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Name
The county was first recorded in 1016 when it was known as
Waeinewiscscr. The name comes from the Anglo Saxon 'the dairy farm by a
river dam.' War means an offshoot from a larger farm. Wic means a weir
or dam constructed for catching fish.
Topography
Warwickshire is bordered by Staffordshire and the West
Midlands to the north-west, Leicestershire to the north-east,
Northamptonshire to the east, and Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire to the
south, and Worcestershire to the west. The county is fairly undulating
although a range of Limestone hills rises on its south-eastern boundary
which includes Edgehill. Historically, the county is divided into two
areas - The Feldon and The Arden. The Feldon lies to the south-east of
the county and is generally open country whereas The Arden was,
historically at least, the wooded area to the north-west of the River
Avon. Arden is a Celtic word for a 'well wooded area.' Very little
remains of the massive forest that once covered the northern part of the
county, the top end of which formed the North Warwickshire coalfield.
Coal was being mined near Nuneaton in the 13th century, and it was an
important local industry 400 years later. The extraction was later
centred on five collieries in a triangle between Coventry and Nuneaton
as base and Tamworth as the apex. The coalfield extended 25 miles from
north to south and was seven miles across at Nuneaton. The principal
rivers of the county are the Avon, Tame and Anker.
History
The Romans have left their indelible mark on the county in the form of
several main routes including Watling Street, Fosse Way and Icknield
Street. In the 7th and 8th centuries, the county formed part of the
Kingdom of Mercia and, following the Norman conquest, two impregnable
castles were built at Warwick and Kenilworth. It was at the latter that
Edward II signed the renunciation of his crown in 1327. Robert Catesby,
a Warwickshire man, was a prime mover in the Gunpowder Plot. Indeed, the
county had a large network of conspirators' houses. Following the plot's
failure, many of them escaped on several of the King's horses which they
stole from Warwick Castle before their capture at Holbeache. The first
battle of the English Civil War was fought at Edge Hill on 23rd October
1642.
Landmarks
Although only a shadow of its former glory, The Arden Forest helped to
shape the county's economy and remains an important element of
Warwickshire. Church Hill stands at 689ft over the village of Burton
Dassett and features a lookout tower that may once have been a medieval
windmill. At 854ft, Ilmington Down is the highest point in the county.
Monuments
Warwick Castle - now one of the most popular tourist attractions in
Great Britain. Kenilworth Castle - founded around 1122 by Geoffre de
Clinton and later converted into a palace by John of Gaunt. Baddesley
Clinton - arguably the finest medieval moated manor house in England.
Compton Wynyates - built in 1480 by Sir Edmund Compton and one of the
finest Tudor houses in Britain along with the timber-framed building of
1550 at Packwood House. Rugby School - founded in 1567 and made famous
by Thomas Hughes' 'Tom Brown's Schooldays.' Charlecote Park - an
Elizabethan mansion which, though the interior was reconstructed in the
19th century, is noted for its design. Royal Shakespeare Theatre -
constructed in 1932 replacing the theatre destroyed by fire in 1926.
Ragley Hall - Palladian-style mansion dating from 1680. Anne Hathaway's
Cottage - timber-framed thatched cottage in which William Shakespeare's
wife was born.
Famous People Born in Warwickshire
William Shakespeare (1564-1616) the most celebrated
playwright in the English language was born in Henley Street,
Stratford-on-Avon. George Eliot was born near Nuneaton and lived there
until she was 21 years-old. She spent much of the rest of her life in
London and she is buried in Highgate Cemetery. As a novelist, George
Eliot will probably always stand among the greatest of the English
school; her pictures of farmers, tradesmen and the lower middle class,
generally of the Midlands, are hardly surpassed in English literature.
Famous People Who Lived in
Warwickshire
The singer-songwriter Nick Drake lived in Tanworth-in-Arden from the age
of six. His first two albums, Five Leaves Left (1969) and Bryter Later
(1970) remain cult classics and have influenced many folk and mainstream
artists. He died of an overdose of antidepressants at his parent's home.
Henrietta, Lady Luxborough (1699-1756) lived at Barrells Hall near
Ullenhall, the home of the Knight family, which was severely damaged by
fire in 1933. It was there that she had a literary circle which included
the poets William Somerville and William Shenstone, Jago of Beaudesert,
and Richard Graves.
Folklore
There was once a poor man named Guy who, after several
feats of bravery, married Phyllis, the daughter of the Earl of Warwick.
He went on a crusade to the holy land, fought the Danes outside
Winchester and killed the giant Colbrand. He gained further notoriety
after strangling a wild boar, ridding Dunsmore Heath of the terrifying
Dun Cow, and also killed several dragons. He retired to live as a hermit
in a cave within the Forest of Arden. Each day he went to Warwick Castle
for food and was fed by his wife who was unaware of who he was. However,
just before his death he revealed his identity to her and she died two
weeks later. The cave in which he lived is called Guy's Cliffe.
Customs
Shakespeare's Birthday Procession is held every April
in Stratford-on-Avon.
Diary
In July the Royal International Agricultural Show is
held at Stoneleigh. |
