Wanderings round Warwick.

After a very quiet night and a sunny start to the morning we walked into the centre of Warwick via a footpath rather than down the main road. The first stop was the Tourist Information Office to pick up a leaflet of walks. The next destination was to the market. It was quite small really and surprisingly Helen didn't find anything to spend her birthday money on. I shouldn't of worried though as there are many and varied shops in the town, and not many are chain stores so there is a good variety of new establishments for her to search in. Lo and behold she did find a top that was reduced from £55 to £16 and she looks very lovely in it too. As we promenaded round the shops we were also following a walking route to see the sights of the town

Founded by the Earl of Leicester in 1571 as Almshouses for old soldiers. There was a wedding being held there today so we hope to go and have a good lock round tomorrow.

Next to the Lord Leycester Hospital is the Westgate Chapel of St. James. Wouldn't you know it that I had never seen a vertical slot post box until I saw one in Banbury, and now I have seen two more. One here at Westgate and another at Eastgate. I think that they were cast in Birmingham in 1851. They have Post Office and VR on them, and they are supposed to be like a Doric column.

This is the Eastgate to the old walled town and the other post box, or pillar box as it is called officially. There is a chapel over this gate too. The chapel was built in the 15th Century but strangely it is now in private use after being part of a girls school for a long period.

The Mayor, Beadle and Aldermen were out and about in the town today. Apparently it was the cheese tasting sessions. In the old days the Mayor and his officers had to ensure the quality of things sold in the town. This included beer, bread cheese etc. It was cheese today but a couple of weeks ago it was the beer.

This building was built in 1626 when Charles I was on the throne, as a private residence. The ground housed a school in Victorian times and it is now part of the County Museum with the upstairs housing the museum of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment which was the 6th Regiment of the Line at one time. As both were free it was well worth an hour learning about this and that.

This is the classic view of the Castle taken from Castle Bridge. This bridge replaced the old one in 1793.

 Mill Street led down to the old bridge and has 15th and 16th Century houses along it. The contrast with Regency Leamington Spa is stark here.

At the bottom of Mill Street. Is a garden open to the public. From it you get good views of the castle and it is a nice place to rest a while and get out of the maelstrom of the town. All the money goes to charity too.

This is the old bridge seen from the Mill Gardens. It has been mentioned in 1208 but was carried away in 1795 by flood water but it's remains seemed to have hung okay so far. It was only wide enough for one cart so was a bit of a bottleneck. hence the new Castle Bridge.

Another view of the castle from Mill Gardens. The first castle was just a mound built for the Saxon Queen Ethelfleda, daughter to Alfred the Great. It was built on a sandstone cliff overlooking the river. William the Conqueror chose the same spot to build his fortress to control the whole area and it was developed over the next three hundred years.

We walked back up into town and called in to St Mary's Church. The original tower was lost in the Great Fire of 1694. However they managed to halt the fire at the door to the Beauchamp Chapel which has saved a magnificent building for history.

Richard de Beauchamp was the 13th earl of Warwick. He was a favoured warrior of Henry V. So much so that when the Kind died he entrusted the education of his son, Henry VI to Warwick. No expense was spared on his chapel as it was thought the more magnificent it was the more prayers would be said for him and the sooner he would be out of purgatory and on the way to heaven. The Tomb is the finest example of gilt bronze of it's age, 1475. The whole chapel cost £2500 in those days.

The bear and staff are the insignia of the Earl's of Warwick and of Warwickshire. This alabaster carving as placed at the feet of the effigy of Ambrose Dudley the 3rd Earl of Warwick, who died in 1590. I'm not sure how this works as the earlier Beauchamp was the 13th Earl and this Ambrose was the 3rd Earl!

In the foreground on the left is the tomb of Ambrose Dudley 1590, on the right in gilt is the tomb of Richard de Beauchamp 1475, and on the fall wall is the tomb of Robert Dudley and his wife Lettice Knollys. Robert Dudley was the favourite in Court of Elizebeth I until he married Lettice and they were both banned from Court. Their infant son, also Robert, Lord Denbigh, died in infancy and is also buried in a tomb here known as the 'Noble Imp'.

Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester died in 1588 but his wife didn't die until 1634 aged 91. The tomb in the Beauchamp Chapel is still brightly coloured and detailed.

No expense was spared in the exceedingly ornate chapel the carvings are rich and it is one of the finest examples in the country. The 'Noble Imp' tomb can be just seen in the far corner below the flags.

I was glad of a cup of tea when we got back to the boat but it was a nice day getting to grips with the history of this fascinating place that contrasts so much with Leamington.