TALES of Kenilworth’s gruesome past will be told in a guided history tour to mark the launch of a new book detailing the unfortunate ends of former residents of the town.
Adam Wood, a local historian who specialises in Victorian true crime, has written Bloody Kenilworth, a pocket-sized walking guidebook which details various stories of how normal people in the town met their untimely deaths, and guides readers through the town step by step so they can visualise how these incidents happened.
To launch the book, Adam will lead a guided tour of the route covered in part of the book on Thursday September 7. It will start at 6.30pm from Kenilworth Books in Talisman Shopping Centre, passing by Kenilworth railway station before finishing at St John’s Church at 7.30pm on Warwick Road.
Following the walk, Adam will give a further talk at the church about his work and will be signing books.
He said: “When it came to researching this book, there were so many areas of Kenilworth with fascinating pasts that I had to split the route in the book into two. There were just too many interesting cases to choose from.
“Starting in Talisman Shopping Centre made perfect sense – the site was the former home of the Kenilworth Tannery, where an unfortunate worker fell through a glass skylight and lost his life.
“It is these kinds of incidents in recent history that shine a light on what working conditions were like back then for ordinary people, and how violent crime was easier to get away with.
“I hope people enjoy reading about the lives of these people in my book and enjoy immersing themselves in history either on the launch tour or by following the route of the book themselves.”
Tickets for the walking tour are £5 but attending the talk in the church is free. Places can be booked at Kenilworth Books online at www.kenilworthbooks.co.uk or by popping into the bookshop.
