Hillbrow School was a prep school founded in 1859 by the Modern Languages teacher at Rugby School, John William Joseph Vecqueray (1826-1901), a Prussian from Aachen by birth. In 1922 ...
In part one, we looked at Sam Robbins’ roots and the journey from humble beginnings to a flourishing business empire in Rugby. Here, we look at the legacy he left ...
Ask any of the older folk in Rugby town and they’ll probably know the name Sam Robbins, or at least remember some of the shops and buildings in his (and his ...
Here – as promised on our Twitter ‘Silver Takeover’ last week – are some photos of the early buildings of St Cross Hospital in Rugby.
Nursing home precursor of St Cross
A ...
As a young child I became interested in aircraft. My earliest aircraft memory is of the Armstrong-Whitworth flying wing aircraft passing over Rugby. The Armstrong-Whitworth factory was at Baginton, Coventry.
Other ...
Warwickshire is blessed with beautiful rivers. In the north of what was once Warwickshire one finds the River Rea and to the south of the county lies the River Stour, ...
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 ...
The walking stick / sword in the photograph is from India. An officer in the British army was a friend of my Dad, and he gave this sword to my ...
For the first 40 years of my life I was resolutely based in the North of England, and I am still proud of my Northern links, but I didn’t imagine ...
Holy Trinity church was opened in 1854 as a Chapel-of-Ease to St. Andrew’s, building work having started in 1852. The total cost was £7,250. Designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, ...
Wanting something to pass the hours during this time? Try solving some of our jigsaw puzzles of photos on our website. We used Jigsaw Explorer to create these puzzles, and hope you ...
Wanting something to pass the hours during this time? Try solving some of our jigsaw puzzles of photos on our website. We used Jigsaw Explorer to create these puzzles, and hope you ...
Today, Rupert Brooke is possibly best known as a War Poet and is included on the Poets of the First World War memorial in Poets’ Corner, Westminster Abbey, alongside fellow poets, Wilfred Owen, Edmund ...
One of my earliest Formula One memories was seeing Nigel Mansell’s spectacular tyre blowout in 1986 while chasing the world title. A dramatic end to a dramatic season, the sparks ...
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 ...
The British Thomson-Houston (BTH) Company was founded in 1894 and production started at Rugby in 1900. The main factory buildings (on what used to be Glebe Farm) opened beside the railway ...
For those of us from Rugby and the surrounding areas, the clock tower in the centre of town is a landmark that’s as much, if not more so, a sign ...
Early years
James Speight was born on 25th February 1879, the youngest son of Edward Hall Speight and Louisa Gulliver (m.1861). Edward Hall Speight was originally from Ambleside in Cumbria; he ...
Edward Hall Speight, Photographer
The Speights were a family of talented photographers. Edward Hall Speight (originally a Wesleyan schoolmaster) set up his photography business in Rugby around 1872. All of his ...
James’ story continues with a series of letters he wrote to family and friends during his time on active service in the First World War. These letters were all returned ...
A general background
My great grandfather was a master photographer based in Rugby, he started the Redding studio in the town which lasted for 100 years. John Frearson writes1 how Redding ...