TV Time Team’s Tony Robinson has opened Warwick Castle Unlocked – four rooms closed for generations revealing secrets and stories across four centuries – which you can see from today.
Tony said: “I’m quite giddy to be the first person to see inside these rooms and to officially open them to the public. I’ve spent many years searching for exactly this – clues and evidence to unlock secrets from the past.”
The four ancient rooms – Barbican Battlements and Captain’s Room; a recently-unearthed bear pit in Bear Tower, built during the reign of Richard III; the spooky Watergate Room; and The Guards’ Room in Guy’s Tower – will excite and delight visitors of all ages and unlock defining chapters in the Warwick Castle story, casting new light on tales of battle, siege, murder, power struggles and hauntings. Access is included in Castle admission prices.
Visitors will have the chance to seek a shy ghost, explore a deadly bear’s lair and smell foul mediaeval sludge from today, when the four rooms open to the public for the first time – an ideal way to keep kids happy during half-term next week.
Tim Harrison-Jones, General Manager at Warwick Castle said: “We’re blessed with over one thousand years of history at Warwick Castle and we’re delighted that Tony Robinson is here to help us tell the ancient site’s story as best we can. Each of the four rooms opened by Tony will be permanently open to visitors at no additional cost and can be viewed in any order to add even more depth to our story. This is an exciting opportunity for visitors to be among the very first people to see these rooms for centuries and to enjoy a great value family half-term day out.”
Visitors can also save up to 40 per cent on walk-up entry fees by booking in advance online, including during next week. A family of four (two adults, two children aged 4-11) can save over £31.
Barbican Battlements – The Fourteenth Century: Visitors will see and smell this ancient room – never before open to visitors – readied for mediaeval battle. Built in the reign of Edward III to protect the entrance to the Castle, the Barbican Battlements over the Portcullis include deadly murder holes through which boiling tar and human waste were poured on attacking forces.
Bear Tower – The Fifteenth Century: The county of Warwickshire and the heraldic crest of the Earls of Warwick are represented by a Bear and Ragged Staff, symbols whose history can be traced back to Warwick Castle including the keeping of a bear on site in the fifteenth century. Richard III, who owned the Castle and whose wife Anne was born here, ordered the construction of this Tower. In heraldry, a bear represents courage – but who is brave enough to venture into the never-seen-before Tower with its recently unearthed bear pit?
Watergate Tower – The Sixteenth Century: Reputedly haunted by the ghost of Sir Fulke Greville – playwright, poet, Member of Parliament…and victim of a gruesome murder – the Watergate Tower tells the tale of a notable life brought short by a disloyal, dagger-wielding servant. Fulke’s restless spirit is said to roam the tower – just one reason few people in living memory have ventured inside.
In 1642, during the Civil War, Warwick Castle – a stronghold for Parliamentary forces under its owner, Robert Greville – was besieged by Royalists stationed at St Mary’s Church in Warwick. This Guards’ Room at the top of Guy’s Tower was remodelled to fire cannons rather than arrows: visitors can experience the musty, smoky living conditions endured by the guards as they awaited attack and bore the ultimately futile siege.
Click here to book with www.warwick-castle.com
