WARWICK, a borough and market-town, having separate jurisdiction, locally in the Warwick division of the hundred of Kington, county of WARWICK, of which it is the chief town, 90 miles (N. W.) from London, containing 8235 inhabitants. This place is said by Rous, the historian of the county, to have been a British town of considerable importance prior to the Roman invasion, and this statement is confirmed by Camden, Dugdale, and other writers. The same author relates, that, after its devastation by the frequent incursions of the Picts, it was rebuilt by Caractacus, on whose defeat by Claudius, in the year 50, the Romans, in order to secure their conquests in Britain, erected several fortresses on the banks of the Severn and Avon, of which latter, Warwick castle was one; but this is very doubtful, the nearest Roman station having, probably, been that at Chesterton. Upon the establishment of the Saxons in the island, this town, included in the kingdom of Mercia, fell under the dominion of Warremund, who rebuilt it, and, after his own name, called it Warre-wyke: it appears, however, from a coin of Hardicanute, that its Anglo-Saxon, name was Werliica, but from either of these sources its present name may be derived. Warwick was subsequently destroyed by the Danes, and, according to the most authentic records, Ethelfleda, daughter of Alfred, and Countess of Mercia, restored it, about the year 913, and built a fort, which evidently forms the most ancient part of the present castle. At the time of the Conquest, this fortress was considerably enlarged, and the town was surrounded with walls and a ditch, of which there are still some vestiges, and a memorial is preserved in the appellation of a certain part of the town, called "Wall-dyke." In the reign of Edward I., the fortifications were repaired by Guy, Earl of Warwick, who, in 1312, with the Earl of Lancaster, having taken Piers Gavestone, the favourite of Edward II., brought him from Wallingford castle, where he was secured for the night under the barons' guard, to Blacklow hill, about a mile from the town, where he was tried and beheaded. In 1566, Robert, Earl of Leicester, who had succeeded to the earldom of Warwick, celebrated, in the Beauchamp chapel in St. Mary's church, the ceremony of the order of St. Michael, which, by permission of Elizabeth, had been conferred upon him by Charles XI. of France: William Parr, brother of Catherine, the last consort of Henry VIII., assisted at this ceremony, and, dying soon after, was buried in the chancel of the church. Queen Elizabeth visited Warwick, in 1572, on her route to Kenilworth castle, where she was sumptuously entertained by the Earl of Leicester, for seventeen days, and amused with diversions, spectacles, and other pageants of costly magnificence, at an expense of not less than £ 1000 per day. In 161?, James I. visited the town, and was splendidly entertained in the great hall of the Earl of Leicester's hospital; in commemoration of which, a tablet, with an appropriate inscription, was put up on one of the walls of that building. During the great eivil war, in the reign of Charles I., Robert Greville, Lord Brooke, embraced the cause of the parliament and defended the castle against the king. Having occasion to repair to London, in order to procure a supply of arms and ammunition, he deputed Sir Edward Peto governor during his absence. The supply being obtained, he was met on his return by the Earl or Northampton, with a considerable force, near Edge Hill; but an accommodation taking place, Lord Brooke deposited his artillery and ammunition in Banbury castle, and returned to London. After his departure, the earl, having attacked Banbury castle, and taken the military stores, advanced to Warwick, and laid siege to the castle, which was defended by the governor for fourteen days, till Lord Brooke, on his return from London, after a successful skirmish with the earl near Southam, came to his assistance, and compelled-the royalists to abandon the siege. William III., in 1695; visited thetown, of which, in the course of the preceding- year, more than one half was destroyed, by a dreadful conflagration, occasioned by a spark, from a lighted piece of wood, in the hand of a boy, communicating with the thatched roof of a dwelling-house; a great quantity of goods, probably in a state of ignition, having been removed for safety into the collegiate church of St. Mary, set fire to that venerable pile, which, with the exception of the chancel, the Beauchamp chapel, and the chapter-house, was destroyed. In a few years after, the town was rebuilt, in consequence of a National contribution, amounting to £110,000, of which £1000 was bestowed by Queen Anne. The town is pleasantly situated on a rock of freestone, rising gently from the north side of the river Avon, which winds round its base; the approaches on every side are beautiful, and the surrounding scenery is richly diversified. The entrance from the Banbury road is strikingly picturesque; a handsome stone bridge, of one noble arch one hundred feet in the span, leads into the town, which rises gradually from the bank of the river, and