Kenilworth ( ) is a market town and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the

Warwick District Warwick is a local government district in Warwickshire, England. It is named after the historic county town of Warwick, which is the district's second largest town; the largest town is Royal Leamington Spa, where the council is based. The district ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

, England, southwest of

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

and north of both

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...

and

Leamington Spa Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply LeamingtonEven more colloquially, also referred to as Lem or Leam (). (), is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Pri ...

. Situated at the centre of the county, the town lies on

Finham Brook The Finham Brook is a lower tributary of the River Sowe, it flows through Kenilworth and Warwickshire, England, to join the Sowe near Finham. Its principal tributaries include the Canley Brook, which drains the Tile Hill and Canley areas of Cov ...

, a tributary of the

River Sowe The River Sowe is a river in Warwickshire and West Midlands, England. It is a tributary of the River Avon, and flows into it just south of Stoneleigh about 5 miles (8 km) south of Coventry. The Sowe is about long. The Sowe rises in B ...

, which joins the River Avon north-east of the town. At the 2021 Census, its population was 22,538. The town is home to the ruins of

Kenilworth Castle Kenilworth Castle is a castle in the town of Kenilworth in Warwickshire, England, managed by English Heritage; much of it is in ruins. The castle was founded after the Norman Conquest of 1066; with development through to the Tudor period. It ...

and

Kenilworth Abbey The remains of St Mary's Abbey, of Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England are situated in the grounds of St Nicholas' Church and in an adjacent area of Abbey Fields. Some of its ruins are above ground and some are below ground. History A priory ...

History

Medieval and Tudor

A settlement existed at Kenilworth by the time of the 1086

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

, which records it as ''Chinewrde''.

Geoffrey de Clinton Geoffrey de Clinton (died c. 1134) was an Anglo-Norman noble, chamberlain and treasurer to King Henry I of England. He was foremost amongst the men king Henry "raised from the dust". He married Lescelina. Life Clinton's family origins are a lit ...

(died 1134) initiated the building of an

Augustinian priory Augustinians are members of several religious orders that follow the Rule of Saint Augustine, written about 400 A.D. by Augustine of Hippo. There are two distinct types of Augustinians in Catholic religious orders dating back to the 12th–13th ...

in 1122, which coincided with his initiation of

. The priory was raised to the rank of an

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

in 1450 and suppressed with the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s. Thereafter, the abbey grounds next to the castle were made

common land Common land is collective land (sometimes only open to those whose nation governs the land) in which all persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person ...

in exchange for what

Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester (24 June 1532 – 4 September 1588) was an English statesman and the favourite of Elizabeth I from her accession until his death. He was a suitor for the queen's hand for many years. Dudley's youth was ove ...

used to enlarge the castle. Only a few walls and a storage barn of the original abbey survive. Kenilworth Abbey Fields

During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, Kenilworth played a significant role in the history of England: Between June and December 1266, as part of the

Second Barons' War The Second Barons' War (1264–1267) was a civil war in Kingdom of England, England between the forces of barons led by Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, Simon de Montfort against the royalist forces of Henry III of England, King Hen ...

, Kenilworth Castle underwent a six-month siege, when baronial forces allied to

Simon de Montfort Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, 1st Earl of Chester ( – 4 August 1265), also known as Simon V de Montfort, was an English nobleman of French origin and a member of the English peerage, who led the baronial opposition to the rule of ...

, were besieged in the castle by the Royalist forces led by Prince Edward, this is thought to be the longest

siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

in Medieval English history. Despite numerous efforts at taking the castle, its defences proved impregnable. Whilst the siege was ongoing King Henry III held a Parliament at Kenilworth in August that year, which resulted in the

Dictum of Kenilworth The Dictum of Kenilworth (), issued on 31 October 1266, was a pronouncement designed to reconcile the rebels of the Second Barons' War with the royal government of England. After the baronial victory at the Battle of Lewes in 1264, Simon de Mo ...

