Warwick Castle
Warwick Castle is the most visited castle in England, with the possible exception of the Tower of London.
It is situated in the historic old town of Warwick, in a wonderful setting on the River Avon.
There were Anglo-Saxon fortifications here, put up by Ethelfleda in the 10th century, and William the Conqueror ordered a new castle to be constructed shortly after the Norman Conquest. The first Constable was Henry de Newburgh, who was made Earl of Warwick.
From 1265, the title and castle passed to the powerful Beauchamp family. They created most of what can be seen today, including the massive towers known as Guy's Tower and Caesar's Tower, as well as the excellent Gatehouse and Barbican, complete with murder holes.
In 1356, French prisoners captured at Poitiers were incarcerated in Guy's Tower.
After the death of Warwick the Kingmaker, Richard III started to build an artillery fort, but this was never completed. Two towers survive, the Clarence Tower and the Bear Tower, which incorporates a bear pit.
During the Civil War, Warwick Castle was besieged by the Royalists.
The grounds were landscaped in the 18th century by Capability Brown.
Posted by colin on Tuesday 25th December, 2007 at 10:04am