Site of Bishopton Spa, Stratford upon Avon

1 The springs at Bishopton were first brought to the attention of the public by Dr Charles Perry in 1744. The spring is situated in a field called Shottery. The water rose perpendicularly out of the earth into a pretty large pit or reservoir. There was a second pit 2.1m from the first. The spring was covered with a wooden building with thatch roof. The spring was being visited for its curative properties by 1800, but it was not until the 1840s that proposals were put forward to develop it into a fashionable inland resort. A building replaced the rudimentary sheds in 1831 and a syndicate of four Stratford gentlemen bought the site in 1834 and began to erect a modern pump room, baths and hotel. They acquired a new favourable analysis of the waters and the spa was launched with great euphoria in 1837. Speculative plans for developing the area S and E of the spa were initiated in the 1830s. Roads and drives were laid out and a church built (PRN 5304). However, a number of building plots did not find purchasers and in 1855 most of the area was sold off as agricultural land. The spa buildings were reopened in 1868, but were not sold when offered for sale. The spa and a hotel on the site have been converted to private residences.
2 Article in Warwickshire History.
3 History and mineral analysis of the water in HMSO publication.