1963 – July – Kenilworth Magistrates Court

Nabbed Slabs From Royal Showground

A 26 year-old scrap dealer of no fixed abode and his 20 year-old girlfriend were charged at court with stealing 60 paving slabs from the Royal Showground on July 10th. Ivor Taylor was fined £15 and Celia Hamilton of Buxton was put on probation for two years.

Inspector Albert Cox said that the couple owned a lorry and for the past two or three months had been taking goods to the Royal Show site. The Inspector said; “Their lorry became quite well known and after the show had finished they were able to go into the grounds uninterrupted”. He added that the couple were seen loading the slabs onto the lorry by two men, who reported them to police. In a statement, Taylor said; “I realise what a fool I have been and I am only sorry my girlfriend had to be involved”.

Police Barely Caught Them

Eight Coventry youths, aged between 18 and 21 went for a midnight ‘skinny-dip’ in the open air baths in the Abbey Fields on June 6th. They were John Grey (18), Andrew Scott (20), Garry Owen (20), Richard Craddock (19), Roger Mellwraith (21), Bernard Ferris (21), David Winter (19) and Ralph Dolby (21). They were each fined 10 bob (50p).

Inspector Albert Cox said that a police officer heard the boys, five of which were caught plus three who had disappeared into the darkness but they later returned. Inspector Cox also said that there was always trouble of some sort in the Abbey Fields but the culprits weren’t caught every time. He told the bench; “We were able to catch these boys because we confiscated their clothes while they were swimming. They wouldn’t have got far without them.

Priest Wasn’t Paying Enough Attention

After a collision, a Leamington priest was charged with driving without due care and attention at Bericote crossroads on May 7th. The Rev. James Murphy of St. Bede’s College, pleaded not quilty but the case was found proven against him. He was fined £7 and ordered to pay £1-2s-4d in court costs and his licence was endorsed.

The 17 year-old motor cyclist involved in the accident, Philip Bunting of Warwick, said that he was travelling home from Coventry. As he approached the crossroads he saw a car coming towards the halt sign on the minor road. “I am sure it stopped” said Mr Bunting; “I accelarated but the car pulled out and it was nearly half-way across the main road when the collision occurred”. Continuing, he said “I hit the front of the car and travelled further up the road. I couldn’t stop straight away because my left leg was broken”.

Mr W. Maddocks, presiding, said that the bench knew the visibility was bad at that crossroads because of a hedge and recommended that the County Council should look into the matter. Inspector Cox told the magistrates that recommendations had already gone through as a watch had been kept on several crossroads at the time of the Royal Show.

Two Naughty Boys ‘Knocked Off’ Bicycles

Two Kenilworth boys, one aged nine and the other aged 12, admitted at the juvenile court to offences of cycle stealing. The nine-year-old was given a conditional discharge but the older boy was put on probation for two years. Both stole cycles from outside of Kenilworth swimming baths and then sold them. The three cycles concerned in the case were said to have been disposed of for the grand price of 2s-5d each, bargins!

Dream Rider

For riding his bicycle on a footpath in the Abbey Fields, a 15 year-old boy was fined 5 shillings at the juvenile court. The boy said that he did so “sub-consciously, I didn’t give it a thought”.

Arrested as They Rested – Then Off To The Slammer

A tall story was told to a police officer when he apprehended two men in a summer-house in the garden of a house in High Street. “We were only resting” said one of them, 48 year-old Robert Matthews, of no fixed abode. The officer saw to it that Matthews and his 27 year-old accomplice, Reginald Mariner, who also does not boast a home address, were escorted to a place more in keeping with their kind, a cell at Kenilworth Police Station.

