Warwick Castle

In the civil parish of Warwick.
In the historic county of Warwickshire (Modern Authority of Warwickshire, 1974 county of Warwickshire).

Medieval motte and bailey castle built in 1068 extended and rebuilt during C13 and C14 with C15 additions (which took the form of an artillery fort). King James I granted the ruinous castle to Sir Fulke Greville in 1604 who converted it into a country house. It was rebuilt in 1863-66 and 1872. The castle was sold to Madame Tussaud's in 1978. The famous 'oubilette' is actually a cess pit for some internal garderodes.

This site has been described as a;
Timber Castle
Masonry Castle
Palace
Artillery Fort.
The confidence that this site is a medieval fortification or palace is Certain.
Major remains.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law.
This site is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 307361)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SP283646

Modern Map from Good for landscape form and features	Modern Map from Good for general location
Air Photo from	1st edition OS Map from

Sources of information, references and further reading

PastScape number; 333577

County Sites and Monuments Record number; 1922, 7054, 7267

• Web site links
  • http://www.warwick-castle.co.uk/
    http://www.castleuk.net/castle_lists_midlands/151/warwickcastle.htm
    http://www.cv81pl.freeserve.co.uk/warwick.htm
    http://www.360history.co.uk/warwick_castle/courtyard.htm
    http://www.castlexplorer.co.uk/england/warwick/warwick.php
    http://www.theheritagetrail.co.uk/castles/warwick_castle.htm
    http://www.touruk.co.uk/castles/castle_Warwick.htm
    http://timetrail.warwickshire.gov.uk/detail.aspx?monuid=WA1922
• Books
  • Emery, Anthony, 2000, Greater Medieval Houses Vol2 (Cambridge) p438-445
    Pettifer, A., 1995, English Castles, A guide by counties (Woodbridge) p261-3 [plan]
    Salter, Mike, 1993, Midlands Castles (Birmingham) p84-89
    Thurley, Simon, 1993, The Royal Palaces of Tudor England (Yale University Press) p10, 22, 23
    Salter, Mike, 1992, Castles and Moated Mansions of Warwickshire (Malvern) p44-51
    McNeill, Tom, 1992, English Heritage book of castles p102, 128
    Furtado, Peter et al (eds), 1988, Ordnance Survey guide to castles in Britain (London) p144
    Drage, C., 1987, 'Urban castles' in Schofield, J. and Leech, R. (eds) Urban Archaeology in Britain (CBA Research Report) p117-32
    Morris, R.K., 1986, The architecture of the earls of Warwick in the fourteenth century' in W M Ormrod (ed), England in the fourteenth century: proceedings of the 1985 Harlaxton Symposium. (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p161–74
    King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol2 p484
    Fry, P.S., 1980, Castles of the British Isles (David and Charles) p316
    Colvin, H.M., Ransome, D.R. and Summerson, John, 1975, The history of the King's Works Vol3: 1485-1660 (part 1) (London) p301-2
    Renn, D.F., 1973 (2edn), Norman Castles of Britain (John Baker)
    Stephens, W.B. (ed), 1968 VCH Warwickshire Vol8 p452-67
    Pevsner, Nikolaus and Wedgwood, Alexandra, 1966, The buildings of England: Warwickshire p452-6
    Colvin, H.M., Brown, R.Allen and Taylor, A.J., 1963, The history of the King's Works, vol2: the Middle Ages (London) p.xiv
    O’Neil, B.H.St.J., 1960, Castles and Cannon: A Study of Early Artillery Fortifications in England (Oxford: Claredon Press) p32, plate 8
    Toy, Sidney, 1953, The Castles of Great Britain (Heinemann) p54-5, 204-6, 247-9
    Toy, Sidney, 1939, Castles: A short History of Fortifications from 1600 BC to AD 1600 (London) p177-9, 197-9
    Oman, Charles W.C., 1926, Castles (1978 edn Beetham House: New York) p80-4
    Armitage, Ella, 1912, The Early Norman Castles of the British Isles (London: John Murray) p230-2
    Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (Methuen and Co)
    Andrews, 1908, in Dryden, Memories of Old Warwickshire (London) p235-7
    Willoughby Gardner, 1904, in Doubleday, H.A. and Page, Wm (eds), VCH Warwickshire Vol1 p402-4
    Mackenzie, J.D., 1897, Castles of England (Heinemann) Vol1 p361-7
    Timbs, J. and Gunn, A., 1872, Abbeys, Castles and Ancient Halls of England and Wales Vol2 (London) p362-7
    Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol3 p5-7, 92, 242-5
    Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1853, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol2
    Pugin, A., 1850, Pugin's Examples of Gothic Architecture (London: Henry and Bohn) Vol2
    Britton, John, 1835, The Architectural Antiquities of Great Britain (London) Vol4 p149-54
    Field, W., 1815, An Historical and Descriptive Account of the Town and Castle of Warwick (Warwick)
    Buck, Samuel and Nathenial, 1774, Buck’s Antiquities (London) Vol2 p305-6
    Grose, F., 1756, Antiquities of England and Wales Vol6 p16-20
• Journal Articles
  • Bradley, J and Gaimster, M. (eds), 2004, 'Medieval Britain and Ireland in 2003' Medieval Archaeology Vol48 p293-4
    Palmer, N.J., 1994, West Midlands Archaeology Vol37 p101
    Palmer, N.J., 1993, West Midlands Archaeology Vol36 p102-3
    Harfield, C.G., 1991, 'A Hand-list of Castles Recorded in the Domesday Book' English Historical Review Vol106
    Jones, M., 1987, ‘Warwick, Warwick Castle' West Midlands Archaeology 30 p54
    Thompson, M.W., 1986, 'Associated monasteries and castles in the Middle Ages: a tentative list' Archaeological Journal Vol143 p306, 316
    Emery, A., 1985, Archaeological Journal Vol142 p325
    Binney, M., 1982, ‘Warwick Castle revisited' Country Life 172 p1746–9, 1882–5, 1952–5, 2023–6
    Kenyon, J.R., 1981 'Early Artillery Fortifications in England and Wales: a Preliminary Survey and Re-appraisal' Archaeological Journal Vol138 p216-7
    Brown, R, Allen, 1959, 'A List of Castles, 1154–1216' English Historical Review Vol74 [Reprinted in Brown, R. Allen, 1989, Castles, conquest and charters: collected papers (Woodbridge: Boydell Press) p249-280]
    Chatwin, P.B., 1947-8, 'Castles in Warwickshire' Transactions of the Birmingham and Warwickshire Archaeological Society Vol67 p1-4
    1926, Archaeological Journal Vol83 p305
    F., 1914, Country Life Vol35 p792-800, 842-51
    Leyland, 1897, Country Life Vol1 p112-14, 126-8 [slight]
    Jackson, 1847, The Builder Vol5 p399-400 [slight]
• Guidebooks
  • Barker, P. et al, 1987, Warwick Castle.(Warwick: Warwick Castle Ltd)
    Anon, 1957, Warwick Castle (Warwick Estate Office)
    Field, W., 1970 [orginal edn 1815], An Historical and Descriptive Account of the Town and Castle of Warwick (E P Publishing)
• Antiquarian (Histories and accounts from late medieval and early modern writers)
  • William Camden, 1607, Britannia [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/cambrit/warkseng.html#warks5]
    Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England (Sutton Publishing) p461-2, 477
    Toulmin-Smith, Lucy (ed), 1910, The itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543 (Bell and Sons; London) Vol2 p40-1; Vol5 p153-4