This ‘then’ view shows the east side of Warwick Road between Station Road and Talisman Square, once the site of The Tannery. Most interestingly in this view, is a glimpse of a row of old cottages, which survived until the demolition frenzy of the 1960s. The History of Warwick Road Tannery, Kenilworth (Gould & James,… Read More 12 – 16 Warwick Road – Then & Now
This week’s Then & Now comes courtesy of prolific local historian Robin Leach, whose recent research on Kenilworth’s involvement with animal skin processing, in particular on two major sites in the town centre and at Mill End, will soon be available in his new book Kenilworth People and Places, Volume 3 (Rookfield Publications, 2018) which is due to… Read More The Tannery Pits – Then & Now
This Then & Now pairing shows Boots the Chemist on Warwick Road, some time in the early 1960s and its modern day equivalent location. This grand old double bay windowed house, known as The Limes, was subdivided and converted into two shops. It stood next door to the Tannery Gates, out of shot to the… Read More Boots the Chemist, Warwick Road – Then & Now
The ‘then’ image above shows a photo of the somewhat tattered billboard that stood at the entrance to Talisman Square as it was being built in 1965. It can clearly be seen in this previous Then & Now pairing showing the building of the square from Warwick Road. The text of the billboard proclaimed the… Read More Talisman Square Plans – Then & Now
This remarkable street scene, dated 28th November 1965, shows the building of Talisman Square in progress. In the ‘then’ photo, both the Almshouses that used to front onto Warwick Road and the Tannery buildings behind have been demolished and building the new shopping precinct is already well under way. A sign proclaims the forthcoming pedestrian… Read More Building of Talisman Square – Then & Now
Today’s Then & Now pairing is an updated version of an earlier post showing the Tannery, Warwick Road. Thanks to Robin Leach for pointing out that the original ‘now’ photo was taken from the wrong angle. The updated ‘now’ photo is taken from as close to the original spot as today’s buildings will allow, as can… Read More The Tannery, Warwick Road Updated – Then & Now
This fascinating aerial view of Kenilworth is dated May 1920, and was obtained from the absorbing Britain From Above website. To the modern eye this scene is notable for the amount of green space that surrounded the now very much built-up Warwick Road area. In fact, it takes a while to familiarise yourself with some… Read More Warwick Road Aerial Photo – Then & Now
Talisman square, mid 1960s and again in May 2016. The ‘then’ picture shows the footbridge being built between the offices built above the north and south sides of the square as part of the ‘walkway in the sky’ concept that developers of the 1950s were so fond of. The bridge was removed in the early 2000s. In the… Read More Talisman Square, mid 1960s – Then & Now
The ‘then’ photo below shows Talisman Square, largely as had been initially conceived in the post war planning of the late 1950s. The ‘now’ counterpart photo was taken in December 2015. Talisman Square replaced the Tannery and Warwick Road almshouses, which were demolished in 1965 and 1963 respectively. Talisman Square was so named following a competition in… Read More Talisman Square – Then & Now
These former almshouses on Warwick Road were demolished in 1963 to make way for the Talisman Square development on the site of the adjoining former tannery. Next door was Olive Aldridge’s haberdashery, now Warwick Estates and Kenilworth Weekly News offices. The ‘now’ pictures were taken in December 2015. It was a time of change in… Read More Almshouses, Warwick Road – Then & Now