A “Splendid’ Tour!

The Court House Tour conducted by Paula Fletcher on 3rd July was clearly appreciated by the guests, with one participant emailing us afterwards to say, “Thank you to Paula for such a splendid tour this morning. Informative, interesting and delivered beautifully. Thanks Paula, I shall keep an eye out for future events”.

With so few overseas visitors in Warwick at present, it was no surprise that the thirteen people on the tour, were all midlanders; the furthest away were a couple from Bromsgrove.

Paula led them expertly through the history of Warwick from its origins in 914 when the Saxon ‘Lady of the Mercians’, Aethelflaed, had a fort built by the river as a defence against raids by the Danes. The Court House itself stands at the central crossroads on a site where the town has been administered for nearly 450 years.

The present Grade -1 listed building is nearly 300 years old. Built after the Great Fire of Warwick, it was extensively renovated and reopened in 2014. Guests were able to see the restored Regency ballroom on the first floor, and hear about the grand Warwick Pageant organised by Louis Napoleon Parker in 1906.  It raised enough money for the corporation to be able to buy the house next door and the garden at the rear – now called Pageant House and Pageant Gardens. 

The next Court House Tour will be on Saturday 17th July at 11am. These 45-minute tours are free to attend, but numbers have to be limited; so please book a place in the Visitor Information Centre, or call the staff on 01926 492212.