Most references to a Workhouse or Poor-house in Leamington relate to premises in Court Street. However, before trying to establish some details of this place it is probably appropriate to deal more widely with how the community of a small place like Leamington Priors in 1800 cared about and cared for the poor. Generally, there … Read more
There are reports that the Roman Catholic church was using the Apollo Rooms in Clemens Street and a chapel in Tower Street for services about 1822. However, this article is a tale of two later buildings because the Roman Catholics moved from one church to another. George Street. In the eighteenth century Roman Catholics worshipped inconspicuously. They … Read more
From the Portobello Bridge between Warwick and Leamington can be seen an intriguing group of old brick riverside buildings. The Rock Mill, a watermill built in 1792, is the most prominent; this stands next to a substantial Georgian house. Both of these have been redeveloped in recent years, with a row of modern town houses … Read more
This page is one of several pages which are based on articles in our book entitled Royal Leamington Spa, A History in 100 Buildings which was published in 2018 and is no longer in print. The Manor House lies at the centre of the old Lillington village, a short distance from the parish church of St … Read more
Manor Farm was the largest of the three Lillington village farms, extending over 230 acres to the Cubbington boundary. At the turn of the 19th century, all three farms were owned by local landowner Matthew Wise, whose family had owned the land since it was divided into fields almost a hundred years before at the … Read more
Lillington Parish Church is Anglo-Saxon in origin, and though the present building dates mainly from the 1480s and up to the Victorian period, there is probable Saxon work still to be seen in the south wall of the chancel, and a Saxon doorway in the Lady Chapel. Settlers from East Anglia reached this place between … Read more
This pair of terraced cottages on the east side of Church Street (previously Church Lane), numbered 15 and 17, are a survival from about 1700. No other cottages from this date or previous to it, are known for sure in Leamington Spa. There is an isolated cottage at the eastern edge of Packington Place, behind … Read more
Abbotts’ Baths (or Well) were a key factor in the step-change in the fortunes and growth of Leamington Priors. The man they were named for was William Abbotts who ran The Dog Inn (sometimes the Black Dog) on the south side of High Street from 1776 to 1793. This inn was to the east of … Read more
The Rear-Admiral who came to town. Contribution by David G.P. Morse Vice Chair and Archivist Leamington History Group Being involved with the Group’s website means that you get asked interesting questions and in some cases very interesting ones. One question that caused me to rush to the National Newspaper Archives was regarding one Rear-Admiral Sir … Read more
John Russell was born in 1770 and died on 10th August 1840, aged 70. In 1831 he was living near the canal bridge in Tachbrook Road. Russell was in business on his own in Wise Street until he took on Edmund Mitchell as a partner around 1828. They adopted the name Russell and Mitchell and … Read more
NOTE: This page is a revised and more comprehensive version of the subject than the previous page with a similar title and lists over 140 architects. Introduction Following the date when a village of simple cottages, a spring and a small church, named Leamington Priors, quite rapidly morphed into a burgeoning town from after 1800, … Read more
Contact the Secretary, Margaret Rushton: secretary@leamingtonhistory.co.uk
August 12, 2026
August 8, 2026