Warwickshire Tourist Guide - Articles

Warwickshire has been home to many famous people. Some, Like William Shakespeare, you will immediately identify with the county. Some may be unexpected...

Lady Godiva: The Naked Tax Rebel
She was a genuine historical character but did she ride naked through the streets of Coventry sending poor Peeping Tom blind?

Robin Hood: a Warwickshire lad through & through
Nice try Nottingham, but no coconut. Why would Robin of Loxley (in Warwickshire) spend his time in Sherwood Forest (miles away) when he had the magnificent Forest of Arden all to himself?

Is Queen Boudicca, the Warrior Queen of the Iceni, buried near a burger bar in Birmingham?
Boudicca (also known as Boadicea) was the Maggie Thatcher of her day and was married to Prasutagus, ruler of the Iceni people of East Anglia. She came very close to driving the Romans out of Britain (and what have the Romans ever done for us...?) but met her end near a brummy 'Big Mac'.

Guy Fawkes and the Gunpower Plot
The Gunpowder Plot was a conspiracy to blow up the King James 1 and the Houses of Parliament on 5th November 1605. It was dramatically discovered, just in the nick-of-time, only the night before (you've only got 15 minutes to save the world, James - that's, James, King James).

Dick Turpin: notorious highwayman
Sadly, it appears that Dick Turpin didn't ride from London to York on Black Bess in order to create an alibi. It was, apparently, some other gentleman of the highway, whose deeds have, over the centuries merged with other folk tales into the Dick Turpin legend.

The Shakespeare Secret
Did or didn't William Shakespeare write the 'Shakespeare' plays? A conspiracy theorist's delight which is Warwickshire's very own da Vinci code. It is certainly true that although William Shakespeare is arguably the most famous writer in history, very little is known about his personal life. And - breaking news - Liverpool is now claiming that Shakespeare was actually a scouser.

Jane Austen at Stoneleigh Abbey
Jane Austen was related to the Leigh family of Stoneleigh Abbey. When she visited in 1806, she was so inspired by the house, by its parkland and by its family intrigues that she wove descriptions of the interiors, views of the grounds and cameos of the family into her novels.

George Eliot
Eliot was one of the leading writers of the Victorian era and her novels, largely set in provincial England, are well known for their realism and psychological perspicacity. She used a male pen name, she said, to ensure that her works were taken seriously - but it may have been more a desire to shield her private life from the scandal of her relationship with a married man.

J R R Tolkien
The world-famous author of Lord of the Rings based Middle Earth on Warwickshire - and the name "hobbit" comes from the folklore name Hob, still seen in street names in Balsall Common and Kenilworth.