Mick Jeffs Local residents Graham Cooper, Michael Wills and Mr Murray all have memories of a Military Camp on the site of the present North Leamington School playing fields, between Kenilworth Road and Cloister Crofts. Access to the camp was by gates on Kenilworth Road, where until recently traces of the gateways could still be seen in the hedgerows … Read more
Lyndon F (Toby) Cave, Dip Arch. M Phil. FSA. (1923 -2014) The Leamington History Group is saddened to hear that our President, Toby, passed away on 12th May 2014. We are grateful that his son has allowed us to reproduce this tribute to his father. Lyndon F Cave, known to his family and friends as Toby, … Read more
On a Spring day in 1970 Malcolm Sayer suffered a fatal heart attack on the main street of his adopted home town Leamington Spa, he was 53 years of age. In the years since his death, his achievements as a designer have been celebrated locally by the erection of a Blue Plaque on his … Read more
A look at a seasonal pursuit tinged with real sadness. I admit to never having owned or even to have put on a pair of ice skates and you will be pleased to hear that I have no immediate plans to take up skating. It does however say much about our indomitable ancestors that many of them looked upon ice skates as essential … Read more
Jill Walters, now living in Norfolk, remembers her first school, St Albans Preparatory School, 28 Clarendon Square, (North side) Leamington Spa My parents had a disagreement when I was a five-year old about to start school. My father wanted me to go to the local authority school nearby, but my mother, thinking I would be … Read more
A NEW METHOD OF ADMINISTERING THE MINERAL WATER OF THE ROYAL LEAMINGTON SPA. By JAMES THOMPSON, M.B. In April 1874, in an effort to promote the health-giving benefits of English mineral water and to defend English Spas against a popular perception that those of Germany were more beneficial, Dr James Thompson wrote to the British Medical Journal in … Read more
Leamington’s Motor Car Heritage: Charles T Crowden 1859 -1922 Charles Thomas Crowden, an early automotive designer and engineer, settled in Leamington with his family, in Eastnor Grove in the 1890s. Charles Crowden came to Leamington and the motor trade via an early interest in engineering and tool-setting in Bath, fire-engine design in London, safety-bicycle development, and finally, the Great … Read more
The Barracks of the 2nd Warwickshire Militia, Barrack Road, (now Clapham Terrace), Leamington Spa With the exception of the years of the Crimean War and the Indian Mutiny Campaigns, the 2nd Warwickshire Militia were trained and billeted in the town from 1853 until the erection of Budbrooke Barracks in 1877. Recruits assembled in April, and were joined by more … Read more
A Detective Story – Last Orders in William Street Strange how we often fail to pay much attention to buildings that we frequently walk past. I have often walked along William Street at the rear of Brandon Parade, but it wasn’t until I had passed that way several times that I noticed the large two storey building adjacent to an … Read more
Over the years, Leamingtonians have become accustomed to having retired Army and Navy Officers of senior rank as near-neighbours. At the outbreak of the First World War, one of the town’s most respected citizens was General Augustus Goodfellow; a former Commandant of the Corps of Royal Engineers. The General was held in high esteem locally … Read more
The ‘Leamington Spa Courier’ newspaper dated 20 December 1918 described Henry Tandey as ‘a hero of the old berserk type’. Never were truer words written about a Leamington man who was the most decorated British private soldier to return from the battlefields of the First World War. Early life Henry Tandey was born on … Read more
The Beginning Trams followed their steel tracks from Leamington Spa to Warwick for nearly fifty years. The trams are now a distant memory for only a few. The idea for a tramway was born when an Act of Parliament authorised the construction in 1879. The system was engineered by a local man, John Fell, and … Read more
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...