WARWICK FROM 1835
THE Municipal Corporations Act of 1835 (fn. 1) at one
stroke changed the governing body of Warwick, as
of many other towns, from an exclusive, selfperpetuating corporation, to an elected town council.
In place of the mayor and twelve aldermen, and the
twelve assistant burgesses whom they elected, the
whole body thought to be under the influence of the
Earl of Warwick, the Act provided for the establishment of a town council of six aldermen and eighteen
councillors, chosen from two wards by ratepayers. (fn. 2)
This arrangement remained until 1883, although the
town was divided into four polling districts in 1872. (fn. 3)
In 1883 three wards were created, each returning
six councillors. (fn. 4) A stake in town government was
thereby given to a group of inhabitants, numbering
over 1,000 in 1849, (fn. 5) whose exclusion up to the time
of the Act had been a point of remark by the commissioner of inquiry in 1835. (fn. 6) Two changes in
particular were noticeable after this metamorphosis
of Warwick's governing body - the political and
social composition of the town council, and its
changed financial position.
After local agitation on behalf of the Whigs in the
years before reform, the election to the new council
of a majority with such views was not surprising.
All the aldermen chosen in 1835 were Whigs, and
there were only three Tory councillors. (fn. 7) Gradually
such distinctions tended to disappear, but the social
composition of the council was less stable. In 1835
the members were mostly professional men and only
about a third were tradesmen. Twenty years later
more than half were shopkeepers, small farmers, and
artisans. (fn. 8) By 1900 nearly half were tradesmen, a
quarter professional men, and a quarter private
residents. (fn. 9) These changes may be seen reflected in a
lack of sympathy between the council and the
trustees of King Henry VIII's Estate and other
financial bodies in the town, (fn. 10) and also a certain
hostility evident for many years in the annual presentments of the court leet. (fn. 11)
The changed political and financial position of the
new council may be gauged by its activities in its
early years. The changeover was remarkably smooth
considering the animosity which had prevailed a few
years earlier. Initial difficulties were inevitable: a
court of quarter session was at first refused because
so few cases had hitherto been heard. It was granted
however, in August 1836 provided that the recorder's
salary was raised, and that borough prisoners were
kept in the county gaol. Warwick continued to enjoy
a court of quarter session until 1951. (fn. 12) Almost as
soon as this matter was settled James Tibbits, the
town clerk, produced his claim for compensation for
removal from the office of clerk of the peace and
clerk to the magistrates, to which he had been
appointed for life by the old corporation. (fn. 13) At the
following meeting of the council he was dismissed
because his conduct had 'been calculated to frustrate
and impede the resolution of the council'. (fn. 14) He then
claimed compensation for loss of this office in addition. The first action was settled in September 1837,
the latter not until November 1840. Meanwhile, in
November 1837, G. C. Greenway demanded similar
recompense for his removal from the borough
treasureship. (fn. 15)
Legal fees and sums agreed in compensation
aggravated an already difficult financial situation.
