I’ll feature the Westgate and the Lord Leycester Hospital in another entry, but I’ll include the Eastgate here because of Andy’s charming photo of the Victorian postbox in the Greek Doric style. There is wonderful medieval woodwork, a Doom painting above the west doorway, and a ‘ghost angel ’ - so much to see that I can’t do justice here so please see the comments for links to much better accounts than mine.

The medieval painted statues that surround the east window of the chapel are a rare survivor when so many elsewhere were destroyed by the iconoclasts of the 16th and 17th centuries. Not all the medieval glass survived, but what did is very special, not least for illustrating the musical notes and instruments of medieval music. The chapel also houses the tombs of Robert Dudley whose failed wooing of Elizabeth I at Kenilworth Castle was the inspiration for the Sir Walter Scott novel, and his brother Ambrose Dudley who became the Earl of Warwick. It was built at huge expense for the gilded effigy and tomb of Richard Beauchamp (who burned Joan of Arc) and one of the weepers on the tomb is Warwick the Kingmaker who changed allegiance in the Wars of the Roses and paid with his life. The Beauchamp Chapel - pronounced Beecham - is one of the great late medieval gems of England. The chancel and the Beauchamp Chapel survived, as did the Norman crypt (with the remnants of one of only two ducking stools in England), and these are magnificent. Much of the old St Mary’s was lost in the fire, giving it a soaring landmark 18C tower but rather bland nave. There is so much to see in Warwick, not least the castle of course, that I shall have to split it over at least three entries in this series, with a fourth on Guy’s Cliffe as well. The resulting Fire Act of 1694 established new building regulations that gave Warwick its beautifully elegant architecture of the early 18C. The great fire of 1694 destroyed much of Warwick but not the whole town, so you can see medieval half-timbering on the late 17C town boundaries - the Lord Leycester for example, and Bridge Street.

Andy has very kindly given me permission to use the three photos here. For this king-making weekend, it feels timely to feature Warwick the Kingmaker in the 10th entry in this series, so it’s time for our beautiful county town.Īnd every Friday, as well as watching the votes come in for Friday Fun, I also follow the travels of Andy Marshall 📸 whose beautiful light-infused photography, eye for vernacular detail and fine architectural prose continues the legacy of Edwin Smith and Olive Cook.

The 7 lamps of architecture