Braving the Weather and Walking the Walk

It was pretty unseasonal weather on Saturday June 8th. A cold wind was blowing and the rain lashed down. But with umbrellas deployed, plenty of people braved the conditions to take part in the Historic Warwick Walk with Paula Fletcher.

Paula, a professional tour guide, had offered this extended walk free of charge as part of Unlocking Warwick’s season of Court House Tours. Over 90 minutes, the group started at the Grade-1 listed Court House, and finished at the Lord Leycester Hospital via the Collegiate Church of St. Mary, the old Shire Hall, and the Museum and Saturday Market.

The Council Chamber and an introduction to Warwick’s origins

The Court House/Town Hall built by Francis Smith in 1725

A brief pause at the elegant War Memorial erected after WW1

They heard about the Saxon origins of Warwick as a Burgh or small fort built by Aethelflaeda the ‘Lady of the Mercians’ more than 1100 years ago, and its expansion into a walled town protected by the castle after the Norman invasion.

Paula had many stories to tell about the powerful Earls of Warwick, involving plots, jealousies rivalries and murders, and the reconstruction of the town centre in Georgian style after the Great Fire of Warwick in 1694.

The famous Beauchamp Chapel, saved from the Great Fire of 1694

The chapel contains the elaborate tombs of the Earls of Warwick

The memorial to Fulke Greville – granted Warwick Castle by King James I.

Northgate Street – regarded as the finest Georgian Terrace in the county.

Guests on the walk included two from separate parts of Germany, an American couple who moved to Warwick two years ago, and other local people who said they wanted to know more about Warwick’s rich history.

On Saturday 15th June, Unlocking Warwick volunteers will be conducting a shorter Court House Tour around the building from 11am to 11.45 am. If you would like to come, meet the guides at the Visitor Information Centre at the corner of Jury Street and Castle Street. Let’s hope the weather has improved by then!