; a conciliatory document which set out peace terms to end the conflict between the barons and the monarchy. The barons initially refused to accept, but hunger and disease eventually forced them to surrender, and accept the terms of the Dictum. During the

Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses, known at the time and in following centuries as the Civil Wars, were a series of armed confrontations, machinations, battles and campaigns fought over control of the English throne from 1455 to 1487. The conflict was fo ...

in the 15th century, Kenilworth Castle served as an important Lancastrian base in the Midlands: The Lancastrian King Henry VI and his wife,

Margaret of Anjou Margaret of Anjou (; 23 March 1430 – 25 August 1482) was Queen of England by marriage to King Henry VI from 1445 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471. Through marriage, she was also nominally Queen of France from 1445 to 1453. Born in the ...

spent much time here. Kenilworth StNicholas southwest

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

visited

at Kenilworth Castle several times, the last in 1575. Dudley entertained the Queen with pageants and banquets costing some £1,000 per day that surpassed anything seen in England before. These included fireworks. Near the castle there is a group of thatched cottages called 'Little Virginia': According to local legend they gained this name because the first

potato The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

es brought to England by Sir

Walter Raleigh Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebell ...

from the

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

were planted and grown here in the 16th century. Modern historians however consider this unlikely, and have suggested that the name may have originated from early colonists to America returning to England from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

17th and 18th centuries

During the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

, Kenilworth Castle, was occupied by Parliamentarians, after the

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

garrison was withdrawn. After the end of the war, the castle's defences were

slighted Slighting is the deliberate damage of high-status buildings to reduce their value as military, administrative, or social structures. This destruction of property is sometimes extended to the contents of buildings and the surrounding landscape. It ...

on the orders of Parliament in 1649, after which the castle became a ruin. In 1778 Kenilworth windmill was built. In 1884, it was converted into a

water tower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system, distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towe ...

, by the addition of a large water tank on the top of the tower in the place of the sails. It continued to be the town's main water supply until 1939, and finally became disused in 1960. It is still a local landmark, but is now a private home.

19th century to present

With the demise of the defensive role of the castle, Kenilworth had ceased to be a place of national significance, but

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

's 1821 novel ''

Kenilworth Kenilworth ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Warwick (district), Warwick District of Warwickshire, England, southwest of Coventry and north of both Warwick and Leamington Spa. Situated at the centre of t ...

'' brought it back to public attention, and helped establish the ruins of the castle as a major tourist attraction. In the early 19th century Kenilworth was known for its horn

comb A comb is a tool consisting of a shaft that holds a row of teeth for pulling through the hair to clean, untangle, or style it. Combs have been used since prehistoric times, having been discovered in very refined forms from settlements dating ba ...

making industry, which peaked in the 1830s. Kenilworth was revolutionised by the arrival of the

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

to the town in 1844, when the

London and Birmingham Railway The London and Birmingham Railway (L&BR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom, in operation from 1833 to 1846, when it became part of the London and North Western Railway (L&NWR). The railway line which the company opened in 1838, betw ...

opened the Coventry to Leamington Line, including

Kenilworth railway station Kenilworth railway station serves the town of Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England; it is a stop on the Coventry to Leamington Line. The original Kenilworth station opened in 1844, before being rebuilt in 1884 and closed in 1965. In 2013, it was ...

. The station was rebuilt in 1884 and a new link line was opened between Kenilworth and to bypass . This closed to all traffic on 3 March 1969. The railway station was located to the south of the

valley, and this caused the focus of settlement at Kenilworth to move south, away from the castle, and nearer to the railway station. Industrialists from

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

and

arrived, developing the area around the town's railway station with residential and commercial buildings. In the 19th century Kenilworth had some fine large

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...

s with landscaped gardens; these were demolished after the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

to make way for housing developments. The railway also brought a number of new industries to Kenilworth, such as tanning,

brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...

making, and chemicals, and also caused substantial growth in Kenilworth's

market gardening A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. The diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically from under to s ...

, which became known for producing crops such as tomatoes and strawberries. Kenilworth St Johns - panoramio

The town's growth occasioned the addition of a second

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ...

