Today we moved a few miles and two locks from Royal Leamington Spa to its next door neighbor Warwick (pron WORR-ick). Though the towns are next door to each other they have a completely different feel. While Leamington is mostly regency and victorian, Warwick dates back to the year 914, and there are many fine medieval and Tudor buildings there. For instance the Lord Leycester Hospital.

This was built between 1126 and 1450. In 1571 Robert Dudley, first Earl of Leicester acquired the building by threats and promises, and used to it house military veterans. It is still used as veterans’ housing to this day, as well as being a venue for weddings, a tea room, and a Doctor Who set. Can anyone remember which episode without googling?

Of course, we had to have tea in the tea room there.

Just next to us was a huge cabinet that Elizabeth I had given to the veterans.

Much of the Church of St Mary is early 1700s gothic, but the Beauchamp (pron BEACH-AM) chapel dates back to the 1400s.

Over on the left is the tomb of Robert Dudley (remember him? the veterans hospital guy) and his second wife Lettice.

Dudley was a favorite of Elizabeth I. His first wife died by falling downstairs, opening the possibility of him marrying the queen. However, there were rumors that his wife’s death was not accidental, so for eighteen years Elizabeth did not marry him. After all, who would want to marry a guy who pushed his first wife downstairs? When Dudley finally got tired of waiting for Good Queen Bess to make up her mind, and married Lettice (pron nothing like LETTUCE) the queen threw a hissy fit and banned her from court.

There’s more to come on today, but it’s getting late here, and my Internet connection is flakey, so I’ll write about it tomorrow.