Articles with the tag: Blue Plaques


Ernest and William Renshaw, Wimbledon Champions

Ernest and William Renshaw, Wimbledon Champions

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...
Robert Simpson, Composer and Writer, 1921 – 1997

Robert Simpson, Composer and Writer, 1921 – 1997

Robert Wilfrid Levick Simpson, internationally renowned as one of the most prolific 20th century composers of symphonies and chamber music, was born at 21 Rosefield Street Leamington in March 1921, where his parents, as officers of the Leamington Spa Corps of the...
Thomas Baker, 1808 – 1864

Thomas Baker, 1808 – 1864

  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...
John Ruskin (1819 to 1900)

John Ruskin (1819 to 1900)

  Was the remarkable life of this man saved by the mineral waters of Leamington Spa at the age of 21? John Ruskin was a writer, artist, art critic and polymath who was precocious at all stages of his life. He championed J M W Turner, the Pre-Raphaelites, Gothic...
Sam Lockhart, Elephant Trainer Extraordinaire

Sam Lockhart, Elephant Trainer Extraordinaire

 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...