The profits from King Henry VIII's Estate, upon
which the old régime had depended for carrying out
its programme of public works were, after 1835,
vested in the new corporation; but initial difficulties
were experienced when the council found itself
unable to obtain from the estate trustees any
indication of the size of their income. For a body
which needed to plan ahead, such information was
essential, but as a result the council could only plan
ahead in terms of its limited income from market
rents and tolls. (fn. 16) The council sought remedy by
applying to the Lord Chancellor for complete control
of the estate. The Attorney General gave as his
opinion that the council could only receive rents and
profits after all stipends had been paid, and that it
could not otherwise interfere with the management
of the property. (fn. 17) This situation was regulated by a
Chancery Order in January 1839, when management
was transferred to new trustees, a majority of whom
were members of the town council. By 1844,
however, changes in the personnel of the council had
produced a situation where it was wholly unrepresented among the trustees. Two lists were drawn up
to fill vacancies, one, by the mayor, containing the
names of councillors, the other consisting wholly of
outsiders. This second list was adopted by a Master
in Chancery in 1847, despite opposition from the
council. (fn. 18)
The council's evident apprehension that its
income might be seriously curtailed in the hands of
strangers was, in the event, groundless. At Lady
Day 1837 the balance of income from King Henry
VIII's Estate transferred to the Borough Fund
amounted to £1,750. (fn. 19) Expenditure for a new
borough gaol and engine house in the next financial
year led, however, to the imposition of the town's
first borough rate, of 1½d. in the £, in 1838. (fn. 20) The
surplus income from the estate continued to be paid
into the Borough Fund, a contribution rising, with
the value of the estate, from £750 in 1843 (fn. 21) to over
£2,364 between November 1872 and December
1874. (fn. 22) Increasingly, however, the council relied on
the borough rate, collected by the churchwardens
and overseers. The size of the rate varied, and actual
income was uneven due to inefficiency of collection. (fn. 23)
From 1882 this aspect improved. As a general
indication of the increase in public expenditure in
the first thirty years of the life of the new régime the
rate, fluctuating to absorb the effect of slow collection, rose from 1½d. in 1838 to 1s. 2d. for 1885-6,
yielding in the former year over £235 and in the
latter over £2,844. (fn. 24) By 1911 the rate had risen to
5s. 6½d., divided between a general district rate of
3s. 7d., water rate (6d.), Borough Fund (8d.),
highways (8d.), library (1d.), and higher education
(½d.). (fn. 25)
The broadening of council activity indicated by
increased expenditure was organized administratively by the development of committees of the
council. At its first meeting, in December 1835, a
watch committee was formed to supervise the
police force, (fn. 26) the fire service, street lighting, and
the maintenance of prisoners. A finance committee
was appointed at the beginning of 1836. Both
became committees of the whole council soon
afterwards, but were made smaller in the following
year. (fn. 27) In August 1840 the trustees of King Henry
VIII's Estate declared that they would no longer be
responsible for the payments for gas and police.
This seems to have produced a crisis in the watch
committee, which was enlarged again to embrace the
whole council. (fn. 28) The problem was resolved at the
beginning of the next year by the appointment of
thirteen members of the council to form part of the
administration of Oken's Charity, which subsequently contributed to the maintenance of the
watch. (fn. 29)
What at first appears to have been a sub-committee
of the finance committee became responsible for
market rents and tolls in 1836. (fn. 30) By the middle of
the century two further committees had been
formed, one to prepare a waterworks scheme (1843),
and a public health committee, formed on an ad hoc
basis in 1847 and sitting continuously from 1849. (fn. 31)
The activities of the latter were widened in 1850
to cover highways, drainage, and sanitation. To
these were added an education committee in 1876
and a sewage farm committee in 1878. (fn. 32) By 1884
committees had been formed for general purposes,
contagious diseases (animals), fire engines and
appliances, private works and wages, and the
sanatorium. (fn. 33) By 1919 there were eleven committees,
additional ones covering buildings and gardens,
housing, the free library, and old age pensioners. (fn. 34)
Politics in the borough in terms of Parliamentary
returns after 1835 continued to follow the pattern
set earlier in the 19th century. Until the middle of
the century the Independent party continued to
share the seats with the castle interest, though as the
result of a by-election in March 1837, two local
Whigs, Edward Bolton King and William Collins,
represented the town for a short time together. (fn. 35)
King failed to regain his seat in the following
September, Collins and Sir Charles Douglas being
returned. Collins was the first mayor of the town
after the Municipal Corporations Act. These two
remained Warwick's representatives until 1852.
Douglas, originally a Conservative, followed Peel
over the Corn Laws, and after 1852 stood as a
Liberal at Durham. (fn. 36) In 1852 G. W. T. Repton and
Edward Greaves, both Conservatives, were returned.
Greaves lived at Barford and was a partner of
Greenway's Bank. Both were returned in 1857 and
1859 but Greaves was unseated in 1865 by Arthur
Wellesley Peel, a Liberal, who remained member
until his elevation to the peerage on his retirement
from the Speakership in 1895. Until 1885 the second
seat was held once by Greaves and twice by Repton,
in a period which witnessed a growing interest in
politics. The Redistribution of Seats Act in 1885
joined Warwick with Leamington as one constituency, returning one member. In that year Peel
was opposed by Mr. E. M. Nelson, of Warwick,
standing as a Liberal, but in 1886 and 1892 was
returned unopposed. On Peel's retirement the Hon.
