Castle& Abbey Trail

Getting here:

Castle & Abbey Trail

Kenilworth Castle by Jamie Gray Photography By Car By Train elcome to Kenilworth, a place most definitely worth Kenilworth is located on the Trains run regularly from your time…. Step into our monumental story amongst A46 just 6 miles from both Kenilworth Station to Coventry W the noble ruins of Kenilworth Castle. Lose yourself Coventry and Warwick. and Royal Leamington Spa. in the rolling greenery of Abbey Fields, or venture just a little further into beautiful countryside alive with nature. Spend a day There is plenty of parking in www.nationalrail.co.uk uncovering the rich threads of our history, browse intriguing the town centre at Abbey End. shops or simply kick back over some fabulous food & drink. By Foot or By Bike By Bus But wait, there’s more here than you’d think So, slow down, The Kenilworth Greenway savour each moment and... Regular services connect connects to Berkswell and Kenilworth with Warwick, the Centenary and Millennium Royal Leamington Spa and Ways pass through the town. Discover the story for yourself... Coventry. www.warwickshire.gov.uk/ www.traveline.info pathsandtrails

Further Information: Visit visit.kenilworthweb.co.uk for more information

Visit www.shakespeares-england.co.uk for information on the wider area

Lapidarium Wall in Abbey Ruins by James Turner

Want a deeper experience? Kenilworth Town Council Discover Kenilworth’s This leaflet is just the tip of the iceberg! We have also developed a companion greatest story! mobile website which expands on each of These trails were produced by Kenilworth Town Council, and were our trails, with bags more information and funded by a grant from HS2’s Business & Local Economy Fund (BLEF), adding benefit to communities demonstrably disrupted by the 3.5 Miles Approx. 2 hours interactive features. construction of Phase One of HS2 from London to West Midlands. Easy route on roads & footpaths (can be muddy) Visit the website or scan the QR code: Design by: www.blackspiraldesign.co.uk

Cover image by Matthew Sugars Photography. Inset images © English Heritage & Jonathan Corbett Photography visit.kenilworthweb.co.uk/discover/trails visit.kenilworthweb.co.uk visit.kenilworthweb.co.uk Kenilworth’s Greatest Story... 3 The Mere

ncover the monumental tale behind Kenilworth’s greatest treasures! A tale of love, death, triumph and tragedy all The walls were not the castle’s only defence however, Finham U played out across the ruined stones of the Castle and the Brook was dammed at the tiltyard to create a huge artificial Abbey. Uncover the truth, shatter myths and enjoy a journey lake. The “Mere” was 1.2km long and in places 152m wide through some of the greatest moments of Kenilworth’s history. defending the Castle on two sides and creating a moat on the Sandstone in Castle Walls Kenilworth Castle in 1575. © Historic England Archive others. These formidable defences kept Henry’s siege engines The walk is around 3.5 miles and takes approximately 2 hours (illustration by Peter Urmston) at a distance and forced an unsuccessful night-time assault (not including a visit to the Castle). The route is mostly on roads using barges hauled overland. In later times the Mere became and paths, but can be muddy in winter, particularly on the site of more of a royal pleasure lake for boating, hosting regattas, and the mere, however the views and stories make it worthwhile! 2 The Castle Defences as a backdrop to firework displays. Turn right along the track and continue through two fields to reach the Pleasance. www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/kenilworth-castle/

Abbey End Around 1210 King John built the Castle’s outer walls and Start: towers, with stone from the quarry on the hill behind you. Postcode (for Sat Nav): CV8 1QJ The defences were further reinforced by earthworks on this Coordinates (for GPS): 52.344, -1.579 side of the brook (known as the Brays), likely topped with a Plentiful parking is available in Abbey End or Square West wooden palisade. In 1266 after the death of the rebel Simon de Montfort, Sir Henry de Hastings refused to surrender www.warwickdc.gov.uk/info/20548/kenilworth_car_parks the Castle, holding it in the name of Simon’s wife and son. In