presents in succession the venerable castle on the left, the spire of St. Nicholas' church in the lower ground, and the lofty tower of St. Mary's in the distance. The entrance from the Birmingham road, after passing through the suburb called Saltisford, commands a view of the priory, the county hall, and the fine tower of St. Mary's church. The entrance from the Stratford road is through a long ancient arched gateway, with a lofty tower on the west 5 and that from the Emscot road, through an archway, which supports the chapel of St. Peter. The streets are spacious and regularly formed, consisting chiefly of two principal ones running east and west, crossed by another inclining to the centre of the town; the houses are in general modern and well built, interspersed with elegant mansions, and others affording occasional specimens of the style which prevailed before the fire; the town is well paved, lighted with gas, and amply supplied with water, by pipes leading from springs about half a mile distant. The castle, which is situated on the southern side of the town, is one of the most splendid and entire specimens of feudal grandeur in the kingdom, and is not less rejmarkahle for its stately magnificence than for the elegance of its architecture and the beauty of its situation; it encloses within the walls an area of nearly three acres, the plot surrounded by the moat being more than five acres and a half. A winding road cut through the solid rock, the sides of which are covered with ivy and skirted with shrubs, leads from the outer lodge to a massive gateway flanked with two towers connected by an embrasure above, and formerly defended by a portcullis, which leads into the inner court, in the north angle of which is a lofty octangular tower, with a projecting and embattled-parapet resting upon corbels; in the south angle is Guy's tower, of nearly similar form, but more ancient, and having an exploratory turret rising from within the battlements j on the north-east side are two low embattled towers, in one of which bears were anciently kept, for the purpose of baiting. The range of state apartments on the east, as viewed from this side of the castle, is strikingly magniiicent; the windows are in fine proportion, and every part is in the highest preservation. At the western extremity, and commanding, from its elevated situation, an extensive view of the surrounding country, is the keep, erected by Ethelfleda, as a place of security against any sudden irruption- of-the Danes, and also as an exploratory tower, from which their movements might be observed; the ascent is by a winding path, now richly planted with forest trees, among which are some beautiful cedars of Lebanon, and laid out in walks and shrubberies. The facade of the castle, rising from the river Avon, is a long line of flat masonry, relieved only by the number and variety of its windows; the broken arches of an. ancient bridge, which formerly led into the town, are still preserved, and add greatly to the picturesque beauty of the scene. The state-rooms, the armoury, and the other various apartments, are preserved, in a style of appropriate grandeur: the lawns and gardens which surround it are tastefully laid out, and in the green-house, built expressly for its reception,' is the beautiful Grecian Vase of Lysippus, which was dug from the ruins of Adrian's palace, at Tivoli near Rome, and brought to England, by Sir William Hamilton, under the direction and at the expense of his nephew, the' late Earl of Warwick. This celebrated specimen of ancient sculpture is of white marble, and is placed upon a pedestal of the same material: its form is nearly that of a hemisphere with reverted rim; two intertwining vines, of. which the stems form the handles, wreathe their tendrils, with fruit and foliage, round the upper part of the exterior, and the central part is ornamented with antique heads, and enveloped with a panther's skin with the head and paws, the thyrsus of Bacchus, the lituus of the augurs, and other embellishments: it is of large dimensions, being capable of containing one hundred and sixty-three gallons; The public library and news-room is supported by subscription. Assemblies are held in the towri-hall, and for larger meetings, and during the races, in the county-hall: the theatre is opened during the race week,; and occasionally at other times, by the Cheltenham company. The races are held twice in the year; the spring races generally take place about the middle of March, and continue only for one day; they are principally patronized by the inhabitants of Leamington, the ladies of which place give a plate of £50; there are also, the Leamington cup, worth £50, with £10 for the second horse; a cup of the same value by Bolton King, Esq.; and other stakes: the autumnal races take place in the first week of September, and continue for three days; at this meeting the king's plate of £ 105, the town plate of £50, the members' plate of £50, the Warwick cup of £100, and the Guy, Leamington, and other stakes, are run for. The course is a fine level, with a little rising ground in one par-t, and is now undergoing such improvement