Warwick belongs to the earls on its postcards. The streets beneath the castle walls belong to a different story — the armourers and mill-tenants who kept the castle running, the six named craftsmen whose contracts survive from the making of Richard Beauchamp's tomb, the five named workers who rebuilt St Mary's nave after the 1694 fire destroyed a quarter of the town, the veterans and their wives who have kept the same morning prayers since 1571, the wool-trading mercer Thomas Oken who made his fortune and gave it all away, the mason Francis Smith who was born in the ashes of one town and spent his life building the next. This is Heritage Open Days' 'Everyday Histories' — the working names Warwick nearly forgot.
Castle Mill and Old Bridge, Mill Street, Warwickから開始
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Warwick CastleThe site of Warwick's medieval castle mill, with stone cutwater remains of the 15th-century bridge visible in the garden of 55 Mill Street. The first mill reference is from 1150. Mill-tenants were repeatedly in trouble for failing to maintain the lease — flooded out by the Avon, unable to pay — making this the working-life entry point to the whole tour.
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Warwick CastleThe Norman castle founded in 1068 on the orders of William the Conqueror, with the motte built by the first Norman governor Henry de Beaumont. The working life of the castle — armourers, stable-hands, cooks, brewers, laundry women, messengers — ran parallel to its martial history and is almost entirely unrecorded.
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Oken's House, Castle Street, WarwickA late 15th-century timber-framed house given for charitable purposes by Thomas Oken (died 1573), wool-trading mercer and possibly the richest man in Warwick. Oken left his fortune 'for the relief in need' of residents — endowing almshouses that survive today under the Charity of Thomas Oken and Nicholas Eyffler.
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Market PlaceThe medieval market heart of Warwick, where the Sheep Market, Wheat Market, Women's Market and Shoemakers' Row divided the working day by commodity. The Booth Hall — built by Thomas de Beauchamp (died 1369) — charged traders rent for stalls until it became the manorial bailiff's residence in 1505. The Market Hall (1670) stands on stone pillars at the south end.
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St Mary’s ChurchThe medieval collegiate church whose chancel and Beauchamp Chapel survived the 1694 fire; whose nave was destroyed and rebuilt in 1697-1704 by Sir William Wilson (a sculptor who had never designed a church before) and mason Francis Smith; and whose Beauchamp Chapel contains the tomb of Richard Beauchamp (died 1439) — built by six named craftsmen whose contracts survive.
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The Court HouseBuilt 1725-28 by Francis Smith of Warwick — the mason who had led the town's rebuilding after the 1694 fire, who served on the Town Corporation from the 1720s and oversaw maintenance until his death in 1738. The building replaced a medieval tavern and immediately became Warwick's social hub: balls, assemblies and public meetings. Named craftsmen: Thomas Paris and Benjamin King made the ironwork; Thomas Stayner carved the Statue of Justice.
