Warwick: A Potted History

Warwick’s history can be traced back to an Anglo-Saxon settlement by the River Avon, later becoming the county town. The medieval town, dominated by its Norman castle, was partially destroyed in the Great Fire of Warwick in 1694. Some medieval buildings remain today, but much of the town’s fabric dates from after the fire. Industry and commerce in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries brought more changes to the town, but the post-war period after the Second World War witnessed Warwick’s greatest expansion as new housing extended into the countryside beyond the town’s old boundaries, and the historic town centre has become a popular destination for visitors while maintaining many of its ancient traditions such as the annual Mop Fair.Illustrated throughout, this accessible historical portrait of the transformation that Warwick has undergone through the ages will be of great interest to residents, visitors and all those with links to the area.