Monday, 23 May 2011

WαrwìċK...

Warwick is the county town of Warwickshire, England. The town lies upon the River Avon. From the 6th century onwards, Warwick has been continuously inhabited. In medieval times, Warwick remained under the control of various Earls of Warwick, mostly of the Beauchamp family, becoming a walled town.




The middle of the 17th century also saw the founding of Castle Hill Baptist Church, one of the oldest Baptist churches in the world. Much of the medieval town was destroyed in the Great Fire of Warwick which occurred in 1694. As a result, most of the buildings in the town centre area of late 17th and early 18th century origin, although a number of older medieval timber framed buildings survive, especially around the edges of the town centre.






Warwick Gates is a newly developed housing estate and business park in Heathcote, south-west Warwick. Although separated from Warwick town centre by open fields, Warwick Gates falls within the Warwick South and bishops Tachbrook parish. It is adjacent to a small town near Leamington Spa, and nearby the village of Bishops Tachbrook.

The Tachbrook Park and Heathcote industrial estates are located nearby. The Royal Leamington Spa Rehabilitation Hospital is adjacent to Warwick Gates.

Warwick is also known for Warwick Racecourse, near the west gate of the medieval town, which hosts several televised horse racing meetings a year.






The Collegiate Church of St Mary is the Church of England parish church in the town of Warwick, England. It lies in the centre of the town just east of the market place.

The church, along with much of Warwick, was devastated by the Great Fire of Warwick in 1694. The nave and tower of the building were completely destroyed.

The rebuilt church was completed in 1704 to an unusually pure Gothic design.


Warwick Castle is a medieval castle in Warwick, the county town of Warwickshire, England. It sits on a bend on the River Avon. The castle was built by William the Conqueror in 1068 within or adjacent to the anglo-Saxon of Warwick. It was used as a fortification until the early 17th century, when Sir Fulke Greville converted it to a country house. It was owned by the Greville family, who became earls of Warwick in 1759, until 1978.


From 1088, the castle traditionally belonged to the Earl of Warwick, and it served as a symbol of his power. The castle was taken in 1153 by Henry of Anjou, later Henry II. It has been used to hold prisoners, including some from the Battle of Poitiers in the 14th century. Under the ownership of Richard Neville – also known as "Warwick the Kingmaker" – Warwick Castle was used in the 15th century to imprison the English king, Edward IV.

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A motte-and-bailey castle consists of a mound – on which usually stands a keep or tower – and a bailey, which is an enclosed courtyard. he castle defences were significantly enhanced in 1330–60 on the north eastern side by the addition of a gatehouse, a barbican (a form of fortified gateway), and a tower on either side of the reconstructed wall, named Caesar's Tower and Guy's Tower.


Caesar's Tower contained a "grim" basement dungeon; according to local legend dating back to at least 1644 it is also known as Poitiers Tower either because prisoners from the Battle of Poitiers in 1356 may have been imprisoned there or because the ransoms raised from the battle helped to pay for its construction.



The gatehouse features murder holes, two drawbridges, a gate, and portcullises – gates made from wood or metal. The towers of the gatehouse were machicolated. The façade overlooking the river was designed as a symbol of the power and wealth of the Beauchamp earls and would have been "of minimal defensive value.



"This followed a trend of 14th-century castles being more statements of power than designed exclusively for military use. "



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