The Jephson Gardens - History

History

The gardens began as farmland which belonged to Edward Willes, a member of the Willes family who played an important part in the shaping of early Leamington. The original gardens, covering just under 10.5 acres (42,000 m2), were laid out in 1834 at the request of the landowner with free entry to anyone between 7 am and 10 am. For the remainder of the day the gardens were open only to paying customers and patrons of a nearby spa bath house. The gardens were soon expanded to their current size and a right of way passing through them was sunk down so it could be used without walking through the gardens. In 1836, two years after starting the project, Willes leased the land to a local consortium for £30 a year.

In 1843, the gardens were improved, the ground being levelled and an ornamental lake being excavated. In 1846 a local committee meeting declared that the gardens be renamed The Jephson Gardens in honour of Dr Henry Jephson who had helped to promote the healing properties of the town's spa waters and built houses for the town's poor residents. A Corinthian-style temple was added to the gardens in 1849 and inside it a large marble statue of the doctor. Most of this early work was undertaken by poor labourers, given employment by another of the town's early philanthropists, Dr Hitchman. In 1869, Hitchman received recognition of his efforts when a fountain bearing his name was erected in the gardens, near the boundary with the town's main street. This was followed in 1875 by an obelisk memorial to Edward Willes and in 1925 by a clock tower dedicated to Alderman William Davis, who was mayor of the town three times. All four memorials still stand today.

The twentieth century saw yet more development in the park. Tea rooms were opened in the centre of the gardens in 1899 and were later used as an aviary. From 1901 to 1903, Mill Gardens, Mill Bridge and the boathouse were developed. The year 1926 saw two further additions to the gardens. The first was a clock tower in the eastern half of the gardens and the second was a fountain for the lake. A second fountain was added in 1927. The two fountains were based on the fountains at Hampton Court.

In those early years the attractions of the park were just as strong as today, perhaps more so. There were flower shows which drew entrants from all over England, firework and fairy light displays, balloon ascents and band concerts. Archery and croquet, as well as boating, were two sports allowed in the gardens. There were also tennis courts in the park from 1878 to 1942, when the courts were removed during the Dig for Victory campaign of World War II. A lasting connection that the gardens have to the war is the Czech Memorial Fountain, unveiled in 1968. Its purpose is to honour those who served in the Czech Free Army, which was based in the town, especially seven men who were parachuted into Czechoslovakia for the assassination attempt, Operation Anthropoid, on Nazi general Reinhard Heydrich.