Description:
William Rider
Rackstraw's Blenheim Hotel, Leamington Priors
Ink on paper
120mm x 200mm
This view of the street outside the Blenheim Hotel in Leamington Spa was engraved by W.T. Raddclyffe from Rider's original drawing. The hotel which stood on Clemens Street was first named 'The Oxford'. Clemens street in the early 19th Century was the most fashionable street in Leamington Spa. When the Duke of Marlborough stayed at the hotel in 1822 the owner, Mr Rackstraw, renamed it 'Rackstraw's Blenheim Hotel'. It remained under this name until 1834 when it became the 'Stoneleigh Hotel'. As Clemens street became less popular the original building was separated into houses and the Stoneleigh Arms public house.