The Square and Lord Leycester’s Lodge – Then & Now
This then and now comparison shows a pre-war view of the clock tower at Abbey End. It can be identified as pre-war simply because it shows part of Lord Leycester’s…
Site of Lord Leycester’s Lodge – Then & Now
This Then & Now comparison shows the site of another casualty of the night of the 21st of November 1940, when a lone Luftwaffe bomber dropped a parachute mine over…
Postcard of The Square & Clock Tower – Then & Now
This postcard of The Square can be dated between 1906 when the clock tower was constructed and the 1930s when alterations were made to the buildings comprising Numbers 1 &…
NatWest Bank – Then & Now
This week’s Then & Now comparison is provided by two local guest contributors who worked in Kenilworth’s NatWest Bank branch before it closed on the 13th of June 2017. The…
The West Side of The Square – Then & Now
This mid-1960s image shows a rank of shops on the west side of The Square, opposite the clock tower, which survived the blitz and look remarkably unchanged today. A lost…
The Square from Warwick Road – Then & Now
This scene of Warwick Road and The Square is much like many other postcards of the scene from the era. It does however show The Square before the Clock Tower…
Lord Leycester’s Lodge – Then & Now
Possibly the saddest casualty of the November 1941 Luftwaffe parachute mine, after the tragic loss of life itself of course, was the wonderful property at 1 Borrowell Lane known as…
Poundland – Then & Now
The chipping away of pre-20th Century buildings on Warwick Road during the last 75 years has left us with numerous Then & Now examples such as this one. Listed building…
The Clock Tower – Then & Now
This unusual postcard, dated 1906, shows the clock tower in The Square during its construction. The scaffolding and hoardings are still in place, the stonework appears to have been completed…
The Square from the Clock Tower – Then & Now
The Square must have been established along with the building of the new Castle End borough on lands granted to the de Clintons as lords of the castle manor in…
Warwick Road Aerial Photo – 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…
De Montfort Hotel – Then & Now
The De Montfort Hotel (now the Holiday Inn) opened in 1967, occupying part of the site destroyed by the landmine of the 21st November 1940. Historically, the Square had been…
The Clock Tower Post-War – Then & Now
The Square, early 1960s and in December 2015. At first glance, little has changed between the two images. However, a handful of the buildings on the left of the clock…
The King’s Arms & Castle – Then & Now
The King's Arms & Castle, 1960s. According to Rob Steward's “The Inns and Roads of Kenilworth” (Odibourne Press, 2000) the “King's Arms Inn” was the venue of the Abbey Courts…
The Square, Early 1960s – Then & Now
The Square, early 1960s. Where the roundabout now stands once stood an elegant building with grand bay-windows, which can be seen on many a postcard of the Square from before the turn…
Postcard of The Square – Then & Now
UPDATED 19/02/2016: I am very much indebted to the incomparable Robin Leach for correcting the inaccuracies in the previous version of this text. The 'then' image above shows an…
The Square, Abbey End – Then & Now
Pre-war postcard of The Square, Abbey End, taken from the War Memorial end looking towards the clock tower. Following the landmine on 21st November 1940, all the buildings on the…