Warwick Castle
Warwick Castle | |
---|---|
Warwick in England | |
Coordinates | 52°16′46″N 01°35′05″W / 52.27944°N 1.58472°W |
Site information | |
Owner | LXi REIT |
Operator | Merlin Entertainments |
Open to the public | 1978 |
Website | warwick-castle |
Site history | |
Built | 1068 |
Materials | Stone |
Warwick Castle is a medieval
In 2007, the Tussauds Group was purchased by the
Location
Warwick Castle is situated in the town of Warwick, on a sandstone bluff at a bend of the River Avon. The river, which runs below the castle on the east side, has eroded the rock the castle stands on, forming a cliff. The river and cliff form natural defences.
When construction began in 1068, four houses belonging to the Abbot of Coventry were demolished to provide space. The castle's position made it strategically important in safeguarding the Midlands against rebellion.[3] During the 12th century, King Henry I was suspicious of Roger de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Warwick. To counter the earl's influence, Henry bestowed Geoffrey de Clinton with a position of power rivalling that of the earl.[4] The lands he was given included Kenilworth – a castle of comparable size, cost, and importance,[5] founded by Clinton[6] – which is about 8 kilometres (5 mi) to the north.
Warwick Castle is about 1.6 kilometres (1 mi) from Warwick railway station and less than 3.2 kilometres (2.0 mi) from junction 15 of the M40 motorway; it is also relatively close to Birmingham Airport.[7]
History
Antecedent
An Anglo-Saxon
It was also at this time, that what is now Warwick School was founded in the castle - making it arguably the oldest boys' school in the country. It still resides just over the River Avon, visible from all of the castle's towers.[9]
Middle Ages
After the
In 1153,
During the reign of King Henry II (1154–89), the motte-and-bailey was replaced with a stone keep castle. This new
Under
Caesar's and Guy's Towers are residential and may have been inspired by French models (for example
The facade overlooking the river was designed as a symbol of the power and wealth of the Beauchamp earls and would have been "of minimal defensive value"; this followed a trend of 14th-century castles being more statements of power than designed exclusively for military use.[25]
15th and 16th centuries
The line of the Beauchamp Earls ended in 1449 when
Warwick Castle then passed from Neville to his son-in-law,
In the early 1480s, King Richard III of England (the other son-in-law of Neville) instigated the construction of two gun towers, Bear and Clarence Towers, which were left unfinished on his death in 1485; with their own well and ovens, the towers were an independent stronghold from the rest of the castle, possibly in case of mutiny by the garrison. With the advent of gunpowder, the position of Keeper of the Artillery was created in 1486.[3]
When
... the dungeon now in ruin standeth in the west-north-west part of the castle. There is also a tower west-north-west, and through it a postern-gate of iron. All the principal lodgings of the castle with the hall and chapel lie on the south side of the castle, and here the king doth much cost in making foundations in the rocks to sustain that side of the castle, for great pieces fell out of the rocks that sustain it.[3]
While in the care of The Crown, Warwick Castle underwent repairs and renovations using about 500 loads of stone. The castle, as well as lands associated with the earldom, was in Crown care from 1478 until 1547, when they were granted to John Dudley with the second creation of the title the Earl of Warwick.[3] When making his appeal for ownership of the castle Dudley said of the castle's condition: "... the castle of its self is not able to lodge a good baron with his train, for all the one side of the said castle with also the dungeon tower is clearly ruinated and down to the ground".[3]
Warwick Castle had fallen into decay due to its age and neglect, and despite his remarks Dudley did not initiate any repairs to the castle.