response, King Henry III laid siege to the Castle for almost six The Pleasance in 1420 © Historic England Archive entire months. Trebuchets hurled 300lb stones against the Fireworks over Kenilworth Castle by Wael (illustration by Peter Urmston) walls, although they would prove ineffective against the sturdy defences. Continue west on the footpath through three gates. tart your walk at the pedestrian area in Abbey End. You’ll find options for refreshments nearby as well as public 4 S toilets. Cross the road to the Holiday Inn and head right The Pleasance along Abbey End to the War Memorial. In the early 15th century, Henry V built the “Pleasance in the Short Cut... Marsh”, a secluded banqueting lodge hidden away here on For a shorter walk... Continue ahead towards the Castle then the edge of the Mere. Reachable by boat, the four-acre site 1 right around the walls anti-clockwise to the car park, cross the The Beginning comprised a rectangular moated earthwork topped by timber road and bear right to rejoin the main route at point 7. buildings, with stone towers at each corner, and enclosing a courtyard garden. Sadly, it was demolished on the orders of In 1119 King Henry I granted land on the Royal Manor of Henry VIII in 1524. Stoneleigh to his Chamberlain Geoffrey de Clinton. On the king’s orders, Geoffrey built a Castle to the west, raising a stone The land around the Mere had been used as a royal hunting keep on a sandstone outcrop protected by marshy ground. This park since the 14th century but around 1565 Robert Dudley made the castle a formidable stronghold and a key defence expanded this by 800 acres to create a walled hunting forest or of Henry’s realm east of the Forest of Arden. Geoffrey further “chase”. Take the gate to your right and continue on footpath gifted land (the current Abbey Fields) for the establishment of to Purlieu Lane. Continue until Castle comes into view. an Augustinian Priory. Take Forrest Road to the Junction. Turn right, cross Borrowell Lane and then turn left on the small road and bear right behind houses to reach woodland. On leaving woods turn right and follow the track to the gate next to the Castle ticket office. Continue overleaf...

Re-enactment of a Norman siege at Kenilworth Castle Working Trebuchet at Warwick Castle by-nc-sa/2.0 - © © English Heritage Hari Menon R

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n se C in the adjacent two-storey rooms. A wall or further structures e m Kenilworth Greenway lo n U C o t t m p n e would have created a courtyard extending to the museum p e tl o e v it n r n L S o L and the cloister. Walk east from the gatehouse through the p C a ri n A n e 452churchyard, B the southern part of the ruin is the Outer Parlour. g st Earl of Leicester irmin L Robert Dudley , 1 gham a Elizabeth I at Kenilworth Castle © English Heritage Ro n ad 1922 Excavation of the dormitory by Ken Blackham e ne 1922 Excavation of the Chapter House by Ken Blackham courtesy of Kenilworth History & Archaeology Society e La S riv use courtesy of Kenilworth History & Archaeology Society o D Kenilworth Common ho u ld ale H thfie Finham Brook D

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Elizabeth I & Robert Dudley e 11 The Chapter House Parliament Piece

e Over time the castle developed from fortress to palace; John A s e o los l e C e 4 C al n rthv a l No L Much of this green space would have been occupied by l e of Gaunt added the immense great hall and Robert Dudley 5 i us ho 2 m ale

e d D undertook extensive works in anticipation of the visits by Queen buildings, including the two-storey infirmary to the south d iv r F D n a i s e i o c e in W east and the dormitories and latrines which ran south as far r Elizabeth I. He also constructed a 183m bridge over the mere Abbey Gatehouse Reconstruction by Jonathan Holland l R P Seal of the Abbey of St Mary the Virgin. Courtesy of d y T courtesy of the Harry Sunley Memorial Project g r K to give access to the chase. Much has been written of their the Public Records Office, London. as the tennis courts. Used for meetings, the Chapter House t a i e a n n n Finham Brook kesworth W e t Haw Drive t o e i “romance” but “Kenilworth” by Sir Walter Scott is the most was a large building 15m long and 8.5m wide, decorated with o l e v d w Wa r t s l er a o T n o o w d H L e r famous (albeit fictional) representation. A theory suggests a ribbed vaulting and Romanesque arches. The visible wall is C r L R t an I o a e l a h S l d ow t ead o G n n l M actually just the tip of the iceberg and would have been over C dmil K el young William Shakespeare may have visited in 1575 with this 2 d om Woo no e 9 r i a w g e 4 o e e le h m n Hill R The Abbey Ruins e R a o 20m high and 2m thick! Excavations in 1922 uncovered two y o L a A n d view inspiring Theseus’ Palace in a Midsummer Night’s Dream. r n se t u L w s d o n a Ill h e n H a le stone coffins, and theories abound that these are the tombs v e sa o a Continue along Purlieu Lane, turning right through the gate. e o ye D R d y n C a Finham Brook a L r e L e 2 w of Geoffrey de Clinton, his son or the first prior of the Abbey. y 4 o g L r e e l A an The Outer Parlour was where visitors were received.A Extending o 4 k d L 52 c ylan B enn Allotments F ee a F hi Follow the churchyard wall then turn left at museum and bear r d Knowle Hill R ve C a southwards was a wing of storerooms with possibly guest H o ill R d n right around the Swimming Pool. la h accommodation above. Henry III would have likely lodged here ig nor R H

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M Dudley spared no expense for Elizabeth I’s visit in 1575 with of the northo wall (the “Lapidarium”) was rebuilt in 1984 using S riv use o d D Kenilworth Common leho t Detour: u l a thfie Finham Brook D a t

n * e lavish pageants, hunts, barge cruises and fireworks over the decorated stonework discovered in the 1922 excavations. l Take e i t If it’s open, make sure to stop at the Abbey Museum, housed e iv

