The Regent Hotel is a hotel in the town of Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England. It is located in the centre of the town on the Parade.
In 1809, a plot of land was purchased to build the hotel on, which cost £1,000. The foundation stone was laid eight years later, on 18 July 1818 by the granddaughter of the original landowner. The hotel was officially opened on 19 August 1819 by Mrs Greatheed, wife of the previous landowner Berties, accompanied by actress Sarah Siddons. The hotel opened as Williams Hotel, but 3 weeks later was renamed The Regent by permission of the Prince Regent (later George IV). [1]
In 1830 Princess Victoria, then aged 11, stayed overnight at the hotel with her father. [2] Eight years later from the balcony of the hotel it was announced that Victoria, now Queen, had allowed the prefix Royal on its name, which the town still bears to the day. [3] The hotel then had more than 100 rooms. [4]
The first of the Regent Hotel's set of sporting visitors stayed at the hotel on 8 April 1882. These men had held a few other meetings around the county and had formed a cricket team. It was on this date however that Warwickshire County Cricket Club formally came into existence. [5] The Directorate of Camouflage, part of the Ministry of Home Security moved its main base in early 1940 from London to the hotel and requisitioned the hotel until 1947. [6] The Directorate brought 250 artists, designers and technicians to the town who worked in secret on aspects of military and civilian camouflage. [7] In the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, according to Billy Wright's autobiography Captain of England the England national football team used to meet before they travelled to away matches abroad. More recently the cast and crew of the British comedy Keeping Up Appearances including Patricia Routledge, Clive Swift and Geoffrey Hughes stayed at the hotel whilst filming in Leamington. [8]
The hotel was designated a Grade II* listed building in 1953. [9] The hotel closed in 1998 and its demolition was considered, which generated local opposition. In 2003 the hotel was refurbished as part of a regeneration scheme, reopening in March 2005 with 54 rooms. The total cost of the work was £3 million. [10] Although the facade had changed little, most of the ground floor now houses a Wagamama restaurant, [11] although it also contains a small café. The hotel itself, occupying the other floors, is a Travelodge.
Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply Leamington, is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Priors, it grew into a spa town in the 18th century following the popularisation of its water which was reputed to have medicinal qualities. In the 19th century, the town experienced one of the most rapid expansions in England. It is named after the River Leam, which flows through the town.
Warwick is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire, England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is 9 miles (14 km) south of Coventry, and 19 miles (31 km) south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whitnash. It has ancient origins and an array of historic buildings, notably from the Medieval, Stuart and Georgian eras. It was a major fortified settlement from the early Middle Ages, the most notable relic of this period being Warwick Castle, a major tourist attraction. Much was destroyed in the Great Fire of Warwick in 1694 and then rebuilt with fine 18th century buildings, such as the Collegiate Church of St Mary and the Shire Hall.
Dunchurch is a large village and civil parish on the south-western outskirts of Rugby in Warwickshire, England, approximately 2.5 miles (4.0 km) southwest of central Rugby. The civil parish which also includes the nearby hamlet of Toft, had a population of 2,938 at the 2011 Census.
Warwickshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon and Victorian novelist George Eliot,, at Nuneaton. Other significant towns include Rugby, Leamington Spa, Bedworth, Kenilworth and Atherstone. The county offers a mix of historic towns and large rural areas. It is a popular destination for international and domestic tourists to explore both medieval and more recent history.
Warwick is a local government district of central Warwickshire in England. It borders the Borough of Rugby and Stratford-on-Avon District in Warwickshire as well as the West Midlands County. The City of Coventry is to the north and northeast, the Stratford-on-Avon District to the southwest and south, the Borough of Rugby to the east, and the Borough of Solihull to the west and northwest.
Kineton is a village and civil parish on the River Dene in south-east Warwickshire, England. The village is part of Stratford-on-Avon district, and in the 2001 census it had a population of 2,278, increasing to 2,337 at the 2011 Census.
Old Milverton is a hamlet east of Warwick and north west of Leamington Spa in Warwickshire, England, and situated in a bend of the River Avon. The population as taken at the 2011 census was 319.
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, with the River Leam flowing to the south of them. One of the town's most popular tourist attractions, 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 14.6 acres (59,000 m2) with Mill Gardens and its boating lake, both on the opposite side of the river, providing an extra 3.9 acres (16,000 m2).
The Royal Pump Rooms is a cultural centre on the Parade in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England. It was the most famous of several spa baths opened in Leamington between the late-18th and mid-19th centuries. People would travel from throughout the country, and indeed Europe, to benefit from treatments using the town's healing waters. When 'taking the waters' became less fashionable after the mid-19th century the Pump Rooms became Leamington's only surviving spa facility, later also being extended to include the town's public swimming pool. After a major redevelopment in 1997-99 the building now houses Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum, a public library, a Tourist Information Centre, cafe and assembly rooms. It is a Grade II listed building.
The Bedford Hotel is a hotel on the seafront in Brighton, England which has subsequently been renamed the Holiday Inn Brighton after becoming a part of the Holiday Inn business.
Newbold Comyn is a park on the Eastern edge of Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England.
The Royal Pump Room Gardens is a popular open space found in the centre of Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England, next to the Royal Pump Rooms and just north of the River Leam. Despite being named "gardens" there is only one 5.4-acre (22,000 m2) area divided by footpaths with an ironwork bandstand in the centre.
Bertie Greatheed (1759–1826) was an English dramatist, slave owner and landowner.
The Regent Palace Hotel was a large hotel in central London at 10 Glasshouse Street, close to Piccadilly Circus, between 1915 and 2006. It was designated as a Grade II listed building by English Heritage in 2004.
Market Hall Museum is an historic museum located in Warwick, in Warwickshire, England. The Market Hall forms part of The Warwickshire Museum, alongside St John's House. The Warwickshire Museum is operated by Heritage and Culture Warwickshire. The collections on display at Market Hall are primarily focused on objects in the fields of archaeology, geology and natural history, and particularly those local to Warwickshire.
Little Venice is a district in West London, England, around the junction of the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal, the Regent's Canal, and the entrance to Paddington Basin. The junction forms a triangular shape basin. Many of the buildings in the vicinity are Regency white painted stucco terraced town houses and taller blocks (mansions) in the same style. The area is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) west-north-west of Charing Cross and immediately north-west of Paddington.
The Old Ship Hotel is a hotel in central Brighton, UK, which contains the Old Ship Assembly Rooms, a Grade II* listed building. The building is the oldest hotel in Brighton, as the hotel is believed to have been built in 1559, with the assembly rooms being added in 1767.
Parade is a 0.51 mile long street in the town of Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England. Running in a north-south direction, it forms part of the longer B4087 which runs from the A445 in Leamington to the B4086 in Wellesbourne. The road is the central shopping hub of the town, and upon it sit many of the town’s high street stores, as well as some of the best examples of Regency architecture, for which the town is known. It is often erroneously called "The Parade", and spoken of as such, but all maps and resources such as the Royal Mail's postcode database simply have "Parade".
Leamington Spa Town Hall is a Grade II listed municipal building located in the town of Leamington Spa in Warwickshire, England.
The Woodside Hotel is a building of historical significance in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England. It was the residence of several notable people from about 1860 including William Sands Cox. Today it is a hotel which offers accommodation, restaurant facilities and caters for special events.