Eric Robert Taylor was born in Leamington on 5th May 1928. He attended Warwick School, where he distinguished himself as a musician. He also sang in the choir at St Mary’s Church, Warwick. In 1945, he made the pages of the Leamington Courier, – where it was announced that “Eric R Taylor has added lustre … Read more
William Smith was born in 1844 in Fenny Compton, where his father Thomas was a grocer and draper. At the age of fifteen, William came to work in Leamington Priors, where he became apprenticed to Daniel Humphrey, a shoemaker in Bath Street. By the age of 37, he had become a Master Bootmaker with an … Read more
Leamington Cricket Club, Arlington Avenue The present Leamington cricket club was founded on 21 February 1899 at a meeting held in the Town Hall under the chairmanship of the Mayor Gordon L Bland, a patron of several local sporting associations. He became the first President of the club but soon relinquished the post in favour … Read more
Many Leamingtonians are not aware of the detail of the bombing raids on Leamington during the Second World War. Ask them if we were bombed and they will often tell you that Queen Victoria’s statue was moved because of a bomb. Many will tell you that Lipton’s grocery shop on the Parade was demolished … Read more
The story of the ship’s orchestra playing the hymn ‘Nearer my God to Thee’ as the Titanic sank is well known and documented. Survivors of the sinking also recounted how a Roman Catholic priest gathered more than a hundred passengers round him on the stern of the ship and led them in prayer after all … Read more
Perhaps you are vaguely aware of the shield for Leamington which has a chevron on top of a lion with two tails, three stars at the top and a border containing eight fleurs-de-lys. In an idle moment you may have wondered about its origins, what it all represents and if it tells you anything about … Read more
Squadron Leader Henry Maudslay DFC Blue Plaque unveiled The youngest Squadron Leader of the Dam Busters, and one of the youngest pilots, was a local man. Henry Eric Maudslay was born at 1 Vicarage Road, Lillington on 21 July 1921. The Maudslay family had been involved in various branches of engineering for several generations. An … Read more
Here is the history of Leamington College for Boys, otherwise known as Binswood Hall, in Binswood Avenue. The story is told in 42 slides and was compiled by Alan Griffin. Click on the forward and back arrows on screen or on the keyboard to navigate through the presentation. Click on the two-headed arrow symbol in … Read more
This is a slideshow by Alan Griffin which has images of many buildings which were coach houses in years past. Click on the forward and back arrows on screen or on the keyboard to navigate through the presentation. Click on the square symbol in the bottom right corner to enter full-screen mode. Coach houses slideshow … Read more
Leamington History Group is very grateful to Dick Fisk for allowing us to display this amazing map on our website as we will soon celebrate the centenary of the end of the First World War (The Great War, The War to End Wars). You will probably find it quite overwhelming and will need to zoom … Read more
New Street burial ground was opened once the graveyard at the Parish Church was deemed to be full. The ground, an area of 2154 square yards in the historic centre of the (then) new Leamington, was presented to the parish by Mrs Wise and her son Matthew Wise of Shrubland Hall. It was consecrated on … Read more
Robert Leveston Graham (long thought to be his trade name, rather than his given name) was born in the East End of London in 1844, the younger of two sons born to Louisa, the unmarried daughter of Lawrence and Mary Leverston of Stepney. When their mother married, the brothers were raised with their step-siblings in … Read more
Contact the Secretary, Margaret Rushton: secretary@leamingtonhistory.co.uk
September 9, 2026
August 12, 2026
August 8, 2026