William Abbotts was one of the founding fathers of 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...

 in 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...

, 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. Up until that date there was only one known spring in Leamington and that was on land belonging to the 4th Earl of Aylesford

Heneage Finch, 4th Earl of Aylesford

Heneage Finch, 4th Earl of Aylesford PC, FRS, FSA , styled Lord Guernsey between 1757 and 1777, was a British peer, politician and artist.-Background and education:...

 who refused to sell the water (which was used for bathing and medicinal purposes), instead allowing people to have it for free. That year however Abbotts and his friend 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...

 found a second spring on Abbotts' land. In the manner of the time its supposed medicinal qualities were used to make money from the leisured classes. Abbotts' "Original" Baths, the first commercial baths in the town, were opened in 1786.

After Satchwell and Abbotts' spring was found several wells were bored and draw water. Leamington quickly grew into on the most fashionable spa

Spa

The term spa is associated with water treatment which is also known as balneotherapy. Spa towns or spa resorts typically offer various health treatments. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters goes back to prehistoric times. Such practices have been popular worldwide, but are...

 resorts of the 19th century, a process which turned it from a sleepy village to a thriving town. Abbotts and his wife ran at least two pubs in the town The Black Dog and The New Inn (the latter being built in 1790 to cope with the already growing tourist trade in Leamington which filled The Black Dog and other guest houses).

Abbotts had at least one daughter who was born in 1765 or 1766. After his death in 1805 he buried in the Leamington parish church

Parish church

A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....

, All Saints

All Saints Church, Leamington

-Background:Built in the gothic style 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 in what was the old core of the town.- History :The...

, and four years later Satchwell was buried close by. Abbotts Street in the town is, unsurprisingly, named after him and is located close to the site of the original Leamington spring.