Lyndon F (Toby) Cave
June 9, 2014
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,
Snow and Trains: Fun and Games in the Early Sixties
June 5, 2014
In 1962 my family were packed off to 19 Waverley Road on the Rushmore Estate, a modern area built on the old Rushmore Farm land in the mid 1920s and early 30s. For us there was a new life to be made and a wealth of new discoveries to be made, starting with the Eagle
Jane Elizabeth Tolson-Shaw
June 5, 2014
Jane Elizabeth Tolson was born in Yorkshire in 1879, and followed her older brother John Edwin into the teaching profession. A qualified teacher, geography specialist, member of the Royal Geographical Society able linguist and inveterate traveller, Miss Tolson held a series of teaching posts, becoming a head teacher for Staffordshire County Council by 1911. It
Stowe and Company Ltd, Builders
June 5, 2014
George Edward Stowe was born in 1891 in Leamington, where his father was a builder and joiner. He too became a carpenter and joiner and at the end of the Great War, Cecil Smith of 58 Bath Street lent George £50 to start his own building business. By the 1930s, George Stowe’s business was considered
James Brown
May 26, 2014
James Brown, (1804-1854) Parish Clerk and Builder James Brown was one of the group of builders active in the first half of the nineteenth century who together developed the rapidly growing town of Leamington, shaping the town we know today. Alongside contemporaries in the trade Brown benefitted greatly from the sheer scale of the population
The Toone Family of Leamington Spa
May 13, 2014
My relatives and I have been researching our family history since the 1960s. At that time my great aunt Lulu Thomas (nèe Toone) had a great deal of help from the then Leamington Librarian – H Tallamy. Since that time Lulu, her daughter Jean, my cousin Elisabeth and I have gained more information and have
Malcolm Sayer
March 25, 2014
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
Elizabeth Anne Ashwin, intrepid nonagenarian
March 17, 2014
Mrs. E. A. Ashwin – 90 and wants to fly A nonagenarian wanting to fly for the first time would undoubtedly make headlines in any newspaper, even in 2014. The headline above was published in the Leamington Spa Courier as long ago as 4th June 1954, which makes Mrs Elizabeth Anne Ashwin from Shrubland Street
Strictly Come Skating
March 11, 2014
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
Charles T Crowden 1859 -1922, Motor Car Heritage
March 10, 2014
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
