History Underfoot In Leamington Spa

In Regent Grove, Leamington Spa, and under the memorial to Alderman Henry Bright, can be found this cover plate. More interesting than most this shows itself to be the cover to one of Mr. Deacon’s Waste Water Meters. Now Mr. Deacon was a late 19th century civil engineer who is credited with bringing the first water from Wales to Liverpool. He also invented the first recording water meter – a clockwork device that recorded the changing water use over a 24 hour period.

Do you know of any other cover plates?

I don’t know how many of these devices were made, but locally Warwick decided against having any whilst Coventry, I think, purchased ten. This is the only cover plate that I have come across – are there any others?

P.S. In case you’re wondering, the meter has long gone – nothing but a hole under this cover.