In 1800 Leamington Priors was a village of a few hundred people. A saline spring had been known since the fifteenth century, but only then were new springs being discovered and developed. by local enterprise. Then followed the growth of a new and planned town north of the river, furnished with houses to attract the upper class clientele coming to take the cure. Public walks and gardens were an essential part of the treatment, which prescribed the amounts of water and exercise to be taken. The earliest gardens were attached to commercial operations. Contemporary correspondence shows the aspirations of some of the participants in creating these spaces: tree – lined streets, garden squares and subscription parks and how they responded to changing fashions. As the century progressed, the needs of the inhabitants of the town became more prominent and a “People’s Park” was created to complete a string of five riverside parks. On October 4, The Gardens Trust will present a Zoom presentation with Christine Hodgetts as part of its British Spa Landscapes series. Christine Hodgetts took her degrees in history at London University. Since completing her PhD she has concentrated on adult education, giving courses on the skills of researching and writing history from the sources. She also works on commission on building and landscape history.
A ticket for this individual session costs £5, and you may purchase tickets for other individual sessions, or you may purchase a ticket for the entire course of 5 sessions at a cost of £20 via the link here. Attendees will be sent a Zoom link 2 days prior to the start of the talk, and again a few hours before the talk. A link to the recorded session (available for 1 week) will be sent shortly afterwards.
