William Louis de Normanville was the Borough Engineer and Surveyor of Royal Leamington Spa from 1882 to 1917. He was known for imaginative designs and often used iron in construction. His major achievements in Leamington were: Adelaide Road Bridge. Alterations to the Royal Pump Rooms , including the construction of a swimming pool. Renovation and layout of the Pump Room Gardens. York Bridge. York promenade. Landscaping of Mill Gardens and Victoria Park. Mill Suspension Bridge and landscaping along the River Leam. He also improved the management of the river and the town's water supply and sewage system. The legacy of de Normanville is still visible today. bridges , buildings , and the network of open spaces and footpaths provide a green ribbon for visitors and residents to enjoy within the town centre. William Louis de Normanville came from a family of inventors and talented engineers. His grandfather , the Marquis de Normanville , had escaped to England from the French Revolution in 1792. As a young man William studied with his father , who was also an engineer. William then send five years in the Civil Engineers' Department of South Australia. Back in England he worked in London on the Barrow Docks and Furness Railways; then he was Engineer to the Corporation of Durham. From 1882 until his retirement in 1917 he was Royal Leamington Spa's Borough Engineer and Surveyor. Like other members of his family he was also a prolific inventor , for example of a device for measuring the speed of ships and of a water-sprinkler that moved over the lawn powered by the force of its own water. William's son Edgar de Normanville invented the overdrive for car transmission systems and the revolving screen used on the bridge of ships.