, is a spacious and substantial brick edifice in the Tudor collegiate style of architecture, erected in 1847 ; it has a front 155 feet long, and contains a great hall 90 feet long by 31 high, besides numerous class-rooms and offices. It is in connection with tho Church of England, and trains pupils for the army and navy. There are a literary and scientific institution ; a free public library and reading-room, established in 1857 ; two assembly rooms ; a theatre, in Clement- street, built in 1849 ; music-hall, in Bath-street ; female penitentiary ; Young Girls' Daily Home, in Queen-street, instituted in 1854; military stores and armoury, with houses for the commander and quartermaster, in Radford- road ; spacious tennis and racket courts, opened in 1847 ; temperance hall, in Warwick- street, where public meet- ings, concerts, and assemblies are held ; museum ; and public gardens, with a Corinthian temple containing the bust of Dr. Jephson. Those last are situated near the bottom of the Lower Parade, and are laid out with gravel walks fringed with flowers and shrubs, and adorned with a large artificial lake. Here, during the summer season, a band of music performs daily ; also archery fetes, galas, and horticultural exhibitions are held. At a short distance from the town, in the Tachbrook-road, is an extensive garden open to the public, known as the Arboretum and Pinetum, stocked with exotic trees, chiefly of the coniferous kind. On the Whitnash- road is the town cemetery, with a little chapel. The shops are numerous and well supplied, doing a good retail business ; but there are no manufactures, except- ing the iron foundries where the celebrated Leamington kitcheners are made, and an extensive brewery. The cleansing, lighting, paving, and police of the town are entrusted to a local board of health, established by Act of Parliament in 1852. In the immediate vicinity are villa residences, the numbers of which are in creasing every year. The town supports two weekly newspapers, tho Leamington Advertiser and the Jtoya, Leamington Spa Courier the former published on Thuri day, the latter on Saturday. The living is a vie in the dioc. of Worcester, val. 255. The parish churc of All Saints is a stone structure with a tower sur- mounted by a spire and containing six bells. Besides the parish church there are several new district churches that of St. Mary is a brick edifice faced with Roman cement, standing in tho Radford-road ; Trinity pro- prietary chapel, in Beauchamp-square, is a cruciform structure of stone .erected in 1847; Christ Church is also a proprietary church situated in Beauchamp-square; St. Luke's Episcopal chapel is a modern edifice situated in Augusta-place; Milverton Episcopal chapel, situ- ated on Milverton Hill, is also proprietary. The Roman Catholics have a little church in George-street, built after the model of the Ionic temple of Hissus. There are also places of worship belonging to the seve- ral denominations of Protestant Dissenters, including Independent, Baptist, Congregational, Wesleyan, Primi- tive Methodists, Lady Huntingdon's Connexion, Plymouth Brethren. The schools are numerous well supported, comprising several National, paroc British, infant, industrial, Catholic, Independent, Wi leyan, and a school for the indigent blind. The rities and benevolent institutions are very num comprising almshouses, visiting societies, clothing fur penitentiaries, &c. A customary market for jn-ovisii is held on Wednesday. The ladies of Leamington con- tribute 52 10*. to the sweepstakes at Warwick rai and the gentlemen subscribe for a cup of the same to be run for. LEAMSIDE, a railway station on the North-Easl line, where the Leamside junction branches off. LEANANE, a stream rising in Lough Gartan, Donegal, Ireland, and falling into Lough Swilly near Rathmelton. LEA-NEWBOLD, a tnshp. in the par. of St. Oswald, lower div. of the hund. of Broxton, co. Chester, 6 miles S.E. of Chester. The township is of small extent, and is situated on a branch of the river Dee. Tho Marquis of Westminster is lord of the manor. LEAP, a tythg. in the par. of Exbury, hund. at Bishop's Waltham, co. Hants, 8 miles S. of Southamp- ton. It is a small fishing village situated on the Solent, nearly opposite Cowes, in the Isle of Wight. LEAP, a vil. in the par. of Aghancon, bar. of Bally- britt, King's County, prov. of Leinster, Ireland, 6 miles S.E. of BiiT. Leap Castle is an interesting building. LEAP, a vil. in the bar. of Carbery-East, co. Cork, Ireland, 3 miles V. of Roscarbery. LEAR, a river rising near Davidstown, co. Kildure, Ireland. It joins the Barrow near Holymount. LEARCHILD, a tnshp. in the par. of Edlingham, N. div. of Coquetdale ward, co. Northumberland, o miles N.E. of Rothbury, and 7 S.W. of Alnwick. Tlu-ix is no village, only a few farmhouses. LEARMOUNT, a par. in the bar. of Tirkeeran, co. Londonderry, prov. of Ulster, Ireland. Derry is its post town. It is 7 miles long by 3 broad. Tho surface is very mountainous, the principal summit being Sawn], in the S., which attains an altitude of 2,236 feet. The road from Dungiven to Strabane crosses the parish, and the river Faughan intersects it, upon which stands the village. The living is a rect. in the dioc. of Deny, val. 86, in the patron, of the bishop and the Skinners' Company of London. The church was built in 1831, chiefiy by means of a gift from the late Board of First Fruits. The Roman Catholic chapel is united to that of Lower Cumber. There are a Sunday-school and three day schools. Learmount House is the seat of J. B. Beresford, Esq. LEARMOUTH, OLD AND NEW, a hmlt. in the ward of East Glendale, co. Northumberland, in miles N.W. of Wooler. It was anciently a market town, but is now an insignificant hamlet. Lord Elcho's hoi meet here. , but undl