Alfred Lyttleton was returned as a Liberal Unionist.
Lyttleton became Secretary of State for the Colonies
in 1903, but was defeated by the Liberal, T. H. D.
Berridge, in 1906. Berridge, in turn, was defeated by
E. M. (afterwards Sir Ernest) Pollock (created
Baron Hanworth, 1926) in 1910, and the latter
continued to sit for the constituency until 1923
when he was succeeded by Capt. (later Sir) Anthony
Eden (created Earl of Avon, 1957), who held the seat
until his elevation to the peerage. In that year he
was succeeded by another Conservative, Mr. (now
Sir) John Hobson. The seat was first contested for
Labour (by the Countess of Warwick) in 1923.
During the first years of its life, the new town
council paid little attention to matters of public
health, yet the large increase in the town's population during the early part of the century had not,
apparently, been accompanied by any schemes for
improved water supplies or drainage. Streets were
regularly watered and the Market Place cleansed, (fn. 37)
but not until 1843 was any attempt made to improve
the water supply. A scheme for a reservoir suggested
then was dropped as being not practicable and too
costly. (fn. 38) In 1845 the council went so far as to say
that the provisions of the Earl of Lincoln's Bill on
the Health of Towns 'are uncalled for as regards this
town' since the water supply was considered satisfactory. (fn. 39) In 1847 a committee was formed to
enquire into the general sanitary conditions in the
town, but the council decided to make no financial
outlay for the time being. (fn. 40) Evidently much discussion followed in the next year. (fn. 41) Under the
related Nuisances Removal and Diseases Prevention
Act (fn. 42) the council was enabled to tackle part of the
problem by appointing the officer of nuisances of the
local Board of Guardians as their agent to carry out
inquiries. (fn. 43) His report made the point that overcrowding was one of the worst evils in the town, and
this could not effectively be overcome, cases of
non-removal having to be taken to the justices, thus
causing delay. (fn. 44) Three months after his report 46
lodging houses were still said to be overcrowded, but
some progress was clearly made. At the beginning of
1849 the inspector had reported over 400 nuisances,
including 59 cesspools, 71 open privies, 64 filthy
houses, and 49 offensive drains. More than half of
these had been removed within three months. (fn. 45)
The whole problem was treated much more
comprehensively in a report by a Public Health
Inspector published later in 1849. (fn. 46) Bad drainage,
overcrowding, and poor water supplies were
demonstrated as the sources of an increasing
mortality rate which had risen considerably in the
previous two years. Thus the ditch flowing through
St. John's meadow was foul and the mill-pool a
source of fever; a large withy bed between the castle
and the bridge took sewage from the town, and was
offensive in summer; courts in several parts of the
town were variously described as 'close, dirty,
undrained, and damp' and 'very filthy'; drains in
the streets were too small and shallow to be of much
use. Overcrowding aggravated the situation. There
was an average of 4.48 people to every house in the
town, but some of the lodging houses had eight
people in every room. Six houses in Woodward's
Court contained from 29 to 200 inhabitants, the
larger number at race and fair times when 'the
influx of beggars' was 'considerable and in every
respect injurious to the town'. Brookhouse Buildings,
consisting of 42 houses with between 200 and 300
inhabitants, were provided with eight pigstyes, two
pumps, and two privies. There were at least twelve
'low lodging houses' in the town, providing 132 beds
for 264 people; one house had three beds shared by
three married couples and eight children. Water,
obtained from wells, from the Priory Pools, and from
the river, was very hard and often impure. Streets in
the centre of the town were in 'moderate' condition,
most footways were flagged and some carriage ways
were pitched or macadamized. Others were of
pebbles set in pitch, difficult to keep clean. There
were six surveyors of highways in the town, 'not
acting in concert, and working upon no fixed system'.
