The first Post Office in Leamington is thought to have been the cottage home of the village cobbler and postmaster, later the discoverer of the first commercial spring, Benjamin Satchwell. By 1829, with the Spa town developing very rapidly and the demand for postal services with it, an independent local post office was set up under … Read more
There can be a debate about which of Lillington or Leamington Priors parish churches was founded first. There is little evidence either way before the Norman Conquest. The Domesday Book states that Lamintone (Leamington) had a priest and, therefore, probably the existence of a form of church, in 1086; there is evidence of a church in … Read more
This article relates mainly to the first houses built on the Parade from Regent Street towards Victoria Bridge but also includes the single building on the north-west corner of the crossroads of the Parade and Regent Street. First, a little about the history of this area. The southern end of what is now the Parade from the … Read more
By 1875 the Leamington Town Council had replaced the Leamington Priors Commissioners who had, in turn, replaced the Local Board of Health. The Commissioners had a base in Church Street adjoining the poorhouse, which they shared with the local magistrates as a Sessions House. It is likely that the Commissioners were persuaded to leave the Church Street … Read more
Thanks very largely to the support of Dr Thursfield, Chairman of the Library Committee, a purpose-built, modern Library and Technical School opened on the site of Perkins’ Gardens in Avenue Road, in 1902, and was used until 1999. It was designed by J Mitchell Bottomley of Leeds and built by Richard Bowen of Tavistock Street. The foundation stone was laid … Read more
The first suggestion for a railway connection to Leamington appeared in a report of a survey for a railway from Coventry in February 1839. The route was proposed as a branch to connect the towns of Leamington and Warwick to the London to Birmingham line which had been opened on 17th September 1838. Milverton was a … Read more
Milverton Lawn is now apartments, but was once a substantial Victorian family home, with a ballroom and fine reception rooms. The first owner of the house was a Leamington banker, Hubert Lloyd Esq, whose initials are still to be seen engraved in the design of the columns flanking the main entrance. In 1851, Hubert Lloyd and family lived … Read more
Marlborough Hotel started life in the 1850s as a private Regency house, Elmley Lodge, in Brandon Parade, designed by builder, Benjamin Bradshaw. It was No 4 Brandon Parade and later No 48 Holly Walk. The house was to provide the future home for distinguished nobility and clergy in the 19th century and then developed as a Boarding … Read more
This page is one of several pages which are based on articles in our book entitled Royal Leamington Spa, A History in 100 Buildings which was published in 2018 and is no longer in print. The Manor House lies at the centre of the old Lillington village, a short distance from the parish church of St … Read more
Built as the Wise family home in the Queen Anne style in about 1740 with a handsome Chippendale staircase and two dovecotes at the foot of a three-acre garden, the Manor House subsequently saw many alterations and adaptations. When Matthew Wise married, he built Shrubland Hall on the outskirts of the town, leaving the Manor House to become … Read more
Manor Farm was the largest of the three Lillington village farms, extending over 230 acres to the Cubbington boundary. At the turn of the 19th century, all three farms were owned by local landowner Matthew Wise, whose family had owned the land since it was divided into fields almost a hundred years before at the … Read more
What is today known as The Loft Theatre Company began as the Warwick and Leamington Dramatic Club which was founded in 1922. The first performance was The Silver Box which was staged at the Spencer Street schoolroom in 1923. It became the only theatre in town when the Theatre Royal (see article) was converted to a cinema … Read more
Contact the Secretary, Margaret Rushton: secretary@leamingtonhistory.co.uk
September 9, 2026
August 12, 2026
August 8, 2026