When Ambrose Dudley died in 1590 the title of Earl of Warwick became extinct for the second time. A survey from 1590 recorded that the castle was still in a state of disrepair, noting that lead had been stolen from the roofs of some of the castle's buildings, including the chapel.[3]
17th-century country house
In October 1601 Sir Fulke Greville wrote that "the little stone building there was, mightily in decay, the timber lodgings built thirty years ago for herself (Elizabeth I) all ruinous; ... so as in very short time there will be nothing left but a name of Warwick".[27][3][10]
Greville was granted the ruinous Warwick Castle by King
When the title of Earl of Warwick was created for the third time in 1618, the Greville family were still in possession of Warwick Castle. Fulke Greville, who was himself ennobled as Baron Brooke in 1621, spent over £20,000 (£4 million as of 2024) [30] renovating the castle, while occupying a suite of rooms in the Watergate Tower;[31] according to William Dugdale, a 17th-century antiquary, this made it "a place not only of great strength but extraordinary delight, with most pleasant gardens, walks and thickets, such as this part of England can hardly parallel".[3]
On 1 September 1628 Fulke Greville was murdered in
Under Robert Greville, 2nd Baron Brooke, Warwick Castle's defences were enhanced from January to May 1642 in preparation for attack during the First English Civil War. The garden walls were raised, bulwarks – barricades of beams and soil to mount artillery – were constructed and gunpowder and wheels for two cannons were obtained.[3] Robert Greville was a Parliamentarian, and on 7 August 1642 a Royalist force laid siege to the castle. Greville was not in the castle at the time and the garrison was under the command of Sir Edward Peyto. Spencer Compton, 2nd Earl of Northampton, Lord Lieutenant of Warwickshire commanded the Royalist force. William Dugdale, acting as a herald, called for the garrison commander to surrender the castle, but he was refused. The besieging army opened fire on the castle, to little effect.[3] According to Richard Bulstrode:
... our endeavours for taking it were to little purpose, for we had only two small pieces of cannon which were brought from Compton House, belonging to the Earl of Northampton, and those were drawn up to the top of the church steeple, and were discharged at the castle, to which they could do no hurt, but only frightened them within the castle, who shot into the street, and killed several of our men.[33]
The siege was lifted on 23 August 1642 when the garrison was relieved by the forces of the Earl of Essex, and the Royalists were forced to retreat to Worcester.[3] After the Battle of Edgehill in 1642 – the first pitched battle of the English Civil War – prisoners were held in Caesar's and Guy's Towers.[3]
During the Second English Civil War prisoners were again held at the castle, including those from the Battle of Worcester in 1651. A garrison was maintained in the castle complete with artillery and supplies from 1643 to 1660, at its strongest it numbered 302 soldiers. In 1660 the English Council of State ordered the castle governor to disband the garrison and hand over the castle to Robert Greville, 4th Baron Brooke.[3] The state apartments were found to be outmoded and in poor repair.
Under Roger and William Hurlbutt, master carpenters of Warwick, extensive modernization of the interiors was undertaken, 1669–78. To ensure that they would be in the latest taste, William was sent to Dorset to make careful notes of the interiors recently finished at Kingston Lacy for Sir Ralph Bankes to designs by Sir Roger Pratt.[34] On 4 November 1695 the castle was in sufficient state to host a visit by King William III.[3]
Horace Walpole saw Brown's maturing scheme in 1751 and remarked in a letter: "The castle is enchanting. The view pleased me more than I can express; the river Avon tumbled down a cascade at the foot of it. It is well laid out by one Brown who has set up on a few ideas of Kent and Mr Southcote."[39]
In 1754 the poet Thomas Gray, a member of Walpole's Gothicising circle, commented disdainfully on the activity at the castle:
... he [Francis Greville] has sash'd[40] the great apartment ... and being since told, that square sash windows were not Gothic, he has put certain whimwams withinside the glass, which appearing through are to look like fretwork. Then he has scooped out a little burrough in the massy walls of the place for his little self[41] and his children, which is hung with paper and printed linnen, and carved chimney-pieces, in the exact manner of Berkley-square or Argyle Buildings.[3]
Gray's mention of Argyle Buildings, Westminster, London,[42] elicited a connotation of an inappropriately modern Georgian urban development, for the buildings in Argyll Street were a speculation to designs of James Gibbs, 1736–40.[43]