The work was thought to be badly, and probably
expensively done.
Despite such a depressing situation, the inspector
confidently stated that all could be remedied by
better water, drains for each house, and more water
closets. The cost was estimated at 1½ d. each week
for houses of the lowest class. As a result of the
report, the council was constituted a Local Board of
Health under the Public Health Act in 1850. (fn. 47)
Shortly afterwards plans were invited for improvements to the town's water supply. A firm of engineers
in 1852 recommended the construction of a reservoir
at Hatton, but this was abandoned because of
difficulties with the railway company. A scheme to
obtain a supply from Haseley was also dropped, and
a bore hole near the workhouse in Packmore Lane
also failed. (fn. 48) In 1853 tenders were invited for a
scheme to take water from the Avon at Portobello
Bridge. This was completed in 1857 at a cost of
nearly £15,000. While this provided increased
supplies, the quality of the water was poor. Reporting in 1870, Dr. Buchanan, medical officer of the
Privy Council, graphically described its condition as
'scandalously filthy'. (fn. 49) This was partly because
towns higher up the river, particularly Leamington
and Coventry, allowed their sewerage to enter the
river. Legal action was successfully taken against
Kenilworth in 1883 and Leamington in 1884, (fn. 50) but
less progress was made against Coventry in 1885. (fn. 51)
Meanwhile Warwick's supply was considerably
improved by the construction of works at Haseley,
completed in 1876. (fn. 52) By 1878 the daily supply from
this source was about 240,000 gallons. (fn. 53) This
improvement was accompanied by the construction
of a sewerage works in 1885.
Closely allied to these measures for the improvement of public health were developments in hospital
facilities. The 'Warwick Dispensary for the sick and
poor of Warwick and its neighbourhood' had been
founded in 1826. It relied on public subscription and
the proceeds of an annual charity ball. (fn. 54) The
Warwick Provident Sick Association was founded
in addition in 1857, probably by the Revd. E. T.
Smith, Vicar of St. Paul's, and was known after 1859
as the Warwick Provident Dispensary. It was
originally a scheme for working people in St. Paul's
parish; workers with an annual income of less than
£8 paid 1d. each week, but the fund also relied on
larger subscriptions from the more opulent. A
branch was formed in Emscote in 1864. (fn. 55) These two
organizations were amalgamated in 1871, and a
limited number of beds was made available in the
Castle Street premises. By 1900 there were five beds
and a crib, and the average number of in-patients
was about 50. (fn. 56) The Dispensary ceased to function
in 1948 on the introduction of the National Health
Service.
The Guardians of the Poor Law Union erected
what is now the General Hospital in 1849. The
Nurses' Home was built in 1902, and the main
treatment wards and the medical staff quarters in
1940, in connexion with wartime emergency
services. (fn. 57) Proposals in 1880 to enlarge this hospital
to house patients with infectious diseases were
strenuously and successfully opposed by the court
leet. (fn. 58) Similarly the first site for an isolation hospital,
at the junction of the Tachbrook and Whitnash
roads, was rigorously opposed for amenity reasons. (fn. 59)
The present site for the Heathcote Hospital was
acquired in 1886 (fn. 60) and the building was opened in
the following year. The Nurses' Home was added in
1937. The use of the hospital was changed from
isolation cases to tuberculosis in 1952, and from
tuberculosis to geriatric work in 1959. (fn. 61) In 1900 a
home for crippled children named the 'Countess of
Warwick Home', was functioning in Emscote
Road. (fn. 62)
The effect of the railway in Warwick was much
less than that of the canal. Interest in the subject
was expressed as early as 1842, (fn. 63) and the Earl of
Warwick suggested that St. Nicholas Meadow might
be a suitable site for a terminal station, an idea
opposed by coach owners. (fn. 64) Trade needed a stimulus
if business was not to flow to Leamington, and a
petition signed by three hundred people was
presented to the earl, requesting that he obtain
Parliamentary authority for the construction of a
branch from Hampton in Arden. Two years later a
further move in favour of railways was led by John
Mollady, the hatter, who objected that Warwick
should be treated as a mere village, and stressed the
acute need to be linked to the railway centre at
Rugby. (fn. 65) Earlier in the previous year the council was
described as 'neuter' in regard to an application from
a railway company, (fn. 66) and a year later there was still a
minority which opposed the idea. (fn. 67) Later in 1847
the council gave its assent to the plans for the
Birmingham and Oxford Junction Railway. (fn. 68) The
construction of the line to the north of the town
proceeded in 1851, and by the end of that year the
position of the station was being discussed, the
council having sent a deputation to Mr. Brunel. (fn. 69)
Evidently the train service was a disappointment; no
expresses stopped at Warwick, and in 1853 the
company refused to put on specials even for mail. (fn. 70)
Passengers wanting fast trains, as before and since,
had to travel to Leamington.
