James Hill bought the plot of leasehold land in Bath Street and the buildings thereon from the Surcombe estate in 1832, and built numbers 21 to 23 Bath Street. Hill also purchased Elizabeth Surcombe’s land at Newbold Comyn which had been mortgaged to Robert Campion. James Hill was born in about 1801 in Warwick, the … Read more
Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist and short story writer. In July 1853 he was appointed US consul in Liverpool by President Franklin Pierce, and during the ensuing 5½ years in England spent 2 periods in Leamington, in 1855 and 1857. At the end of his term of office, the family toured France and Italy, … Read more
Elizabeth Surcombe the Elder The Surcombes came from the village of Lifton near Tavistock, Devon. William Surcombe married Mary Crocker and they had four children: Mary, Ann, William and Elizabeth who was born about 1766. It is not known when Elizabeth Surcombe came to Leamington Priors but an early rate book of 1813 shows her … Read more
Lyndon F (Toby) Cave (left), former architect and noted local historian, who has now relocated to Dorset, presenting a parting gift to Jeff Watkin of Leamington Art Gallery and Museum. The fox is one of the earliest surviving artefacts associated with the ‘new town’ built north of the river in the early 1800s and was … Read more
Contact the Secretary, Margaret Rushton: secretary@leamingtonhistory.co.uk
October 16, 2026
October 13, 2026
October 12, 2026