Rosa Newmarch was born at 29 Lansdowne Place*, Leamington, the youngest of the family of four boys and three girls of the physician Samuel Jeaffreson. She was an artist, an accomplished musician, linguist, poet, writer, critic and composer, – and a wife and mother. Mrs Newmarch began her … Read more
Mary Dormer Harris was a remarkable woman. Multi-talented, hard-working, an enthusiastic party-giver with a great zest for life, she had a wide circle of friends young and old. She wrote and published books and plays, lectured in local history at the University of Birmingham and was Vice-President of the Workers’ Education Association and an associate of the Dugdale … Read more
Beatrice Janie Whitby was born in Ottery Saint Mary, Devon where her father Charles was in medical practice. The family numbered three daughters and five sons, the oldest of whom, a professional soldier, was killed in the Afghan war of 1880, almost at the same time as Dr Whitby moved to Leamington Spa, where he … Read more
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 architecture and the Arts and Crafts … Read more
Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist and short story writer. In July 1853 he was appointed US consul in Liverpool by President Franklin Pierce, and during the ensuing 5½ years in England spent 2 periods in Leamington, in 1855 and 1857. At the end of his term of office, the family toured France and Italy, … Read more
Contact the Secretary, Margaret Rushton: secretary@leamingtonhistory.co.uk
June 9, 2026
Nelly (later known as Eleanor Velasco) Thornton was born in Stockwell, London, on 15th April 1880 to Frederick and Sarah Ann Thornton, who was also known as ‘Nellie’. They had...
May 26, 2026
This is Mark’s own brief personal and professional story about how he became interested in the history of Leamington Spa and producing films about the town’s full, varied and fascinating...
May 6, 2026
Acknowledgements to Contributors Writers of Articles Stella BolithoNigel BriggsPeter CoullsBarry FranklinMichael JeffsAllan JenningsMichael PearsonDr Sylvia PinchesMargaret RushtonSidney SysonRichard TaulbutDr John Wilmot Substantial Contributors to Articles. Kay Bugg; Alan Griffin; Dr...