Warwick Castle

Beautiful Warwick Castle!

On Saturday 18 September, Isaac and I went to Warwick Castle with our friends, Bob and Micah. Micah is in grade 8 (7th grade) at the girls' school in Grantham and Bob teaches business classes at Marian University in Indianapolis. Warwick Castle (pronounced war-ick) is advertised as Britain's Ultimate Castle - this is an accurate summary of this castle - it is totally amazing. The area this castle is built on has been some sort of a fort since AD914 - now that is OLD! It sits on the River Avon and was initially used as a fort by Ethelfleda, daughter of Alfred the Great. However, believe it or not, the first person who really built the castle was none the other than - yes, you guessed it - William the Conqueror. He and the Normans built the motte and bailey fort on this site in 1068, just 2 years after the Norman Conquest. And, as was typical in that time, the castle was originally built out of wood. However, in the 12th century, the wood was replaced with stone. The first constable of the castle was Henry de Beaumont. Now, an interesting point to note is that at some time during his tenure as constable, Henry changed his last name to de Newburgh - I find this pretty strange, considering I have a lot of friends who live in Newburgh, Indiana and I can't help but wonder if this is where Newburgh's name initially started.

Newburgh's Coat of Arms in Stained Glass

Michah's first train ride - I was so happy she joined us on this great adventure!

We were blessed with good weather. The town of Warwick is so quaint. The train station was quite small so I wasn't real sure what we were going to experience, but walking up through the town to the castle was a gorgeous walk.

At the train station

Clock Tower in the town of Warwick

Walking up the hill toward the castle - a busy street in Warwick!

Beautiful flowers outside information building

As we walked through the town and up the brick road to the castle, we saw lots of really neat looking shops as well as some pretty cool pubs. One restaurant was fully licensed. We were not sure exactly what this meant, but we all decided we felt better knowing that it was a licensed place :) There were tea rooms and shops in all sorts of older buildings. Warwick truly is a pretty place. We also happened upon a beautiful park area. In this area, there was a wedding going on.

A beautiful place to have a wedding!

And even neater, was the car that was waiting to take the bride and groom away....

Boy did we all wish that we could go for a ride in this car! But, since we were not invited to the wedding and we did not have keys to the car, we decided to look at the map and keep walking towards the castle.

Isaac checking out the map

While we were at the castle, we purchased a guidebook to help us better understand what we were looking at as well as the history of the castle, which was a great decision. This castle has changed  hands so many times, it is crazy. The history of this castle is as rich as the history of Britain. The castle has been attacked - both successfully and unsuccessfully - and it has gone through at least 9 different families. One of the most influential Earls of Warwick was Richard Neville. Richard was the tutor for Henry VI when he was a child. He also was a supporter of Edward IV. Because of his allegiances to and support of these 2 kings during the War of the Roses, Richard became known as "The Kingmaker." Richard also is famous because he was Captain of Calais in 1431. During this year, the English bought Joan of Arc, a captive, for a ransom fee and Richard supervised her trial for heresy. Poor Joan of Arc ended up being executed by burning in the marketplace at Rouen in northern France. The early Earls of Warwick were often in a precarious situation - they would often be selected as the earl only to be later imprisoned and killed for a variety of reasons - this made me pretty grateful that I didn't live in the castle during this time....it was a tough life and if you said the wrong thing, you could be killed. The castle was also not always in very good shape. In fact, in 1604, the castle was dilapidated. At this time, King James I gave the castle to Sir Fulke Greville. This poor man was killed by his discontented manservant - as I said earlier, being in this castle was no picnic! Restoration to the castle continues even today and so far, this Isaac's favorite castle.

Front Gate of the Castle

Walking up to the castle, we were immediately struck by its size. It has several very tall towers and quite a bit of land all around it.

The Mound (or motte) - one of my favorite parts of the castle

The grounds were simply gorgeous. Although the castle was not horribly busy when we were there, I understand it gets incredibly full during the summer months. I can see why and how it would get so busy. First of all, it is just so cool, I can't imagine anyone not wanting to go there. Secondly, it really caters to kids. There were birds of prey displays, peacocks, ducks, archers shooting arrows, a sword in the stone display and what castle would not be complete without a princess tower?!? My favorite part of the castle was the dungeons. We had to pay extra to go into the dungeons - it was money well spent.

