Margaret Rushton Sherbourne Villa Once a large, elegant and detached building, Sherbourne Villa, stood on the corner of Sherbourne Terrace, Clarendon Street and Villiers Street. In 1938, planning permission was obtained to demolish the villa and replace with 4 houses: 17 and 17a Sherbourne Terrace and 2 houses in Villiers Street. Originally, Sherbourne Villa (later known … Read more
It was particularly poignant that it was on VE Day that I should be researching the life and work of Martin Stothart Moore, elected Mayor of Leamington Spa in November 1939 soon after the start of the Second World War. At his acceptance speech he “hoped that Peace would be celebrated during his year of … Read more
Edris Albert “Eddie” Hapgood was an English footballer, who captained both Arsenal and England during the 1930s. Eddie was born in the humble working class district of East Bristol and started his footballing career in 1926 when he was driving a horse-drawn milk cart for a living and playing football for St. Philips Adult School … Read more
Joan Parsons was born in Parkeston, Dorset on 8th October 1906, the daughter of Rev. Randolph Cecil Parsons, a descendant of the 2nd Earl of Rosse. Little is known of Joan’s early life but the family came to live at 19 Avenue Road, Leamington, when her father retired from his last parish in Warwickshire. What … Read more
Charles Richard Burgis was descended from a line of traders in Oxfordshire going back to the late 17th century. Some of our Burgis ancestors were millers in Benson, and I have a certificate of Indenture of a James Burgess, dated 1761, from his apprenticeship to Henry Goodwin, a Tallow Chandler and Soap Boiler in Benson. … Read more
Now based in Whiteheads Court, Thorburns is Leamington’s oldest independent male outfitters, supplying traditional and modern menswear for all ages. The business was founded by an ambitious young draper and tailor from Scotland, James Thorburn, in 1880. He opened his first shop at 46 Clemens Street, – where at that time £4 would buy you … Read more
John (aka Jack) Milton Woodward might have become a household name in Leamington as the second generation of the family to own Woodward’s department store on the Parade, but instead chose a career in showbusiness. Leamington History Group member and member of the Inner Magic Circle, David Budd, learned his first tricks from Jack Woodward … Read more
Robert and William Lewin were born in 1913 & 1918 respectively, the two younger sons of Caroline and Harry Lewin, who was killed at Passchendaele at the end of July 1917. Caroline subsequently married again, and went on to have a second family of three daughters, Marjorie, Caroline and Kathleen. When young Robert contracted TB … Read more
William Walden Hammond was born the youngest of three surviving children of James and Martha Hammond, in Middlesborough in June 1888. James was an Auctioneer and Appraiser (perhaps now, a valuer,) but before long, he and his family had moved to Cambridgeshire, where he took on the role of hotelier and licensed victualler. Albert, Walden’s … Read more
Dr L L Zamenhof© Esperanto is the most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. It was created in 1887 by Dr Ludwig Lazare Zamenhof (1859-1917), an idealistic opthalmologist of Polish- Jewish extraction, and its first adepts lived in the then Russian Empire. From about 1900 onwards, Esperanto began to gain adherents in Great Britain. The names and … Read more
On Saturday, 15 March 2019, the newly renovated Pump Room Gardens Bandstand was opened officially by Councillor Steven Cross, Chairman of Warwick District Council and Archie Pitts, who masterminded the Heritage Lottery Fund bid to refurbish the Pump Room Gardens. The ceremony, introduced by the Cubbington Silver Band, was followed by a short presentation in … Read more
Leamington Cricket Club, Arlington Avenue The present Leamington cricket club was founded on 21 February 1899 at a meeting held in the Town Hall under the chairmanship of the Mayor Gordon L Bland, a patron of several local sporting associations. He became the first President of the club but soon relinquished the post in favour … 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...