as will make it one of the best in the kingdom; the grand stand, which is handsome and commodious, affords every accommodation to the numerous visitors. Very little trade is carried on beyond what is necessary for the supply of the inhabitants; the cotton manufacture, which was formerly introduced, has entirely declined; and a worsted manufactory, subsequently established, is decreasing. There are several large maltinghouses, and lime, timber, and coal wharfs on the banks of the Warwick and Napton canal, which comes up to the northern part of the town,'and, communicating with the Oxford and Birmingham canal, affords every facility of inland navigation. From the wharfs at Saltisford fly boats start daily, conveying goods to all the intermediate counties, on their way to London; others proceed to Birmingham and Wolverhampton, Manchester and Liverpool, and, on Tuesday and Friday, to Oxford and Banbury. The market, which is abundantly supplied with corn and provisions of every kind, is on Saturday: the fairs are January 21st, February llth and 23rd, April 1st, May 13th, June 3rd, July 5th, August 12th, September 4th, October 12th (which is a pleasure and a statute fair, and during which an ox is generally roasted in the market-place), November 8th, and December 16th. The market-place is an extensive area surrounded by respectable houses, in the centre of which is the market-house, a neat substantial building of stone, supported on arches affording a sheltered area for the use of the market; the upper story, which is surmounted by a cupola and dome, is appropriated to different uses, chiefly as a depdt for stores belonging to the county militia. Warwick was made a "mayor town" by Queen Mary, in 1554: by charter of Charles II., in 1694, confirmed and extended by William III., the government is vested in a mayor, recorder, deputy recorder, twelve aldermen, and twelve assistant burgesses, aided by a town clerk, a serjeant at mace, a yeoman Serjeant, and subordinate officers. The mayor is elected from among the aldermen, by the burgesses at large, annually on the 29th of September, and sworn into office on the 1st of November; the recorder, who holds his office for life, is chosen by the corporation; the deputy recorder, who is also town clerk, is appointed by the recorder; the aldermen are chosen by the mayor and the rest of the body, who must fill up all vacancies within eight days j the assistant burgesses are elected by the aldermen, and sworn in by the mayor: three years' residence is requisite to qualify for the office of assistant burgess. The mayor, the late mayor, the recorder, deputy recorder, and three senior aldermen, are justices of the peace. They. hold quarterly courts of session, for all offences not capital; and a court of record every Wednesday, except in. the Christmas, Easter, and Whitsun weeks, for the recovery of debts not exceeding £40, at which the town clerk generally presides. The borough first exercised the elective franchise in the 23rd of Edward I., since which time it has regularly returned two members to parliament: the right of election is vested in the burgesses and inhabitants generally paying scot and lot; the mayor is the returning officer: the Earl of Warwick possesses influence sufficient for the return of one member. The court-house, in which the borough sessions and courts of record are held, is a handsome stone building in High-street, ornamented with fluted Corinthian pilasters, and having over the entrance a sculptured figure of justice, surmounted by the arms of the borough; on the left hand of the vestibule is the court-room, which, though rather dark, is in other respects very well arranged; on the right hand is the mayor's parlour, a handsome room, with a portrait of Henry VIII. over the mantel-piece, and the royal arms at the other end. In the upper story is an elegant assembly-room, sixty feet long and twenty-seven feet wide: the walls are decorated with fluted Corinthian pilasters supporting an entablature and cornice, with an orchestra at one end; from the ceiling, which is lofty, three large and brilliant chandeliers of cut glass are suspended; adjoining it is a card-room, in which is a good portrait of Charles II. The assizes and general quarter sessions of the peace for the county are held at Warwick, as the county town. The county-hall, in N,orthgate-street, is an elegant building of freestone, in the Grecian style of architecture; the facade is embellished with pilasters of the Corinthian order, and with, a central portico of Corinthian columns supporting a triangular pediment; the hall, which is finely proportioned and handsomely decorated, is one hundred and ten feet long, and fortyfive feet wide, with a lofty coved ceiling; in the centre of the side fronting the entrance is a vestibule, forming an approach for barristers and attorneys to their respective courts: the criminal court is situated on the right, and the nisi prius court on the left, hand; both are octagonal in form, and are lighted by a lantern dome supported on finely-proportioned Corinthian columns at the angles. On the left of the county-hall is the