Atherstone, Queen Elizabeth Grammar School c1955 (ref. A116007) | Atherstone is one of only two places where the game of
Shrovetide football is played; the other is Ashbourne in
Derbyshire. In 1846 the game was finally banned from the
streets of Derby. Hence comes the expression a 'Derby game'
when two local teams play one another. The school has a
charter dating back to the 16th century.
|  Add your own Memory
 Add to your Album |
Bidford-On-Avon, High Street 1899 (ref. 44132) | Bidford-on-Avon is one of eight
villages satirically described in
a rhyme attributed to William
Shakespeare and penned after
a heavy drinking session. The
Bard and his cronies had a
drinking bout at this inn with
the Bidford Sippers and lost.
Too drunk to make it back to
Stratford, they slept the night
under a crab-apple tree. The
rhyme attributed to him goes:
'Piping Pepworth,
Dancing Marston,
Haunted Hillborough,
Hungry Grafton,
Dodging Exhall,
Papist Wixford,
Beggarly Broom,
Drunken Bidford'.
| Add your own Memory
Add to your Album |
Broom, the Village 1901 (ref. 47346) | Situated to the south of Alcester on the Midland Railway line, Broom
railway station was the interchange for a cross-country route linking up
with the Midland main line from Rugby to Bedford. There are a number
of 16th- and 17th-century half-timbered cottages in this photograph, but
judging by the state of some of them the village was living up to the
'Beggarly Broom' image given to it by William Shakespeare.
| Add your own Memory
Add to your Album |
Compton Wynyates, 1922 (ref. 72096) | The house was built between 1480 and 1520
on the site of a Norman manor house. Much
of the stone came from the ruined Fulbrook
Castle, which had been given to William de
Compton by Henry VIII.
| Add your own Memory
Add to your Album |
Kenilworth, High Street c1955 (ref. K5022) | At the beginning of the 20th century, Kenilworth was a small town
with about 4,500 inhabitants. Visitors to the castle and surrounding
area could avail themselves of the accommodation offered at The Abbey:
rooms 4s, dinner 3-5s, or at The King's Arms Inn: rooms 3s, dinner
2s 6d.
| Add your own Memory
Add to your Album |
Kenilworth, the Queen and Castle Hotel c1960 (ref. K5047) | Here we see a quiet corner of Kenilworth. It was
in another of the town's inns, The Kings Arms,
that Sir Walter Scott did the preparatory work
and outline for his classic novel 'Kenilworth',
set during the period of the last building phase
of the castle after 1563, when Elizabeth I gave
it to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester.
| Add your own Memory
Add to your Album |
Kenilworth, Warwick Road c1960 (ref. K5049) | Within a few years the road layout was changed to
incorporate a traffic island. The white building in the
centre background was demolished, and a large block
of drab-looking flats replaced the trees on the left.
| Add your own Memory
Add to your Album |
Kenilworth, Bridge Street c1960 (ref. K5040) | On the left are the Abbey fields, at the end of which stands the
late 13th-century church of St Nicholas. Nearby are the ruins of
Kenilworth Abbey, founded and endowed by Geoffrey de Clinton
in 1122.
| Add your own Memory
Add to your Album |
Kenilworth, Bank and Post Office 1892 (ref. 30949) | In the 1880s and 90s post offices often opened longer
hours than they do today; from 7.00am to 9.00pm was
common. On Sundays, telegraph offices opened from
8.00am to 10.00am and from 5.00pm to 6.00pm.
| Add your own Memory
Add to your Album |
Kenilworth, the Castle Hill c1960 (ref. K5048) | Kenilworth was still lit by gas lamps in the 1920s. During the winter
months the lamplighter would turn on the lamps using a long pole. One
end of the pole was pushed through a little window in the lamp and
hooked onto the mantle chain. The chain was pulled and the mantle
ignited. On windy nights the council sent workers out to inspect the
lamps and make sure they were still lit.
| Add your own Memory
Add to your Album |
Kenilworth, from below Footbridge 1892 (ref. 30941) | It was John of Gaunt who set about transforming Kenilworth
from a Norman fortress to a Gothic palace. Work began
around 1389, with only the keep being retained. The entire
inner ward was rebuilt and included a great hall, private
apartments, kitchens and store rooms.
| Add your own Memory
Add to your Album |
Leamington Spa, the Fountain and Royal Pump Room c1960 (ref. L25063) | For those taking the waters in Edwardian times, there were
plenty of hotels. The most expensive was the Clarendon,
with rooms at 6s 6d, breakfast at 3s and dinner at 5s. Those
on a restricted budget could avail themselves of the York, a
temperance establishment on Spencer Street, where a room
could be had for 1s 6d.
| Add your own Memory
Add to your Album |
Leamington Spa, River Leam 1892 (ref. 30984) | A quiet moment on the banks of the Leam. Jephson Gardens
were laid out on land leased from Edward Willes of Newbold
Comyn. Willes charged a rent of just one peppercorn, on the
understanding that the ground would never be built on or
the trees destroyed.
| Add your own Memory
Add to your Album |
Leamington Spa, the Parade and Memorial c1960 (ref. L25070) | Leamington's development as a spa did not begin until 1789, when
William Abbotts discovered a mineral spring on his land in what is now
Bath Street. Following a favourable report on the medicinal properties of
the waters, a baths and hotel were built, and Leamington was on the spa
trail. By the end of the Napoleonic Wars a number of other springs had
been discovered and developed.
| Add your own Memory
Add to your Album |
Leamington Spa, All Saints' Church and the River Leam 1922 (ref. 72436) | In the 1780s, Leamington was little more than a village
with a population of around 300 people. The village was
confined to the south bank of the river; the development of
the north bank did not take place until the building of the
Victoria Bridge.
| Add your own Memory
Add to your Album |
Leamington Spa, Royal Pump Room and Parish Church 1922 (ref. 72442) | On the right is the Royal Leamington Bath and Pump Rooms, with
swimming pool and Turkish baths. Other baths were Hudson's Sulphur
and Saline Springs; the Old Pump Room (Earl of Aylesford's) and
Oldham's Open-air Swimming Baths.
| Add your own Memory
Add to your Album |
Leamington Spa, the Parade 1892 (ref. 30956) | Horse-drawn cabs were fairly expensive. The fare per mile for
1-2 persons was 1s, for 3-4 persons, 1s 6d, and each additional
half-hour was 1s. Each article of luggage carried on the outside
cost 2d.
| Add your own Memory
Add to your Album |
Leamington Spa, Parade and the Town Hall 1892 (ref. 30953) | The town hall is built in the Renaissance style with
a campanile. The natural springs at Leamington were
known about in the 17th century, and were mentioned
by a number of writers. In 1656 Dugdale wrote of 'a
spring of salt water (not a stone's throw from the Leam)
whereof the inhabitants make much use for seasoning
their meats'. In 1801 the population was just 315;
during the 1820s it rose to around 6,000 and by 1840
it was nearly 12,000.
| Add your own Memory
Add to your Album |
Nuneaton, Market Place c1965 (ref. N89084) | In this view, the Market Place shows signs of a limited
amount of redevelopment. A new retail block has been built
between the post office and Marks & Spencer, replacing
Lesters and the White Swan. Boots has moved from its
previous location next to Woolworths.
| Add your own Memory
Add to your Album |
Nuneaton, Abbey Street c1960 (ref. N89038) | It was in Abbey Street during the Great War that Palladinos
had their ice-cream business. Michael Palladino used to go
round the town with his ice-cream barrow and charged a
penny for a wafer and just a halfpenny for a cup.
| Add your own Memory
Add to your Album |
