Please you walk out, and see the Castle, come,
The owner saith it is a Scholler' home.

WARWICK CASTLE, which the illustrious author of Waverley has pronounced to be the "fairest monument of of ancient and chivalrous splendour, which yet remains uninjured by time," is seated on a solid rock, like Kenilworth, and most other ancient castles. This rock rises forty feet higher than the level of the Avon, though one side of it is even with the town, and commands a rich and varied prospect from the terrace. Panegyric has long ago exhausted itself in endeavouring to do justice to the magnificence, grandeur, and beauty of this ancient and noble pile, and we by no means wish to add our names to the number of those who have failed in attempting even a faint description of its beauties, which would require months to become acquainted with, and years to depicture; besides, had we the inclination and ability, we have not the

Kenilworth, vol. 2. p. 327.

opportunity; our confined limits would fetter our powers, and cripple our exertions; and the mortification of our failure would be all the greater, from our having attempted with the certainty of our inability to accomplish; we will, however, endeavour to give a concise yet succinct account of its origin and history, and point out to the reader's attention its most prominent objects of curiosity. Speaking of the foundations of this castle, Dugdale says:

"Whether I may attribute its original to Kimbeline, the British King, who is said to have been the first builder here, or to the Romans, that had a strong hold in this place, (by reason whereof they call it Præsidium,) I cannot well determine; if, therefore, to do so, be too great presumption, to refer the foundation thereof to the renowned Lady Ethelfleda, daughter to King Alfred, and Lady of the Mercians, I am sure will not; in regard, it appears that she, in the year DCCCCXV, (scil. in' the 16th year of King Edward the elder,) caused the dungeon to be made, which was a strong tower or platform, upon a large and high mound of earth, artificially raised, (such being usually placed towards the side of the castle, or fort, which is least defensible,) the substance whereof is yet to be seen. There was heretofore a church within the precincts of this castle, dedicated to the honour of All Saints,

and of no less antiquity than the Brittan's name, as Rous affirmeth; and, therefore, if it were at first founded therein, then doth it plainly shew that the castle was built before the Romans made this place a garrison.

By Doomsday Book it appears to have belonged to the Crown, as far back as Edward the Confessor's time, and to have been considered as a strong hold for the defence of the midland parts of the kingdom, as we have before mentioned.

William the Conqueror employed Turchill, the then Earl of Warwick and Governor of the castle, in the former reign, to fortify and enlarge it; for which purpose, four houses belonging to the monks of Coventry 'were destroyed: but when the work was completed, William appointed one of his own countrymen, Henry de Newburg, Governor, and made him Earl of Warwick in 1067, who formed and added Wedgnock-park to the domains of the castle. Towards the latter end of the reign of Stephen, Gundred, Countess of Warwick, turned out that King's soldiers, and delivered it up to the Duke of Normandy, afterwards Henry the Second, who in the 15th year of his reign, on account of the rebellion of Prince Henry, his son, caused it to be garrisoned.

In the 7th of King John, it came into the custody of Thomas Basset, of Heddington, in Oxford

shire: after which it became successively in the possession of Hugh de Nevil, Henry, Farl of Warwick, and the above-mentioned Basset. Towards the reign of Henry the Third, it became of such importance, that a security was required of Margery, sister and heir to Thomas, Sixth Earl of Newburg, that she should not marry any man but whom the King approved; and in 1255, the 40th year of his reign, William Mauduit, the then Earl, siding with the King against the barons, the castle was surprised by John Giffard, governor of Kenilworth Castle, who demolished the walls from tower to tower, and carried him and his lady prisoners to Kenilworth, where they were kept until ransomed by the payment of 1900 marks. In the 14th of Edward the Second, on account of the minority of Thomas, son and heir of Guy de Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, the command of the castle was given to Thomas Sutton, who did not long hold his trust; and the next year was put into the custody of the sheriff, who being forcibly driven out by one Thomas Blaunchfort, the King directed his precept to him, ordering him to take with him John Peche, a leading man in the county, to require the re-delivery thereof, and commit the offenders to prison; which was accordingly performed, and Peche constituted governor. In the time of Edward the Third, it was granted, during the

10

minority of the Earl, to Roger Mortimer, of Wigmore; and in the 45th of that king's reign, Thomas Earl of Warwick rebuilt the walls of the castle, demolished in the time of the Earl Mauduit, adding strong gates, and fortifying the gate ways with embattled towers. This Earl was famous for his gallant behaviour at the battles of Cressy and Poictiers, 1346 and 1356. Richard the Second, on taking the reins of government into his own hands, dismissed his privycouncillors, among whom was Thomas Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, who, retiring to his estate, amused himself with building: he erected the famous tower at the N. E. corner of the castle, and called it Guy's Tower; the cost of which was 3951. 5s. 2d.; its walls are ten feet thick: he also, as before stated, completed the body of the collegiate church of Our Lady at Warwick: both which were finished anno 1394. Some time after this, he was seized, and condemned by Parliament to lose his head: but this was not put into execution: however, his estates were forfeited, and the custody of the castle given to John de Clinton. Beauchamp was sent to the Isle of Man, there to remain prisoner for life, where he continued till the revolution in favour of Henry the Fourth, which restored him both to his liberty and estate. This Earl was knight of the garter: he left to his son Richard, by will, the sword and coat