judges' mansion, a neat stone building with a handsome portico, and having communication with the hall; and on the right hand is the county gaol, a large stone building of the Doric order; with massive columns in front, having a central entrance to the office of the clerk of the peace. The entrance to the prison is through, a spacious gateway, over which is the platform for the execution of criminals: the interior is divided into ten wards for the classification of prisoners, with day-rooms, work-rooms, and airingyards, in one of which is a tread-mill with three compartments; the cells are ranged round the governor's house in the centre, commanding a distinct view of each of the wards, and the greatest order, and, as far as circumstances will allow of it, the greatest comfort and cleanliness, prevail throughout the establishment; a warm bath is appropriated to the use of the prisoners on their entrance, and every precaution is used to prevent contagion: the chapel, capable of containing four hundred persons, is divided by screens, with a view to preserve the same classification. Opposite to the side entrance of the gaol is the county bridewell, enclosed within a high stone wall; having been enlarged at different times, the arrangement is rather inconvenient, the entrance from some of the wards to the chapel and other parts of the prison requiring an ascent of manysteps;,the same regard to classification, order, and cleanliness, prevails here as in the county gaol; a flour-mill, worked by hand, and eat, ploying twenty-four men, who relieve each other at intervals, grinds a sufficient quantity to supply the county gaol and bridewell, and bread sufficient for the supplv of both establishments is made here, and baked in an oven large enough to hold four hundred loaves at once; the boys and the women are employed in heading pins for the manufacturers at Birmingham, and the men in drawing and preparing the wire for that purpose, and in other occupations; the tread-wheel is applied to working a triple pump, which, from an excellent spring, raises seven gallons of water in a minute, and supplied the whole prison. The town comprises the parishes of St. Mary and St. Nicholas, both in the archdeaconry and diocese of Worcester. The living of St. Mary's is a vicarage, rated in the king's books at £"20, and in the patronage of the Crown: the church, formerly collegiate, of which the tower and the greater part were destroyed in the conflagration, and rebuilt in 1704, though comprising an incongruous mixture of styles, blending the Roman and later English architecture, is, notwithstanding, a very stately and magnificent structure; the tower, which rises in successive stages, variously embellished, to the height of one hundred and thirty feet, is supported on four pointed arches, affording a spacious passage underneath, and crowned with lofty pinnacles at the anglesj with others in the centre, of less elevation, forming a prominent and beautiful feature in the distant view of the town. The exterior, in many parts, is strikingly handsome, but the eastern part, in particular, is elaborately embellished with panelled and richly-canopied buttresses; and the east front, simple in its arrange ment, but elegant in its details, is a beautiful specimen of the original style of architecture. The chancel, which is in its original state, is an elegant and highly enriched specimen of the later style of English architecture, and contains several ancient monuments The nave, separated from the aisles by lofty clustered columns, is spacious, and well lighted by a range of clerestory windows, and the windows in the aisles and transepts are of large dimensions, but totally destitute of beauty in the details.: In the south transept is the entrance to the chapel of St. Mary, erected by Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, and thence called the Beauchamp chapel: it is an elegant and highly enriched edifice, in the later style of English architecture, and both in its external and internal embellishment, is inferior only to the chapel of Henry VII. at Westminster: the roof is elaborately groined and enriched with fan tracery; the altar is adorned with a well executed representation of the Salutation, in basso relievo, by. Collins; behind it is an apartment within the buttresses, said to have been the library of John Rous, the historian.;,and on the north side is a chantry, from which an ascent of fcmr stone steps, deeply worn, leads into an apartment formerly used as a confessional. In the centre of the chapel is the splendid monument of the founder, in gilt brass, in which his effigy, recumbent on an altar-tomb decorated with shields of armorial bearings and numerous figures, and surmounted by a canopy, is finely executed; on the north side is a large monument, in the Elizabethan style, to the memory of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. On the north side of the church is the ancient chapter-house, which has been converted into a mausoleum, with a chapel above it, appropriated to the use of the National school. The living of St. Nicholas' is a vicarage, rated in the king's books at £13. 