It has been asserted that the history of Warwick is the history of England, and certain it is that the ancient town has been involved in the majority of the great events which have helped to make the national record. In those stirring events Warwick Castle has played no mean part, and is still the glory of the town and county. It is undoubtedly the most magnificent of the ancient feudal mansions still used as a residence, and its grand position upon a crag overlooking the Avon has accentuated its imposing grandeur in no mean degree. Its chief features are Cæsar's Tower and Guy's Tower, of the fourteenth century, and the Gateway Tower in the centre. The residential apartments and the Great Hall suffered in the fire of 1871, but have been rebuilt. Both the castle and the contents teem with interest. (Open to visitors as a rule; no fixed fee. Tickets obtained at small cottage opposite Castle Lodge, Castle Hill.)
St. Mary's Church is one of the most interesting ecclesiastical buildings in the country. A Saxon church stood upon the site, and a later building was made collegiate by Earl Roger de Newburgh. It was granted to the town as a parish church at the Dissolution. The central object of interest is the famous Beauchamp Chapel, 1443 to 1464, one of the best examples extant of Perpendicular architecture bordering upon the Tudor, and showing occasionally traces of incipient Renaissance. Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, Regent of France, and guardian of Edward VI., lies buried here, and his effigy in bronze, the finest in existence of that nature, lies in the centre of the chapel. Against the north wall is the magnificent monument of the famous Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester—splendid in life and sumptuous in death. Two small ante-chapels are seen—one is probably a chantry. In the chancel lie Thomas Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, and his second Countess, both of whom died in 1370; their effigies of white marble, with many 'weepers' round the pedestal, are of great interest.
Lord Leycester's Hospital.—There are but few places in England where such a picturesque and impressive grouping of old timbered houses may be seen; antique gables and eaves, richly-carved beams and mysterious recesses; overhanging stories and twisted chimneys, with an old gateway and a church tower thrown in—it forms a gem of which any city might be proud. The Hospital was originally a hall of the Guilds; in 1571 the Earl founded it for the reception of twelve poor men, who still wear the bear and ragged staff as a cognizance. Many half-timbered houses and quaint old-world nooks remain in Warwick to delight the eye of the artist and the antiquary, especially near the castle.
Town Plan No. 14—Leamington.
LEAMINGTON
A little over a mile separates Warwick from the Royal Leamington Spa, a beautiful garden city, which has sprung into existence by reason of the discovery of the efficacy possessed by the mineral waters in 1784. Until that period it was a small village called Leamington Priors. The chief springs are saline and sulphuretted saline.
The Jephson Gardens are beautifully placed on the north bank of the River Leam, and form one of the chief centres of attraction, and the Royal Pump Room Gardens face the river on the other side of the bridge. As might be expected from such a modern town, there are no objects of antiquity to describe. Returning to Warwick, the road to Guy's Cliff is taken, running due north, and the entrance-lodge occurs in about a mile. A fine view of the house is obtained from this point on looking up the avenue of majestic firs; it was built in 1822, succeeding a small country mansion, and is in the possession of Lord Algernon Percy. Situated upon a cliff with a wide part of the river beneath, it forms a singularly beautiful picture. (It is only shown to visitors when the family is absent.)
The Chapel adjoins the mansion on the east, and contains a figure of Guy, Earl of Warwick, dating from the fourteenth century. Guy's Lane is near the chapel.