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Warwick

WARWICK, a borough and market-town, having separate jurisdiction, and the head of a union, locally in the Warwick division of the hundred of Kington, S. division of the county of Warwick, of which it is the chief town, 90 miles (N. W.) from London; containing 9775 inhabitants. This place is said by Rous, the historian of the county, to have been a British town of considerable importance prior to the Roman invasion, and this statement is confirmed by Camden, Dugdale, and other writers. The same author relates that, after its devastation by the frequent incursions of the Picts, it was rebuilt by Caractacus, on whose defeat by Claudius, in the year 50, ihe Romans, in order to secure their conquests in Britain, erected several fortresses on the banks of the Severn and Avon, of which latter, Warwick Castle was one; but this is very doubtful, the nearest Roman station having, probably, been that at Chesterton. Upon the establishment of the Saxons in the island, the town being included in the kingdom of Mercia, fell under the dominion of Warremund, who rebuilt it, and, after his own name, called it Warre-wyke: it appears, however, from a coin of Hardicanute, that its Anglo-Saxon name was Werhica. From either of these sources its present name may be derived. The place was subsequently destroyed by the Daues, and according to the most authentic records, Ethelfleda, daughter of Alfred, and Countess of Mercia, restored it about the year 913, and built a fort, which evidently forms the most ancient part of the existing castle. At the time of the Conquest, this fortress was considerably enlarged, and the town was surrounded with walls and a ditch, of which there are still some vestiges, and of which a memorial is preserved in the appellation of a certain part of the town, called "Wall-dyke." In the reign of Edward I., the fortifications were repaired by Guy, Earl of Warwick, who in 1312, with the Earl of Lancaster, having taken Piers Gavestone, the favourite of Edward II., on his route to Wallingford, brought him to this castle; he was secured for the night under the barons' guard, and in the morning removed to Blacklow Hill, about a mile from the town, where he was tried and beheaded.

In 1571, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, celebrated in St. Mary's church the ceremony of the order of St. Michael, which, by permission of Elizabeth, had been conferred upon him by Charles IX. of France. William Parr, brother of Catherine, the last consort of Henry VIII., assisted at this ceremony, and, dying soon after, was buried in the chancel of the church. Queen Elizabeth visited Warwick in 1572, on her route to Kenilworth Castle; and in 1617, James I. was splendidly entertained in the great hall of the Earl of Leicester's hospital, in commemoration of which, a tablet, with an appropriate inscription, was inserted in one of the walls of that building. During the great civil war in the reign of Charles I., Robert Greville, Lord Brooke, who embraced the cause of the parliament, defended the castle against the king. Having occasion to repair to London in order to procure a supply of arms and ammunition, he deputed Sir Edward Peto governor during his absence. The supply being obtained, he was met on his return by the Earl of Northampton, with a considerable force, near Edge-Hill; an accommodation taking place, Lord Brooke deposited his artillery and ammunition in Banbury Castle, and returned to London. After his departure, the earl, having attacked Banbury Castle, and taken the military stores, advanced to Warwick, and laid siege to the castle, which was defended by the governor for fourteen days, till Lord Brooke, on his return from London, after a successful skirmish with the earl near Southam, came to Peto's assistance, and compelled the royalists to abandon the siege. William III., in 1695, visited the town, of which, in the preceding year, more than one-half had been destroyed by a dreadful conflagration, occasioned by a spark, from a lighted piece of wood in the hand of a boy, communicating with a thatched roof. A great quantity of goods, probably in a state of ignition, having been removed for safety into the collegiate church of St. Mary, set fire to that venerable pile, which, with the exception of the chancel, the Beauchamp chapel, and the chapter-house, was destroyed. In a few years, the town was rebuilt by means of a national contribution amounting to £110,000, of which £1000 were bestowed by Queen Anne.

