Thomas Dawkes, parish clerk of the original All Saints church during the early nineteenth century was a close neighbour of Benjamin Satchwell and witnessed first hand the metamorphosis of Leamington from a small village into a town. His real importance to the researcher lies in the fact that he made copious notes on what he … Read more
I was recently in Clarendon Street watching the demolition of the old chapel, originally known as the Free Baptist Chapel. The construction came about when a group broke away from the Warwick Street chapel, ostensibly over the lack of provision of a school. The new chapel cost some £2, 098 and was opened in June … Read more
James Brown, (1804-1854) Parish Clerk and Builder James Brown was one of the group of builders active in the first half of the nineteenth century who together developed the rapidly growing town of Leamington, shaping the town we know today. Alongside contemporaries in the trade Brown benefitted greatly from the sheer scale of the population … Read more
A presentation by Alan Griffin of Leamington History Group, about burial grounds in Leamington Spa. Click on the forward and back arrows to navigate through the presentation. Click on the two-headed arrow symbol in the bottom right to enter full-screen mode.
Leamington had many chapels, some are long gone, others have been put to alternative uses, and some lie empty, probably damp and derelict, awaiting their fate. The ex- Baptist chapel on Clarendon Street is one such, being proposed currently for demolition and replacement by housing. There are two chapels however that seem unlikely to face … Read more
From its earliest days as a Spa town, Leamington has always hosted bands and their music. There used to be military bands playing in the Pump Room Gardens every morning in the summer season, – an unwelcome distraction in the early years of the 20th century, for the girls at the Grammar School, sitting examinations … Read more
In the early years of the 19th century the new town of Leamington Priors was seen as a fashionable place for well-connected members of society to settle. Few families who came to live here had a more aristocratic ancestry than the five Manners-Sutton sisters who came to Leamington sometime in the 1830’s. The sisters were … Read more
A presentation by Alan Griffin, Chair of Leamington History Group, about the history of Leamington’s Parish Church. Click on the forward and back arrows to navigate through the presentation. Click on the two-headed arrow symbol in the bottom right to enter full-screen mode.
Portland Street Wesleyan Chapel This was the original purpose built home of Methodism in Leamington. ‘The earliest Leamington Methodists went over to Warwick to worship’, by 1817 William Scott and his wife had founded a place of worship in ‘Barnacle’s Yard, Satchwell St., they later moved to Brunswick St. The next move was to purchase … Read more
Milverton Episcopal Chapel or Pepper Pot Chapel This chapel was built to solve the problem of those of Milverton’s parishioners who preferred not to travel to St. James, or brave the Binn’s brook to worship outside their home parish in a Leamington chapel. The ‘Pepper Pot Chapel’ as it was generally called due to the … Read more
Leamington Episcopal Chapel This was, in 1825, the first of the proprietary chapels or chapel of ease, built in Leamington. The chosen site across the top of the Parade, was at the opposite end of the town from the parish church and it was built on open land, which soon became the centre of a … Read more
The New Church In July 1836 a group of nonconformist worshippers who called themselves Congregationalists opened a new chapel set amongst green meadows near the banks of the river Leam. The architect of this elegant building was Mr John Russell himself a member of the congregation. The chapel was the third nonconformist place of worship … Read more
Contact the Secretary, Margaret Rushton: secretary@leamingtonhistory.co.uk
September 9, 2026
August 12, 2026