Warwick Travel Guide

Most visitors come to this town just to see Warwick Castle, the finest medieval castle in England. Some combine it with a visit to the ruins of Kenilworth Castle, but the historic center of ancient Warwick has a lot more to offer.Warwick cites Ethelfleda, daughter of Alfred the Great, as its founder. But most of its history is associated with the earls of Warwick, a title created by the son of William the Conqueror in 1088. The story of those earls--the Beaumonts and the Beauchamps (such figures as "Kingmaker" Richard Neville)--makes for an exciting episode in English history.A devastating fire swept through the heart of Warwick in 1694, but a number of Elizabethan and medieval buildings still survive, along with some fine Georgian structures from a later date.