The Coventry and Midland Photographic Society (as it was then called) was one of the first in the country: it was founded in 1883 by ten gentlemen who met in ...
St Cuthbert’s Church stands by the Fosse Way in the small village of Princethorpe. It was consecrated for worship in 1959 and used regularly until the last service was held ...
Where Station House is now, opposite the railway station in Leamington Spa, on Warwick Old Road, there used to be another Station House. It had started life as the Midland ...
We found an absorbing new interest for our retirement when we joined Coventry Photographic Society five years ago. When researching the society’s history and updating its society’s website, we discovered ...
I was born in 1984 and lived in Johannesburg, South Africa until the age of 15 when my family moved to the UK. We moved around a lot at first, ...
There’s a hotel where the job centre is now, the corner of Albert Street – I can’t remember what it was called, and they used to sell chicken specs, and ...
Unfortunately, the war came in 1939 and, regrettably, I had to eventually leave J. C. Smith’s to work in a factory for war work. My mother was already working at ...
Bedworth Chapel
The first Primitive Methodist Chapel in Bedworth was built in 1830 in King Street near the bridge over the railway, with seats for 120 people. Details were recorded in ...
One of our contributors, Christine Hodgetts, was moved to write this interesting article about the Autumn Crocus, in response to Mark Smith’s original article, A Splash of Autumn Colour.
The autumn ...
When I am not working at Warwickshire County Record Office I have to admit to an obsession about chairs!
When did my obsession start?
This started about eight years ago, when I ...
I could find no sign of a mill at Blackdown in the Domesday book, though it may be quite ancient. Bertie Greatheed writes in his diary for August 12th 1807: ...
This almshouse was founded in 1529 by William Ford, a wool merchant, for five men and their wives. The Hospital came under threat after the Reformation, with the crown claiming ...
This row of cottages in Lapworth was often referred to as the ‘Almshouses’ but was really more of a parish ‘poor house’ or what I like to call an ‘improper ...
There are two sets of almshouses in Mancetter.
Cramer’s Almshouses
These were founded by James Cramer, a local man who made his fortune in London as a goldsmith. The building was erected ...
The Brotherhood House in Gas Street Rugby has an interesting and varied history. It was built as a Particular Baptist Chapel around 1803 with a vestry and a 3-stalled stable; by ...
‘Socially-distanced’ celebrations were held in many places: here is a record from Stretton on Dunsmore. There were decorations of bunting (some home-made) and flags. A few street parties were held: ...
Primitive Methodists were meeting in Bishops Itchington by 1849 (but the congregation was not recorded in the 1851 religious census). A chapel for 100 people was built in Poplar Road ...
The almshouse at Temple Balsall was founded by Lady Katherine Leveson who added a codicil to her will in 1671 leaving the manor of Balsall to Trustees for the erection ...
The Berrow Cottage Homes stand on a former bowling green on the corner of High Street and Kenilworth Road opposite the parish church of Knowle.
The four original homes
This almshouse was ...
2022 is the 50th anniversary of the Ugandan Exodus, as it came to be known. My identity card is from 1972 when my family was expelled from Uganda – at ...
This almshouse was founded in 1518 by Sir Robert Throgmorton of nearby Coughton Court. It stands modestly on the Birmingham Road close to the entrance to Coughton Court.
The inhabitants
The original ...
Two charming semi-detached homes stand in Bates Lane in Tanworth-in-Arden. They are 19th century almshouses founded in 1871.
The buildings
The buildings are of red brick with tile-hung gables and decorated bargeboards. ...
I was born February 25th 1937 at 2, The Common, Polesworth, which was also the birthplace of my dad Ernie. The house is still there, over the road from the ...
The minutes of the Quarter Sessions held in Warwick and Coventry are currently being indexed and they turn out to contain all sorts of surprising snippets of information. For example, ...