, St John's, which is on Warwick Road in Knights Meadow. It was designed by

Ewan Christian Ewan Christian (1814–1895) was a British architect. He is most frequently noted for the restorations of Southwell Minster and Carlisle Cathedral, and the design of the National Portrait Gallery (London), National Portrait Gallery. He was Arch ...

and built in 1851–1852 as a

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

building with a south-west

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

and

broach spire A broach spire is a type of spire (tall pyramidal structure), which usually sits atop a tower or turret of a church. It starts on a square base and is carried up to a tapering octagonal spire by means of triangular faces. File:Leicester Cathedral ...

. By the 1870s Kenilworth's population had exceeded 4,000. Albion Street Kenilworth Antique Image Photograph Albion Tavern C

In 1869, local

whitesmith A whitesmith is a metalworker who does finishing work on iron and steel such as filing, lathing, burnishing or polishing. The term also refers to a person who works with "white" or light-coloured metals, and is sometimes used as a synonym for tinsm ...

and engineer Edward Langley Fardon demonstrated the first bicycle with wire-spoked wheels and rubber tyres, riding from Warwick Road to

Leek Wootton Leek Wootton is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Leek Wootton and Guy's Cliffe, in the Warwick district, in the county of Warwickshire, England, approximately south of Kenilworth and north of Warwick. It lies in t ...

. During

The Blitz The Blitz (English: "flash") was a Nazi Germany, German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, during the Second World War. Towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940, a co ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

on the night of 21 November 1940, a German aircraft dropped two

parachute mine A parachute mine is a naval mine dropped from an aircraft by parachute. They were mostly used in the Second World War by the Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. ...

s on Kenilworth; the large explosions in the Abbey End area demolished a number of buildings, killing 25 people, and injuring 70 more. The bomb damaged area of the town was redeveloped in the 1960s. In May 1961, the Kenilworth Society was formed over concerns about protecting a group of 17th-century listed cottages adjacent to Finham Brook in Bridge Street. The Society sets out to promote awareness of Kenilworth's character and encourage its preservation.

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Comm ...

withdrew passenger services from the Coventry to Leamington Line and closed Kenilworth Station in January 1965 in line with '' The Reshaping of British Railways'' report. In May 1977, British Rail reinstated passenger services, but did not reopen Kenilworth station, which became derelict and was eventually demolished. In 2011 Warwick Council granted

John Laing plc John Laing Group is a British investor, developer and operator of privately financed, public sector infrastructure projects such as roads, railways, hospitals and schools through public-private partnership (PPP) and private finance initiative (PF ...

planning permission to build a new station, It finally reopened in 2018. In the early 1980s, the town's name was used by one of the first generation of computer retailers, a company called Kenilworth Computers based near the Clock Tower, for its repackaging of the

Nascom The Nascom 1 and 2 were single-board computer kits issued in the United Kingdom in 1977 and 1979, respectively, based on the Zilog Z80 and including a keyboard and video interface, a serial port that could be used to store data on a tape casset ...

microcomputer, with the selling point that it was robust enough to be used by agriculture. Kenilworth was struck by an F0/T1 tornado on 23 November 1981, as part of the record-breaking nationwide outbreak on that day.

Geography

Kenilworth has several suburbs, including Borrowell, Castle Green, Crackley, Ladyes Hill, Mill End, Park Hill, St Johns, Whitemoor and Windy Arbour. The town has good transport links to Coventry,

and

.OS Explorer Map 221, ''Coventry & Warwick''

Amenities

The Warwick Road entrance to Talisman Square - geograph

The principal shopping area of Kenilworth is around Warwick Street, Abbey End and Talisman Square, a 1960s shopping precinct. In 2008, the Square was modernised and partly redeveloped to include a new

Waitrose Waitrose Limited, trading as Waitrose & Partners, is a British supermarket chain, founded in 1904 as Waite, Rose & Taylor, later shortened to Waitrose. In 1937, it was acquired by the John Lewis Partnership, the UK's largest employee-owned b ...

supermarket. Kenilworth has been a

Fairtrade Town The Fair Trade Towns campaign is the result of a grass-roots citizens movement that started in the UK in 2001 (see below). It allows citizens to get together in order to self-proclaim their town (or other local geographical area) as a region that ...

since 2007. The town's public library underwent a renovation in 2021. ''The Cross'', a local pub-restaurant, received a

Michelin star The ''Michelin Guides'' ( ; ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The ''Guide'' awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few restaurants in certain geographic ...

in 2015. Near the centre of Kenilworth is

Abbey Fields Abbey Fields is a park that is found in the centre of Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England. The park was once farmland belonging to St Mary's Abbey, which was dissolved in the middle of the sixteenth century and is now ruined. The ruins include ...