Greville commissioned Italian painter Antonio Canaletto to paint Warwick Castle in 1747,[44] while the castle grounds and gardens were undergoing landscaping by Brown. Five paintings and three drawings of the castle by Canaletto are known, making it the artist's most often represented building in Britain.[45] Canaletto's work on Warwick Castle has been described as "unique in the history of art as a series of views of an English house by a major continental master".[46] As well as the gardens, Greville commissioned Brown to rebuild the exterior entrance porch and stairway to the Great Hall.[47] Brown also contributed Gothick designs for a wooden bridge over the Avon (1758).[48] He was still at work on Warwick Castle in 1760. Timothy Lightoler was responsible for the porch being extended and extra rooms added adjacent to it in 1763–69.[47] and during the same years William Lindley provided a new Dining Room and other interior alterations.[49] In 1786–88 the local builder William Eboral was commissioned to build the new greenhouse conservatory, with as its principal ornament the Warwick Vase, recently purchased in Rome.[50]
In 1802 George Greville, 2nd Earl of Warwick of the new creation, had debts amounting to £115,000 (£11 million as of 2024).[30] The earl's estates, including Warwick Castle, were given to the Earl of Galloway and John FitzPatrick, 2nd Earl of Upper Ossory, in 1806, but the castle was returned to the earls of Warwick in 1813.[3] The Great Hall was reroofed and repaired in Gothic taste in 1830–31 by Ambrose Poynter.[51] Anthony Salvin was responsible for restoring the Watergate Tower in 1861–63.[47]
The castle was extensively damaged by a fire in 1871 that started to the east of the Great Hall. The fire was found to have been started deliberately by the under-butler who, with an accomplice, had stolen all the valuables in the private apartments and then set them on fire to conceal the robbery.[52] Although the Great Hall and private apartments were gutted, the overall structure was unharmed.[3] Restoration and reparations carried out by Salvin during 1872–75 were subsidised by donations from the public, which raised a total of £9,651 (£970,000 as of 2024).[30][3]
Advent of tourism
Individuals had been visiting the castle since the end of the 17th century,[53] and this grew in importance through the 19th century. In 1858, Queen Victoria visited the 4th earl, with great local celebrations. However, by 1885 it would appear the visitors were becoming a nuisance, as the earl closed the castle to visitors, causing consternation in the town. A local report stated, "One day last week eight American visitors who were staying at one of the principal hotels left somewhat hurriedly in consequence of their being unable to gain admission to the castle".[53] It soon re-opened, again and by 1900 had a ticket office and was employing a permanent guide.[53]
By 1936, Arthur Mee was enthusing not just that "these walls have seen something of the splendour of every generation of our [English] story", with rooms "rich in treasure beyond the dreams of avarice" but also that "their rooms are open to all who will".[54]
Through the 20th century, successive earls expanded the castle's tourism potential.[55]
Corporate ownership
In 1967, Charles Greville, 7th Earl of Warwick, transferred the castle and other estates to his son and heir, Lord Brooke,[56] who in 1978 sold the Castle to the Tussauds Group for £1,300,000. The castle had been in the Greville family for 374 years, and its sale caused a public confrontation between father and son.[55][57]
Tussauds kept the castle in use mainly as a tourist attraction, while making extensive restorations to the castle and grounds. In twelve of the apartments open to tourists after the sale, wax figures of historic people are presented. Those depicted here were guests at a weekend party in 1898 hosted by Frances, Countess of Warwick; the principal guest was the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII.[58]
The collection of armoury on display at Warwick Castle is regarded as second only to that of the Tower of London.[59] In 2001, Warwick Castle was named one of Britain's "Top 10 historic houses and monuments" by the British Tourist Authority; the list included Tower of London, Stonehenge, and Edinburgh Castle.[60] Warwick Castle was recognised as Britain's best castle by the Good Britain Guide 2003.[61] Around this time it was getting more than half a million visitors a year.[62]
In March 2007, the Tussauds Group sold the castle to the Blackstone Inc. investment firm,[63] and the site was then operated by Merlin Entertainments, a division of that Blackstone. In July of that year, Warwick Castle was sold again to the Prestbury Group[64] but it continued to be operated by Merlin under a renewable 35-year lease.[2]
Seasonal exhibits
Other tourist attractions include "Falconer's Quest'" (a bird show, featuring
At times during Summer 2018, the castle offered its War of the Roses event with jousting and other action. On certain dates in August, Dragon Slayer evenings were scheduled, with dining, a projection light show, pyrotechnics, fire jousting and live action stunts.[70]
Heritage protection
The castle is protected against unauthorised change as a scheduled monument[10] in recognition of its status as a "nationally important" archaeological site or historic building,[71] and is a Grade I listed building[47] together with its boundary walls, stables, conservatory, mill and lodge.[47]
On 23 June 2006, a £20,000 stained glass window was damaged by teenage vandals and a ceremonial sword stolen, recovered soon after.[72]
Warwick Castle trebuchet
In June 2005, Warwick Castle became home to one of the world's largest working siege engines. The trebuchet is 18 metres (59 ft) tall, made from over 300 pieces of oak and weighs 22 tonnes (21.7 long tons; 24.3 short tons).[73] It sits on the riverbank below the castle.