I just can't get that sword out of the stone!

Isaac trying out his archery skills

The Castle Dungeons were made into a display in 2009. The show was phenomenal. We started out getting our instructions. The guides were dutifully scary and we had our picture taken before we went into the dungeons. In the picture, Isaac is cutting off my head and Bob is cutting off Micah's head...what a group! We were instructed to bring in no talkie boxes (cell phones) and no flashy boxes (cameras). So unfortunately, I have no pictures from the inside of the dungeons.

They started out telling us about the plague and then we learned about the tools used for torture - both of which I found very interesting...I wonder what that says about me :) We saw the hook, the tongue tearer, the jaw breaker, the castrator, and the claw...none of which I would like to see being used in action. Boy were the people back then brutal!

Entrance to the dungeons

Iron cage that people would hang from
in the Gaol (pronounced jail)

Funny sign in torture display

Display of torture instruments

At the end of the tour, I ended up being charged - unfairly I might add - of treason. I ended up being placed on the chopping block and was going to have my head chopped off. Right before I went to the block, the guard who was going to kill me gave me a piece of paper to explain what was going to happen. I was told to kneel on the chopping block and remain totally still - I was promised I would not get hurt as long as I didn't move. So I knelt on the block and didn't move a muscle, even though I was looking at a basket of bloody heads - don't worry - they were pretty funny bloody heads :) So the guard's axe went up as if she were going to cut my head off when the lights in the room went off and the benches that the rest of our group were sitting in moved forward. All of a sudden, the audience got sprayed with water and when the lights went back on, there was an ear lying next to my head - it was so funny. Who would have thought that the guard would have missed my head! Honestly, I was quite happy the guard missed my head - it would have put a premature end to our day had I actually lost my head!

After the dungeons, we went through the Kingmaker display and the gaol. The gaol was really cool - it had French graffiti sketched into the walls - based on the figures in the walls, the historians estimated that people were left in the dark in the gaol for very long periods of time.

Herbalist

One of my favorite parts of the Kingmaker display was seeing the herbalist. She was like a nurse - the herbalist would care for anyone who was sick or wounded in battle. She really played her part and asked Isaac if his wife would be joining him later in the day at the battle site to help care for the wounded. She said that by the age of 13, most boys would have been married - how scary is that!

Chapel

Stained glass in chapel

We also had time to look at the chapel.The chapel was very pretty. And then, we went into the room that I know my niece, Jojo, would have liked the best - the Great Hall. We have a Great Hall at Harlaxton too. The Great Hall was typically used for parties and dances and other events where you needed a lot of space. Well the great hall at this time at the castle houses all sorts of armor suits that knights wore. Knowing that Jojo loves knights, I had to take a few pictures of the different suits of armor - they were incredible!

A knight and a horse in shining armor - boy did I wish Jojo could be with me :)

A crusader's 3/4 armor suit - one of my personal favorites

 This was one of the biggest displays of armor I have ever seen. It amazed me when I started wondering how people could actually fit inside of these suits and move around. The swords were awesome too - Micah and Isaac thought playing with them was a great idea :)

Don't get hurt!!!

The state dining room (which we also have at Harlaxton) was adjacent to the great hall - just like it is at the manor. Boy was the dining room elegant - I found out later that you can actually rent the state dining room and have 29 of your closest friends join you for dinner if you wish. Too bad I hadn't known this before we came!

Wish I were coming for dinner!

After spending so much time inside, we decided to head back outside to see the castle from a bird's eye view. So up we climbed to the top Clarence, Guys, and Caesar's Towers. The walk through all the towers included a total of 530 steps - talk about a cardio workout!

The journey up begins - through a little door!

Bear Tower

Hi Isaac!