At court, both admitted being on enclosed premises for unlawful intent. They departed from court en route for other enclosed premises far less pleasant than those in which they were nabbed, a prison cell. Three months at her majestys pleasure was imposed on both men. For Matthews it will be his 16th prison term. His criminal record was triggered off in 1940 and has since made 18 court apperances. These led to a total of 22 and a half years of convictions, in which he has served about 20 years. Matthews told the bench his troubles began after he was torpedoed during the war, and he added that a man who has incurred as many prison sentences as he had, could not be normal.

The arrest of the two men, said Inspector Albert Cox, was due to the keen observation of an off-duty Coventry policewoman who also lived in High Street. She had noticed them hanging about and kept an eye on them from a window. When they thought the coast was clear they shinned over a wall into the garden where the summer-house was located. She then phoned Kenilworth police. At the station, Matthews shouldered the blame for the intended escapade. Mariner said he would not have been involved but for the fact that a few drinks had dulled his “sense of responsibility”.

2021 – 6th May – Kenilworth Town Council – By Election

St John’s Ward

LIB-DEMS LOSE SEAT TO TORIES

Kenilworth Town Councillors (17 seats)

8 Green Party (P. Jones, A. Firth, T. Drew, A. Kennedy, A. Dearing, J. Dearing, P. Austin, P. Barry)

6 Liberal Democrats (K. Dickson, R. Dickson, G. Hyde, S. Cooke, A. Chalmers, A. Milton)

3 Conservative Party (J. Cooke, M. Coker, R. Spencer)

1963 – October – Kenilworth Magisrates Court

Helped Herself at the Self-Service Store

The court was told, a 58 year-old Kenilworth spinster stole a pound of butter and a packet of gammon whilst shopping in the Fine Fare, self-service supermarket in Warwick Road. Lilly Watts of Stoneleigh Ave, who was employed as a housekeeper, pleaded guilty to the thefts. Supermarkets, remarked Inspector Albert Cox, “These are places which display their goods to all and sundry and there is a temptation for people to take stuff”.

He said that Watts was shopping in the supermarket on September 3rd and was putting several articules into a basket provided by the store. But the manager saw her slip the butter and gammon into her own basket. He told the cashier about the incident. Asked by the cashier, after paying for the goods in the store’s basket, if she had anything else, Watts said she had not. But when the manager approached her, Watts admitted the thefts. She was fined £2.

Cigs Cost Her Nearly £1 Each

At court, a 48 year-old Kenilworth woman alleged to be earning £9-a-week, stole 30 cigarettes from the self-service supermarket, Fine Fare in Warwick Road. She is Winifred Ellen Bucknill of Mortimer Road, who pleaded guilty.

Inspector Albert Cox said that Bucknill was shopping in the supermarket at around 12.45p.m. on October 8th. The store’s assistant manager saw her take the cigarettes and place them in a basket provided by the store. When she went to pay she did not declare them to the cashier. When the manager questioned her she said she had not taken them. But later, when the police were called, she admitted the theft.

The bench was told that she had previous convictions of a similar nature. The court showed no sympathy and fined her a right packet of £25.

Not So Clever Litter Lout

Norman Parkinson of Coventry was not so clever as he ought to have been when he set out to dump a pile of junk which included, three tins cans, a pedal operated bin, cardboard boxes, paper, bricks, a cement bag, a car battery and a box of rubbish. The place he chose to convert into a wayside tip was a country lane, Cryfield Grange Road, which connects the Coventry Road to Crackley Lane.

To the defendant’s dismay, he was traced by the painstaking work of a policeman, who discovered amongst the junk a bit of paper bearing his name and address. Which proved very useful.

The magistrates dumped a fine of £5 on Mr. Parkinson for ‘depositing litter’.