Despite this disappointment, between 1850 and
1874 the railway certainly forced coaches out of
business in Warwick as elsewhere. In 1850 there
were daily services to Cheltenham, Oxford, Stratford, and Alcester, and less frequent journeys to
Henley-in-Arden, Shipston, and Worcester. There
were also 62 carriers serving the surrounding area. (fn. 71)
By 1874 all the coach services had disappeared, and
the number of carriers was reduced to 36. Omnibuses
from the 'Warwick Arms' and the 'Woolpack' met
all trains at Warwick and Milverton stations and
nine omnibuses ran each day to Leamington. (fn. 72) In
1881 the Leamington and Warwick Tramway began
to provide a service by means of horse-drawn trams,
running from High Street through Smith Street
and Coten End to Leamington. In 1905 electricity
displaced the horse, and the service continued until
1930. (fn. 73) For a short time afterwards the tramway
company operated with motor buses, but the service
was subsequently taken over by the Midland Red
Omnibus Company. (fn. 74) The regular Birmingham
Motor Service was licensed in 1914, leaving the
Market Place for Birmingham via Knowle and
Solihull. (fn. 75)
Postal communications, traceable from the end of
the 17th century when Warwick benefited from a
change of route, receiving mail via Banbury instead
of Coventry, (fn. 76) were frequently an object of complaint during the 19th century. (fn. 77) A post office was
established in 1716 and by 1830 it was in the
Market Place; (fn. 78) it was removed to its present (1965)
position in Old Square in 1886. (fn. 79) By 1852 Warwick
was in telegraphic communication with Coventry
and Rugby, and a line from Birmingham to Buckingham through the town was under construction. (fn. 80)
The Electric Telegraph Company received permission to extend its lines into Warwick in 1864. (fn. 81)
The Post Office took control in 1870. A request by
the Long Distance Telephone Company to extend
its lines into the town in 1883 proved abortive after
legal action against the company over patents. (fn. 82) The
National Telephone Company opened an exchange
in the Market Place in 1891, and its assets were
taken over by the Post Office in 1912. (fn. 83)
Improved communications and public services
were not paralleled in the economic sphere by an
expansion of trade and industry. Very little trade, it
was said in 1850, was carried on 'beyond what is
necessary for the supply of the inhabitants', the
cotton, worsted, and lace manufactories having
'totally declined'. (fn. 84) The chief industries in 1850
were Mollady's hat factory in the Saltisford,
Roberts's Iron Foundry in Coventry Road, and the
'stained glass and decorative painting establishment'
of William Holland at St. John's, 'where every
description of design for monumental and baronial
windows, enamelled and encaustic painting, gilding,
imitations of wood' was executed. (fn. 85) For the rest,
Warwick's industry seems largely to have been of
the domestic kind, malting being the most common
occupation until the 1880s when it declined. (fn. 86)
Cabinet making and boot and shoe manufacturing
were popular in the middle of the 19th century, but
textiles of all kinds employed comparatively few
people. (fn. 87) The closure of Mollady's hat factory soon
after 1850 was a contributory factor in the decline
of population between 1851 and 1861. (fn. 88) Rope and
twine makers, brick and tile works, and agricultural
implement manufacturers accounted for most of the
minor industrial activities in the town.