The machine was built with drawings from the Danish living history museum Middelaldercentret, who, in 1989, were the first to recreate a fully functioning trebuchet.[74] It was built in Wiltshire with expertise from the Danish museum.[75][76]
The trebuchet takes eight men half an hour to load and release .[77] The process involves four men running in 4 metres (13 ft) tall treadwheels to lift the counterweight, weighing 6 tonnes (5.9 long tons; 6.6 short tons), into the air. It is designed to be capable of hurling projectiles of up to 150 kilograms (330 lb) distances of up to 300 metres (980 ft) and as high as 25 metres (82 ft).[77]
On 21 August 2006, the trebuchet claimed the record as the most powerful siege engine of its type when it sent a projectile weighing 13 kilograms (29 lb) a distance of 249 metres (817 ft) at a speed of 195 kilometres per hour (121 mph), beating the previous record held by the trebuchet at Middelaldercentret in Denmark.[78]
On 10 April 2015 a thatched boathouse caught fire shortly after a burning cannonball was fired by the trebuchet.[79][80] It was reported that a spark from the cannonball had started the blaze[80] although a castle spokeswoman said the cause had not yet been established.[79] Hundreds of tourists were evacuated from the castle,[80] but the spokeswoman said they were not at any risk.[79][80] The Daily Telegraph described the boathouse as "historic", "medieval" and dating to 1896, when the 5th Earl had it built to house an electric boat.[80]
The trebuchet was decommissioned in 2020 due to safety concerns, and was deconstructed and replaced with a comparable trebuchet in 2023.[81][82]
Gallery
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The Warwick Castle trebuchet is currently the largest one in the world (2009)
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It was reconstructed based on 13th-century drawings, and functions properly (2018)
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2012 demonstration of the Warwick Castle trebuchet (launch at 10:30)
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Warwick Castle trebuchet from the rear (2010)
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Close up of the walking cage on the trebuchet (2010)
Layout
The current castle, built in stone during the reign of King Henry II, is on the same site as the earlier Norman motte-and-bailey castle. A
When Warwick Castle was rebuilt in the reign of King Henry II it had a new layout with the buildings against the curtain walls. The castle is surrounded by a dry moat on the northern side where there is no protection from the river or the old motte; the perimeter of the walls is 130 metres (140 yd) long by 82 metres (90 yd) wide.[3] The two entrances to castle are in the north and west walls. There was originally a drawbridge over the moat in the north east. In the centre of the north west wall is a gateway with Clarence and Bears towers on either side; this is a 15th-century addition to the fortifications of the castle.[3] The residential buildings line the eastern side of the castle, facing the River Avon. These buildings include the great hall, the library, bedrooms, and the chapel.[3]
Owners
Over its 950 years of history Warwick Castle has been owned by 36 different individuals, plus four periods as crown property under seven different monarchs. It was the family seat of three separate creations of the Earls of Warwick, and has been a family home for members of the Beaumont, Beauchamp, Neville, Plantagenet, Dudley and Greville families. The first creation of the Earldom specifically included the right of inheritance through the female line, so the castle three times had a woman (or girl) as the owner. Eleven of the owners were under 20 when they inherited, including a girl aged two and a boy aged three. At least three owners died in battle, two were executed and one murdered. Every century except the 21st has seen major building work or adaptations at the castle.