, a public

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

which covers within the valley of

. Abbey Fields contains the ruins of the historic Kenilworth Abbey as well as St Nicholas Church. It contains public amenities such as a swimming pool, a lake, a children's play area and heritage trails. There are several further public open spaces in Kenilworth, including Kenilworth Common, an area of historic

covering . Parliament Piece, a field and nature reserve covering , was where, according to legend, King Henry III held a Parliament in 1266. Knowle Hill Nature Reserve, managed by the

Warwickshire Wildlife Trust Warwickshire Wildlife Trust is a Wildlife Trust and Registered Charity covering the county of Warwickshire and Solihull and Coventry in the county of West Midlands, England. The Trust aims to protect and enhance wildlife, natural habitats and g ...

, is found near the Common and covers .

Landmarks

In the centre of Kenilworth stands a

Kugel ball A kugel fountain (also called a floating sphere fountain or by the pleonasmic name kugel ball) is a water feature or sculpture where a sphere sits in a fitted hollow in a pedestal, and is supported by aquaplaning on a thin film of water. Pressu ...

water feature, called the Millennium Globe. Kenilworth's clock tower (pictured at top of article) is an important local landmark. It was first built in 1906–1907 by a notable local benefactor, George Marshall Turner, as a memorial for his late wife. It stands in a roundabout in the town centre. The top part of the tower was severely damaged in 1940 by World War II bombing and had to be pulled down, it was fully restored in the 1970s. The clock tower is locally listed as a heritage asset by

Warwick District Council Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...

Governance

There are three tiers of local government covering Kenilworth, at parish (town), district and county level: Kenilworth Town Council,

and

Warwickshire County Council Warwickshire County Council is the county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Warwickshire in England. Its headquarters are at Shire Hall in the centre of Warwick, the county town. The council's principal functions are county ro ...

. The town council is based at Jubilee House on Smalley Place in the town centre. Kenilworth gained a

local board of health A local board of health (or simply a ''local board'') was a local authority in urban areas of England and Wales from 1848 to 1894. They were formed in response to cholera epidemics and were given powers to control sewers, clean the streets, regulat ...

in 1877, which was converted into an

Urban District Council In England and Wales, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected urban district council (UDC), which shared local government responsibilities with a county council. ...

in 1894. Under local government reforms in

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

Kenilworth Urban District was merged into the new

along with

and

. The former urban district of Kenilworth was then reconstituted as a

successor parish Successor parishes are Civil parishes in England, civil parishes with a parish councils in England, parish council, created in England in 1974. They replaced, with the same boundaries, a selected group of Urban district (England and Wales), urban d ...

with a Town (parish) Council. Since 2010, Kenilworth has been part of the Parliamentary constituency of

Kenilworth and Southam Kenilworth and Southam is a constituency in Warwickshire, England represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Jeremy Wright, a Conservative who served as Culture Secretary until 24 July 2019, having previously served ...

; prior to that it was part of

Rugby and Kenilworth Rugby and Kenilworth was a county constituency in Warwickshire, England. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It existed from 1983 to 2010. History The constituency of Rugby and ...

Transport

is situated on the Coventry to Leamington Spa line. The original station was closed in 1965 and later demolished; in April 2018, a new station was opened.

West Midlands Trains West Midlands Trains (WMT) is a British train operating company. It operates passenger trains on the West Midlands franchise between London and the English Midlands under two trading names: within the West Midlands region as West Midlands Rai ...

operates services to , and . station is located nearby, which hosts Chiltern Railway services between

London Marylebone Marylebone station ( ) is a London station group, Central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the Marylebone area of the City of Westminster. On the National Rail network, it is also known as London Marylebone a ...

