Talk:Warwickshire Towns and Villages W

Wappenbury

St John the Baptist - further photo (submitted by Michael):

Warwick

• Warwick Castle chapel

Sir Fulke Greville, the first Lord Brooke, authorised the building of this small chapel in the early 1600s. It may be on the site of another chapel founded as long ago as 1119.

Until the start of the 20th century, the families of the Earls of Warwick would have come here to worship. The servants also used this as their church. They would have to stand behind the screen, in the sight of God, but out of the sight of their masters and mistresses.

Behind the altar, the stained glass is mainly mediaeval and was a gift from the Earl of Exeter in 1759.

Above the richly carved oak bench is one of the finest examples of wood carving in the Castle. It shows the Amazons, a legendary tribe of women warriors, fighting the Greeks. Dated 1740, this Flemish masterpiece was carved by Simon Cognoulles.

The organ was made in Leamington Spa in 1860 by William Downes White. Local skills also went into the pews, altar and the lectern which were carved by Warwick craftsmen.

The colourful decoration of the ceiling only reappeared in 1995 during a restoration programme to correct damp in the chapel walls. Careful removal of layers of whitewash revealed the series of painted heraldic shields of the Greville family that, according to visitors' journals, were probably installed in the 1740s. When and why they were deliberately hidden we do not know.

(Information from Warwick Castle guidebook)

• Some views of Warwick churches from the ramparts of Warwick Castle (submitted by Michael):

St Mary

St Nicholas:

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Weston under Wetherley

St Michael - further photo (submitted by Michael):