Webmaster Bonesetter? What are, or were, bonesetters, you may ask. They were healers, joint manipulators, and setters of fractured bones, long before the advent of X-rays, Plaster of Paris, and now, MRI scans. Often unqualified other than by experience, their ‘trade’ generally ran in families, handed down from father to son or daughter. It used to … Read more
Can you identify what the Leamington ladies listed below might have in common? Mrs Wackrill Archery Rd Mrs A Hill Northumberland Rd Mrs Hassall 47 Avenue Rd Mrs Nutter 9 Church St Mrs Davies 50 Greatheed Rd Mrs Inge Mrs Dykes 12 Milverton Crescent Mrs Thornton 48 Warwick Rd Mrs Hellis 16 Victoria Rd The … Read more
All Saints Church is Leamington’s original, and until the early days of the nineteenth century, the only parish church. It is suggested that the building, or at least its predecessor, dated from the 13th. or 14th. century and there is also a mention in the Domesday Book of a priest. The explosion in population brought … Read more
The Palais de Danse was opened on Spencer Street in 1926 and called the Bath Assembly Hall. It was designed by Birmingham architect Horace Bradley for a local entrepreneur, Edith Dowding, who was a partner in the Bath Hotel. The 1920s saw the beginning of a dance craze in Britain and many palaises were built … Read more
The site for the 1831 Town Hall is land at the corner of High Street and Althorpe Street. It was assembled over a long period and in a rather complicated way. The first Town Hall was built by the Leamington Commissioners who had been appointed under the provisions of an 1825 Act of Parliament. They … Read more
It was from the Wise family that Elizabeth Surcombe the elder purchased the leasehold plot in Bath Street. They owned much of the land south of the river in Leamington Priors, including part of Bath Street, as well as land around Whitnash, Lillington and Warwick. Matthew Wise Snr was one of the principal landowners who … Read more
Herbert Edward Cox, was born in Coventry in 1870, the fifth of seven children born to James and Sarah Cox of Stoney Stanton Road. He attended the Grammar School, and after the death of his father in 1887, still living in the family home, he trained to paint at the Municipal School of Art in … Read more
(compiled from extracts from ‘living memory’ interviews conducted 2006/2007) Recollections 1920’s-1930’s Over a lifespan of 120 years, there was little structural change in the houses on Althorpe Street from their being built in the mid 1830’s to being demolished in the early1950’s. The street was basically two long rows of terraced houses broken up by … Read more
Occupational shift In the Victorian era between 1841 and 1901, Leamington as a Spa town grew in terms of its population; its size and its wealth. Conversely, according to data extracted from the 1901 Census, Althorpe Street was in comparative decline with evidence of a significant social change. Of the 206 residents, the male:female ratio … Read more
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Contact the Secretary, Margaret Rushton: secretary@leamingtonhistory.co.uk
June 9, 2026
Nelly (later known as Eleanor Velasco) Thornton was born in Stockwell, London, on 15th April 1880 to Frederick and Sarah Ann Thornton, who was also known as ‘Nellie’. They had...
May 26, 2026
This is Mark’s own brief personal and professional story about how he became interested in the history of Leamington Spa and producing films about the town’s full, varied and fascinating...
May 6, 2026
Acknowledgements to Contributors Writers of Articles Stella BolithoNigel BriggsPeter CoullsBarry FranklinMichael JeffsAllan JenningsMichael PearsonDr Sylvia PinchesMargaret RushtonSidney SysonRichard TaulbutDr John Wilmot Substantial Contributors to Articles. Kay Bugg; Alan Griffin; Dr...