, Birmingham Snow Hill and Stourbridge Junction. The A46 bypass opened in June 1974. Both

Birmingham Airport Birmingham Airport , formerly ''Birmingham International Airport'', is an international airport located east-southeast of Birmingham city centre, west-northwest of Coventry slightly north of Bickenhill village, in the Metropolitan Bor ...

and the M6, M42 and M40

motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

s are within of the town.

Media

Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC Midlands and

ITV Central ITV Central, previously known as Central Independent Television, Carlton Central, ITV1 for Central England and commonly referred to as simply Central, is the Independent Television franchisee in the English Midlands. It was created following ...

. Television signals are received from the

Sutton Coldfield Sutton Coldfield or the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield ( ), is a town and civil parish in the city of Birmingham, West Midlands County, West Midlands, England. The town lies around 8 miles northeast of Birmingham city centre, 9 miles south of L ...

TV transmitter. Local radio stations are

BBC CWR BBC CWR (Coventry & Warwickshire Radio) is the Local BBC Radio, BBC's local radio station serving Coventry and Warwickshire. It broadcasts on frequency modulation, FM, Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB, digital TV, and via BBC Sounds from studio ...

Capital Mid-Counties Capital Mid-Counties is a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Capital network. It broadcasts to Coventry, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, south Staffordshire, the Cotswolds and north Oxfordshire. The station launch ...

Hits Radio Coventry & Warwickshire Hits Radio Coventry & Warwickshire, formerly Free Radio Coventry & Warwickshire, is an Independent Local Radio station based in Birmingham, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Coventry and W ...

, Fresh (Coventry & Warwickshire),

Heart West Midlands Heart West Midlands is a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Heart network. It broadcasts to the West Midlands. History Heart began broadcasting to the West Midlands on Tuesday 6 September 1994, as 100.7 Heart F ...

Smooth West Midlands Smooth West Midlands is an Independent Local Radio station for the Birmingham and the West Midlands. It is owned and operated by Global as part of the Smooth network. History GMG Radio The station launched following GMG Radio's purchase of t ...

Greatest Hits Radio Midlands Greatest Hits Radio Midlands is a regional radio station serving the East & West Midlands as part of Bauer’s Greatest Hits Radio network. Localised variants The station has seven variants:

and Radio Abbey, a community based station. The town is served by two local newspapers, the ''Kenilworth Weekly News'' and the ''Leamington Observer'' (formerly ''Kenilworth Observer'').

Sport

*Kenilworth Town FC, located in Gypsy Lane in the south of the town, played in the

Midland Combination The Midland Football Combination was an English football league covering parts of the West Midlands. It comprised five divisions, a Premier Division, Divisions One and Two and two Reserves Divisions. The league was one of three official feeder l ...

until June 2011, when it resigned, preferring to spend money on ground improvements rather than fielding a team. It re-entered the

English football pyramid The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in England, with five teams from Wales, one from Guernsey, one from Jersey and one from the ...

in the 2013–14 season and was placed in the

Midland Football League The Midland Football League, officially known as the Capelli Sport Midland Football League since January 2025 for sponsorship reasons, is an England, English association football, football league that was founded in 2014 by the merger of the form ...

Division 3, the 12th highest tier in the English league system. The stay, however, was brief; the first team again resigned shortly afterwards. The Gypsy Lane ground was purchased in 2018 by Coventry Plumbing F.C., which demolished the clubhouse and built a new one, before starting the 2019–20 season there. *

Kenilworth Wardens FC Kenilworth ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Warwick District of Warwickshire, England, southwest of Coventry and north of both Warwick and Leamington Spa. Situated at the centre of the county, the town lies on Finham Brook, a tri ...

is based at Kenilworth Wardens, a Community Amateur Sports Club in Glasshouse Lane to the east of the town. *Kenilworth RFC is the town's rugby union club. It fields three senior sides and hosts a large minis, juniors and colts section. The ground is also located in Glasshouse Lane. *Kenilworth Tennis, Squash and Croquet Club, in Crackley Lane, has nine tennis courts, five

squash Squash most often refers to: * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (plant), the fruit of vines of the genus ''Cucurbita'' Squash may also refer to: Sports * Squash (professional wrestling), an extr ...

