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For this week's outing, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
cheshcat and I went to Warwick Castle. Picture a cross between a theme park and a Ren Fair... set in a medieval castle whose origins date back to Anglo-Saxon times.
As a brief history, the site of the castle was first used as a fort by Ethelfleda, daughter of Alfred the Great (r. 871 - 900 C.E.), to defend against the Danes. Very soon after Billy the Conquerer took over England (in 1066, of course), he ordered the first castle constructed at the site -- made out of wood! From 1088, the castle became the home of the Earl of Warwick, and basically remained as such for nearly nine hundred years[*]. Then, in 1978, it was sold to the Tussauds Group, who have run it as a tourist attraction since that time. There is still an Earl of Warwick -- the current Earl is the son of the guy who sold the place -- but he now needs to get by without a castle.
There is an impressive amount of history associated with the castle and the Earls of Warwick. During the War of the Roses, Yorkist king Edward IV was imprisoned there for a time. Also, for those familiar with Shakespeare's history plays, George Plantagent (Duke of Clarence in Henry VI and Richard III) owned the place in the 1470s. Slightly earlier, the Earl Richard Beauchamp presided over the trial of Joan of Arc during the Hundred Years War. Et cetera, et cetera and so forth...
In some ways, going to Warwick Castle reminded me of my visit to Blenheim Palace back in April. However, there are two important differences: (1) Warwick is much older than Blenheim (which was constructed in the early 1700s), and (2) Blenheim is still the private home of the Duke of Marlborough, while the Earl of Warwick is now homeless[**]. I have mixed feelings about the sale of the castle: On the one hand, I do not approve of the persistence of a wealthy aristocratic class; on the other hand, I really do not like the idea of corporations buying up historical sites for their own fun and profit. Personally, I would feel better if the site were now owned by the National Trust[***] or by English Heritage.
Ah well -- ideological qualms aside,cheshcat and I had a very nice day out. The weather could not have been better -- blue skies, sun, and a mild temperature in the low 70s. We spent about seven hours at the site, exploring the various parts of the castle and checking out the indoor exhibits, which covered time periods from the late Victorian era (in which a young Winston Churchill could be seen visiting the Castle) back to the medieval (with an exhibit about Richard Neville, the so-called "Kingmaker", who served a pivotal role in the War of the Roses... and whose daughter, Anne, eventually married Richard III). One particularly grisly exhibit was a tour of the dungeon, complete with original scratchings in the wall made by prisoners and some of the torture equipment that was used on them. Brrr!
Outside attractions were also plentiful, now that the warm weather is upon us. We watched a performance with trained birds, including eagles and vultures and whatnot. There were jousting lessons and jesting lessons. And there was a procession from the central courtyard -- as we chanted the Warwick battle cry[****] -- down to the water's edge, followed by the launching of a fireball from an 18 metre tall, 3000 tonne trebuchet[*****]. There is something satisfying about watching a large wooden apparatus hurl a fireball hundreds of feet into the air and a sizable fraction of a kilometer away...
So that was the new place that we decided to explore this week. With a visitor coming from the States on Wednesday, I still need to figure out where we should go next week. I also need to post an entry and pictures from last weekend's trip to the Lake district. In the meanwhile, though, here are some photos from today.
Me, standing outside the main entrance to the castle.
Me, with some of the many suits of armor in the great hall. I like armor -- can't imagine why.
Me, at the bottom of the castle mound where the original Norman structure was built.
Me, from the top of the castle mound with some of the more "modern" parts in view.
Me, in the Victorian Rose Garden at the castle.
And just because there should always be at least one silly picture:
Me, in the Kingmaker exhibit.
[*] Though the person holding the Earl of Warwick title has changed in the past nine centuries!
[**] Not really.
[***] Of whichcheshcat and I are now members.
[****] Cheesy? Of course! But still fun...