By the beginning of the 20th century the position
had not changed substantially, though a broadening
of interest is discernible. The firm of William Glover
and Sons in the Saltisford and Packmores offered a
wide range of vans, wagons, and carts, including the
vehicle awarded a prize by the London County
Council for the best dust van. The firm's engineering
department produced roller mill plants, cementmaking machinery, and constructional ironwork for
barns and churches. (fn. 89) In 1911, on the initiative of
the local chamber of trade, a town development
committee produced a booklet, with text in French
and English, setting out the advantages of establishing factories in the town. (fn. 90) The principal manufactures already established were listed, headed by
gelatine and isinglass (Geo. Nelson, Dale & Co.),
photographic film and plate, agricultural and general
engineering, building, cabinet making, furniture
cream and polish, cigars, stained glass, milling,
malting, and general printing. A plan accompanying
this survey showed various suitable industrial and
residential sites available for development in the
borough. The official town guide of 1935 singled out
engineering, confectionary and gelatine production,
motor-body building, and agricultural implement
manufacture as the principal industrial activities in
the town. (fn. 91)
The main development in this sphere took place
after the Second World War. In 1931 about 1,300
people were employed in manufactures, a large
proportion of whom worked in Leamington,
Coventry, or even further afield. By 1946 more than
twice this number were employed in 32 factories in
the town, almost half of whom were in the motor,
aircraft, and allied industries, showing the degree of
link with Coventry. (fn. 92) About half the industries
established in the town in 1961 had been founded
since 1945; a number of these were allied to various
types of engineering.
The history of smaller, distributive trades in the
town is less spectacular. In 1946 it was remarked
that although the number of people engaged in trade
was comparable with the national average, the number of shops was greatly in excess. Part of this was
due to the needs of surrounding local communities.
Such a situation seems to have obtained also in the
middle of the 19th century. (fn. 93)
The highlight in the history of banking since 1835
was the failure of the bank of Greenway, Smith and
Greenway in 1887. This caused much local distress
in Warwick and Leamington. (fn. 94) After protracted
examination and trial, reported in detail in the local
press, Mr. G. C. Greenway, formerly town clerk of
Warwick, was sentenced to five years penal servitude,
and Mr. Kelynge Greenway to one year hard
labour. (fn. 95)
Increasing awareness of public health problems
produced opposition to the town's fairs in the 19th
century. The inhabitants of Cow Lane in 1811
objected to the showing of horses there. (fn. 96) In 1827
the leet recommended the removal of the sheep fair
from Sheep Street (now Northgate Street) to the
Butts, because of complaints by the county justices. (fn. 97)
At the same time they suggested that cattle, hitherto
sold near the centre of the town, should be removed
to Castle Hill, Gerrard Street, St. Nicholas Church
Street, Smith Street, and Mill Street. In 1844 the
November cheese fair was removed from Jury Street
to the Market Place and the wool fair was held there
by 1850. (fn. 98) Despite the reorganization of fairs in
1844-45 (fn. 99) the leet jury, by virtue of the Nuisances
Removal Act, again drew attention to the problem in
1848 by asking that the cattle, horse, and sheep fairs
should at least be confined to Brook Street, and not
overflow into the corn market and other streets. (fn. 1)
The area below St. James's Chapel was still known
as the Horse Fair in 1851 (fn. 2) and the leet repeated its
request two years later. (fn. 3) This gave rise to a decision
by the town council to forbid the auction of cattle
and sheep (except rams) at all fairs. (fn. 4) Four years later
the October cattle and sheep fair was abolished. (fn. 5)
The heart of the problem was touched in 1849 when
the council was asked to provide a proper site for a
market, and a corn exchange. (fn. 6) This matter was not
mentioned in council meetings until 1851, and
nothing was achieved until 1855, when a committee
favoured the idea of a covered exchange but had no
money to build one. (fn. 7) A company was formed in that
year which bought the Castle Hotel, demolished it,
and on the site erected a Corn Exchange, which was
opened in 1856. (fn. 8) By 1888, monthly stock sales had
been established by Messrs. Gibson and Jackson of
Alcester, in a yard off West Street, (fn. 9) and Messrs.