Grounds, park, accommodations
Formal gardens belonging to Warwick Castle were first recorded in 1534.[84] Landscaping in the 17th century added spiral paths to the castle motte during Fulke Greville's programme of restoration.[3][83] Francis Greville commissioned Capability Brown to re-landscape the castle grounds; he began working on the grounds and park in 1749 and had completed his work by 1757, having spent about £2,293 (£330,000 as of 2024).[85][30] on the project.[86] The gardens cover 2.8 square kilometres (690 acres).[84] Robert Marnock created formal gardens in the castle's grounds in 1868–69.[84] Started in 1743 and originally known as Temple Park, Castle Park is located to the south of the castle. Its original name derived from the Knights Templar, who used to own a manor in Warwick. Houses around the perimeter of the park were demolished and the land they stood on incorporated into the park.[3] Attempts to make profits from the park in the late 18th century included leasing it for grazing, growing wheat, and keeping sheep.[3]
A water-powered mill in the castle grounds was probably built under Henry de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Warwick.[3] By 1398 the mill had been relocated to just outside the eastern castle walls, on the west bank of the River Avon. Both mills were subject to flooding. By 1644, an engine house had been added to the mill.[3] The mill was reused as an electricity generating plant after it had stopped being used to grind, but once Warwick Castle was fitted with mains electricity in 1940, the mill was no longer required and was dismantled in 1954.[3]
The latest option at the castle is glamping, overnight stays in nicely decorated tents in an area labelled Knight's Village. The units include no cooking facilities, so the fee for the stay includes a buffet dinner and a breakfast.[87] The previously introduced accommodations in timber lodges also remain available in the Woodland Hideaway area.[88]
See also
- Castles in Great Britain and Ireland
- Kenilworth Castle
- List of castles in England
- List of owners of Warwick Castle
- Old Castle Bridge - ruined medieval bridge adjacent to the castle
References
- Notes
- ^ "Alton Towers sold in £622m deal". BBC News. 17 July 2007. Retrieved 18 July 2007.
- ^ a b "Merlin conjures up leaseback deal". 17 July 2007. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2017 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av "The borough of Warwick: The castle and castle estate in Warwick, "A History of the County of Warwick: Volume 8: The City of Coventry and Borough of Warwick" (1969)". pp. 452–475. Retrieved 23 June 2008.
- ^ Crouch 1982, pp. 116–117
- ^ Brown 2004, p. 121
- ^ Historic England. "Kenilworth Castle (333827)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 3 July 2008.
- ^ "Parking & Directions at Warwick Castle". Warwick-Castle.co.uk. Retrieved on 2 March 2014.
- ^ Allison, Dunning & Jones 1969, p. 418
- ^ "Interactive Map of Castles in England". Historic UK. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
- ^ a b c Historic England. "Warwick Castle (333577)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 19 June 2008.
- ^ Brown 2004, p. 32
- ^ Harfield 1991, pp. 373, 382
- ^ Liddiard 2005, p. 74
- ^ Potter 1955, p. 235
- ^ Davis 1903, p. 639
- ^ J. Harvey Bloom (18 January 1929). "Warwick Castle". The Times. p. 10.
- ^ Keightley 1839, pp. 257–258
- ^ Hamilton 1991, p. 201
- ^ a b Liddiard 2005, p. 59
- ^ Brown 2004, p. 104
- ^ Brown 2004, p. 103
- ^ Friar 2007, p. 25
- ^ Friar 2007, p. 128
- ^ Friar 2007, p. 184
- ^ Friar 2007, pp. 57, 70
- ^ Fuller & Nuttall 1840, pp. 273–274
- ^ HMC Salisbury Hatfield, vol. 11 (Dublin, 1906), p. 433.
- ^ The Ghost Tower of Warwick Castle at great-castles.com
- ^ Friar 2007, pp. 90–91
- ^ a b c d UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
- ^ a b Brooks, J. A. (1972). Warwick Castle. Jarrold & Sons, Norwich. p. unpaginated.Guidebook.
