Warwick Castle

Warwick Castle is a medieval castle developed from a wooden fort originally built by William the Conqueror during 1068. The original wooden motte-and-bailey castle overlooking the River Avon was rebuilt in stone during the 12th century. During the Hundred Years War, the facade opposite the town was refortified, resulting in one of the most recognisable examples of 14th-century military architecture. It was used as a stronghold until the early 17th century, when it was granted to Sir Fulke Greville by James I in 1604. Greville converted it to a country house, and it was owned by the Greville family (who became Earls of Warwick in 1759) until 1978, when it was bought by the Tussauds Group.

In 2007, the Tussauds Group was purchased by the Blackstone Group, which merged it with Merlin Entertainments. Warwick Castle was then sold to Nick Leslau's investment firm, Prestbury Group, under a sale and leaseback agreement. Merlin continues to operate the site under a renewable 35-year lease.

Text adapted from “Warwick Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Warwick Castle ranks #140 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #13 of the 329 mapped in England. Founded 1068, it is older than 89% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 317 atlas entries founded in the 11th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 28,914 times in the last 60 days, more than 98% of the atlas. 2 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Birmingham, 31 km away. See how England compares in the castle statistics.

View on the interactive castle map →

Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