John Margetts and Sons held sales at Coten End
twice each month. (fn. 10) By 1916 Messrs. Hutton,
Thompson and Colbourne (later R. B. Colbourne)
were holding sales there on alternate Mondays. (fn. 11)
Now (1965) the market is held each Wednesday. (fn. 12)
By 1900 the only fair to survive was the annual
Statute or Mop Fair. Originally a hiring fair, it had
become only a source of pleasure and an object of
attack. In 1901 the court leet recommended that it
should be removed from the centre of the town or,
failing this, that at least the livery vans should not be
allowed and that entertainment should cease by 11
o'clock at night. (fn. 13) In 1912 there was an attempt to
confine it to the Saturday after Stratford Mop, and
to prohibit such nuisances as the sale of toy whisks
and confetti. (fn. 14) During the 1920s several further
restrictions were proposed by the leet, and criticisms
still continue, largely because of the disruption of
traffic caused by the virtual blockage of the Market
Place and adjoining streets. (fn. 15) In 1965 the Mop was
held on 16 October, followed by a 'Charity Mop' on
22 October and the second, or 'Runaway Mop', on
the following day.
Immigrant labour, upon which the town had
depended for its short-lived industrial revolution at
the beginning of the 19th century, had become a
social, as well as public-health problem by the
middle of the century. Overcrowding, particularly in
lodging houses, (fn. 16) increased sickness, and the virtual
stagnation of Warwick's industry during the second
half of the century led inevitably to unemployment
and poverty. By 1881 a relief committee had been set
up in the parishes of St. Mary and St. Paul, which
established a soup kitchen in the neighbourhood. (fn. 17)
In 1886 the attention of the town council was drawn
to the increase of beggars. (fn. 18) By 1890 halfpenny
dinners were being served to the poor. (fn. 19) The problem
increased during and after the First World War.
A national soup kitchen had been set up in the
borough, (fn. 20) and in 1921 and 1922 acute unemployment was experienced. In January 1921 the council
found work for 55 men on three days a week on
roads and housing schemes, and still had 67 more on
the waiting list. (fn. 21) The population of the town fell
between 1891 and 1911, and there was evidently
some emigration abroad, since by 1900 two agencies
for the purpose had been established, by H. T.
Cooke and Sons and R. M. Ivens. (fn. 22)
A number of tradesmen in business in Warwick
by 1850 indicate the growth of demand for luxury
articles and of leisure time activity. There were, for
example, two bird and animal preservers (one of
whom also made artificial eyes), seven booksellers,
binders, printers and stationers, two of whom had
lending libraries, and four of whom were also music
dealers, and three coffee and dining rooms. A Mr.
Wilcox was the proprietor of a 'Cabinet of Elizabethan Gems', and Mr. Redfern of Jury Street had a
shop 'full of antiquities and ancient Bijoterie . . . and
all those odds and ends which wealthy persons are
apt to fancy when time and money hang heavy on
hand'. (fn. 23) By the end of the century fancy drapers and
antique furniture dealers were established in the
town and refreshment rooms had increased in
number, including the tea gardens at the Portobello
Hotel, Emscote, where pleasure boats could be hired
for trips on the river. (fn. 24)
This last phenomenon, in particular, reflects
Warwick's growing importance as a tourist attraction. The castle had been open to individual visitors
at least from the end of the 17th century, (fn. 25) but by
the end of the 19th century tourism was becoming
important to the town as an economic factor. The
most distinguished visitor during the period was
Queen Victoria, in whose honour the town council
spent over £300 in 1858 in providing triumphal
arches, platforms, bands, and feasts for school
children. (fn. 26) In 1885 Lord Warwick temporarily
closed the castle, causing consternation in the town.