[*****] Amazingly enough, I am not embarrassed to admit that, before today, I thought that this machine was pronounced "tree bucket."
cheshcat and I went to Warwick Castle. Picture a cross between a theme park and a Ren Fair... set in a medieval castle whose origins date back to Anglo-Saxon times.As a brief history, the site of the castle was first used as a fort by Ethelfleda, daughter of Alfred the Great (r. 871 - 900 C.E.), to defend against the Danes. Very soon after Billy the Conquerer took over England (in 1066, of course), he ordered the first castle constructed at the site -- made out of wood! From 1088, the castle became the home of the Earl of Warwick, and basically remained as such for nearly nine hundred years[*]. Then, in 1978, it was sold to the Tussauds Group, who have run it as a tourist attraction since that time. There is still an Earl of Warwick -- the current Earl is the son of the guy who sold the place -- but he now needs to get by without a castle.
There is an impressive amount of history associated with the castle and the Earls of Warwick. During the War of the Roses, Yorkist king Edward IV was imprisoned there for a time. Also, for those familiar with Shakespeare's history plays, George Plantagent (Duke of Clarence in Henry VI and Richard III) owned the place in the 1470s. Slightly earlier, the Earl Richard Beauchamp presided over the trial of Joan of Arc during the Hundred Years War. Et cetera, et cetera and so forth...
In some ways, going to Warwick Castle reminded me of my visit to Blenheim Palace back in April. However, there are two important differences: (1) Warwick is much older than Blenheim (which was constructed in the early 1700s), and (2) Blenheim is still the private home of the Duke of Marlborough, while the Earl of Warwick is now homeless[**]. I have mixed feelings about the sale of the castle: On the one hand, I do not approve of the persistence of a wealthy aristocratic class; on the other hand, I really do not like the idea of corporations buying up historical sites for their own fun and profit. Personally, I would feel better if the site were now owned by the National Trust[***] or by English Heritage.
Ah well -- ideological qualms aside,
cheshcat and I had a very nice day out. The weather could not have been better -- blue skies, sun, and a mild temperature in the low 70s. We spent about seven hours at the site, exploring the various parts of the castle and checking out the indoor exhibits, which covered time periods from the late Victorian era (in which a young Winston Churchill could be seen visiting the Castle) back to the medieval (with an exhibit about Richard Neville, the so-called "Kingmaker", who served a pivotal role in the War of the Roses... and whose daughter, Anne, eventually married Richard III). One particularly grisly exhibit was a tour of the dungeon, complete with original scratchings in the wall made by prisoners and some of the torture equipment that was used on them. Brrr!Outside attractions were also plentiful, now that the warm weather is upon us. We watched a performance with trained birds, including eagles and vultures and whatnot. There were jousting lessons and jesting lessons. And there was a procession from the central courtyard -- as we chanted the Warwick battle cry[****] -- down to the water's edge, followed by the launching of a fireball from an 18 metre tall, 3000 tonne trebuchet[*****]. There is something satisfying about watching a large wooden apparatus hurl a fireball hundreds of feet into the air and a sizable fraction of a kilometer away...
So that was the new place that we decided to explore this week. With a visitor coming from the States on Wednesday, I still need to figure out where we should go next week. I also need to post an entry and pictures from last weekend's trip to the Lake district. In the meanwhile, though, here are some photos from today.
Me, standing outside the main entrance to the castle.
Me, with some of the many suits of armor in the great hall. I like armor -- can't imagine why.
Me, at the bottom of the castle mound where the original Norman structure was built.
Me, from the top of the castle mound with some of the more "modern" parts in view.
Me, in the Victorian Rose Garden at the castle.
And just because there should always be at least one silly picture:
Me, in the Kingmaker exhibit.
[*] Though the person holding the Earl of Warwick title has changed in the past nine centuries!
[**] Not really.
[***] Of which
cheshcat and I are now members.[****] Cheesy? Of course! But still fun...
[*****] Amazingly enough, I am not embarrassed to admit that, before today, I thought that this machine was pronounced "tree bucket."