The town is pleasantly situated on a rock of freestone, rising gently from the north side of the river Avon, which winds round its base; the approaches on every side are good, and the surrounding scenery is richly diversified. The entrance from Banbury is strikingly picturesque: a handsome stone bridge, of one noble arch 100 feet in the span, leads into the town, which rises gradually from the bauk of the river, and presents in succession the venerable castle on the left, the spire of St. Nicholas' church in the lower ground, and the lofty tower of St. Mary's in the distance. The entrance from the Birmingham road, after passing through the suburb called Saltisford, commands a view of the priory, the county-hall, and the fine tower of St. Mary's church. The approach from Stratford is through a long ancient arched gateway, with a lofty tower on the west; and that from the Emscote road through an archway, which supports the chapel of St. Peter. The streets are spacious and regularly formed, consisting chiefly of two running east and west, crossed by another inclining to the centre of the town; the houses are in general modern and well built, interspersed with elegant mansions, and houses affording specimens of the style that prevailed before the fire. The town is paved, lighted with gas, and supplied with water from springs about half a mile distant. Assemblies are held in the town-hall, and for larger meetings, and during the races, in the countyhall; the theatre is opened during the race-week, and occasionally at other times, by the Cheltenham company. The races take place in the first week of September, and continue for three days: the course is a fine level, with a little rising ground in one part, and has undergone such improvement as to make it one of the best in the kingdom; the grand stand is handsome and commodious.

The castle, which is on the south side of the town, is one of the most splendid and entire specimens of feudal grandeur in the kingdom, and is not less remarkable for its stately magnificence than for the elegance of its architecture and the beauty of its situation. It incloses within its walls an area of nearly three acres, and the plot surrounded by the moat is more than five acres and a half. A winding road cut through the solid rock, and the sides of which are covered with ivy and with shrubs, leads from the outer lodge to a massive gateway, flanked with two towers connected by an embrasure above, and defended by a portcullis. This gateway leads into the inner court, in the north angle of which is Guy's Tower, a lofty duodecagonal structure, with a projecting and embattled parapet resting upon corbels. The north-east tower, at the opposite angle, is called Cæsar's Tower; it consists of two half circles, a greater and a less, and is more ancient, with an exploratory turret rising from within the battlements. On the north-west side are two low embattled towers, in one of which bears were anciently kept, for the purpose of baiting. The range of state apartments on the south-east, as viewed from this side of the castle, is strikingly magnificent; the windows are in fine proportion, and every part is in the highest preservation. At the south-westeru extremity, and commanding, from its elevated site, an extensive view of the surrounding country, is the keep, erected by Ethelfleda as a place of security against any sudden irruption of the Danes, and also as an exploratory tower, from which their movements might be observed; the ascent is by a winding path, now richly planted with forest-trees, among which are some cedars of Lebanon. The facade of the castle, rising from the river Avon, is a long line of flat masonry relieved only by the number and variety of its windows. The broken arches of an ancient bridge, which formerly led into the town, are still preserved, and add greatly to the beauty of the scene. The state-rooms, the armoury, and the other various apartments, are maintained in a style of appropriate grandeur; the lawns and gardens are tastefully laid out, aud in the green-house, built expressly for its reception, is the beautiful Grecian vase of Lysippus, which was dug from the ruins of Adrian's palace, at Tivoli, near Rome, and brought to England by Sir William Hamilton, under the direction and at the expense of his nephew, the late Earl of Warwick.

Very little trade is carried on beyond what is necessary for the supply of the inhabitants: the cotton manufacture, which was introduced, has entirely declined; and a worsted-factory, subsequently established, is decreasing. There are several large malting-houses, and lime, timber, and coal wharfs on the banks of the Warwick and Birmingham, and Warwick and Napton canals. These two lines, which form a junction at Warwick, come up to the northern part of the town, and, communicating with the Oxford and Birmingham canal, afford every facility of inland navigation. The Warwick and Leamington branch of the London and Birmingham railway extends from Coventry to a point between the towns of Warwick and Leamington; it is rather more than nine miles in length, cost £135,000, and was opened in 1845. An act was passed in 1846 for a railway from Birmingham, by Warwick, to the Oxford and Rugby line. The market, which is abundantly supplied with corn and provisions of every kind, is on Saturday. Fairs are held on the second Monday in January and February, the first Saturday in Lent, the second Monday in March and April, the 12th of May, the second Monday in June, July, and August, the second Monday and last Tuesday in September, on Oct. 12th (which is a pleasure and statute fair, during which an ox is generally roasted in the market-place), the second Monday in November, and the Monday before St. Thomas's day. The market-place is an extensive area surrounded by respectable houses. In the centre is the market-house, a neat substantial building of stone, of which the upper story, surmounted by a cupola and dome, is occupied by the interesting museum of the Warwickshire Natural History and Archaeological Society.

