Leamington pubs history book is out this month...

[dutchman]

Many books have been written about the history of Leamington but none has focused exclusively on the history of the town’s pubs – until now.



Available from mid-April, the much awaited ‘Pubs of Royal Leamington Spa - Two Centuries of History’ by Allan Jennings, Martin Ellis and Tom Lewin takes the reader from the two earliest hostelries in Leamington Priors – towards the end of the 1700s – to the surviving traditional pubs and modern day bars.

It includes a history of each pub (present, past and long forgotten) – most of the landlords and the landladies names – over 250 photographs/illustrations – pub name changes (for better and for worse) – as well as a multitude of other interesting facts, including a note on what now stands on the once pub sites.

Commenting on the five year journey – since the authors joined forces in mid 2009 – Allan Jennings said: “The end result is fantastic for a number of reasons. Firstly, Tom and I live in Leamington and Martin lives in Australia. Without email the project would have taken a lifetime as we have exchanged an average of 20-30 emails a day for the duration.

“Collectively we have worked night and day throughout – as Tom and I finished at the end of a day Martin would be getting up in Australia and starting again.

“Fortunately, the three of us have different skills and interests, which has been an enormous bonus, and has produced a far better book than any one of us could have produced independently.

“Also, it’s hard to believe that we worked so well together for so long because Martin and Tom are both West Bromwich Albion fans and I support the Wolves - still, what do they know about football!

“During the four years of actual research, the three of us have each had the hard drive on our computer crash – testament to the volume of work undertaken – but fortunately the information was either backed up or recoverable.

“Tom and I were regular visitors to the library where we would sit at the viewer for hours on end checking old newspapers; in fact, we checked every Leamington Courier since it started in 1828 – that’s a lot of Couriers and a lot of hours. One aspect that I am really pleased about is that all manner of people have shown an interest in this book; the local historians were obviously going to be interested, but many people remember their old ‘local’ and are looking forward to reading about it or looking at a photo – nostalgia is alive and well.

“And then there is the person who just wants to flick through the photos while having a quiet pint – so everyone’s happy then.”

For further information relating to the book’s availability and price, contact Tom Lewin, email: tom@lewinh.freeserve.co.uk or call 0780 360 2970.

[dutchman]

Long-lost buddies write history of Leamington pubs



What started as a conversation between two long-lost friends has ended up as a published book telling the history of Leamington’s pubs.

Martin Ellis and Tom Lewis lost touch in 1971 but were reunited nearly 40 years later when they met at the Red House pub, in Radford Road, Leamington.

That meeting in June 2008 saw them lamenting the declining number of traditional pubs and the seeds began to grow of the need to make a printed record of the old haunts they frequented in the late 1960s.

Six months later Martin started his pub project at his home in Australia, which saw him compiling a list of premises.

“By the mid-2009 my list spanned 150 years but it was skeletal,” said Martin. “Sources were drying up and progress was slowing.

“Back in Leamington, Allan Jennings, who is a member of both Sydenham and Leamington History Groups, had been taking photographs around town for many years, including the local pubs.

“He mentioned to Nigel Briggs of Sydenham History Group that he might publish the photos one day but that he had no time frame in mind.

“Nigel knew Tom who had mentioned that a friend in Australia was researching the town’s pubs, and suggested that us three combine our efforts.”

Their hard work came up with the final result of Pubs of Royal Leamington Spa: Two Centuries of History, published by Brewin Books Ltd based in Studley, Warwickshire.

The book comprises of more than 220 entries, 250 illustrations, licensee listings and social commentary.

Martin said: “Although the original idea was quite simplistic – to research and document the period 1800 until the present year – the journey took us back to 1625 when evidence showed that the hamlet of Leamington Priors had just two inns.

“Our next dilemma was one of semantics – how does one define a pub and whether it merits inclusion in the book? Where is the line drawn between a pub and a bar, an alehouse, beer house, parlour bar, a bar/restaurant or even a wine bar?

“Initially it was intended that the book be solely about traditional pubs, as we remembered them when growing up in the 1960s and 70s, but the term ‘traditional’ was considered inappropriate as the pub has been evolving for centuries and continues to do so.”

The book is available by emailing tom@lewinh.freeserve.co.uk or allan.jennings1@ntlworld.com