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Unlocking Warwick

Rick is a founder member of Unlocking Warwick the volunteer group supporting the Town Council based in the old Court House at the central crossroads of the county town. The group organises regular community socials in the Court House with a speaker, a quiz and afternoon tea. There are also monthly teas with table-top Board Games in the Court House ballroom.  Court House Tours in the summer introduce visitors to the history of Warwick, and volunteers perform dramatisations of historical events in the town. 

The volunteer group also runs the special Warwick War Memorial website commemorating the 480 local men and women who died in the two world wars, with their personal stories and features about wartime Warwick.  www.warwickwarmemorial.org.uk 

Warwick dates back to Anglo-Saxon times when it was founded in 914 by Alfred the Great’s daughter, the formidable Aethelflaed, as a defensive fort in the war against the Danes to the north. The huge castle, on a rocky outcrop at a natural crossing point of the river, was one of the first fortresses built by the Normans after their invasion in 1066.  It attracts nearly 800,000 visitors each year. 

Warwick was devastated by The Great Fire of Warwick in 1694, then rose from the ashes as an elegant Georgian town, with some medieval and Elizabethan buildings that escaped the fire and are often used as film sets. It is a thriving community with a market each Saturday, many independent shops, pubs and restaurants, and the traditional Mop Fair in the autumn.  There are festivals and events throughout the year including the popular Folk Festival, the Warwick Words History Festival, and various food and beer festivals.

Warwick is definitely worth a visit.  www.visitwarwick.co.uk