The Leamington Business Directory for 1899 lists many hundreds of small businesses at a period that was arguably the heyday of the independent trader in Leamington Spa. Many of the entries relate to what we would today call service industries. Whether you wanted a paper hanger, a bill poster, a bone setter or a laundress … Read more
William Gascoyne (1827 – 1902) – A Nineteenth Century Leamington Builder. A stonemason by training, William Gascoyne came to dominate the building industry in late 19th Century Royal Leamington Spa. He undertook a variety of projects, in public, commercial and domestic buildings, playing a prominent and important role in the local building industry, and contributing significantly to … Read more
Alexander and May Wilkinson moved to Leamington from Birmingham in 1946, to open a garden and flower shop at No 9 Spencer Street. Birmingham, 1900-1946 May had always loved working with flowers, having started at the age of 12 helping in her auntie’s florist’s shop in Birmingham. It was hard work. Saturday meant starting at … Read more
Thomas William Bone was born in Warwick on the 15th November 1850 and lived with his parents Thomas William Bromidge and Maria Bone and an elder brother Albert Robert, born in 1849, at 124 Parkes Street, Saltisford Warwick. Early Life His father had also been born in Saltisford Warwick in 1828 and was living in … Read more
Jane Wray Gowns – Victoria Colonnade, Royal Leamington Spa Although the elegant figure on the left may not be instantly recognisable, many older Leamingtonians will remember her as ‘Jane Wray’, owner of the fashionable dress shop in the Colonnade. She was my mother, Mrs Jane Wheatley, seen here at home in Lansdowne Circus,modelling one of her … Read more
ONE OF OUR EARLY ARTICLES Robert William Collier set up his linen draper shop at number 21 Bath Street in late 1860. He was born in Cheltenham in about 1824, and was apprenticed to Robert Whitehouse, draper, of Lower Union Parade, Leamington where he appears on the 1841 census. He would have lived with other … Read more
Do you recognise this building with its decorative carved columns? It’s one known to generations of Leamingtonians as Sabin’s, – the Leamington bread shop and bakery in years gone by. Mona Radford, nee Sabin, was born at the shop in Farley Street, into a family business started by her great grandfather Joseph, who seems to … Read more
Contact the Secretary, Margaret Rushton: secretary@leamingtonhistory.co.uk
September 9, 2026
August 12, 2026