Warwick Castle
Warwick Castle is one of the finest and best-preserved medieval castles in England, a formidable fortress on a sandstone outcrop above the River Avon in the county town of Warwickshire that has been continuously developed and occupied from its foundation by William the Conqueror in 1068 to the present day. The combination of authentic medieval architecture, substantial surviving interiors and a comprehensive visitor experience that brings the castle's history to life through immersive displays and living history events makes it one of the most visited historic sites in the Midlands. The castle's military architecture is genuinely impressive. The curtain wall running between the great towers of Caesar's Tower and Guy's Tower encloses a substantial area of courtyard that gives an accurate impression of the scale of a major medieval fortress, and both towers survive to their original height, providing elevated viewpoints over the Avon and the surrounding town from their battlements. The great gatehouse and barbican form one of the most complete and best-preserved medieval entrance sequences in England, their layered defences of drawbridge, portcullis and gate towers illustrating the depth of thinking that went into denying entry to hostile forces. The castle's history is inseparable from that of the Earls of Warwick, whose family the Beauchamps acquired it in the early fourteenth century and developed it into the great fortress visible today. Richard Neville, the sixteenth-century Earl of Warwick known as the Kingmaker for his decisive role in the Wars of the Roses, was one of the most powerful subjects in England during the 1460s and his influence over the events leading to Edward IV's accession and then deposition gave the castle a brief moment of national political centrality. The Victorian apartments, developed by the Earls Brooke and Warwick in the nineteenth century, contain a distinguished collection of paintings, furniture and armour displayed within rooms furnished to a high standard that reflects the castle's continuing life as an aristocratic residence through that period.