Warwick was incorporated in the 37th of Henry VIII., and made a "mayor town" by Queen Mary, in 1553: the government is now vested in a mayor, six aldermen, and eighteen councillors, under the act 5th and 6th of William IV., cap. 76. The borough is divided into two wards, and the municipal and parliamentary boundaries are co-extensive; the mayor and late mayor are justices of the peace, and there are eight others. It first exercised the elective franchise in the 23rd of Edward I., since which time it has regularly returned two members to parliament; the right of election is vested in the £10 householders, and the limits of the borough comprise 5273 acres: the mayor is returning officer. The recorder holds quarterly courts of session, for all offences not capital; and a court of record occurs every Wednesday, except in the Christmas, Easter, and Whitsun weeks, for the recovery of debts not exceeding £40, at which the town-clerk generally presides: a court leet takes place annually before the same officer, as steward, and petty-sessions are held every Monday. The powers of the county debt-court of Warwick, established in 1847, extend over the registration-district of Warwick, and part of that of Stratford. The court-house, in which the borough sessions and courts of record are held, is a handsome stone building in High-street, ornamented with fluted Corinthian pilasters, and having over the entrance a sculptured figure of Justice, surmounted by the arms of the borough: in the upper story is an assembly-room. The assizes, and general quarter-sessions of the peace for the county, take place in the county-hall, Northgate street, an elegant building of freestone, in the Grecian style; the façade is embellished with pilasters of the Corinthian order, and with a central portico of Corinthian columns supporting a pediment. On the left of the county-hall is the judges' mansion, a neat stone edifice with a handsome portico; and on the right hand is the county gaol, a large structure also of stone, of the Doric order, with massive columns in front. Opposite to the side entrance of the gaol is the county bridewell, inclosed within a high stone wall.

The town comprises the parish of St. Mary, with 6328, and that of St. Nicholas, with 3447, inhabitants; the former consisting of 2744, and the latter of 2374, acres. The living of St. Mary's is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £20; the vicar's stipend is £320, with surplice fees, and an assistant minister is paid £120 out of charity estates: the living is in the gift of the Crown, and the impropriation belongs to the corporation. St. Mary's church, formerly collegiate, of which the tower and the greater part were destroyed in the conflagration, and rebuilt in 1704, though comprising an incongruous mixture of styles, blending Roman and later English architecture, is, notwithstanding, a very stately and magnificent structure. The exterior, in many parts, is strikingly handsome; the eastern part, in particular, is elaborately embellished with panelled and richly-canopied buttresses. The tower, which rises in successive stages, variously embellished, to the height of 130 feet, is supported on four pointed arches, affording a spacious passage underneath, and is crowned with lofty pinnacles at the angles, aud with others in the centre, of less elevation. The chancel, which is in its original state, is an elegant and highly-enriched specimen of the later English style, and contains a fine altartomb to the memory of Thomas Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, and his lady, Catherine, daughter of Roger Mortimer, first Earl of March. In the south transept is the entrance to the chapel of St. Mary, erected by Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, and thence called the Beauchamp chapel; it is of later English character, and both in its external and internal embellishments, is inferior only to the chapel of Henry VII. at Westminster. The roof is elaborately groined, and enriched with fan tracery, and the altar is adorned with a well-executed representation of the Salutation, in basso-relievo, by Collins. Behind the altar is an apartment within the buttresses, said, but on insufficient authority, to have been the library of John Rous, the historian; and on the north side is a chantry, from which an ascent of four stone steps, deeply worn, leads into an apartment supposed to have been used as a confessional. In the centre of the chapel is the splendid monument of the founder, in gilt brass, his effigy being recumbent on an altar-tomb decorated with shields of armorial-bearings and numerous figures, and surmounted by a canopy. On the north side is a large monument, in the Elizabethan style, to the memory of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Upon the north side of the church is the ancient chapter-house, which is entirely occupied by the stately monument of Sir Fulke Greville, the first Lord Brooke. The living of St. Nicholas' is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £13. 6. 8., and in the patronage of the Countess of Warwick, by purchase from the corporation, who are impropriators; net income, £220, with surplice fees. The church was rebuilt in 1780, the tower and spire having been rebuilt about 40 years previously: it is a neat edifice in the later English style; the roof is groined and supported on clustered columns. A district church dedicated to St. Paul, in St. Mary's parish, was consecrated in July 1844. There are places of worship for Baptists, the Society of Friends, Independents, Wesleyans, and Unitarians; and a Roman Catholic chapel at Hampton Cottage, Grove Park.