6. 8., and in the patronage of the Corporation: the church was rebuilt in 1780, the tower and spire having been rebuilt about forty years previously; it is a neat edifice in the later style of English architecture; the roof is groined, and supported on clustered columns; the interior is lighted with three handsome windows on each side, and the altar is placed in a recess at the east end. There are places of worship for Baptists, the Society of Friends, Independents, Wesleyan Methodists, and Unitarians. The free grammar school, situated on the Butts (a place formerly set apart for the young men of the town to exercise themselves in the use of the bow, prior to the invention of gunpowder), was founded by Henry VIII., and endowed with a portion of the lands of the dissolved monasteries; it is under the patronage of the king, who appoints the master, with a salary of £130 per annum, and is open to all boys of the tqwn upon paying £1. 11. 6. entrance, and 5s. half-yearly. There are two exhibitions, of £70 per annum each, to any of the colleges at Oxford, founded by Mr. Fulk Weale, of Warwick, and the school is also entitled to two exhibitions to Trinity College, Cambridge, in failure of candidates from Combrook school, founded by Lady Verney. The premises occupy a quadrangle, with a cloister on two sides, built by Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, for the dean and canons of the church of St. Mary, in which he founded a collegiate establishment. The charity school now held in the ancient chapel of St. Peter, was endowed by Lady Greville, Lord Brooke, and Mr. T, Oaken, for the instruction of thirty-nine boys and thirty-six girls in reading, writing, and arithmetic; forty of this number are completely clothed, and the remainder receive each a coat and a pair of shoes annually: the master's salary is £70 per annum, out of which he pays a mistress for teaching the girls to sew. The National school, in which two hundred children of both sexes are instructed, is supported by subscription. The school of industry, in Castle-street, was established by the Countess of Warwick, and is supported,under her patronage, by the subscription of ladies in the town and neighbourhood: in this establishment, to which the house formerly occupied by Mr. Oaken, a great benefactor to the town, is appropriated, forty girls are completely clothed, and provided, at a moderate charge, with dinner in the school-room daily, from Michaelmas to Lady-day; they are instructed in reading, writing, and arithmetic, and taught to sew, knit stockings, and spin flax and Jersey: the school is conducted on the National system, and the earnings of the scholars contribute to its support. The hospital, founded by Robert, Earl of Leicester, occupies the buildings formerly used by the ancient guilds' of the Holy Trinity and St. George, which, after being united in the reign of Henry VI., became, at the dissolution, the property of the earl, who converted them into an hospital, which he endowed for a master and twelve aged brethren, especially such as had been maimed or wounded in the service of their country; the increase in the rental having produced £130 per annum to each of the brethren, and the master's salary, by the deed of endowment, being limited to £50 per annum, an act of parliament was obtained for augmenting it to £400 per annum, and for reducing the yearly stipend of the brethren to £80, till, by the application of the difference, the great hall should be converted into dwellings for ten additional brethren, after which time the revenue is to be equally divided among the brethren. The almsmen wear a blue gown bearing the crest of the founder, a bear and ragged staff, on the left sleeve, without which they are not permitted to appear in public; the ap pointment of the master, who must be a clergyman, is vested in the heirs of the founder; and the presentation to the vicarage of Hampton in Arden is in the gift of the Master and Brethren. The premises, near the west end of High-street, occupy a quadrangle, on one side of which is the great hall, on another are the master's apartments, the two remaining sides being occupied by the brethren, who have separate dwellings, and a common kitchen. The chapel of St. James, over the west gate of the town, is annexed to, and forms part of, the hospital; and the master reads morning and evening prayers to the brethren, except on those days when there is service in the church: jt is- neatly fitted up, and the altar is embellished with a painting of the Ascension, by Millar, a pupil of Sir Joshua Reynolds; behind the quadrangle is a spacious and well-planted garden, bounded on one side by part of the ancient walls of the town. Warwick is onİ of the towns included in Sir Thomas White's charity, by which young tradesmen are assisted with a free loan of £100 for nine years, to enable them to commence business. There are not less than forty almshouses in various parts of the town, chiefly for aged women, who receive small sums of money quarterly, with gowns and coal annually, and other advantages. The corporation have large funds at their disposal for