Background

Built in the gothic style

Gothic Revival architecture

The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...

 in the 19th century, it has been described as "one of the largest Church of England parish churches, rivaling many cathedrals in size." It is located in the centre of the town, just south of the River Leam

River Leam

The River Leam is a river which flows through eastern and southern Warwickshire. It is a small river about 25–30 miles long. The town of Leamington Spa lies on, and is named after, the River Leam....

 in what was the old core of the town.

History

The Domesday Book

Domesday Book

Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...

 of 1086 reports that there was a priest present in "Lamintone", (an old name for Leamington) although there is no specific mention of a church. The earliest record of one was from the 12th century when Leamington was still a tiny hamlet

Hamlet

The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...

 in the parish of Leek Wootton

Leek Wootton

Leek Wootton is a village in Warwickshire, England, roughly one mile from Kenilworth and two miles from Warwick. It lies in the triangle created by Kenilworth, Warwick and Leamington Spa.-Geography:...

. A west tower was added in the 14th century whilst a south porch was put added in the 18th. The first spring

Spring (hydrosphere)

A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...

 (of many that made Leamington famous) was located just outside the main entrance of the church of land owned by the Earl of Aylesford

Earl of Aylesford

Earl of Aylesford, in the County of Kent, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1714 for the lawyer and politician Heneage Finch, 1st Baron Guernsey. He had already been created Baron Guernsey in the Peerage of England in 1703...

. It was however in 1843 that the church began to take its current form and shape. By this time the church was no longer in open fields just to the north of a hamlet, but was in the centre of a bustling spa town

Spa town

A spa town is a town situated around a mineral spa . Patrons resorted to spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. The word comes from the Belgian town Spa. In continental Europe a spa was known as a ville d'eau...

. The last major works to take place to the church were from 1898–1902, when two western bays to the nave and a south western bell tower were added.

The Church today

The church can comfortably seat 600 people but it can hold up to 1000 people. There are seven services a week, three on Sunday, one on Wednesday, one on Thursday and two on Friday. The Cafe Within (currently closed) was a small cafe

Café

A café , also spelled cafe, in most countries refers to an establishment which focuses on serving coffee, like an American coffeehouse. In the United States, it may refer to an informal restaurant, offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches...

 in the church which served snacks and light meals. It was open at lunchtimes between Wednesday and Sunday. Two of Leamington's town founders, Benjamin Satchwell

Benjamin Satchwell

Benjamin Satchwell was one of the founding fathers of Leamington Spa in Warwickshire, England. Satchwell's cottage was in the old town to the south of the River Leam. He was the village's first postmaster, using his cottage as the post office, a shoemaker, and acted as an official mediator between...

 and William Abbotts

William Abbotts

William Abbotts was one of the founding fathers of Leamington Spa in Warwickshire, UK.Although already an important landowner in the then village it was on 14 January 1784 that Abbotts made the discovery that he would be remembered for...

 are buried in the churchyard. From September 2007 to February 2008 the area at the front of the church was redeveloped and a new sculpture

Sculpture

Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...

, entitled 'Spring', was installed on the site of the original Leamington spring.

Vicars of Leamington from 1823

• Robert Downes 1823 - 1839
• John Craig 1839 - 1877
• The Hon. J.W. Leigh 1877 - 1884
• Walter Furneaux 1884 - 1896
• Cecil Hook 1896 - 1906
• W. Armstrong Buck 1906 - 1916
• Frederick Feist 1916 - 1933
• G.C. Rolfe 1933 - 1943
• R.C. Streatfield 1943 - 1959
• Anthony Rouse 1959 - 1963
• Idwal Jones 1963 - 1980
• Ian Campbell 1980 - 1991
• J. Gareth Miller 1991-1993
• Interregnum 1993 - 1995
• George Warner 1995 - 2002
• Christopher Wilson 2003 -

Choirmasters

• Julian Parkin BA, BLitt, MEd, GradDipEd, GradDipArts(Art History), MACE, FRGS, FRSA, FASC 2008-

Organ

The church has a pipe organ by William Hill & Sons dating from 1879. There have been subsequent rebuilds by Hill, Norman and Beard in 1926, and Longstaff & Jones in 1981. A specification of the organ can be found on the National Pipe Organ Register, and further information about the extensive musical life of the church can be found on the All Saints' Music website.

List of organists

• Henry Elliston ca. 1842
• Henry Matthews 1864
• Thomas Bladon 1876
• Frank Spinney FRCO 1878
• Walter Spinney 1888
• W H Bellamey 1894
• Lionel Wiggins FRCO ARCM 1922
• Robert Dickinson BMus FRCO LRAM 1951
• Hugh Large FRCO ARCM 1956
• Neil Wade ARMCM ARCO 1964
• Graham Steed BMus FRCO 1965
• Alan Jones 1967
• Derrick Stiff 1968
• Keith Sedgebeer 1970
• David Palmer 1972
• Robert Munns FRAM ARCO ARCM 1983
• John Wilks BA BMus FRCO 1987
• Colin Druce GBSM FRCO ARCM 1988
• Sean Montgomery ARCO 1998

• Jeremy Meager LRSM ARCO 2007
• Cynthia Hall MA FRCO LRAM LGSM 2009