A few years ago, my dad brought home a dusty old envelope from the Town Hall, where he works. It was about to be put in the bin, so he brought it for me to look at. I was excited when I saw that the contents all related to one person, Richard Toovey. But who … Read more
What’s in a name? The Newbold part of the above local name is quite simple, – the ‘New’ denoting a parcel of land newly brought into cultivation. Whilst ‘Bold’ is Saxon for a building, the two words together indicate an area of land or village more recently established than the adjacent villages. This could have … Read more
A trawl through back copies of the Leamington Courier in search of archive material relating to Leamington Cricket Club turned up an intriguing announcement by Mr W A Bezant in the editions of June 1890, – the forthcoming “Engagement, for one day only, of The Original English Lady Cricketers”, when two complete teams, Reds v. … Read more
In 1782, Ben Satchwell with his friend William Abbotts found the second mineral spring in Leamington Priors ( the first had been discovered at least two hundred years earlier, but never exploited) and the Abbotts Original Baths opened a couple of years later in 1784. This coincided with a nineteenth century trend for “taking the … Read more
Alfred Tomes was born on 4th October 1853 at Rouse Lench, Worcestershire. He was apprenticed in his teens to printer and stationer, Edward Adams of Stratford upon Avon, then worked as a printer in Oxford. By the age of 37 he was married and living in Grove Street, Leamington and in partnership with … Read more
Charlie Johnson Payne never had any formal training in art nor did he ever exhibit a painting at the Royal Academy. That said, he was blessed with natural artistic ability and was described by his biographer as one of the leading equestrian artists of the first half of the twentieth century alongside such eminent practitioners … Read more
Basil Nightingale was the youngest of the ten children of Elizabeth and Robert Nightingale R A, a reputed animal painter of Maldon, Essex. Nightingale is thought to have been trained by his father and worked with him on known pictures. He certainly showed early promise: at the age of twelve he produced a copy in … Read more
Mary Dormer Harris was a remarkable woman. Multi-talented, hard-working, an enthusiastic party-giver with a great zest for life, she had a wide circle of friends young and old. She wrote and published books and plays, lectured in local history at the University of Birmingham and was Vice-President of the Workers’ Education Association and an associate of the Dugdale … Read more
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
Part Two, about 1875 to 2015. [Note – A version of these articles in a different format is available HERE] This follows the firm from the moment when Sidney Flavel junior took the reins to the present day. Sidney Flavel junior (1847 to 1931) was educated at Warwick School and was later a governor of … Read more
The twins Ernest (1861 – 1899) and William Renshaw (1861 – 1904) were the tennis players of their age. They were born at Brandon Lodge, Brandon Parade, Leamington, and baptised at Saint Mary’s Church. When the twins were only a few months old, the family moved to Cheltenham, where eventually they built their own tennis … Read more
Although known professionally as ‘Baker of Leamington,’ Thomas Baker was born in Harborne, Birmingham, the son of the headmaster of Harborne Free School. He studied in Birmingham under the artist Joseph Vincent Barber, (who had business connections with the Willes family in Leamington), and in 1827 exhibited at the Birmingham Society of Arts. In … Read more
Contact the Secretary, Margaret Rushton: secretary@leamingtonhistory.co.uk
November 7, 2026
November 6, 2026
November 6, 2026