Mary Louise Vellacott was born in Bideford, Devon in 1863, the only daughter of Jane and Henry Vellacott, a master mariner and latterly a shipowner. Mary spent a good part of her childhood in Penarth, near Cardiff, but by the time Mary was 17, she was back in her birthplace, lodging with a widowed uncle … Read more
The ‘Leamington Spa Courier’ newspaper dated 20 December 1918 described Henry Tandey as ‘a hero of the old berserk type’. Never were truer words written about a Leamington man who was the most decorated British private soldier to return from the battlefields of the First World War. Early life Henry Tandey was born on … Read more
The Beginning Trams followed their steel tracks from Leamington Spa to Warwick for nearly fifty years. The trams are now a distant memory for only a few. The idea for a tramway was born when an Act of Parliament authorised the construction in 1879. The system was engineered by a local man, John Fell, and … Read more
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
Miss Emilie Browne came from an extended family of educators. Her paternal Grandmother had been a Governess, her aunt, Miss Mary Salter Browne was the founding Principal of the College, and at least two of her female cousins also earned their living as teachers. For over a decade, Miss Emilie Browne was Principal of Leamington … Read more
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
Housing, Inhabitants, and the Impact of Public Health Reforms Many books and commentaries have been written in praise of Leamington, of its architecture, spa waters, doctors, parks and gardens, and were published to promote the town as a healthy place to visit and live. Naturally, anything that may have contradicted this picture was excluded, suppressed … Read more
Two hundred years ago, Leamington grew and prospered as wealthy visitors arrived for the health benefits of the spa waters. But what of those many people who couldn’t afford to pay medical fees? The building shown offers some fascinating clues to this story. This building in Holly Walk, now offices, was built in the early … Read more
After the First World War, following the policy of Homes for Heroes under the Housing Act 1919 and assisted by Government grants, councils began major house building initiatives. The tenants who occupied the first such houses in Leamington, at Leicester St, Bury Road estate and the Rushmore estate, were able to pay the economic … Read more
The building you see here is the Polish Centre, which was originally Leamington Spa’s Town Hall, designed for the Town Commissioners in 1831 by the architect Russell, who also designed the now demolished Warneford Hospital. The building, although small, housed the Commissioners’ meeting rooms and offices, a ballroom, a magistrates’ court, and a police … Read more
Rather surprisingly for a town about as far from the open sea as any in England, two Royal Navy ships have borne the name Leamington. The first ship to carry the name was a Royal Navy ‘Hunt’ class minesweeper (above) of 700 tons built by the Ardrossan Shipbuilding Co. in North Ayrshire and launched towards … Read more
In a town replete with Regency architecture, it comes as something of a surprise to stumble on a fine Tudor façade a short distance from The Parade. The building in question is the old Leamington College in Binswood Avenue, designed in Tudor Gothic style by local architect Daniel Squirhill and built in 1847 as … Read more
Contact the Secretary, Margaret Rushton: secretary@leamingtonhistory.co.uk
November 6, 2026
November 6, 2026
October 31, 2026