Keep Your Powder Dry

I'm of an age where it is de rigeur to be curmudgeonly about anything and everything, lamenting about how much better it was in the 1970s (it really wasn't, trust me). So you will no doubt be expecting me to rant and rail about the theme park presentation of Warwick Castle. Sorry to disappoint. I really like how the castle is presented, with only a few gripes, most notably the hidden speakers blasting out the sounds of merry olde England™ everywhere.  Warwick Castle is old, and I mean proper old. Having its roots in a AngloSaxon burh built upon Æthelflæd's instruction in the early C10th. William the Conqueror would build a motte and bailey castle upon the site in the C11th, the stone castle starting to appear from the C12th. So why does the ECW travelogue take a visit to the theme park castle? It certainly wasn't to sample the delights of Zog's kingdom adventures or the Horrible Histories maze. Caesar's Tower Fulke Greville was granted the ramshackle ruins in 1...

The opening salvo in the Warwickshire Houses of Interest post takes in a moated medieval manor house. Expect the #ECWtravelogue to concentrate more on the west midlands in the coming years as the academic focus (aka dad taxis & removal services) of Château KeepYourPowderDry shifts to Coventry and Warwick. See also the entries for: Coventry Edgehill Warwick Castle   Baddesley Clinton is a hidden gem of a property: located half way between Solihull and Leamington Spa, the house is cared for by the National Trust. So expect plant sales, café and over priced fudge. Dating from the 13th Century, Baddesley Clinton was home to Henry Ferrers, noted antiquarian. Henry died in 1633 and the house was inherited by his son, Edward. Edward would be made High Sheriff of Warwickshire 1639-1641. The Ferrers were Catholic recusants, and whilst they did try to keep out of the wars and remain 'neutral' their notoriety as Catholics positioned them in the 'probably Royalist because they are...

When one thinks of Coventry, one thinks it is part of the general industrial sprawl that is the West Midlands; and a city that got flattened by the Luftwaffe during the Blitz. This does Coventry a massive disservice. Medieval Coventry was one of England's great cities; founded by the Romans, it expanded into a religious centre in the 700s. A market was established and by the twelfth century a castle was erected. By the fourteenth century Coventry was an important market, boasting guildhalls and a great civic wealth based upon the cloth trade. Between 1350 and 1400 the city erected stone walls, fully encompassing the city. Coventry was described as having 12 gateways and 32 towers; although this would appear to have been 20 individual towers and 12 gateways (with towers). This is backed up by Speed's 1610 map of the city. The city had a strong affiliation with the crown, but when Charles I requested the tax known as "ship money" in 1635, protests broke out. By the time...