Cheap Warwick Castle Tickets

Warwick Castle is one of the most impressive themed amusement parks anywhere in the world.

It is situated in the town of Warwick, in the central county of Warwickshire ( see map ).

Our guide to Cheap Warwick Castle Tickets is shown in the table below and as you can see, some great savings can be made. To keep up-to-date with all our offers, why not sign-up for the Free Tickets newsletter ( see right ) or even better, Join Us!

Warwick Castle History

Warwick Castle began life in the 10th century. Popular belief has it that the first substantial structure erected in the grounds of Warwick Castle was erected by Ethelfleda, the daughter of Alfred the Great, around 914 ad. Previous buildings were likely to have been made of wood and unsurprisingly would have been ineffective against the invading Vikings. The Castle was built as part of a collection of castles to protect the Kingdom of Wessex. The remains of this ancient fortification can still be seen on Ethelfleda’s Mound, which is located at the southern end of the castle’s courtyard. The majority of the remains date from the period of Norman rule.

After the Norman conquest of England in the 11th century, William the Conqueror established a castle at Warwick to control the midlands as he advanced north. Henry de Beaumont was chosen as constable of the castle and in 1088, Henry de Beaumont was made the first Earl of Warwick.

During the reign of Henry II (1154-1189), the motte-and-bailey building was replaced with a stone castle and included a keep. The castle and the lands associated with the earldom passed through six generations of the Beaumont family until 1242 when the King gained ownership of Warwick Castle.

In the year 1264, the castle was rebuilt by Simon de Montfort, who consequently imprisoned the Earl of Warwick at that time, William Mauduit, and his countess at Kenilworth (who were supporters of the king and loyal to the barons) until a ransom was paid.

After the death of William Mauduit in 1267, the title and castle were passed to William de Beauchamp. Following the death of William de Beauchamp, Warwick Castle subsequently passed through seven generations of the Beauchamp family, who over the next 180 years were responsible for the majority of the additions made to Warwick Castle.

The last direct descendent of the de Beauchamp family was Anne de Beauchamp. After this line, the title of Earl of Warwick, as well as the castle, passed to Richard Neville in 1449. Warwick Castle then passed from Neville to his son-in-law, who also happened to be the brother of Edward IV of England - George Plantagenet.

In 1604, the ruinous castle was given to Sir Fulke Greville by King James I and was converted into a country house. Francis Greville commissioned Italian painter Antonio Canaletto to paint Warwick Castle while the castle grounds and gardens of were undergoing landscaping by Lancelot Brown. Five paintings and three drawings of the castle by Canaletto are known, making it the most represented building in Britain by Canaletto. Canaletto’s work on Warwick Castle has been described as “unique in the history of art as a series of views of an English house by a major continental master“. As well as the gardens, Greville commissioned Brown to rebuild the porch and stairway to the Great Hall. Timothy Lightoler was responsible for the porch being extended and extra rooms added adjacent to it in 1763-9. Anthony Salvin was responsible for adding restoring the Watergate Tower in 1861-3.

Note - thanks to Wikipedia for the historic information on Warwick Castle.

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*prices & availability subject to change, unless otherwise stated prices are for adult tickets.

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