RECENT PROJECTS

Leamington Spa: University Town

Warwick University is located on the outskirts of Coventry. Yet over 5,000 students and around 500 staff choose to live in Leamington Spa, nearly ten miles away. How did Leamington become a ‘university town’, and what impact has this had on Leamington over the past 60 years?

Lords of the Manor: The Lost History of Caludon Castle

This is the story of the rise and fall of Caludon Castle – now a sandstone ruin in the Coventry suburb of Wyken, but once owned by some of England’s most illustrious families – and how a local boy with a life-long passion for history put it back on the map.

100 Years of The Loft (Trailer)

2022 marked the centenary of Leamington’s beloved Loft, an outstanding non-professional theatre staffed entirely by dedicated volunteers. I had the privilege of working with The Loft chronicling the centenary year, telling the history of the first hundred years, and learning about what makes the organisation tick.

Birth of a Spa Town

The story of Leamington’s transformation from a small village to a thriving spa town in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the origins of Leamington’s spa industry, the development of the Pump Rooms and the demise of the original baths in Old Town.

This was a collaborative process with Leamington History Group, Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum, students and staff from Myton School and Alan Gill – actor and director of the Teatro theatre school.

LEAMINGTON’S VICTORIAN LEGACY

The story of Leamington’s evolution during the Victorian Age, revealing how many of Leamington’s most famous landmarks – including Jephson Gardens, the Town Hall, the Mill Bridge and Victoria Park – came into being. It also explains the town’s important connections to the history of lawn tennis, and why elephants are such a prominent symbol around the town.

This was commissioned by Leamington History Group and was a collaborative process involving Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum, students from local schools and actor Alan Gill.

Life After Victoria

The story of Leamington Spa in the early 20th century – its contribution to the First World War and the Votes for Women movement, the transformation in living conditions and workers’ rights, and the birth of some of the town’s most treasured cultural institutions. We also bring the long-lost Leamington and Warwick Tramway back to life!

Many Cultures, One Town

This is the fourth in a series of videos created by Leamington History Group and local filmmaker Mark Ellis chronicling the history of the town. It shows how Leamington recovered after 1945 to become a thriving industrial and tourist town. We also hear the stories of people who came from Poland, Ireland, India, Pakistan, Africa and the Caribbean to make Leamington their home – why they came and the challenges they sometimes faced building a new life here.

It’s a celebration, not only of Leamington’s diversity, but also of the contribution of these communities to the political, economic and cultural life of the town as a whole.

LACHRIMAE CONSORT

Live performance of music and spoken word commemorating John Downland’s connections with Caludon Castle. Filmed at St Philip’s Church, Dorridge.

ALONE AGAIN (BUT NATURALLY)

Performance poetry video featuring Theo Theobald (theo@wellwrittenwords.co.uk) – former Worcestershire Poet Laureate and professional funeral celebrant. Shot on location at Westall Park Natural Burial Ground.

WARWICKSHIRE OPEN STUDIOS: PLEIN AIR

Promotional video for Warwickshire Open Studios Plein Air open air art event in Jephson Gardens, September 2022.

LEAMINGTON CLIMATE JUSTICE PROTEST

Highlights of the Climate Justice Protest in the Pump Room Gardens on 6th November 2021, organised by Warwick and Leamington Labour Party in collaboration with the COP26 Coalition.