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historic county of Warwickshire was home to Guy of Warwick;
to Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, the "King Maker";
William Shakespeare, the Bard of Avon; Sir Hugh Willoughby,
the explorer; George Eliot, novelist; Joseph Arch, campaigner
for the rights of agricultural labourers. It has strong associations
with the Gunpowder Plot, designed to blow up King James 1 and
his Parliament; with the English Civil War, particularly the
Battle of Edge Hill; with the development of the game of Rugby
Football. This page provides views of some of the historic and
varied buildings and landmarks to be found throughout the county.
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The
Stare Bridge, Stoneleigh
This ancient bridge, on the route from Coventry
to Leamington, was an important crossing point on the River
Avon for horse drawn traffic. With the rapid increase of
motorised traffic the bridge proved to be a bit of a bottleneck
and was by-passed by the construction of a new bridge one
hundred yards to the east.
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Nethersole
School, Polesworth
Constructed in 1818 by the Sir Francis Nethersole
Foundation, the building replaced an earlier school on the
site. Sir Francis Nethersole was a former Lord of the Manor
of Polesworth, having married Lucy Goodere, who inherited
Polesworth Hall from her father, Sir Henry Goodere of Monks
Kirby. The first Nethersole School was built by Sir Francis
in 1638, at the request of his wife, and provided free education
for the children of the parish.
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Wroxall
Abbey
At one time the site of a Benedictine Priory,
founded in 1141 and the site of a residence of Sir Christopher
Wren and his family. Sir Christopher Wren is believed to
have purchased the estate in the 18th century for his son.
The present building dates from the mid-1860s and was owned
by the Dugdale family. In the mid-20th century it was an
independent school for girls. It is now an hotel, restaurant
and conference centre. A drive leads from the main road
to the hotel. On the right hand side is the Church of St.
Leonard. This was originally the Lady Chapel of the original
priory and is now known as Wren's Chapel. On the opposite
side of the drive can be seen some of the ruined remains
of the old priory building, although considerably overgrown.
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Pillory
and Whipping Post, Coleshill
A reminder of an old form of punishment
when offenders were on display to the local populace and
justice could really be seen to be done.
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Wolfhampcote, LNWR
Railway & The River Leam
The River Leam, one of the principal rivers
of Warwickshire, rises near Hellidon in Northamptonshire.
For a few miles it forms the boundary between Northamptonshire
and Warwickshire. It reaches Wolfhampcote and is bridged
by the old LNWR line between Rugby and Leamington. Shortly
after, the river turns westward on its journey to Leamington
and the county boundary continues northwards, skirting Braunston
in Northamptonshire.
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Thurlaston
Stocks
A relic of old-fashioned forms of punishment,
located in the attractive village of Thurlaston, close to
Draycote Water.
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Compton
Verney
Originally the home of the Verney family.
The present house was designed by Robert Adam and built
in the 1760s. The work was commissioned by John Peyto Verney,
14th Baron Willoughby de Broke. The estate was owned by
the Verney family from the mid-1400s to 1921. The house
was purchased for the Compton Verney House Trust by the
Peter Moores Foundation in 1993. It now serves as an art
gallery and museum with both permanent and temporary exhibitions.
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Middleton Hall
The home of Sir Hugh Willoughby, explorer,
who lost his life in an expedition to find a north east
passage to China in 1553.
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Chesterton
Windmill
Reputedly designed by Inigo Jones and considered
to have possibly served as an observatory at one time. It
now also serves to provide a name for the home of Leamington
FC - the New Windmill Ground.
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Alvecote
Priory
The priory was established by Benedictine
Monks in 1159. It was only a small establishment, being
a sub-priory of one at Great Malvern and it appears to have
been a struggle to maintain it in good order. It ceased
to operate as a Priory in 1543, following the suppression
of the monasteries.
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Packhorse
Bridge
Old packhorse bridge over the Smite Brook
near Combe Fields.
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