What to See in England
By Gordon Home

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Kenilworth Castle

=How to get there.=–Train from Euston. L. and N.W. Railway. =Nearest Station.=–Kenilworth. =Distance from London.=–99 miles. =Average Time.=–Varies between 2-1/2 to 4 hours.

                     1st       2nd        3rd
=Fares.=–Single  15s. 3d.  10s.  2d.   8s. 1-1/2d.
          Return  28s. 3d.  17s. 10d.  16s. 3d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=–"Abbey Hotel,” “King’s Arms," “Castle Hotel,” etc. =Alternative Route.=–None.

Kenilworth is a small town, situated midway between Coventry and Warwick, about 5 miles from either town. It is chiefly noted for the ruins of the famous castle, so celebrated from its association with Sir Walter Scott’s romance. The castle was built in the reign of Henry I., the site having been granted to Geoffrey de Clinton, Lord Chief Justice of England. The fortress at one time belonged to Simon de Montfort, who imprisoned Henry III. and his son Edward during the War of the Barons. Edward II. also was forced to sign his abdication there. Queen Elizabeth gave the castle as a present to her favourite, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, who spent large sums in making great alterations and additions, and entertained the Queen on four different occasions. The memorable visit that has been described by Scott took place in 1575, when Dudley not only lodged Queen Elizabeth, her court, and 400 servants for seventeen days, but provided a series of pageants and festivities to please his royal mistress. During the Civil War the castle was taken by Cromwell and given by him to Colonel Hawkesworth and some other officers belonging to his army. They destroyed the place very much, draining the lake, besides pulling down walls and towers. The estate now belongs to the Earl of Clarendon, to whose ancestor, Lawrence Hyde, Earl of Rochester, it was given by Charles II. The only building which has still preserved its roof is the gatehouse, built by Robert Dudley. It is now used as a dwelling-house, and contains some beautiful panelling and also a wonderful chimney-piece. The rest of the castle is very ruined, but the remains are of great interest, being sufficient to convey an impression of the castle as it originally stood. Close to the parish church are the ruins of the priory, which was founded at the same time as the castle, by Geoffrey de Clinton. At the Dissolution it was completely destroyed, and only the gatehouse remains.

[Illustration: Photochrom Co., Ltd. KENILWORTH CASTLE.

Where Queen Elizabeth was entertained for seventeen days by Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester.]

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Preface  •  Ham House and Petersham  •  Walton-On-Thames (scold’s Bridle)  •  Harrow  •  Holwood House, Keston  •  Chigwell, Essex  •  Waltham Abbey and Cross  •  Downe  •  Epsom: Its Races and Its Salts  •  Epping Forest  •  Hampton Court  •  Rye House, Broxbourne  •  Hatfield House, Herts  •  Runnymead, the Signing of Magna Charta  •  The Oldest Brass in England  •  St. Albans  •  Stoke Poges Church, Bucks  •  Windsor  •  Jordans and William Penn  •  Knole House and Sevenoaks  •  Greenstead Church  •  Chalfont St. Giles  •  Westerham  •  Guildford, Surrey  •  Gad’s Hill  •  Ightham Mote, Kent  •  Penshurst  •  St. Michael’s Mount and Marazion  •  Rochester Cathedral  •  Tunbridge Wells  •  The Quintain Post At Offham and Malling Abbey  •  Eversley  •  Farnham, Surrey  •  Hindhead, Surrey  •  Shottermill  •  Penn’s Chapel At Thakeham, Sussex  •  Chawton the Home of Jane Austen  •  Selborne  •  Elstow  •  Lewes, Sussex  •  Bodiam Castle, Sussex  •  Colchester, Essex  •  Layer Marney  •  Battle Abbey  •  Cambridge  •  Arundel Castle  •  Olney, Bucks  •  Wantage and the Country of Alfred the Great  •  Canterbury and Its Cathedral  •  Reculvers  •  Oxford  •  Midhurst  •  Pevensey Castle  •  Savernake Forest  •  Ely Cathedral  •  St. Ives, Huntingdonshire  •  Winchelsea and Rye  •  Blenheim Palace  •  Peterborough Cathedral and Crowland  •  Peterborough  •  Southampton  •  Helmingham Hall  •  Stonehenge, Wiltshire  •  Netley Abbey  •  Salisbury and Its Cathedral  •  Sandwich, Kent  •  New Forest, Hampshire  •  Osborne House  •  Carisbrooke Castle  •  Lutterworth  •  Compton Wynyates  •  Kenilworth Castle  •  Belvoir Castle  •  Bath  •  Boston and the Pilgrim Fathers  •  Warwick  •  Gloucester and Its Cathedral  •  Norfolk Broads  •  Norwich Cathedral  •  Lichfield  •  Sherborne and Its Abbey Church  •  Newark  •  Wells and Its Cathedral  •  Stratford-On-Avon  •  Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk  •  Lulworth Cove, Dorsetshire  •  Corfe Castle  •  Lincoln and Its Cathedral  •  Somerset, the Birthplace of Tennyson  •  Glastonbury Abbey  •  Walsingham, Norfolk  •  Cheddar Caves, Cheddar, Somerset  •  Newstead Abbey  •  The Wessex of Thomas Hardy’s Romances  •  Tintern Abbey  •  Chesterfield, Derbyshire  •  Dukeries  •  Haddon Hall, Derbyshire  •  The Isle of Athelney, and Sedgemoor  •  Raglan Castle  •  Dovedale  •  Wellington and the Wrekin, Shropshire  •  Wroxeter and the Roman City of Uriconium, Salop  •  Buildwas Abbey, Shropshire  •  Ludlow and Its Castle  •  Shrewsbury  •  Buxton and the Peak District  •  Tewkesbury  •  Exeter and Its Cathedral  •  Market Drayton, Salop  •  Chester  •  Exmoor  •  Knutsford  •  Torr Steps On the Barle, Somerset  •  Cleeve Abbey, Somerset  •  Hawarden  •  York Minster  •  Coxwold, Yorkshire  •  Llangollen and Valle Crucis Abbey  •  Knaresborough, Dripping Well  •  Fountains Abbey  •  Ripon Cathedral  •  Dartmoor  •  Haworth  •  Rievaulx Abbey  •  Brixham, Devon  •  Conway Castle  •  The Doone Valley, Exmoor  •  Llandovery, South Wales  •  Dartmouth, Devon  •  Richmond, Yorkshire  •  Tintagel  •  Whitby  •  Carnarvon Castle  •  Plymouth  •  Durham and Its Cathedral  •  Raby Castle, Durham  •  Snowdon  •  Harlech Castle  •  Grasmere and Rydal Mount  •  The Lake District  •  St. Davids Cathedral  •  Furness Abbey, Lancashire  •  Monkwearmouth, Near Jarrow  •  The Isle of Man  •  Brantwood  •  Fowey  •  Hexham and Hadrian’s Wall  •  The Lake District  •  Keswick  •  Alnwick Castle  •  Lanercost Priory, Cumberland  •  Lanercost Priory and Stepping-Stones.]  •  St. Ives, Cornwall  •  Bamborough Castle, Northumberland

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What to see in England;: A guide to places of historic interest, natural beauty or literary association,
By Gordon Home
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