WARWICK
Warwick is a Mediaeval town about 30 min. distance from Birmingham by train. Spelled Warwick but pronouced as if Warrick. From Birmingham you can catch a train either from Snowhill or Moor Street station; the ticket costs £5.80 for cheap day return.
If you arrive at Warrick by train, this is probably the first monument you will see. This is St. John's House, now used as museum (free admission; donation welcome). On the ground floor there are some exhibitions of dolls, Victorian kitchen, and probably coeval classroom. On the first floor is the museum of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment. If you are into those kind of things, there are not much things to see.
This is the clock tower of the Collegiate Church of St. Mary.
The oldest part (i.e. the crypt) of St. Mary's dates back to the 12th century. Admission is free and donation is welcome. You need to pay only if you climb up the clock tower.
When we entered inside, we were greeted by an elderly lady who borrowed us a sheet explaining about the church. As we were asked in which language we want, I requested Japanese and my husband Greek, and to our surprise both of our requests were fulfilled. Many other languages were also available.
This is the Beauchamp Chapel where some of the Earls of Warrick lie. It was constructed by the 13th Earl of Warwick, Richard de Beauchamp in the 15th century. The golden statue to the right is his.
To the left is Ambrose Dudley and his wife's tomb (here you can see only the feet). Ambrose was made Earl of Warwick by Queen Elisabeth the First. And at the centre, by the wall is the tomb of Robert Dudley, brother of Ambrose. He was also Earl of Leicester.
Robert was famous for his amorous relationship with Elisabeth, and appears almost always on films and tv programmes about Elisabeth.
This is the view of the interior through the Beauchamp Chapel.
Again, the right below angle in the photo are the statues of Ambrose and his wife. They are beautifully sculpted marble figures, but I could not get a nice photo as there was not enough light and I was too short to get the view from above.
This is Warwickshire Museum in Market Place that houses the objects regarding the history and natural history of the area. Admission free and donation welcome.
On the first floor of this museum there is a large textile called Sheldon Tapestry that depicts the map of Warwickshire. This is worth seeing.
These two towers stand two entrances to Warwick, the left one stands at the beginning of Jury Street and the right one on High Street.
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This is Lord Leycester Hospital founded by Robert Dudley (see above) for his soldiers who wounded in war.
It was founded in 1571, but the buildings were older as they were converted from existing guild buildings.
There is entrance fee, but I don't know how much. From March to October, there is a tea house inside where visitors can enjoy tea and light food.
At this occasion we had lunch in a restaurant called The Keep. About it see this page.
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