Judith Dugdale was the granddaughter of Sir William Dugdale, the famed antiquarian. Her letter to her daughter Isabella, in 1727, is a bit of a rant about the failings of ...
Fulke Greville (1554-1628) is one of the most notable Warwickshire figures from the age of Shakespeare. A prolific writer of love sonnets, he also experimented with new literary genres, including ...
Unlike the County Gaol and the House of Correction which adjoined it, as well as St. Mary’s Church nearby, the Shire Hall suffered little damage in the Warwick great fire ...
Francis Willughby was born at Middleton Hall, Warwickshire, and is known for his Ornithologia libri tres in 1676 (the English edition, The Ornithology of Francis Willoughby. In three books wherein all the Birds ...
Towering over scholarship on Warwickshire’s Past is the figure of William Dugdale, author of the Antiquities of Warwickshire. Born in 1605 in Shustoke, he lived at Blyth Hall in the ...
The Throckmorton family have been living at Coughton since 1412. Their house, Coughton Court, is now open to the public though the National Trust. The oldest part of Coughton Court ...
Stratford-upon-Avon ‘STRETFORD’
This is the Stratford Shakespeare would have been familiar with. The bridge over the River Avon – Clopton Bridge – was built in the 15th century. It still exists ...
Warwick ‘WARWICKE’
The walls and turrets of Warwick Castle can be seen on the right of the town. The castle was built in 1068 and was home to the Earls of ...
Rugby ‘RVGBY’
Several Warwickshire towns were built by the River Avon. Here it flows past Rugby before reaching Warwick and Stratford-upon-Avon. The Tapestry shows St Andrew’s church, that was largely rebuilt in ...
In recent decades, the focus of archivists and conservators has moved beyond the text alone and we have begun to realise the importance and historical value of the book as ...
The winter festivities are over and the New Year has swept in, but while many of us gave presents at Christmas, how many gave gifts at New Year?
This article highlights a ...
In part one, I looked at the castle’s owners’ involvement in colonialism up to the point of Robert Greville, 2nd Lord Brooke. Further involvement was to follow, as I examine ...
The owners of Warwick Castle have always aspired for connection, and involvement, with the wider world – from the earliest Anglo-Norman earls patronage of the Knights Templar, to Thomas Beauchamp, ...
I was by birth a gentleman, living neither in any considerable height nor yet in obscurity.
Oliver Cromwell.
Oliver Cromwell was brought up in modest circumstances and at 17, as the eldest ...
The Coventry of the Sheldon Tapestry map was a medieval walled city. You can see the walls, turrets and gates surrounding the houses and churches.
The River Sherbourne acted as a ...
To identify exactly what inspires great works of art is an impossible task. However, when presented with the ideal subject artists often flock to paint, draw or sculpt it.
Warwick Castle, ...
(Continued from part one)
Like oranges, black servants were far from uncommon in wealthy households during the 1600s. Indeed, both King Henry VIII and his daughter Elizabeth I had black people ...
If visiting historic country houses has taught me one thing, it is that you should always carry a torch with you. Delicate fabrics, drawings and materials necessitate low lighting levels; ...
(Continued from part one)
The second Earl was not only a collector of art, but seemed to enjoy participating in the creation of it too. It has been noted that both ...
By the year 1816 the walls of Warwick Castle held one of England’s most ambitious collections of Old Master Portraiture ever assembled. Despite the sale of the Castle in 1978 ...
You may not be aware that Warwick was visited on at least two occasions by one of the most famous painters of the 18th century. Giovanni Antonio Canal (1697-1768) was ...