View of St. Mary's steeple from the castle

St. Mary's Church

The near building is the Front Gate - Caesar's Tower is in the back

The Mound with a sword in the stone presentation going on in front of it

The flag of England and the emblem of St. George on top of Guys Tower

Looking down on the river that runs behind the castle

Trebuchet in the background

Each view was more splendid than the last - I don't have enough space to show all the pictures I took from the top of all these towers - but I have to say, the journey up and down the 530 steps was totally worth it. Micah, Bob, Isaac and I were troopers - we made it up all the steps and allowed ourselves to drink in the beauty of nature and the miracle of what humans can create.

Looking through an arch in the wall of Caesar's Tower

Having almost tired ourselves out but feeling refreshed by the ice cream that we had eaten before trekking up all the stairs, we decided to go through the royal weekend party display and some of the other indoor displays once we got back down off the towers.

Isaac being a part of the display - what a crazy guy!

This display showed part of the life of Frances, fondly called Daisy, Countess of Warwick, in the 1890's. Daisy was quite the party girl. She hosted many parties; one of her most famous happened in 1898 when the Prince of Wales who later became King Edward VII. This party was the focus of this particular display. Edward was such a frequent guest at the castle that a bedroom was set aside just for him. The bedroom was simply incredible...

Edward VII's room

Wood paneling carvings in Edward's room

Edward's room was so ornate. The wood paneling had all these carvings in it and his bed was something I would have liked to take home with me!

We also explored the area outside of the castle. That was pretty too and pretty cool! First we went up onto the mound. It was a great opportunity for some family photos :)

Bob and Micah on the mound

Isaac and me on the mound

It was beautiful up on the mound. I was able to get some pretty interesting pictures on top of the mound also.

Looking through the wall - and a bird alit just as I was taking the picture!

Looking at the river from atop the mound

Isaac had heard that they were going to be shooting of the trebuchet around 4:00, so from the mound, we went off to the mill with the idea of making it back to the gardens to see the trebuchet get fired.
The mill was really interesting. The original mill was built early in the 12th century and it was about 90 meters downstream from the castle buildings. By the end of the 14th century, the mill was moved just behind the castle. The mill house originally was made out of timber, but in the 18th century, the building was updated in a stone Gothic style so it matched the rest of the castle.

In 1880, there was a fire that pretty much destroyed all the milling machinery. All that was left was the waterwheel and outer walls of the building. Fourteen years after the fire, the mill was rebuilt into a water-powered plant that generated electricity. So this is one of the earliest hydroelectric power stations in the entire country! The castle depended on the mill and engine house for electrical energy until the 1940's. They had an antique dynamo generator (a Crossley Gas Engine) on display - evidently, these engines are highly sought after in the US, so they are hard to come by in England.

Refurbished mill - only 1 firm in England was able to restore it!

View of a garden by the mill

The renovation and refurbishing of this area of the castle cost over 2 million pounds - now that's a lot of money - but boy was I glad they invested this money into this area - it was so cool.

There are some renovations currently happening at the area by the mill. Evidently, there were some fairly high flood waters near the castle and now I think they are working on reinforcing the walls around the river.I just love British signs...here is a picture of the sign near the construction zone.

Note that the business was established in 1747 - now that is an old company!

The final highlight of our trip was to watch the trebuchet get launched. While we were sitting and waiting, Isaac took some pretty interesting pictures.

Bob's eye

A friendly peacock

An even friendlier duck

Me reading the castle guidebook - I think I was into the
instruments of torture at this point - my favorite part :) 

We sat on the banks of the river while we waited. It was nice to sit - we had been walking since about 10:00 that morning and it was about 4:00 in the afternoon when we finally sat. Finally, the trebuchet was launched. This was a really cool process. The trebuchet required 4 men walking in pairs in the 2 hamster wheel - like wheels. The guys have to walk in unison or else they will get tossed around in the wheels and they could get hurt. As they walked in the wheels, the arm of the trebuchet went back, lower and lower. We learned that when trebuchets were used in battle, they were not launched at the castle walls because the people firing at the castle wanted to take control of the castle. It would be better to have an intact castle, so instead, they launched things - anything really - over the wall. Sometimes they would launch dead animals because they figured that the stench would drive the people out of the castle and eventually if that didn't do the trick, people would start to get sick and die. They would also launch fire balls, which is what they launched on this fine Saturday. They launched a 70 kg flaming rock out of the trebuchet - boy was that cool! Another thing we learned was that the trebuchet was built out of English oak - this wood lasts for 50 years, so they do not have to replace that part of the wood too often. The oak is very strong and does not bend, so it makes an excellent trebuchet base. The launching arm, however, is made of ash. The reason is that the arm needs to be able to bend or else it will snap or break. The ash, however, only lasts for 3 years, so it is replaced much more often.