It was said to be 'quite a calamity . . . One day last
week eight American visitors who were staying at
one of the principal hotels left somewhat hurriedly
in consequence of their being unable to gain admission to the castle'. (fn. 27) This was only one of many
similar instances. The castle was evidently soon
reopened, and a delegation of colonial and Indian
visitors was fêted in the town after a visit there in
1886. (fn. 28) By 1900 a ticket office for admission to the
castle had been established in Mill Street, and a
permanent guide was employed. (fn. 29)
The races still continued to be an important
attraction, accompanied usually by the opening of
the theatre, firework displays, and a Race Ball. (fn. 30) By
1900 there were four annual meetings, which were
'much frequented'. (fn. 31) The race stand was enlarged
in 1852. (fn. 32) St. Mary's Common was also used for
military reviews, and the Royal Agricultural Show
was held there in 1859 and 1892. (fn. 33) The theatre was
opened during the assizes as well as on race days
until the 1850s. (fn. 34) Subsequently plays were staged at
the Corn Exchange and the Shire Hall. (fn. 35) In September 1910 the Albert Hall in Edward Street became
the first licensed cinema in the town, and in the
following month a similar licence was granted for
the Corn Exchange. (fn. 36) In 1914 the Albert Hall was
reconstructed and became the Hippodrome Cinematograph Theatre, (fn. 37) but it was closed by 1928. (fn. 38)
The County Theatre at St. John's was built by 1924,
but was closed in the early 1950s. (fn. 39) Warwick
Cinema at Coten End was closed during the early
1960s.
A number of clubs and societies formed in the
town during the 19th century give some idea of the
intellectual and recreational interests of the inhabitants. By 1836 the Warwick and Leamington
Mechanics' Institute was in existence, but in the
following year was considering a break with
Leamington, calling itself instead the Warwick
Institute for Readings and Lectures. (fn. 40) The Warwickshire Natural History and Archaeological
Society was founded in 1836, and established a small
museum at the Market Hall. (fn. 41) The Warwick and
Warwickshire Horticultural Society appeared in
1839, and a Glee Club about 1846. (fn. 42) In 1844 a News
and Billiard Club was opened in New Street, and
two years later the Athenaeum was established in
Church Street, affording 'facilities for moral and
intellectual improvement, by the aid of a library,
reading, and news room'. (fn. 43) Similar clubs were
opened later in the century, the Nelson Club House
in Wharf Street in 1883 and the Borough Club in
Swan Street in 1886. (fn. 44) By 1850, apart from the
public subscription library, there were two private
circulating libraries in the town, (fn. 45) which were
supplemented in 1866 by the Free Public Library
established by the town council. (fn. 46) One of the town's
seven booksellers in 1850 was Henry T. Cooke who,
between 1860 and 1905, issued historical books and
guides of the town and county of considerable
value. (fn. 47) His contribution to the history of the town
provided material for the historical pageants
organized in the town in the early years of the 20th
century. The annual Warwick Dog Show, established by 1886, was said to be the largest in the
provinces. (fn. 48)
During the 19th century golf and cricket seem to
have been the most popular sports in the town. The
Warwickshire Golf Club used St. Mary's Common
from 1886, (fn. 49) and a town club was using the Pigwells
by 1911. (fn. 50) The Warwick Old Cricket Club was
founded in 1841, and the Warwick New Club and
the Cape Club were playing regularly by 1849. (fn. 51)
Polo was played on St. Mary's Common by 1885. (fn. 52)
Playing fields were laid out in Hampton Road by
1904. A swimming bath had been constructed in St.
Nicholas Meadow by 1875, drawing water directly
from the river. (fn. 53)
Warwick's position on the route between the west
of England and Coventry made the problem of
traffic in the town acute, particularly after the
Second World War. (fn. 54) The interest of the court leet
and the town council was focussed on this from the
late 19th century, ranging from measures against the
reckless riding of bicycles in 1894, and suggestions
for a speed limit of ten miles per hour in 1909, (fn. 55) to
suggestions for road improvements in the 1920s and
the provision of a pedestrian crossing in 1965. The
construction of a by-pass to the west of the town,
commenced in 1965, and the redevelopment of the
central area as a shopping precinct are designed to
preserve the historic centre of the town and give
stimulus to further industrial and commercial
development. (fn. 56)