and racketball courts and two

croquet Croquet ( or ) is a sport which involves hitting wooden, plastic, or composite balls with a mallet through hoops (often called Wicket, "wickets" in the United States) embedded in a grass playing court. Variations In all forms of croquet, in ...

lawns. *Kenilworth has two cricket clubs: Kenilworth Wardens in Glasshouse Lane fields five senior teams and a juniors section starting from seven years old; Kenilworth Cricket Club fields three senior teams and plays at the Warwick Road ground. *Kenilworth Runners meets at Kenilworth Sporting in Gypsy Lane. The club caters for runners of all ages and abilities. *Octavian Droobers is the local orienteering club, using maps of

and Kenilworth Common on which to stage events. *Kenilworth Wheelers meets all the year round on Saturday and Sunday morning for a road ride. During the summer months, regular evening training rides cater for all abilities from novice to racer. *Abbey Fields Swimming Pool is in

. It has a indoor pool and an outdoor pool open from May to September. It is home to Kenilworth Swimming Club and Kenilworth Masters Swimming Club. *Kenilworth Golf Club features a mature 18-hole parkland course, plus a small six-hole par 3 course.

Two Castles Run

The Two Castles Run began in 1983 as a fun run between

Warwick Castle Warwick Castle is a medieval castle developed from a wooden fort, originally built by William I of England, William the Conqueror during 1068. Warwick is the county town of Warwickshire, England, situated on a meander of the River Avon, Warwic ...

and Kenilworth Castle. It has grown into an English Athletics-licensed run with 3,000 entrants in 2010. In 2010 and 2011 it held the Warwickshire Amateur Athletic Association 10 Kilometre Championship. In 2012 all 4,000 places were sold within 25 hours. The race is organised each June by Kenilworth Rotary Club in conjunction with the Leamington Cycling and Athletic Club.

Arts

Theatres

The Talisman Theatre and Arts Centre, founded as Talisman Players in 1942, moved to its current 156-seat premises in Barrow Road in 1969. It won twelve

NODA Noda may refer to: Places * Noda, Azerbaijan, a village in Azerbaijan *Noda, Chiba, a city in Chiba Prefecture, Japan * Noda, Iwate, a village in Iwate Prefecture, Japan * Noda, Kagoshima, a former town in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan *NoDa (neighbo ...

awards between 2004 and 2018. The Talisman produces around 9 main stag
shows
a year including performances from th
Talisman Youth Theatre
Since 2022, The Talisman Theatre has been presentin
Fringe
nights at the Holiday Inn, Kenilworth. The Talisman Theatre also operates a monthl
cinema
night showing recent films. Work started in 2022 on a two-phase development of the Talisman Theatre. The

Priory Theatre The Priory Theatre is an amateur theatre building and company located in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England. It has 120 seats arranged in a Theater (structure)#Seating and audience, circle and stall layout. Company history The original company ...

, founded in 1932 as the Kenilworth Players, uses the former Unitarian/

Christadelphian The Christadelphians () are a restorationist and nontrinitarian (Biblical Unitarian) Christian denomination. The name means 'brothers and sisters in Christ',"The Christadelphians, or brethren in Christ ... The very name 'Christadelphian' was co ...

chapel, a Gothic Revival building dating from 1816, which was converted into a 119-seat theatre building in 1945–1946. It was gutted by fire in 1976, but restored and reopened in September 1978.

Kenilworth Arts Festival

The first Kenilworth Festival was held in 1935. After a 70-year interval, it was revived locally in 2005. Between 2005 and 2015, events were held almost every year, with varying success. The company became a social enterprise in 2010. In 2015–16, a new team oversaw a change in direction, with a new name, branding and mission statement, as 'Kenilworth Arts Festival'. Kenilworth Arts Festival took place again on 19–28 September 2019.

Education

Kenilworth is close to the

University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded in 1965 as part of ...

at Gibbet Hill in Coventry to the north. The principal secondary school is the

Kenilworth School and Sixth Form Kenilworth School and Sixth Form, also known as Kenilworth School and Sports College, is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form based in Glasshouse Lane, Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England. History Built in 1961 Kenilworth School was t ...

. There are also a number of schools for primary age children.

