Harry Warr, Builder and Bandleader
October 15, 2021
Harry Warr joined his father George* in business as a plumber and house decorator when he left Clapham Terrace School aged thirteen in 1923. By the outbreak of WW2, he had become a Special Constable, and joined the Police War Reserve. In October 1943, Harry was drafted into the Navy, and the business was ‘mothballed’
Guided Walks for Groups and Coach Parties
August 25, 2021
Leamington History Group has resumed its Private Guided Walks programme in 2023. Tours will be available for groups or coach parties. The cost will be £8 per person with a minimum charge of £20 for each walk Bookings may be made by email to the Secretary at secretary@leamingtonhistory.co.uk
Video No 3, Life After Victoria
August 12, 2021
We are proud to launch our new video on 12th August 2021. This follows the story of our town from 1900 to around 1930. Simply click on the image above or this title “Life After Victoria” This video follows our two earlier ones entitled “Birth of a Spa Town” and “Leamington’s Victorian Legacy”. We particularly
Confederate President Jefferson F Davis in Leamington Spa
July 22, 2021
Leamington History Group has recently been fortunate to receive information from Jacksonville, Florida. We are grateful that William J Stier has presented us with images of an original unpublished postwar carte de visite of Confederate President Jefferson F. Davis (1808 to 1889). Initially the connection with our town is obscure, but the CDV bears the
Daniel Goodman Squirhill, Architect, 1809-1863
July 12, 2021
It is almost certain that Daniel Goodman Squirhill was born in 1809 in (Fenny) Stratford in Buckinghamshire, although he was recorded as being born a year earlier in the village of Nobottle in Northamptonshire by Toby Cave. His father, Charles, is said to have designed parts of Lighthorne church in 1808. He studied at the
William Thomas, Architect, 1799-1860
June 9, 2021
The Early Years. William Thomas was born the second of four sons in 1799 in Nacton, Suffolk where his father was an innkeeper. In about 1805, the family moved a considerable distance to Chalford, near Stroud in Gloucestershire. His father kept the Valley Inn which was later renamed The Clothiers Arms. It appears that the
William Russell, Architect
May 23, 2021
William Russell was born 27th January 1820 and was active in Leamington Spa from about 1849 to 1874. He was a son of the John Russell who owned the Bath Hotel (there is no known relationship with the architect with the same name, John Russell). He served his time with the architect, John George Jackson.
Victoria Eleanor Louise Doorly, 1880-1950
May 21, 2021
Victoria Eleanor Louise Doorly, known as Eleanor, was a teacher and writer of children’s books. For her biography of Marie Curie, ‘The Radium Woman’, she won the 1939 Carnegie Medal from the Library Association, which recognises the year’s best children’s book by a British subject. She was born in 1880 in Richmond Hill, Port
George Thomas Robinson, Architect
May 3, 2021
George Thomas “Metz” Robinson was active in Leamington Spa for only about a dozen years from 1855 to 1870 but he went on to be successful elsewhere in several fields. He did draw up some designs for buildings in Leamington but he had other interests and occupations including journalism. His journalistic career perhaps began in
The Foundation of the Transport and General Workers’ Union in Leamington
April 30, 2021
On 27 September 1921, one hundred and forty delegates from trade unions around the country assembled at Leamington Town Hall to complete their amalgamation as the Transport and General Workers’ Union (TGWU). It was a decisive moment in the history of the British labour movement. The TGWU would go on to become the biggest trade
