Robert Clay and his wife, Letitia, an ageing couple from Cheltenham, retired to Hockley in Essex, in 1838. The Clays, who had been users of Cheltenham's natural waters, rented a cottage and dug a water well in its garden. Letitia, a chronic asthmatic, found relief in drinking the water and declared it to be medicinal; they renamed their cottage Hockley Spa Lodge. In order to capitalise on their discovery, and to emulate the kind of success that spas in Bath and Royal Tunbridge Wells had, they sought advise from a local businessman, William Summersall, who later became the manager of the spa, on how to build a pumping room to access larger amounts of water for the wider public. On Summersall's advice, they invited Dr. A. B Granville, an author who become notable for his many books on the medicinal properties of the world's natural spas, to test the water. Granville was impressed and sent the samples to Sir Richard Phillips, a leading authority on natural consumables. It was Granville's mention of Hockley Spa in his book, The Spas of England, that brought Hockley's waters to national interest. The Clays appointed the London-based architect James Lockyer to design a pumping room, which was completed in 1842. Lockyer designed it in the Italian style. Inside, there was wainscot panelling with oak features. The tables were made of marble and rosewood and the walls had gold leaf detailing. The chimney pieces were marble. The pump was located in a circular recess opposite the landing and was made mostly of satinwood and glass. It was mounted on a veined marble table and had a yellow glass handle and silver spout. The foundation stone was laid at the back of the pump in the head of the recess. The Pump Room opened for business on 8 June 1843, a ticket only occasion that was marked by a banquet meal for 150 of the town's gentry and their city acquaintances. The Clay's spa business flourished and the water became so much in demand that it was sent to a depot in Jewin Street, Cripplegate, London, where it was bottled and distributed to other countries. The Clay's claimed that the water could heal asthma, indigestion, and infections of the liver, kidneys and bladder. By 1848 the spa had fallen out of favour and the Pump Room, together with the Spa Hotel, was put up for sale and offered with a 99-year lease. Records show the Pump Room being used as a Baptist Chapel in 1857 and by 1880, being abandoned completely, with the Pump Room becoming a billiard hall. From 1947 the building was used as a clothing factory before it fell into private ownership. It was designated as a Grade II listed building in 1972.
Associated buildings
There is 19th century, red brick house adjoining to the eastern side of the Pump Room. The nearby Spa Hotel, which is located on the crossroads of Southend Road, Main Road and Spa Road, was used as a hotel for visitors who came to the spa to use its waters. The Spa Hotel was also designed by Lockyer and was opened simultaneously with the Pump Room, to cope with the visiting crowds, in 1842.