Notable people

In order of birth: *

Henry III of England Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272), also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. The son of John, King of England, King John and Isabella of Ang ...

(1207–1272) commissioned the

, which was made public on 31 October 1266. *

Edward II of England Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also known as Edward of Caernarfon or Caernarvon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir to the throne follo ...

(1284–1327) was held prisoner in Kenilworth Castle in 1326–1327. *

(1532 or 1533–1588) lived at Kenilworth Castle. * Thomas Underhill (1545–1591) was keeper of the wardrobe at Kenilworth Castle. * Thomas Hearne (1744–1817), landscape artist, painted ''The Priory Gate at Kenilworth'' in 1784. * William Field (1768–1851), Unitarian minister and local historian, served the Old Meeting House at Kenilworth from about 1830 to 1850. *Sir

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

's (1771–1832) novel ''Kenilworth. A Romance'' appeared anonymously in 1821. * Samuel Butler (1774–1839), classical scholar and bishop, became the incumbent of Kenilworth in 1802. * John Sumner (1780–1862),

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

, was born in Kenilworth. *

Charles Sumner Charles Sumner (January 6, 1811March 11, 1874) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate from 1851 until his death in 1874. Before and during the American Civil War, he was a leading American ...

(1790–1874), religious writer and bishop, was born in Kenilworth. * William Gresley (1801–1876), religious writer and cleric, was born in Kenilworth. * Samuel Carter MP (1805–1878), inherited property in Kenilworth and is buried in the graveyard of St Nicholas. *

Anna Russell Anna Russell (born Anna Claudia Russell-Brown; 27 December 191118 October 2006) was an English–Canadian singer and comedian. She gave many concerts in which she sang and played comic musical sketches on the piano. Among her best-known works ...

(1807–1876), botanist, lived in Kenilworth. * Samuel Hawksley Burbury (1831–1911), mathematician, was born in Kenilworth. * Isabel, Lady Burton (née Arundell, 1831–1896), religious writer and wife of the scholar

Richard Francis Burton Captain (British Army and Royal Marines), Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton, Order of St Michael and St George, KCMG, Royal Geographical Society#Fellowship, FRGS, (19 March 1821 – 20 October 1890) was a British explorer, army officer, orien ...

, was born in Kenilworth. * George Potter (1832–1893), trade unionist, first president of the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union center, national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions that collectively represent most unionised workers in England and Wales. There are 48 affiliated unions with a total of ...

of England and Wales, was born in Kenilworth. * Edward Langley Fardon (1839–1926), whitesmith and bicycle innovator, lived in Kenilworth. *Sir

Arthur Sullivan Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (13 May 1842 – 22 November 1900) was an English composer. He is best known for 14 comic opera, operatic Gilbert and Sullivan, collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including ''H.M.S. Pinaf ...

's (1842–1900) long association with vocal music began with a

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...

, ''The Masque at Kenilworth'', in 1864. *

Jack Burns John Francis Burns (November 15, 1933 – January 27, 2020) was an American comedian, actor, voice actor, writer and producer. During the 1960s, he was part of two comedy partnerships, first with George Carlin and later with Avery Schreiber. ...

(1859–1927), Scottish champion golfer, was instrumental in creating the Kenilworth course in 1890. * Oliver Bodington (1859–1936), Paris-based international lawyer and marriage broker, was baptised in Kenilworth. *Edith Emma Cooper (1862–1913), poet, dramatist, diarist and half of the pseudonym Michael Field with Katherine Bradley, was born in Kenilworth. *

Edgar Jepson Edgar Alfred Jepson (28 November 1863 – 12 April 1938) was an English author. He largely wrote mainstream adventure and detective fiction, but also supernatural and fantasy stories. He sometimes used the pseudonym R. Edison Page. Early life E ...

(1863–1938), writer of crime, adventure and fantasy novels, was born in Kenilworth. * John Siddeley, Lord Kenilworth (1866–1953), motor and aero engineering pioneer, moved to Crackley Hall, Kenilworth, in 1918. *

Reginald Lee Reginald Robinson Lee (19 May 1870 – 6 August 1913) was a British sailor who served as a lookout aboard the ''Titanic'' in April 1912. He was on duty with Frederick Fleet in the crow's nest when the ship collided with an iceberg at 23:40 on 14 ...

