Discover what shopping was like in Royal Leamington Spa from the 1880s to the 1980s.
Using personal stories, photographs and objects from the collection, the exhibition will focus on the many and varied independent retailers that operated in the town during this period. From small, specialist companies such as Lavinia’s dress shop and Southorn boot makers, to the large department stores of Woodwards and Burgis & Colbourne that came to dominate the Parade.
Neon sign from Toytown
Find out the techniques used to draw people into the shops and see the neon sign from Toytown on display for the first time. Learn the skills needed to work in a grocers and discover how long it took to train as a draper. With fun interactives and dressing up, there will be something for everyone to enjoy. Explore further by visiting the Shopping in Leamington Spa virtual trail on Historypin.
Comments
What a great exhibition. Brought back lots of happy memories of ToyTown. I loved the doll department and remember buying my Tiny Tears doll and clothes. I also remember the food hall in Burgus and Colbourne, with its elaborate displays and ornate tiled walls. Lovely to see pictures of Francis’s department store. What a beautiful building, I remember buying sewing materials. The tills were very ornate and when you paid they were on a pulley system. These memories are from the 70s.
I remember in the early 1970s Rod Hull and Emu visiting ToyTown, I was very scared. I also remember visiting with my parents and buying a Raleigh Tomahawk red bike on my birthday. I walked home up Campion Hills shaking with excitement. Memories from the 70s.
Memory of Burgis and Colubourne. I remember paying for goods and placing the money on a glass top counter. They put it in a tube and it whizzed to the cashier on the other side. He was in a booth and would check the money then send the change whizzing back.
My grandparents owned a green grocers in Binswood Street, Leamington. It was called T Clark & Sons, it closed about 50 years ago. It was where the shops are now but they were knocked down and rebuilt. There was a newsagents next door called Batcholders.
I taught upholstery and soft furnishings at Leamington college and remember hearing a story of someone that had a sofa recovered at Francis’s. Approx 10 year later just before Francis’s closed they called to say we still have the remenant and would they like it. The shop had kept the customers details, what service. They brought the fabric
I remember the lift in Woodwards with two doors. You had to shut the outer metal trellised one first which was heavy. As a teenager we use to go up and down in the lift. I also remember Baileys
I moved to Leamington in the mid 90s. I remember Toytown and a shop opposite that just sold only products to do with cats! Opposite the Royal Bank of Scotland was an old fashioned sweet shop. I liked that Regent Street had a quirky mix of shops.
I remember going to Hampton Dairy in the 1960s with my grandmother. I remember seeing the lids, and each colour signified a different type of cream. The jersey cream was a real treat. I remember the doll’s hospital at Toytown and taking my talking doll to be repaired. I also saw Rod Hull and Emu at Toytown, I still have his autograph! We would go to Woodwards to get our school uniform, the department was on the top floor.
I worked in Burgis and Colbourne in the cosmetics department. I remember the food hall, they would deliver food to customers and people would sometimes order just a loaf of bread so they could have a Burgis and Colbourne van pull up outside their house. Service was very important and we were there to serve. People actually dressed up smartly to go shopping.
Rawlings Bros was a leather goods shop. I remember buying catapult elastic there to make catapults! This would have been in the early 60s.
I noticed that someone has mentioned Baileys. There is no display on it in the exhibition but I remember it too. It was a very up market furniture store. I loved the cafe, it smelt lovely and had a Chinese designed ceiling. At the bottom of the stair well there was a fish pond and fountain. When my Nan moved from India to England in the 50s she brought all her furniture from Baileys, they apparently had a second hand department. I am still using the dining table, chairs and wardrobes.
I remember going to ToyTown with my Nan to buy the Observer Nature books. Was there a long train set that went around the top shelf of the shop? I also would buy airfix models and the little pots of paints.
I have lived in Leamington all my life (83 years).
In 1939 my sister was born and we went to Baileys and bought a new pram, and every year until my sister was 16 she would get a card and present delivered from Baileys. My very first job was at England’s Shoe shop(age 14) which was opposite the Regent Hotel. I only worked there for 2 weeks as there was a real hierarchy and my supervisor would not let me serve any customers.
I worked at Woolworths from 1948-1949 on the jewellery counter and one day an American film actress called Martha Raye came in. Everyone was very excited. The floor manager was called Mr Tinkler. The Woolworths Christmas party was held at the Palais (now the Assembly Rooms) there was a live band. Eve’s (opposite Boots) on the Parade was an underwear shop, when you went inside there was a table with glasses and a bottle of sherry. The lady owner would offer customers a drink.
I worked in Woodwards from 1988-1998 on the rainwear department. We had lots of regular old customers. There was a rumour that there was a ghost.
Do tell us more about the ghost!
Very interesting talk this afternoon by curator Vicki Slade, enjoyed by over 50 people. More celebrities that visited ToyTown were Worzel Gumage and John Pertwee!
I remember Greys on the Parade, it sold haberdashery. I remember Greys having the till system where the money was put into tubes and shot across the shop floor to the cashier.The shop went all the way through to Bedford Street. My Grandfather had a greengrocer’s on Bedford St, it was called Carey’s & Sons. He would deliver around Leamington and Lillington on a horse and cart , the horse was called Kit. I lived above the shop in one room with my brothers.