charitable uses and for distribution among the poor. About a mile from Warwick, on the road to Kenilworth, is Guy's Cliff, the solitary retreat, for some years prior to his death, of the celebrated Guy, Earl of Warwick, of whom so many legendary tales are recorded: the cave in which he is said to have lived in retirement and devotion, and in which he was buried, is hewn in the rock near the bank of the Avon; he is stated to have assumed the disguise of a hermit, and to have daily visited the castle, in which his countess resided, ignorant of his destiny, to whom he made himself known only a few days before his death. Near the cave is a range of cells, having the appearance of a nunnery, and some cloisters hewn in the rock, and rudely arched, called Phillis' Cloisters, after the countess, who survived him only a few days, and was buried near him. Under a Roman arch, built by the late proprietor to sustain an ancient pointed one, which was falling to decay, are preserved two stone basins, called Guy's Well, covered with moss, into which a fine spring of clear water is constantly flowing. On this cliff Richard de Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, built a chapel, dedicated to St. Margaret, in which he erected a colossal statue of Guy in armour, and in the attitude of drawing his sword; the right arm is wanting, and the left bears a shield; the chapel, now dismantled, is in the later style of English architecture, with a very beautiful porch, the roof of which, like that of the chapel, is richly groined. The mansion built on this cliff by the late Mr. Greatheed is a handsome modern structure, with a stately avenue of noble fir-trees in front; the Avon winds beautifully round the base of the cliff, and through the grounds, in which is a water-mill for grinding corn, erected prior to' the Conquest. Nearly opposite to Guy's Cliff, on the other side of the road, is Blacklow hill, a rocky eminence planted with forest trees; in the hollow part of the rock, which appears to have been quarried, Piers Gavestone was beheaded, in commemoration of which event, a monument of an upright shaft, supporting a cross, and resting upon a pedestal, with a suitable inscription, has been erected on the summit. Numerous monastic establishments anciently existed in the town: the priory was founded by Henry de Newbury, Earl of Warwick, and completed by his son Roger, in the reign of Henry I., for canons Regular of the order of the Holy Sepulchre, and its revenue at the dissolution was £49. 13. 6.; the remains have been converted into a private mansion, but retain very considerable portions of the ancient architecture, and are situated at the entrance into the town from Birmingham. The hospital of St. John the Baptist was founded, in the reign of Henry II., by William, Earl of Warwick, for the reception of strangers and pilgrims, and, at the dissolution, had a revenue valued at £19. 17- 3.: the building, which is a fine specimen of the architecture of the time, is now occupied as' a private boarding-school, and is situated near the extremity of the town, on the road to Leamington. Within the precincts of the castle was the collegiate church of All Saints, of which John Rous relates, that St. Dubricius made it an episcopal seat, about the latter end of the sixth century, the Secular priests, or canons, of which establishment were, in 1125, united to the college of St. Mary's. In the north-west part of the' town was an abbey, which was destroyed by Canute in 1016, who also reduced to ashes a nunnery, occupying the site of St. Nicholas' churchyard. In the north suburb was the chapel of St. Michael, to which was annexed an hospital, founded about the close of the reign of Henry I., or the beginning of that of Stephen, by Roger, Earl of Warwick, for a master and leprous brethren, the revenue of which, at the dissolution, was £10. 19. 10; the remains are appropriated as an almshouse for aged women. Of the hospital of St. Thomas, stated by Rous to have been founded by William, Earl of Warwick, not even the site is known. The convent of Dominican friars, which was situated in the western suburbs, was founded, in the reign of Henry III., by the Botelers, Lords Studley, and the Mounforts the revenue, at the time of the dissolution, was £4. 18. 6. Attached to the chapel of St. James, over the west gate of the town, now forming part of the Leicester hospital, was a college for four Secular priests, founded in the reign of Richard II., which continued till'1 the dissolution. There were also numerous churches in the town, of which only St. Mary's and St. Nicholas' are remaining; these being found sufficient for the accommodation of the inhabitants, the others, which were greatly dilapidated, were suffered to fall into decay. Edward Plantagenet, son of George, Duke of Clarence, and the last male heir of that family, was born in Warwick castle; he was kept a close prisoner in the reigns of Edward IV., Richard III., and Henry VII., and, attempting to effect his escape from the Tower, during the reign of the last-named monarch, was beheaded in 1499. Warwick gives the title of earl to the family of Greville.