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Warwick Castle lies in the town of Warwick in the county of Warwickshire in central England and overlooks the River Avon . It was traditionally associated with the Earldom of Warwick, one of the oldest in England. The castle today is a popular tourist attraction and attracts tens of thousands of visitors from all over the world. EARLY HISTORY Legend has it that the first fortifications of significance at Warwick Castle were erected by Ethelfleda , daughter of king Alfred The Great , in the year 914. These almost certainly replaced even older wooden fortifications, which had proven ineffective against marauding Danes who had sacked the town in the reign of her father. They were part of a network of fortifications built to protect the Kingdom of Mercia . The remains of these ancient fortifications can still be seen on top of a large mound at the southern end of the castle's courtyard, which is known as Ethelfleda's mound, although most of these remains date from the Norman period. After the Norman Conquest of England in the 11th Century William The Conqueror appointed Henry de Newburgh as Earl of Warwick, and he proceeded to enlarge the mound and created a Norman Motte-and-bailey castle. COMPLETE CASTLE In the year 1264, the castle was taken over by the forces of Simon De Montfort , who imprisoned the then Earl, William Maudit , and his countess at Kenilworth (they were supporters of the king against the barons) until a ransom was paid. After the death of this earl the title and the castle were passed to William De Beauchamp . From him William, the castle passed through seven generations of the Beauchamp family, who over the next 180 years were largely responsible for most of the fortifications that can be seen today. After the death of the last direct-line Beauchamp, Anne , title and castle passed to Richard Neville ("the Kingmaker") , who married the sister of the last Earl (Warwick was unusual in that the earldom could be inherited through the female line). The castle passed from Neville to his son-in-law (and brother of Edward IV Of England ), George Plantagenet , and later to George's son, Edward before falling extinct. CURRENT STATUS After passing through the hands of 20 more earls (in three more creations of the title), Warwick Castle is now considered one of the ''Treasure Houses of England''. The ''Treasure Houses'' is a heritage consortium founded in the early 1970s by ten of the foremost stately homes in England still in private ownership, with the aim of marketing and promoting themselves as tourist venues. In 1978, it was sold to The Tussauds Group , the company that owns Madame Tussaud's in London, which carried out extensive restorations to the castle and opened it to the public. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS |
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