We have only lived in Leamington about 25 years but I remember ToyTown. My sister bought our daughter a large furry Leopard toy from there for her birthday.
I remember visiting my aunt in December and going with her, my mother and sister to Candelight Teas at the Pump Room. These were very popular and a very enjoyable part of the Christmas season. Not only did we have a lovely tea in beautiful surroundings, we also had entertainment in the form of a trio or quartet playing light music and I seem to remember that the musicians wore formal dress.
Between the two World Wars my uncle had a motor cycle business, Forfield Motors, in a building at the junction of Forfield Place and Radford Road. After he had to give up the business. my aunt took the building over and established Gower House Preparatory School there.
Hi. Interested to read about Forfield Motors and Gower House. As it happens we have pages on them, too, so if you have some personal memories you’d like to share on those pages, we’d love to have them!
Here’s the Forfield Motors page.
And Gower House.
I remember Toytown very well and frequently nagged my mother to go in so i could play with the lego or ride on “bambie”. It was my favourite shop along with Sweet Sedution!
I lived in Portland St when I was little. I remember my mates dad used to own a green grocers on the corner of Grove street and Regent street. O’Riellys I think it was called. Also on the corner of Portland Street used to be a clothes shop that was called Dally’s. I remember going in with my mom to get me clothes. Also in Portland Street there used to be a cafe that some lorry drivers used.
Wish I could have seen this exhibition but only just stumbled across your website today! I lived in Leamington until 1979 and have many happy memories of Toytown (my Tiny Tears got new limbs there too), and visits to Woodwards and Rackhams, I then also worked in WHSmith from 1985-1988 as a Saturday girl. Does anyone remember the sunken garden where Boots is? Everything is so different now, such a shame high streets are all so alike!
I remember Toytown, what a legendary shop… always had the best Santa’s Grotto.
I also remember a shop which I think was called Monsoon (not related to the high street chain), it had a large illuminated crescent moon on it. High Streets *were* more interesting when there were fewer chains. There are still some interesting little shops in Leamington, shame that Blighty Bazaar recently closed.
I worked in Greys department store from 1963 to 1967, as a Saturday girl and during the school holidays and then college vacations. Mr Barnsley was the manager of the store at that time. Mum worked in the ladies fashion department and he would tell her when a blue cross event was due so I could come home for the weekend and earn a bit of extra money. It really helped to boost my student grant!
Only just seen this site. My Uncle and Aunty lived at 5 Lansdown Circus, where my family also lived during WWII.
My Uncle owned and ran Andrew Son & Company, removal & storage. Yellow removal vans, and removed large mansions etc., also Chestford Grange, I remember. Leamington was a very prestigious town. My Aunty would take coffee at the Kadina and also the stores, Burgess and Colemans. Ladies with hats, gloves, and starched white tablecloths also lovely cakes on tiered stands. My Aunty had worked at Bobbies as a youngster, living in the store at that time, about 1920s.
Does anyone remember any of this?
I was born in 1962 and lived in Leamington Spa with my family at 53 Stamford Gardens, Rugby Road attending Milverton infant and Junior School opposite. I always remember when I was very young mum buying our meat from a tiny narrow butchers shop on Warwick Street on the left hand side as you approached the Parade traffic lights with The Co-Op opposite and the owner would always give me and other little children a white triangular paper bag containing dolly mixtures each time. I also remember going to The Dell to play with friends and a strange man would hide in the bushes and jump out and scare us, we called him Mr Wolf!
And all the local children would spend all day in the summer holidays in the Rugby Road park after the grass had been freshly cut in the school holidays building houses with the cut grass. We LOVED it, nothing more just interacting with each other, building friendships and playing with cut grass all day long until we were called in by our mums for ‘tea’.
Such happy childhoods in those days.
Hi, we lived in Leamington and my Mum worked at Greys in the mid to late ’60s in the fashion department, her name was Fay. I also remember Toytown, the little grocery store run by a Mr and Mrs Bunting, and also the pub across the road from where we lived on Newbold St run by a lovely couple called Mr and Mrs Deeming. We left England in 1971, visiting next week after 50 odd years.
Does anyone remember the butcher called Turrell? Ina and Harry ran it.
To Judy Collier, who posted on 30/03/18 and mentioned that her uncle owned Andrew, Son and company, I just purchased a lovely vintage washstand at a thrift store her in Denver, Colorado. There is a small plate tacked to the back identifying it as having come from Andrew, Son and Company Furnishings. I guess we’ll never know how it made its way from Leamington to Denver!? If Judy Collier or anyone else knows anything about Andrew, Son and Company, would you please share any information? Kindest Regards….
I was born in Leamington and there was a fantastic newsagent under the bridges
I lived in Leamington from 1958-1976. Lots of very happy memories, until my Father died suddenly in 1975.
Can anyone help me? I remember going to a record shop in Bedford St but can’t remember the name, sadly nobody else i know can either.
It was near Burgis and Colbourne.
Thanks
Jan Gibbs — wasn’t the record shop in Bedford Street called Bedford Records?
Add a comment about this page