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Below are famous faces that have graced the county. |
| King Offa 796 to Richard Neville 1471 |
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King Offa, King of Mercia, AD? - 796 - Warrior and leader
Prior to the rise of Wessex in the 9th century, he was arguably the most powerful and successful of the Anglo-Saxon kings, effectively ruling much of Britain south of the River Humber during the latter part of his reign. Offa's Dyke is named after him and is arguably his most ambitious project. |
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His connection with Warwickshire is that he built what was said to be a magnificent church or palace here. In fact the village of Offchurch to the east of Leamington Spa, is named from this church ("Offa's Church").
That church has since gone, but a church has been rebuilt on the supposed site of Offa's church. It is reputed that the remains of a stone coffin found under the porch of the current St Gregory's Church in Offchurch are the remains of King Offa's coffin.
For more details on King Offa see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Offa |
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Boudica, Chief of the Iceni, AD26 - 61 (estimated) - Warrior and leader
Boudica was a female chieftain who led a major uprising comprising of the Iceni, a tribe from East Anglia, along with a number of other British tribes including the neighbouring Trinovantes. The uprising was against the occupying Roman forces in Britain in 60 or 61 AD during the reign of the emperor Nero.
The exact site of Boudica's defeat is unknown, but it is stongly thought that Manduessedum (modern day Mancetter in north Warwickshire) is where she met her demise in the Battle of Watling Street.
For more details on Boudica see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boudicca |
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Ethelfleda, Chief of the Mercians, AD872-918 - Warrior and leader
Rumour has it that Ethelfleda, Eldest daughter to King Alfred the Great of Wessex, founded the town of Warwick in 914AD as a defence against the Danish invaders.
Warwick was built on a small hill which controlled not only the river valley but also the river crossing on the road to London and the roads to Stratford-upon-Avon. |
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The early Anglo-Saxon town was surrounded partly by a wall and ditch, and remains of these ancient fortifications can still be seen on Ethelfleda's Mound at the southern end of Warwick Castle's courtyard, although most of these remains in fact date from the Norman period.
For more details on Boudica see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethelfleda
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Lady Godiva, 980-1067 - Anglo-saxon Nobility and Benefactress
Lady Godiva was the beautiful wife of Leofric III, Earl of Mercia and lord of Coventry.
According to the story, the people of the city were suffering grievously under the earl's oppressive taxation. Lady Godiva appealed again and again to her husband, who obstinately refused to remit the tolls. |
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At last, weary of her entreaties, he said he would grant her request if she would ride naked through the streets of the town. Lady Godiva took him at his word, and after issuing a proclamation that all persons should keep within doors or shut their windows, she rode through, clothed only in her long hair.
One person disobeyed her proclamation, a tailor, ever afterwards known as Peeping Tom, who bored a hole in his shutters that he might see Godiva pass and is said to have been struck blind. Her husband kept his word and abolished the onerous taxes.
Godiva is now synonymous with Coventry which has long celebrated its roots with this famous person. The Godiva name has lent itself to the annual Coventry & Warwickshire Godiva Awards and the popular Godiva Festival.
The Herbert Art Gallery in Coventry houses the John Collier painting Lady Godiva (c. 1898).
For more details on Lady Godiva see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Godiva |
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St Wulfstan, 1008-1095 - Bishop of Worcester
Friend of Lady Godiva, Wulfstan II was a prominent social reformer with a reputation for dedication, chastity and his efforts to alleviate the suffering of the poor. He was the only bishop to be kept in his post by William the Conqueror after the Norman conquest of 1066, and he struggled to bridge the gap between the old and new regimes, and bring together Norman and Saxon in peace.
Born at Long-Itchington, by Southam, he was canonized (made a Christian saint) in 1203 by Pope Innocent III. One of the miracles attributed to Wulfstan was the curing of King Harold's daughter, of which he was a good friend.
He is responsible for the founding of Great Malvern Priory, and undertook much large scale rebuilding work including Worcester Cathedral, Hereford Cathedral, Tewkesbury Abbey, and many other churches in the Worcester, Hereford and Gloucester areas.
For more details on St Wulfstan see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Wulfstan |
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Sir Guy of Warwick, Circa 12th-13th Centuries - Legendary Knight
Sir Guy of Warwick is a legendary Knight, and originates from English and French tales during the mid-13th Century.
Sir Guy’s daring exploits include slaying the Dun-cow, a huge beast that terrorised villagers on Dunsmore Heath by Rugby. |
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Other tales include fighting Dragons, a Giant and a Great Boar, battling in Holy wars, and finally becoming a hermit at Guys Cliffe House in Warwick next to where his beloved Felice lived.
In real life, relics have been preserved with fastidious attention to detail. Warwick Castle holds the porridge pot and sword used by him, with Queen Elizabeth I even paying for them to be guarded. Yet as Sir Guy of Warwick himself never existed, the existence of his relics is somewhat miraculous and demonstrates the extent to which his legend has passed from fiction to fact.
For more details on Guy of Warwick see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_of_Warwick
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Robert Fitz Odo, Circa 12th-13th Centuries - Knight from Loxley
The legend of Robin Hood, the famous outlaw who robbed from the rich and gave to the poor, is a fusion of many different tales that have been combined and then modified through time to what we know today.
Loxley, in-between Stratford-upon-Avon and Wellesbourne in Warwickshire, it’s claimed, was the birthplace and home of one such original Robin Hood, Robert Fitz Odo.
This Knight lived in Loxley Manor and whose gravestone, which bears an unusual and characteristic sword motif, lies in the churchyard of Loxley Church. There is however, no evidence that Robery Fitz Odo was ever an Outlaw or indeed Robin Hood of ever being a Knight! |
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Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, 1428-1471 - 'The Kingmaker'
Richard Neville, known as Warwick the Kingmaker, was the son of the Earl of Salisbury and through his marriage inherited most of the estates of Henry Beauchamp, the Duke of Warwick and the title of Earl of Warwick. Neville's main residence and power base was Warwick Castle.
Emerging in the 1450s at the centre of English politics, he was the wealthiest and most powerful English peer of his age, with political connections that went beyond the country's borders. |
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He became the most powerful man in England and was instrumental in replacing the reiging King Henry VI with the Yorkist Edward IV in 1461 during the Wars of the Roses.
Some years later, having fallen out with Edward IV, he plotted the successful Lancastrian rising that temporarily restored Henry VI. The triumph was short-lived however: on 14 April 1471 Warwick was defeated by Edward at the Battle of Barnet, and killed.
For more details on Richard Neville see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Neville,_16th_Earl_of_Warwick |
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