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Arbury Hall is an Elizabethan manor house, originally built on the ruins of a 12th century Augustinian Priory and transformed into the Gothic style by Sir Roger Newdigate during the second half of the 18th century. It has been the seat of the Newdegate family for over 450 years and is the ancestral home of Viscount Daventry. The house stands in the middle of acres of 18th century landscaped gardens, within even more acres of lakes and parkland. Inside, the house is renowned for its fan vaulted ceilings with plunging pendants and filigree tracery.
Arbury’s main claim to fame is that George Eliot, aka Mary Ann Evans, was born at South Farm on the estate in 1819. Arbury Hall was immortalised in her book 'Scenes of a Clerical Life'.
The hall and gardens have limited opening to the public and are also available for corporate events and filming. Film credits include the film Angels and Insects starring Mark Rylance, Patsy Kensit, and Kristin Scott Thomas and the BBC TV series Land Girls.
The wider Arbury Estate includes most of Astley village and Astley Castle, which is available for hire through the Landmark Trust.
Image credit: Historic Houses
Baddesley Clinton is a place with stories, a picturesque and charming moated manor house and estate dating from the 15th century, set in lovely gardens and surrounded by beautiful Warwickshire countryside. For 500 years it was home to the Ferrers family, staunch Roman Catholics, and it comes complete with a priest hole hidden in the medieval sewer. Its survival is largely due to its eccentric Victorian owners, Marmion and Rebecca Ferrers and their very close friends, Lady Chatterton and Edward Dering, collectively known as 'the Quartet'.
Baddesley Clinton
Once a royal castle, and a favourite residence of Lancastrian kings. But Kenilworth is associated by the majority of people with the Elizabethan era, when it was owned by Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, the queen's favourite. Though Kenilworth Castle is mostly ruined now, some rooms can still be seen, together with period fittings and furnishings. The site is enormous and impressive, and now includes an Elizabethan garden.
Castle Road
Kenilworth
St Michael's Baddesley Clinton is a short walk from Baddesley Clinton Manor House, through woods packed with snowdrops, daffodils and bluebells. The church was originally dedicated to St James, but changed - probably in the 19th century. The present building dates from 1305, but it is generally thought that a church stood on or near the site before Domesday (though the latter makes no mention of one). Do not miss the beautiful east window, the interesting rustic oak screen - or the simple grave marker for Nicholas Broome, just inside the south door (under the mat!). Once lord of the manor, he murdered a priest and built the tower of the church as a penance.
Baddesley Clinton
The original castle at Warwick was built of wood in the 11th century, possibly on or near an earlier Saxon fortification. It evolved to become one of England's pre-eminent castles, home to the powerful Earls of Warwick. In 1604, it passed to the Greville family, who occupied it until 1978. Warwick is an exceptionally complete picture-book castle, now run by an entertainments company. In addition to the building's undoubted historic merits, there is something of the theme park about it and all manner of things aimed at children. Attractions include a dungeon experience, a trebuchet, birds of prey, daily activities and extensive gardens/grounds.
Coventry has had three cathedrals. The Priory Church of St Mary was founded as a Benedictine community in 1043, allegedly by the Earl of Mercia, Leofric, and his wife Godiva. It became a cathedral in 1102 but was dissolved and destroyed in 1539. The parish church of St Michael, founded as a chapel in the 12th century, became Coventry's second cathedral in 1918. However, this was destroyed in the blitz of 14 November 1940. The third cathedral, also dedicated to St Michael, was created next door to the ruins in a spirit of reconciliation during the 1950s and was completed in 1962. Both buildings are stunning: the ruins are thought-provoking; the modern, with its soaring and light interior, is unusually beautiful, and inspiring, for a structure of its period.
Coventry
Godiva, or Godgifu, was a pious 11th century noblewoman, the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia. According to a legend that dates back to at least the 13th century, she rode naked – covered only in her long hair – through the streets of Coventry to gain a remission of the oppressive taxation that her husband imposed on his tenants. The term 'Peeping Tom' originates from later versions of this story, in which a man named Thomas watched her ride and was struck blind or dead. This striking statue of Godiva is in Coventry's heavily 1960s central square, Broadgate. It was unveiled in 1948 and was sculpted by William Reid-Dick. Nearby is the Lady Godiva clock. When the bell strikes the hour, a figure of Lady Godiva on a white horse emerges; above is a window, through which Thomas peeps.
Coventry
The full name of this place is the Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings and it was England's first open air museum, established in 1967. Avoncroft displays 30-odd rescued buildings and structures, ranging from 14th - 20th centuries, which have been re-built in 19 acres of rural Worcestershire. The museum includes a wildflower meadow, period gardens and a traditional cider and perry orchard. It is also home to the National Telephone Kiosk Collection.
Bromsgrove
The Battle of Worcester, the last battle of the inaccurately named English Civil Wars, took place on 3 September 1651 in and around the city. It was a decisive engagement; Parliament's New Model Army outnumbered and outclassed the Royalist, mainly Scottish, troops and Charles II went into exile.
Much of the battlefield is now covered by later development, though Perry Wood, where Cromwell and his army camped before the battle, is still relatively unspoilt. Within the city are several buildings and monuments associated with the battle. Charles II got the best view of the battlefield from the top of the tower of Worcester Cathedral, there is a museum in the Commandery (used as a Royalist HQ and scene of some of the fighting nearby) and the adjacent Fort Royal Park was a Royalist earthwork, stormed by Parliament. Powick Bridge just outside the city is accessible and Powick Church still bears the scars of battle.
Address and post code is for the tourist information centre. See separate listings for the Cathedral, Powick Bridge, the Commandery and Fort Royal.
High Street
Worcester
Edward Elgar was one of England’s greatest musical composers; his works include the Enigma Variations and Land of Hope and Glory. He was born on 2 June 1857 in Lower Broadheath, about three miles from Worcester, and died at his home, Marl Bank, in Worcester on 23 February 1934. He is said to have been inspired by the countryside around Worcester and the Malvern Hills. Elgar's birthplace, a cottage called the Firs, is now a museum with a garden and visitor centre owned by the National Trust. Elgar's father William had an established music business in Worcester, some three miles from Broadheath and only spent weekends at the cottage. Apparently, the cottage in the countryside was his mother’s choice, rather than his father’s. However, they later moved to 10 High Street in the city, living above the music business. The shop is no longer there, but a plaque on the Gifford Hotel marks the approximate location. Sadly, and inexplicably, his house at Marl Bank was demolished in 1969. Next to Cathedral Square is a bronze statue of Elgar, situated so that he is looking at the Cathedral he loved. The statue was the work of Kenneth Potts and was unveiled by HRH Prince of Wales on 2 June 1981.
Crown East Lane
Lower Broadheath
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