Sewer Gas Exhaust Pipe Approximately 20 Metres South Of Number 39 Leam Terrace

ROYAL LEAMINGTON SPA

1208-1/0/10020 LEAM TERRACE 31-AUG-07 SEWER GAS EXHAUST PIPE APPROX. 20M SOUTH OF NO. 39 LEAM TERRACE

GV II

A decorative sewer gas exhaust pipe, c.4m high, situated on the pavement c. 20m south of No. 39 Leam Terrace. The pipe is of cast iron, is circular in section, and is set on a tapering base with mouldings and a frieze of lotus leaves; the pipe has a second decorative section towards its top, with an applied scallop detail and rows of knobbed details. There is an applied oval plate to the base bearing the number 120.

HISTORY: Leam Terrace was constructed between 1828 and 1836 as part of the planned expansion of Leamington Spa. It is a wide street lined with Regency villas. The sewer system would appear to date from this period, giving a probable date for the installation of the two sewer gas exhaust pipes which remain in the terrace; these were designed to allow the escape of dangerous gases which built up in the sewers below the streets. The pipes survive in situ.

REASON FOR DESIGNATION DECISION: The sewer gas exhaust pipe c.20m south of No. 39 Leam Terrace is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * An intact and decorative example of an increasingly rare type of street furniture * Its relatively early date in the development of underground sewage disposal systems * Strong group value with the other sewer gas exhaust pipe and the listed Regency villas in Leam Terrace, part of the planned expansion of the town in the early C19