- ^ Thornbury 1878, pp. 542–552; Mee 1936, pp. 270–273
- ^ Greville 1903, pp. 692–694
- ^ Howard Colvin, A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600–1840, 3rd ed. (Yale University Press), s.v. Hurlbutt Roger and William"., noting the accounts quoted in Victoria County History, Warwickshire viii, 460f.
- ^ Buttery 1987, p. 444
- ^ Colvin, s.v. "Garrett, Daniel".
- ^ Jacques 2001, pp. 48, 53
- ^ Hyams 1971, p. 21
- ^ Horace Walpole to George Montague, 22 July 1751, noted in Jacques 2001, p. 55
- ^ Sash windows had replaced casements in the seventeenth century; they were not considered appropriate for "Gothick" building.
- ^ Lord Brooke, who was notably short in stature, was called "little Brooke" by Horace Walpole, in his letter describing Warwick Castle in 1751. Jacques 2001, p. 55
- ^ Argyle Buildings, Bath (now Argyle Street), were not constructed until ca. 1789 (Colvin, s.v. "Baldwin, Thomas").
- ^ Colvin, s.v. "Gibbs, James"; Terry Friedman, James Gibbs (1984:304); 'Argyll Street Area', Survey of London: volumes 31 and 32: St James Westminster, Part 2 (1963), pp. 284–307. (on-line text). Date accessed: 10 September 2008: "The Argyll estate appears never to have been a fashionable place of residence."
- ^ Buttery 1987, p. 439
- ^ Buttery 1987, p. 437
- ^ Buttery 1987, p. 445
- ^ a b c d e Historic England. "Warwick Castle (1364805)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 19 June 2008.
- ^ Colvin, s.v. "Brown, Lancelot".
- ^ Colvin, s.v. "Lindley, William", noting Victoria County History Warwickshire viii. 462.
- ^ Victoria County History, Warwickshire, viii.463.
- ^ Poynter's work was lost in the 1871 fire. Colvin, s.v. Poynter, Ambrosde").
- ^ Alice Fairfax-Lucy. Mistress of Charlecote: The Memoirs of Mary Elizabeth Lucy 1803-1889, pp141-2. [Victor Gollancz 1983; cited Orion edition 2002].
- ^ a b c Stephens 1969, pp. 517
- ^ Mee 1936, p. 270
- ^ a b Robert McG. Thomas, "Earl of Warwick, 61, Who Sold His Castle to Madame Tussauds", The New York Times, 24 January 1996, accessed 13 March 2024
- ^ Stuart Hand, "The line of succession", Warwick Castle, 7 May 2017
- ^ "Pearson to sell Tussauds – at the right price". BBC News. 23 June 1998. Retrieved on 17 July 2011.
- ^ "Warwick Castle". Warwick Castle. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
- ^ Pettifer 1995, p. 263
- ^ "Open tourist attractions named". BBC News. 30 March 2001. Retrieved on 19 June 2008.
- ^ "Guide praises Shropshire attractions". BBC News. 28 November 2002. Retrieved on 19 June 2008.
- ^ "The Renegotiation of the PFI-type Deal for the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds". Parliament.co.uk. 12 December 2001. Retrieved on 22 June 2011.
- ^ Cho, David (6 March 2007). "Blackstone Buys Madame Tussauds Chain". Retrieved 2 December 2017 – via www.washingtonpost.com.
- ^ "Alton Towers sold in £622m deal". 17 July 2007. Retrieved 2 December 2017 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ "Bird of prey given learner plate". BBC News. 12 August 2005. Retrieved on 19 June 2008.
- ISBN 0-906160-07-3.
- ^ "Ghosts alive at Warwick Castle". WarwickCastle.co.uk. Archived from the original on 25 February 2009. Retrieved on 25 February 2009.
- ^ "Carols at Warwick Castle", Leamington Spa Courier (27 December 2007).
- ^ "Enjoy Warwick Castle carols on Saturday", Leamington Spa Courier (11 December 2008).
- ^ "Warwick Castle". Warwick Castle. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
- ^ "Scheduled Monuments". Historic England. Retrieved on 12 June 2016.
- ^ "Castle's ceremonial sword stolen". BBC News. 6 July 2006. Retrieved on 12 December 2012.
