Elizabeth Anne Galton was a Victorian gentlewoman, the eldest of six daughters and three sons born to a wealthy Quaker banking family and related through her mother to the Darwin family. She was not a feisty high-achiever, explorer or philanthropist, but she played a significant role for future historians at least in recording her memories … Read more
The Early Years William Thomas was born the second of four sons in 1799 in Suffolk. In about 1805, the family moved to Gloucestershire. William was apprenticed to the local builder as a a carpenter and joiner, and skills he learned then came in useful in his later career as an architect. All four of … Read more
Beech Lawn, “Dr Jephson’s splendid mansion” once stood at the corner of Warwick Street and Dale Street. Designed by a local architect, William Startin, it was built by a workforce of 140 in 1830-31 for the Leamington doctor, whose advocacy of a plain diet, exercise and the taking of the Leamington waters made the Spa … Read more
The photograph to the right, taken in Leamington in 1865, is of former crewmen of the Confederate naval ship, the Shenandoah. What circumstances brought these sailors to Leamington at a time when fellow Americans were celebrating the ending of the Civil War? Four years earlier, the Confederate President, Jefferson Davis, sent his representative, James M … Read more
“Don’t touch it with a barge pole!” A piece of advice that the Hampson family did not heed when purchasing no 8 Lansdowne Circus in 1966. Its bulging gable end wall, run down condition and an elegant two-storey staircase painted ‘fire-engine’ red did not deter us, – it was definitely a heart buy. We loved … Read more
I was recently in Clarendon Street watching the demolition of the old chapel, originally known as the Free Baptist Chapel. The construction came about when a group broke away from the Warwick Street chapel, ostensibly over the lack of provision of a school. The new chapel cost some £2, 098 and was opened in June … Read more
In 1851 at the Great Exhibition Sidney Flavel of Leamington was awarded a medal for his Kitchener cooking range. There is much confusion over this medal, modern descriptions claim it was one of seventeen ‘gold’ medals awarded. However, contemporary accounts only claim “a medal” and suggest a bronze medal, similar to all the other medals … Read more
Like its former distinguished Headmaster Dr Joseph Wood, seen here, the old Leamington College building in Binswood Avenue has recently passed into history . . . as a school. Designed by the architect David Squirhill and opened in 1848 it was the first purpose-built school in Leamington. Apart from a brief period as … Read more
Ranelagh Gardens, “The Vauxhall of Leamington,” 1811-1846 Leamington’s ten acre Ranelagh Gardens were situated in old town over the canal bridge in Brunswick Street. No doubt named in imitation of the famous Ranelagh Gardens in London, Leamington’s gardens were created at a time when leisure for most people was scarce, when a holiday was … Read more
The world’s foremost elephant trainer began his working life as a circus acrobat and when he died was described by the Leamington Courier newspaper as a ‘retired giant of the entertainment industry’. The dapper little man with the magnificent white moustache was one of Leamington’s most recognisable residents in the years between the two world … Read more
Born in Warwick in August 1871, small in stature (5ft 4½ in) and slender in build (9st 3lb), Henri Lawton nonetheless became a renowned gymnastic, boxing and fencing instructor, the author of 2 small books on exercise and fitness, and in 1895, World Champion Indian club swinger. To claim the title, which had almost always gone to an American before this, Henri … Read more
Leamington artist & photographer James Edward Duggins was born on 27th March, 1881, the son of a Cubbington watchmaker. He studied under Algernon Talmage with the Newlyn School. In St Ives, Duggins became friends with John Anthony Park whose marine pictures were a big source of inspiration to him. He met Edward Stott and Sir George Clausen who had a profound … Read more
Contact the Secretary, Margaret Rushton: secretary@leamingtonhistory.co.uk
September 9, 2026
August 12, 2026