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Mere. The castle was taken by parliamentary forces in 1642, the stepsC into the nave. Parliament Piece o S e k in the only complete medieval structure remaining. Run by t u s R R o 3 s w e l o A s e and its defences dismantled, including breaching the dam at o los a e l G C e k e 4 C ale volunteers, it houses a detailed interpretation of the Abbey v 0 rth l No d n l n 5 i a a

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the tiltyard to empty the Mere (known as Hawkesworth’s gap). n s l a F m l a i and artefacts from the Bronze Age toM 20th century. 2 4 i o n o e E W n R 4 e o l o d y d h Cre T we B e Lan n e g r A r The castle deteriorated, and although famous as a tourist t a c

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n M centre-abbey-fields-kenilworth/ 2 oodmill e Kn W r ow e C 4 e le with only Leicester’s Gatehouse maintained. In 1937 car aw Lan Hill l A L se lls d ou HI a leh yes o Da d R manufacturer Sir John Siddeley bought the castle and in La Finham Brook r e we o g Street L r High o Allotments F 1958 the freehold passed to Kenilworth Urban District Council. A e Knowle Hill R 4 los E C Finham Brook liza W 5 Manor Roras

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0 r a In July 1266 Papal Legate Cardinal Ottobuono (later Pope r 3 o n w Bor k founding was extended under the patronage of ro f w i e e S ll R la Close l W Adrian V) excommunicated the castle’s defenders, from beyond n ld d B e e o fi L 4 h a B a g n i John of Gaunt. This created a vast church with walls 45ft high Hi d d F e 0 o4a n catapult range on Castle Hill. It did not have the intended or 3 R r n d es io t R T tat that ran some 283 feet to the high altar at the far eastern end. 12 oad S 0 y h effect as a defender dressed as the papal legate subsequently e 4 Abbey Pool A S Talisman d A a r The canons would have attended prayer here eight times a day. e o u u B n Suare b e a b e R 5 v returned the favour to the King and his army! However, by A r r t o a d i b i c e e r r e R Excavations have uncovered numerous tombs including that of M e a u 4 o a B W r B December 1266 famine and disease had finally bought the & Fields y d d r r a e at least one prior. Up a level to your left are the remains of the o E o m o r siege to an end. n R k a d y F octagonal Bell tower, built separately due to the weight of the s ad oa d o R e i R w l d lle rro r t vi a f e e B e o Gr r v C bells. Return to the nave, walk east along its length and bear A y a ior The cottages of Little Virginia date from the 17th century v Pr

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e L right into Abbey Fields. Follow the tarmac path downhill. fi 4 o a b (roughly on the site of the modernh lake). This was stocked r g n i A H d e 0 oa y R d with fish and powered a watermill on the south bank of the 3 n n i A o i F W d 4 t T a a a o t 5 r brook. A bridge over the brook hasR existed since the 12th S m 2 h l l

e a W e d d r n a a W e century although it was washed awaya and replacedo at least S an r d R R L ’s w a se n Talismanr u a o e ic d sh ue as k R l twice. Following dissolution, the land remainedQ e private, but a o G u u B n R o Suarea e o a e R 5 v A a d r d r t concerted effort over the last 150 yearsa has made it a public d i i c e e West Door of St Nicholas Church r r e R The Nave of the Abbey Church M a 4 space. Continue around the Swimming pool to iron bridge. o a W B d

S d r t Turn right uphill back to the War Memorial. and Abbey End. N a e ic h o o m la r s R A a v e d d y F n a a 10 u o Ro e e e an R w Birches L l St Nicholas Church e o r ll rr vi Ba Robert Dudley’s initial on former Castle stonework at re e Pope Adrian V by Artaud de Montor (1772 - 1849) Robsart Cottage G v a

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Check out the directory: visit.kenilworthweb.co.uk/food-drinks o Elizabeth I attended two services here so the door may have r C i ti d m n e e a r been part of Dudley’s efforts to impress. Inside are carved R A o m as v li d e a www.khas.co.uk/abbey-of-st-mary-the-virgin-kenilworth/ stone seats from the Abbey and a “pig of lead”, discovered in If you enjoyed this trail then whyn not try another nextT time you u visit? e 1888. Often thought to be the Abbey’s roof, it could be one (or A 5 4 5 ane 2 L The Augustinian priory of St Mary the Virgin was founded in 4 cil several) of the Abbey’s bells, melted down after dissolution (and W r oun a B R u rw 1119. It became one of the largest in the Midlands and in 1447 Find more trails at: visit.kenilworthweb.co.uk/discover/trails i o therefore not lead either!). Return to the churchyard wall and ck b R r o a the Pope raised it to Abbey status. Dissolved in 1538 it was follow the outside southwards towards the large ruined wall. A d

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