WARWICK is famous for its castle, St Mary’s Collegiate Church, with its links to Joan of Arc, and the Lord Leycester Hospital – but much more of its history has been too often overlooked.
But in Secret Warwick, author Graham Sutherland explores the lesser-known history of the county town, recounting some remarkable stories.
Readers can learn about the Tudor benefactor whose legacy still provides funding today, the setting for Mark Twain’s novel A Connecticut Yankee at King Arthur’s Court, rowdy election rioting in the town, and local government corruption.
Grim reminders of the past include the old leper hospital, prisons and public execution sites.
While a reformed slaver and a vicar who was banned from his own church are among several turbulent priests.
Warwick also housed two prisoner of war camps during the Second World War – for Italians and Germans, while St Mary’s Church contains Montgomery of Alamein’s banner, and a memorial to soldiers who were murdered by the SS in 1940.
With tales of remarkable characters and tucked-away or disappeared
buildings and locations, the lavishly illustrated Secret Warwick provides te perfec opportunity to deleve deeper into Warwick’s long and rich past.
* Graham Sutherland is a retired police inspector, writer and speaker. He is a
Blue Badge Tourist Guide for the Heart of England area with a special interest
in Warwickshire and the Cotswolds. He is former Beadle and Town Crier for
Warwick and is an Ale Taster for Warwick Court Leet.
He has written numerous books and booklets on the history of Warwick and
Warwickshire
Secret Warwick is published by Amberley priced £15.99
Visit www.amberley-books.com/secret-warwick.html for further details.
Checking a crime prevention window display in the 1950s.
The programme for a Venetian Fête held in 1954.
Herding sheep near Banbury Road Toll House.
It was the end of the road for horse drawn trams in 1905 as electricity took the strain.
The Castle Lane face is watching you!
Author and former town crier Graham Sutherland.