2023 – 4th May – Warwick District Council Elections – Kenilworth

Abbey & Arden Ward (3 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShare %
David John ArmstrongGreen Party 159716.85
Kyn AizlewoodGreen Party 153516.20
*Richard John HalesConservative Party129213.63
John WatsonGreen Party127513.45
*John Anthony CookeConservative Party126213.32
Janet Elizabeth Sara GeeConservative Party123012.98
Annabella Mia Gurney-TerryLiberal Democrats3493.68
Ederyn WilliamsLiberal Democrats3453.64
Hannah DeaconLabour Party3073.24
Timothy Edward Gordon MacyConservative Party2853.01

Registered Voters 8,411

Ballot Papers Issued 3.322 (14 spoilt papers)

Votes Cast 9,477 (39.5% turnout)

Park Hill Ward (3 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShare %
*Alistair James KennedyGreen Party183820.01
Lara Louise CronGreen Party158517.26
Lowell Charles WilliamsGreen Party133314.51
Malcom GrahamConservative Party106611.61
Felicity Gena BunkerConservative Party97110.57
Frances LasokConservative Party8469.21
Jeremy EastaughLabour Party4915.34
Adrian George John Marsh Liberal Democrats4364.75
Alan Gordon ChalmersLiberal Democrats4044.40
Silva FuchssLiberal Democrats2142.33

Registered Voters 7,767

Ballot Papers Issued 3,232 (9 spoilt papers)

Votes Cast 9,184 (41.6% turnout)

St. John’s Ward (3 seats)

CandidatePartyVotesShare %
*Katherine Sara DicksonLiberal Democrats194819.96
*Richard Guy DicksonLiberal Democrats182618.71
*Andrew William MiltonLiberal Democrats147315.09
Richard SpencerConservative Party116611.95
Joe RukinGreen Party9729.96
Andy MetcalfConservative Party9569.80
Isabella MooreConservative Party8869.08
Peter SheilsLabour Party5325.45
*denotes sitting councillor

Registered Voters 7,730

Ballot Papers Issued 3,586 (20 spoilt papers)

Votes Cast 9,755 (46.4% turnout)

ALL CHANGE AT THE DISTRICT

For the past four years the Tories had been leading a minority administration, along with the Whitnash Residents Association. But in the election, they lost 10 seats, and were left with only 6 remaining members.

In Kenilworth, the Lib-Dems easily retained their three seats in St. John’s. In the other two wards, five seats went to the Greens, which included four new faces. The remaining seat went to surviving Tory member, Richard Hales, who retained his seat in Abbey & Arden by just 17 votes. John Cooke, lost his seat in the same ward, which he had held for the last eight years.

Tory, George Illingworth (pictured) who was first elected to the WDC in 2007, did not seek re-election this year due to retirement from local government. He was elected chairman in 2019/20.

The Greens are Growing

The Greens were the biggest winners, gaining 6 seats to become the largest party with 14 members. But there was no overall control. So the parties had to come to an agreement that would suit everyone.

Voter ID Arrives – with success

99.95% of electors who came to vote in Warwick District Council polling stations brought photo ID, which met the newly introduced voter ID requirements. 

Figures across the district shows that 28,432 electors voted at 126 polling stations. 106 electors that were initially turned away, 92 returned with a valid ID and voted. But 14 electors (0.05%) did not return. This means 86.79% of those initially turned away returned later in the day and voted.

State of the parties at the council (44 seats): 14 Green Party, 11 Labour Party, 10 Liberal Democrats, 6 Conservative Party, 3 Whitnash Residents Association.

Kenilworth District Councillors

5 Green Party (D. Armstrong, K. Aizlewood, A. Kennedy, L. Cron, L. Williams)

3 Liberal Democrats (K. Dickson, R. Dickson, A. Milton)

1 Conservative Party (R. Hales)

2023 – 4th May – Kenilworth Town Council – Elections

Abbey Ward (2 seats)

St John’s Ward (4 seats)

Park Hill Ward (4 seats)

Dalehouse Ward (4 seats)

Borrowell Ward (3 seats)

GLORIOUS GREENS MARCH ON – LIB-DEMS CONSOLIDATE

Green Councillors – Peter Jones, Mark Stevens and Zoe Leventhal

Same Again For Liberal Democrats

No Tories Left on Council

Voter ID Arrives

Polling Stations

Polling Station in the car park of the Queen & Castle pub (Abbey Ward)

Fancy an Election Job?