The Free Grammar school is situated on the Butts, a place set apart for the young men of the town to exercise themselves in the use of the bow, prior to the invention of gunpowder. It was established by Henry VIII., to provide instruction in the learned languages for youths of the town and county of Warwick, and is endowed with a salary drawn from the estates formerly belonging to the collegiate church. There are two exhibitions, of £70 per annum each, to any college at Oxford, founded by Mr. Fulk Weale, of Warwick; and the school is entitled to two exhibitions to Trinity College, Cambridge, in failure of candidates from Combrook school, founded by Lady Verney. The premises occupy a quadrangle, with a cloister on two sides, and form an interesting specimen of old half-timber architecture. They were originally built by Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, or his executors, in the reign of Henry VI., for the canons of the collegiate church, and, according to the Charity-Commissioners' Report, were purchased from Sir Thomas Wagstaff, and appropriated to their present use, in 1699. The rules of the school have been lately revised by the Lord Chancellor, and to the usual classical education, arithmetical, mathematical, and general instruction has been added: the head master has £200, the second master £100, a French master £50, and a writing-master £40, per annum. A charity school, now held in the ancient chapel of St. Peter, was endowed by Lady Greville, Lord Brooke, and Mr. T. Oaken; the master's salary is £70.

Warwick Hospital, founded by Robert, Earl of Leicester, comprises the buildings that were used by the ancient guild of St. George, which, after being united in the reign of Richard II. with the guild of the Blessed Virgin and the Holy Trinity, became vested at the Dissolution in the corporation. By that body the buildings were conveyed to the earl, and he converted them into an hospital, which he endowed for a master and twelve aged brethren, especially such as had been wounded in the service of their country. The income is £2015 per annum. The premises, near the west end of High-street, form a quadrangle, on one side of which is the great hall, and on another the master's apartments, the two remaining sides being assigned to the brethren, who have separate dwellings, and a common kitchen. St. James's chapel, over the west gate of the town, annexed to and forming part of the hospital, is neatly fitted up, and is adorned with a painting of the Ascension, by Millar, a pupil of Sir Joshua Reynolds. Behind the quadrangle is a spacious and well-planted garden, bounded on one side by part of the ancient walls of the town. Those portions of the building which were embellished in the time of the guilds, were, during the Commonwealth, concealed with a covering of lath and plaster, to preserve them from mutilation by the emissaries of the parliament; in 1833, part of this covering, having fallen into decay, was blown down, and on the discovery of the ornamented parts, the original exterior of the edifice was restored by the master and brethren. Warwick is one of the towns included in Sir Thomas White's charity, by which young tradesmen are assisted with a free loan of £100 for nine years, to enable them to commence business. There are not less than 40 almshouses in various parts of the town, chiefly for aged women; and large funds for charitable uses and for distribution among the poor, are vested in trustees. The union of Warwick comprises 34 parishes or places, and contains a population of 37,209.

