Cardall's Corner - April 2018 - By Pam McConnell
The 13th April this year marks the 200th anniversary of a meeting held at the Craven Arms Inn that established Southam’s Eye and Ear Infirmary in Warwick Road. In the days before the NHS, all medical treatment had to be paid for, and this Infirmary in Southam was the first of its ...
CARDALLS CORNER - December 2017 - by Bill Pease
The arms and crest of Southam are familiar but how many of us know their origins and meaning? They were granted by the College of Arms to Southam Rural District Council on 19th May 1959. The red and silver of the shield are the basic colours of the arms of both Warwickshire County Council and [...]
CARDALLS CORNER - November 2017 - by Helen Morris and Len Gale
In the year 998 Aethelred (the Unready) gave some land which included Southam to Leofwine, the father of Earl Leofric of Coventry whose wife was the famous Lady Godiva. The description of the land still exists written in Old English in a Charter. The boundaries of Southam were carefully marked and remembered through the custom [...]
CARDALL'S CORNER - July 2017 By Linda Doyle
In the late 18th / early 19th Century it is estimated that Southam had 15 pubs operating at the same time. Today, Southam has just four remaining public houses, but each of those four pubs boasts a historical background as long as the arm that raises your pint of beer! During the 17th Century there were [...]
CARDALL’S CORNER - March 2017 By Linda Doyle
The original town centre of Southam has changed for many reasons over the years, but the most abrupt and sweeping changes have been caused by fires. Although not on such a scale as the Great Fire of Warwick in 1694, the reason a fire started and spread in Southam was no different, and the result [...]
CARDALL’S CORNER - January 2017 By Robert Sherriff
The following article by one of our members who is also a bellringer, gives us an insight into the workings of the bell tower of St James Church and the history of the bells themselves.
There are eight bells in St James Church bell tower and they sit in a double deck steel “H” frame, donated by [...]
CARDALL’S CORNER - September 2016 By Linda Doyle
For many years until March 2016, Southam had two banks: Lloyds and HSBC (formerly the Midland), both situated in the town centre. Today, only Lloyds remains, and at the time of writing, the former HSBC building is up for sale.
Banking in Southam is known to go back to 1835, when in September of that year the Leamington [...]
CARDALL’S CORNER - August 2016 By Janet Cox
The Harbury Cement Works (HCW) was as near to Bishops Itchington as it was to Harbury. Indeed the men from Bishops Itchington walked or cycled down a lane or across a field from the village to go to work at HCW, which for many years was the only work around, apart from agriculture.
We lived in Bishops Itchington and [...]
CARDALL’S CORNER - April 2016 by Robert Sherriff
Having lived in 3 houses on Warwick Road I thought I would comment a little on my favourite route into town.
Drifting downhill from Ufton one crosses the River Itchen thereby entering the Parish of Southam. A few yards further on the right hand side is the site of the Woodbine Inn which gave the name Woodbine Hill to [...]
