Warwick Information
About Warwick
Warwick
is a modern and vibrant county town of Warwickshire, with a number of
specialist independent shops, restaurants, pubs and accommodation.. It
offers the opportunity of exploring architectural structures of medieval
history but also those of our more recent past. The town is most famous
for Warwick Castle, originally built in 1068. The town centre is also
known for its historic architecture, and contains a mixture of Tudor and
17th-century buildings.
Warwick was established on the banks of the River Avon in 914
AD by Ethelfleda, sister of 
Edward
the Elder. The town was built as a defence against the Viking invaders.
It is built on a small hill which controlled not only the river valley
but also the river crossing on the road to London and the roads to Stratford,
Coventry and the salt way to Droitwich. The Anglo-Saxon town was surrounded
partly by a wall and partly by a ditch.
Warwick become an important administrative centre due to its fortifications. England was divided into administrative centres Known as Shires in early 11th century Anglo-Saxon times, which is how the country became known as Warwickshire.. By the time of Domesday Book, Warwick was a royal borough.
In medieval times, Warwick remained under the control of various
Earls of Warwick, mostly of the Beauchamp family, and became a walled
town. Today the only remains of the town walls are the east and west gatehouses.
The Eastern gatehouse now serves as part of the King's High School, a
sister institution to Warwick School. Warwick was not incorporated as
a town until 1545. During the English Civil War the town and castle were
garrisoned for the Parliamentarians. Sir Edward Peyto withstanding a two
week siege by the Royalists.
Many of the central streets of the town were destroyed by the Great Fire of 1694. The buildings which were burnt, and many which were not, were re-built in the handsome style of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. St Mary's Church, which dominates the surrounding countryside, had a new nave and tower at the same time.
Several important medieval buildings survived the fire and can be seen to this day, notably the town's medieval Guildhall, now the Lord Leycester Hospital, as well as a group of timber - framed buildings around Oken's House.
Warwick Attractions
• Warwick Castle
• Warwick Race Course
• Warwickshire Yeomanry Museum
• St John's Museum
• Lord Leycester Hospital and Master's Garden
• Hill Close Gardens
• Collegiate Church of St Mary
• Saltisford Canal Trust
• St Nicholas Park
• The Queen's Own Hussars Museum
Warwick Restaurants
• Art Kitchen, The
• Saxon Mill, The
• Rose and Crown
• Oyster Lounge, The
• Durham Ox Restaurant & Country Pub, The
Warwick Pubs/Bars/Clubs
• The Antelope
• The Cape of Good Hope
• The Crown and Castle
• Dun Cow
• The Foresters Arms
• The Great Western
• Jury's Restaurant and Wine Bar
• The Millwright Arms
• The New Bowling Green
• The Oak .
• The Old Fourpenny Shop Hotel ...
• Racehorse
• The Railway
• The Rose and Crown
• The Tilted Wig
Warwick Links
•
Warwick District Council - Local council web site.
• Warwick Chamber
of Trade - Invaluable reference and resource site for Warwick.
• Warwick Town Council Tourist Information