About a mile from Warwick, on the road to Kenilworth, is Guy's Cliff, the solitary retreat, for some years prior to his death, of the celebrated Guy, Earl of Warwick, of whom so many legendary tales are recorded. The cave in which he is said to have lived in retirement and devotion, and in which he was buried, is hewn in the rock, near the bank of the Avon. Near it is a range of cells, having the appearance of a nunnery, with some cloisters hewn in the rock, and rudely arched, called Phillis' Cloisters, after the countess, who survived her husband only a few days, and was buried near him. Under a Roman arch, built by the late proprietor to sustain an ancient pointed one that was falling to decay, are preserved two stone basins, called Guy's Well, covered with moss, into which a fine spring of clear water is constantly flowing. On this cliff, Richard de Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, built a chapel dedicated to St. Margaret, in which he erected a colossal statue of Guy in armour, in the attitude of drawing his sword; the edifice, now dismantled, is in the later English style, with a very beautiful porch, the roof of which, like that of the chapel, is richly groined. The mansion built on the cliff by the late Mr. Greatheed, and now the seat of the Hon. Charles Bertie Percy, is a handsome modern structure, with a stately avenue of noble fir-trees in front; the Avon winds beautifully round the base of the cliff, and through the grounds, in which is a water-mill for grinding corn, erected prior to the Conquest. Nearly opposite to Guy's Cliff, on the other side of the road, is Blacklow Hill, a rocky eminence planted with foresttrees. In the hollow part of this rock, which appears to have been quarried, Piers Gavestone was beheaded; in commemoration of which event, a monument of four slender upright shafts, resting upon a pedestal with a suitable inscription, and supporting a flat stone surmounted by a cross, has been erected on the summit.

Numerous monastic establishments existed in the town. Warwick Priory was instituted by Henry de Newbury, Earl of Warwick, and completed by his son Roger, in the reign of Henry I., for Canons regular of the order of the Holy Sepulchre: its revenue, at the Dissolution, was £49. 13. 6. The remains have been converted into a private mansion, but retain very considerable portions of the ancient architecture; and are situated at the entrance into the town from Birmingham. The hospital of St. John the Baptist was established in the time of Henry II., by William, Earl of Warwick, for the reception of strangers and pilgrims, and had an income of £19. 17. 3.: the building, which is a fine specimen of the architecture of the time, is now occupied as a private boarding-school, and is situated near the extremity of the town, on the road to Leamington. Within the precincts of the castle was the collegiate church of All Saints, of which John Rous relates, that St. Dubricius made it an episcopal seat, about the latter end of the 6th century: the Secular priests, or canons, of the establishment were in 1125 united to the college of St. Mary. In the north-west part of the town was an abbey, which was destroyed in 1016 by Canute, who also reduced to ashes a nunnery, occupying the site of St. Nicholas' churchyard. In the north suburb was the chapel of St. Michael, to which was annexed an hospital founded about the close of the reign of Henry I., or the beginning of that of Stephen, by Roger, Earl of Warwick, for a master and leprous brethren, whose revenue was £10. 19. 10.: the remains are appropriated as an almshouse for aged women. Of the hospital of St. Thomas, stated by Rous to have been instituted by William, Earl of Warwick, not even the site is known. The convent of Dominican friars, situated in the western suburbs, was established in the reign of Henry III., by the Botelers, lords Studley, and the Montforts; the income was £4. 18. 6. Attached to the chapel of St. James, now forming part of the Leicester hospital, was a college for four Secular priests, founded in the reign of Richard II., which continued till the Dissolution; and there were also numerous churches in the town, that were suffered to fall into decay. Edward Plantagenet, son of George, Duke of Clarence, and the last male heir of that family, was born in Warwick Castle; he was beheaded in 1499. Warwick gives the title of Earl to the Grevilles.


Transcribed from A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858.

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