- ^ "World record attempt for trebuchet". BBC News. 21 August 2006. Retrieved on 19 June 2008.
- ^ "Reconstructing Medieval Artillery". Archaeological Institute of America. 14 June 2005. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
- ^ "The Mighty Trebuchet". warwick-castle.com. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
- ^ "Blider" (in Danish). Middelaldercentret. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
- ^ a b "Castle plans medieval war machine". BBC News. 27 May 2005. Retrieved on 19 June 2008
- ^ Heath, Andrew (22 August 2006). "Ursa hurls its way into record books". Coventry Telegraph. Retrieved 11 March 2011.
- ^ a b c "Warwick Castle trebuchet fireball 'sparked boathouse blaze'". BBC News. 11 April 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
- ^ a b c d e Harley, Nicola (10 April 2015). "Warwick Castle cannonball show sets fire to historic boathouse". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 April 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
- ^ "What is the Mighty Trebuchet?". Warwick Castle. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
- ^ Copper, Liz (29 March 2023). "New trebuchet attraction installed at Warwick Castle". BBC. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
- ^ a b Jacques 2001, p. 51
- ^ a b c Historic England. "Castle Park (1150800)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 19 June 2008.
- ^ "Read Capability Brown's Account Book Online". Retrieved 11 May 2021.
- ^ Jacques 2001, p. 48
- ^ "Sleep like a Kingmaker at Warwick Castle". Ham & High. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
- ^ "Your secret woodland hideaway". Merlin Entertainments. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
- Bibliography
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- Brown, R. Allen (2004) [1954]. Allen Brown's English Castles (New ed.). Woodbridge: The Boydell Press.
- Buttery, David (July 1987). "Canaletto at Warwick". JSTOR 882921.
- Crouch, David (1982). "Geoffrey de Clinton and Roger, earl of Warwick: new men and magnates in the reign of Henry I". Historical Research. 60 (132): 113–24. .
- Davis, H. W. C. (October 1903). "The Anarchy of Stephen's Reign". The English Historical Review. 18 (72): 630–641. .
- Friar, Stephen (2007) [2003]. The Sutton Companion to Castles (Revised ed.). Sutton Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7509-3994-2.
- Fuller, Thomas; Nuttall, P. Austin (1840). The History of the Worthies of England. Thomas Tegg. p. 1.
George Plantagenet execute.
- Greville, Frances Evelyn Maynard (1903). Warwick Castle and its earls from Saxon times to the present day. Hutchinson.
- Hamilton, J. S. (Summer 1991). "Piers Gaveston and the Royal Treasure". Albion: A Quarterly Journal Concerned with British Studies. 23 (2). The North American Conference on British Studies: 201–07. JSTOR 4050602.
- Harfield, C. G. (1991). "A Hand-list of Castles Recorded in the Domesday Book". English Historical Review. 106 (419): 371–392. JSTOR 573107.
- Hyams, Edward (1971). Capability Brown and Humphry Repton. J M Dent & Sons. ISBN 978-0-460-03809-6.
- Jacques, David (Summer 2001). "Warwick Castle Grounds and Park, 1743–60". Garden History. 29 (1). The Garden History Society: 48–63. JSTOR 1587354.
- Keightley, Thomas (1839). The History of England. Whittaker and co. p. 254. ISBN 978-0-559-37870-6.
Piers Gaveston execution.
- Liddiard, Robert (2005). Castles in Context: Power, Symbolism and Landscape, 1066 to 1500. Carnegie Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-9545575-2-2.
- Mee, Arthur (1936). Warwickshire. The King's England. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 978-1-872438-06-1.
- Pettifer, Adrian (1995). English Castles: a Guide by Counties. The Boydell Press. ISBN 0-85115-782-3.
- Potter, K.R., ed. (1955). Gesta Stephani – The Deeds of Stephen. Thomas Nelson.
- Thornbury, Walter (1878). "Holborn: The northern tributaries". Old and New London: Volume 2. Cassell.
- Stephens, W. B., ed. (1969). A History of the County of Warwick: Volume 8: The City of Coventry and Borough of Warwick. London: Victoria County History. Retrieved 18 May 2011 – via Institute of Historical Research.