Development and History of Warwick Castle The main stages in the development of the castle were as follows: The first castle built at Warwick, in 1086, was a wooden building, on an artifically raised mound, the whole surrounded by a wooden stockade. The earliest stone building dates from the 12th century, though none of this stonework has survived. The impressive East Front, comprising Caesar's Tower, the Gatehouse and Guy's Tower, was constructed in the 14th century by Thomas, the 12th Earl of warwick. Richard III (1483-5) embarked on an ambitious building scheme on the North side of the castle, but only the lower stories were built. The two present small towers are the lower parts of this scheme. The main building of the appartment block dates from the beginning of the 17th century. In 1749 the grounds surrounding Warwick Castle were landscaped, in a grand scale by Lancelot "Cabability" Brown. He replaced some of the gardens by a naturalistic style of planting consisting of broad sweeps of lawn and grand trees. He planted the castle mound with shrubbery. In 1978 the castle was sold by the 8th Earl of Warwick to The Tussauds Group, who undertook major restoration work on the buildings and furnishings. Under their management Warwick Castle has become one of the most popular tourist attractions in Britain. There is a separate page which shows a list of significant Dates and Events in Warwick Castle's history. There are no pictures on that page. Warwick and Kenilworth There are two major castles in Warwickshire: Warwick and Kenilworth Castle, which is about 5 miles away. The development and evolution of both Warwick and Kenilworth was very similar. Both commenced as motte-and-bailey castles, with a mound, wooden buildings and enclosures, then stone fortress towers were built, then curtain walls became added, and then both developed into lavish palaces. Warwick, for most of its history, has been home to the Earls of Warwick. There is genealogy chart of the Neville and de Beauchamp families, through 20 generations, from the 14th century to the present day, at Warwick Genealogy. By contast, Kenilworth was, for most of its history, the Kings's own castle in the region, which provided a base from which the King could watch over his barons, both in Warwickshire and other parts of the midlands. This differentiation between provincial Warwick and the royalist Kenilworth, runs through their histories, and was the origin of the very different fates of the two castles. The water mill, at the foot of Caesar's Tower. The large black circular object beside the mill wall is the water wheel. Warwick Castle During The Civil War Before the outbreak of the English Civil War, Warwick Castle was a centre of Protestant and Puritan sympathy. The castle was a refuge for Puritan priests. At the time of the outbreak of the War, Warwick Castle was the home of Lord Brooke, a foremost Puritan intellectual. Coventry also had Puritan sympathies, and one of the first actions of the civil war was the transfer of the Coventry powder magazine and munitions to the security of Warwick Castle. Royalist forces then lay siege to Warwick Castle. Charles I, who was then at York, began to bring his forces to the siege of Warwick, and at the same time Parliamentary reinforcements were also brought to the area from the south. These forces first met in a skirmish near Southam, which was soon followed by the first major battle of the Civil War at Edgehill. For much of the Civil War Warwick was a parliamentary garrison. At the end of the civil war it was returned to the care of Lord Brooke. By contrast, the magnificent Kenilworth Castle, which had had royalist sympathies, was partially demolished and is now a ruin.