The arm of the trebuchet is beginning to go back and get ready to be launched

Trebuchet just before it was launched - see the arm is pointing all the way backwards

Trebuchet as it was launching - the arm came back up and the flaming rock went flying - WOW!

After our long and fabulous day at the castle, Micah, Bob, Isaac and I decided we were starving. So we made a couple of souvenir purchases and then we went back into the town of Warwick to eat at a pub. We landed at a place called The Roebuck Inn. A Roebuck is a male roe deer. The roe deer is small with short antlers and is known for being nimble and graceful.

Inside dining area of the Roebuck Inn

 The Roebuck Inn was established in the mid 15th century (If I remember correctly, it was around 1647). As we were talking with the waiters and waitresses, we found out that it is the oldest pub in Warwick. The interior was just remodeled a few years ago, but the pub remains charming and still has the timbers in the ceiling. The ambiance of the pub was wonderful - and the company was even better!

Bob and Micah at the Roebuck Inn

One thing I have learned is that you just never know for sure what you are going to get in England when you order off the menu, unless, of course, you order fish and chips...which is what Isaac and Micah had.

Fish and chips and mushy peas - yum!

Bob and I decided to be adventurous and order off the specials on the chalk board - boy were we in for a treat! Bob ordered a tartlet. It sounded good - we assumed it was something baked in a pastry shell. Here is what Bob's food looked like...

Bob's tartlet

Bob's dinner really surprised us. We thought it would be much bigger - he said it was good, but it was not a lot of food. We learned on this trip that tartlets are very small - just as their name implies. I ended up ordering the ham and cheese and sausage pie ploughman bread and pickles...so I was expecting a meat pie with ham, cheese and sausage in it with some pickles. Well, this is what I got...

My dinner - YUM!!!

It ended up being cold ham, 4 slices of bread, a large bowl of black olives, 2 kinds of chutney, 2 large chunks of scrumptious cheese, a salad, and a cold sausage pie. It was all served on a cutting block - how cool! Well, this was more food than 1 person could humanly eat. So it was a blessing that Bob didn't get much food and that Micah and Isaac were hungry. Between the 4 of us, we did a pretty good number on my dinner. I also had a great ale to accompany my meal - boy was it good!

We decided that we really needed to have some dessert before we left. I noticed that they had maple sponge with custard on the desert menu, so I told Isaac this is what we were going to order. Isaac asked me what it was - I just told him I wasn't sure, but one thing I know for sure is anything in a pub with the word custard in it is excellent. Bob and Micah wavered between the dessert choices but they ended up going with my suggestion. We were all very happy with our dessert - boy it was the best maple sponge with custard I have ever had!

Our scrumptious dessert!

After our dessert was finished, we bade our friendly servers good bye and walked back to the train station - our tummies were full and we were gearing up for the 3 hour train ride back to Grantham. During the train ride, we were sure to "mind the gap".

This sign means to be careful of the space between the
train and the platform when boarding or getting off
the train.

We also read more about the castle in our guidebook, and I commented that I had taken over 200 pictures. But Isaac and Micah were good sports and actually asked that their picture be taken two more times :)

Waiting for the train

Playing on the way home

This is another day I will never forget. The dungeons and the trebuchet were highlights, but I also was amazed by the views from the tops of the castle and the workmanship of those who built this castle so long ago. How fortunate we are to be in this place at this time to take it all in. Isaac and I are so fortunate to have met great friends and to have them be willing to share in our adventures. They start early in the morning and end late at night - but  we have had more experiences packed into our day than we could ever imagine. Isaac and I love castles - but even more, we love sharing these experiences with others and having a great time together.