Kenilworth Town Councillors (17 seats)

Warwick District Council ‘Chairman’

1973/4
Christopher Webster
1974/5
Kenneth Rawnsley
1975/6
James Molineux Savory
1976/7
Marshall Edward Kerry
1977/8
Bernard Kirton
1978/9
Norman Raymond Parker
1979/80
Thomas Leo Howlett
1980/1
Stanley William Birch
1981/2
William Henry Wozencroft
1982/3
John Hulstone Higgins
1983/4
Peter Graham Barton
1984/5
Michael Francis Coker
1985/6
Agnes Lavinia Leddy
1986/7
John Allan Morley
1987/8
John Stanley Hammond
1988/9
Spencer Charlton Harrison
1989/90
Valerie Margaret Davis
1990/1
Gerald Brian Guest
1991/2
Robert James Coombes
1992/3
Clifford Samuel Clever
1993/4
William Boxley
1994/5
Peter John Byrd
1995/6
Robert Wooller
1996/7
Joyce Esther Evans
1997/8
Margaret Ann Begg
1998/9
George Darmody
1999/00
Josephine Compton
2000/1
Royston Short
2001/2
Haydn Thomas
2002/3
Balvinder Singh Gill
2003/4
Michael Doody
2004/5
Christopher Davis
2005/6
Dave Shilton
2006/7
Bill Evans
2007/8
Les Cabron
2008/9
Judy Falp
2009/10
Norman Pratt
2010/11
Bertie Mackay
2011/12
Felicity Bunker
2012/13
Michael Kinson OBE
2013/14
Richard Davies
2014/15
Clare Sawdon
2015/16
Michael Doody
2016/17
Jane Knight
2017/18
Alan Boad
2018/19
Stephen Cross
2019/20
George Illingworth
2020/21
Martyn Ashford
2021/22
Neale Murphy
2022/23
Mini Kaur Mangat
2023/24
Sidney Syson
2024/25
Robert Margrave

Buyrite – The End of ‘Aladin’s Cave’ – Arthur Harrison – 2023

Sent from (not too) Coventry

Shop to be Re-developed by Landlords

One of Buyrite’s shops in Talisman Square 2006/7

Wilco Did Buyrite a Favour

‘Wilco’s arrival did Arthur a favour

Kenilworth Vibes Goes ‘Viral’

Trading was extended by a month
Bye-Bye Arthur

Shutters Go Up

Empty (except for the till which they couldn’t sell)

May 2023

Boarded up – July 2023

Tony Dilworth’s – Ghostly Encounters – 40 years Apart

‘The Knight on the Tiltyard’

Finham brook at the ford. Where many trout were caught, especially during floods periods

‘The Saintlowe Tower Lady’

Saintlowe Tower – Built by John O’Gaunt in the late 1370s
The Great Hall
The basement of the Great Hall, Saintlowe tower is in the right-hand corner
View of Echo Meadows from Saintlowe Tower – Once part of the Great Mere

Tony Dilworth 2024

Pebbles In The ‘Pool of Life’ – Cyril Hobbins – In His Own Words

Photo courtesy of Cyril Hobbins

A Change of Career

Drawings by Cyril Hobbins

Charlecote House, near Stratford-Upon-Avon, Warwickshire.

Out in the Streets

Out in the Streets – Cyril in Kenilworth town centre

https://www.ephotozine.com/user/hobbo-150445

Disney – An Enduring Memory

The Famous Hollywood Sign – Photo by Tony Dilworth
Cyril in his Typical Toy-Making Outfit – leather apron, neckerchief and Victorian stripy shirt – pictured with John Lasseter.
Photo courtesy of Sami Matias

Cyril Hobbins 2023