Victoria Park is a public park in Leamington Spa

Leamington Spa

Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or Leamington or Leam to locals, is a spa town in central Warwickshire, England. Formerly known as Leamington Priors, its expansion began following the popularisation of the medicinal qualities of its water by Dr Kerr in 1784, and by Dr Lambe...

, Warwickshire

Warwickshire

Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It is situated about half a mile (800 m) west of the town centre and is on the south bank 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....

. The total area of the park as it stands today is 18.5 acres (74,866.9 m²).

History

Up until the 1830s the park was just part of farmland on the edge of the growing spa town. It was at that time that one of the local land owning families, the Willes, began to hold archery

Archery

Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow, from Latin arcus. Archery has historically been used for hunting and combat; in modern times, however, its main use is that of a recreational activity...

 competitions on the land. In the middle of the nineteenth century Leamington Cricket club made their first home

Parr and Wisden's Ground

Parr and Wisden's Ground was a cricket ground in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. The ground was named after the famous duo of George Parr and John Wisden, who were the proprietors of the ground....

 there and in the 1860s the New Riverside Walk was opened. The park was extensively landscaped and redesigned in 1899 to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee

Diamond Jubilee

A Diamond Jubilee is a celebration held to mark a 60th anniversary in the case of a person or a 75th anniversary in the case of an event.- Thailand :...

 of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Before the Royal Show

Royal Show

The Royal Show was an annual agricultural show/fair held by the Royal Agricultural Society of England every year from 1839 to 2009. It was held in Stoneleigh Park near Stoneleigh in Warwickshire, England...

 moved to its current venue in Stoneleigh Park

Stoneleigh Park

Stoneleigh Events is located south west of the village of Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, in the West Midlands of England.The site covers about , of which is maintained...

 one of its venues was Victoria Park.

Features

The bowling green

Bowling green

A bowling green is a finely-laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of lawn for playing the game of lawn bowls.Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep on them...

s are amongst the best in England hosting the English Women's Bowling Championships annually as well as Women's World Bowling Championships in 1996 and 2004.
Most of Leamington's municipal tennis

Tennis

Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

 courts are located in the park (more are located at the top of The Parade) as well as extensive children's play areas, a skate park and a 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...

. The park was chosen to host the 2007 European Race Walking Championships.