18th Century

Horatio Nelson’s Band of Brothers

Few visitors to the parish church can fail to see the various memorial tablets on the wall of the north transept. A number of these plaques record the death in Leamington of senior naval officers who had served in the wars against the French. A little research reveals that four of these were vice-admirals who … Read more

Flavel’s Part One of two

Part One, 1777 to about 1875 [Note – A version of these articles in a different format is available HERE] This follows the firm from some early members of the Flavel family to the time when Sidney Flavel junior took the reins from Sidney senior. The history of the Flavel family in manufacturing has been … Read more

The Toone Family of Leamington Spa

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 … Read more

The Dell

The Dell is a small public open space below street level in the Leamington suburb of Milverton. It is bounded by Warwick Terrace, Beauchamp Hill, the rear of Albany Terrace and Warwick Street / Warwick Place, opposite the venerable Star and Garter public house. It was originally a steep-sided brook valley through farmland. Before the … Read more

The Dell

  The Dell is a small public open space below street level in the Leamington suburb of Milverton. It is bounded by Warwick Terrace, Beauchamp Hill, the rear of Albany Terrace and Warwick Street / Warwick Place, opposite the venerable Star and Garter public house. It was originally a steep-sided brook valley through farmland. Before … Read more

The Canal at Royal Leamington Spa

The canal is familiar as the half-forgotten waterway beneath the steep bridges at the top of Clemens Street, at the northern end of Tachbrook Road and on the approach to The Shires. The canal arrived in town just as Leamington was about to become a popular spa town but there was no connection between the two events. … Read more

Harriet and Matthew Wise

It was from the Wise family that Elizabeth Surcombe the elder purchased the leasehold plot in Bath Street. They owned much of the land south of the river in Leamington Priors, including part of Bath Street, as well as land around Whitnash, Lillington and Warwick. Matthew Wise Snr was one of the principal landowners who … Read more

Althorpe Street – Leamington Priors: A Social History 1781-1841

Population growth In 1781, Leamington Priors was a village of 300 people built around a muddy mineral spring and the modern Althorpe Industrial Estate was primarily agricultural land owned by the Church. The next fifty years saw the population of Leamington Priors grow significantly as the Industrial Revolution in Britain gained momentum. The building of … Read more