"Leamington Spa (Only Tourists say Royal) " a Royal Leamington Spa Travel Page by grayfo

Leamington Spa has the rare distinction of the right to use the prefix “Royal” through the grant of a Royal Charter by Queen Victoria in July 1838, a name that is only used by tourists. Leamington Spa is a medium-sized town in Warwickshire, in the heart of the English countryside. It has a Georgian town centre with a modern shopping mall and a spa in the Royal Pump Rooms. Leamington is a nice place to live and a good place to visit with an exceptionally large number of pubs (the town centre alone had 65 licensed premises at the last count).

Formerly known as Leamington Priors – the town is about a dozen miles to the north of Stratford-upon-Avon and is now virtually joined to Warwick. Leamington grew around the saline springs and the Royal Pump Room and Baths, which were opened in 1814. A treatment at the baths was supposed to be very beneficial and claimed to cure many disorders - gout, rheumatism, stiffness of the joints etc - and the spa water was drunk as a laxative. There are many beautiful old buildings in the town, which has a wide, main shopping street - the Parade - and some well maintained gardens around the river Leam. Charles Dickens was a frequent visitor and set a scene in "Dombey and Son" in the town.

The arms of Leamington consists of a shield with a crest above and a motto beneath. The motto “Sola bona quae honesta” means “Those things alone are good which are honourable”.