The Washington herald., 1912-03-10
WARWICK CASTLE
AND ITS HISTORY
Versatile Countess Will Describe
Ancestral Home in Lecture
on Famous People.

Warwick Castle Is a national glory
as. well as a personal possession, and
We hold it now. strive to fulfH, inn
perfectly it may be. the duties of our
stewardship and the privilege of our
heritage"
Warwick Castle is one of the Oldest
homes in England. 1t is, by common
| consent, "a national glory" Its history
borders upon all English history from
the days of romance. 1t is the shrine of
vast and wonderful associations and in
| terests. fortress of rich architectural
beauty, and treasure-house Of priceless
possessions.
Hundreds of thousands Of visitors from
the ends Of the earth have made to it
a pilgrimage. In every year thousands
are added to the number of people who
| have glOried in the view of its gray
towers and battlemented walls with their
typical English woodland and river set
ting, and in the tour of its stately halls,
lovely gardens, and quiet terraces. Thou
sands of visitors from the United States
have confessed to unbounded delight in
its grandeur, and to fascination by its
historical significance. The archaeologist,
the seeker after the picturesque, and the
student of artistic masterpieces all find
in the ancient building something i'm
pressive and unique. All this is described
by the Countess of Warwick in her in
teresting lectures.
Home of IIIustrious Families.
Warwick Castle has been the home of
illustrious families; to-day It is the seat
of the representative of the great Gre
willie line. Earls of Warwick, belonging
to each Of the families that have sue
cessively held the title. have played their
part in most of the dramas of English
history. We meet them in the foreign
wars; at Crecy, and Poictiers and Agin-
court, and in Queen Elizabeth's expedI-
tiOn to Havre. They have been even
more conspicuous in English civil wars;
the wars Of Stephen and of Edward II,
the wars Of the Roses, the rising of
Lady Jane Grey, and the war OF the
Parliament against Charles l. They have
been the hosts of kings, and also their
executioners. They have dictated the
policy of their country, and they have
perished miserabIy on the scaffold. They
have been generals IN English armies
and admirals in her navies, and they have
distinguished themselves in other fields
Of fame.
In 1864 Sir John Giffard, governor of
Kenilworth Castle, near Warwick, car
ried of the Earl of Warwick who had
fought against the barons At that pe-
riod the castle suffered severely, but
Henry III made it his headquarters when
he conducted operations against the
barons at Kenilworth two years later
Warwick was such an important center
that the building was soon restored. In
1872 Piers Gaveston, the reckless and de-
tested favorite of Edward ii, was i'm
prisoned in the castle He was afterward
dragged from the dungeon by barons as
lawIess as himself for trial in the great
hall of the castle, and after that out to
execution on Blacklow Hill, near Guys
Cliffe, Warwick.
King n Prisoner There.
Over $50 years later the most celebrated
of all the earls of Warwick-Richard
Neville, the masterfuI king -maker'-had |
Edward " made prisoner in the castle. |
For a considerable period the castle was
in royal possession. 1t was, however. |
granted by Edward " to the famous |
Dudley family, a member of which, the |
great Earl Of Leicester, entertained |
Queen Elizabeth while she was on her
way to Kenilworth for the festivities In
l575. The building again passed 10 the
crown, and was greatly neglected for
some time. But in 1895 It was granted to
Sir Fulke Greville. who spent vast sums
IN effectihg its restoration. and enter
tanned James there on several occasions.
The title did not pass with the property.
for the EarIdom of Warwick was con-
terred upon Robert. Lord Rich, in whose
family II remained until T759, when It
passed to the Grevilles.
During the great civil war Warwick
Castle was besieged. briefly and without
.essoluffon hv the royalists I,ord TStooka