(1870–1913), surviving crew member of the RMS ''Titanic'', died in Kenilworth.Mr Reginald Robinson Lee – Titanic Biography – Encyclopedia Titanica
at www.encyclopedia-titanica.org *

Alec Issigonis Sir Alexander Arnold Constantine Issigonis (Greek: Αλέξανδρος Άρνολντ Κωνσταντίνος Ισηγόνης) (18 November 1906 – 2 October 1988) was a British-Greek automotive designer. He designed the Mini, launched by ...

(1906-1988), designer of the Morris Minor and Austin Mini cars, lived and worked in Kenilworth. *

Walter Ritchie Walter Ritchie (1919–1997) was a British sculptor. Biography Ritchie was one of the last living pupils of Eric Gill at Pigotts near High Wycombe before the Second World War. Eric Gill died in 1940. Many of his public works were in stone, wood, ...

(1919–1991), sculptor, lived and worked in Kenilworth. *

Basil Heatley Benjamin Basil Heatley (25 December 1933 – 3 August 2019) was a British competitive long-distance runner, who was an Olympic marathon silver medallist and former world marathon record-holder. Although he favoured cross country running, he wa ...

(1933–2019) was a marathon runner and Olympic silver medallist born in Kenilworth. * Andrew Davies (born 1936), is a novelist and screenwriter who lives in Kenilworth (the 1995 BBC ''Pride and Prejudice''). * Julia Slingo (born 1950), climate scientist and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, was born in Kenilworth. * Peter Marlow (1952–2016) was a photojournalist and photographer. *

Tim Flowers Timothy David Flowers (born 3 February 1967) is an English football manager and former player who manages Alvechurch. He played as a goalkeeper from 1984 until 2003, notably in the Premier League for Blackburn Rovers where he was part of the s ...

(born 1967 in Kenilworth) is an

Association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

goalkeeper, notably for

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

and

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

. He was capped 11 times by

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. * Rebecca Probert (born 1973), legal historian and expert on marriage law, lives in Kenilworth with her travel-writer husband

Liam D'Arcy Brown Liam James D'Arcy-Brown (born 1970) is a British sinologist and travel writer. Born in Lewisham, London, he grew up in York and now lives in Exeter, Devon with his wife, legal historian Rebecca Probert. He studied Chinese at St Anne's College, ...

. *

Kelvin Langmead Kelvin Steven Langmead (born 23 March 1985) is an English former professional footballer. Career Preston North End Langmead began his career as a trainee at Preston North End joining in 2001. He spent a month on loan to Tamworth in the Footb ...

(born 1985), professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player for Shrewsbury Town and Northampton Town, was educated at Kenilworth School. *

Sarah-Jane Perry Sarah-Jane Catherine Perry (born 15 May 1990) is a professional squash player who represents England and Great Britain. She reached a career-high world ranking of World No. 5 in July 2020. Biography Perry was educated at Kenilworth School, ...

(born 1990), professional international

player, was educated at Kenilworth School.Squashinfo
Sarah-Jane Perry
accessed 18 April 2014.

Twin towns

Kenilworth is twinned with: *

Bourg-la-Reine Bourg-la-Reine () is a Communes of France, commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris. History In 1792, during the French Revolution, Bourg-la-Reine (meaning "Town of the Queen") w ...

Hauts-de-Seine Hauts-de-Seine (; ) is a department in the Île-de-France region of France. It covers Paris's western inner suburbs. It is bordered by Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne to the east, Val-d'Oise to the north, Yvelines to the west and ...

, France *

Eppstein Eppstein is a town in the Main-Taunus-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. Eppstein lies west of Frankfurt am Main, around 12 km north east of the state capital Wiesbaden, and is at the edge of the Taunus mountains. The ruins of the Eppstein castle is ...

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

, Germany. *

Roccalumera Roccalumera is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Messina in the Italian region Sicily, located about east of Palermo and about southwest of Messina. Roccalumera borders the following municipalities: Fiumedinisi, Furci Sic ...

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, Italy Kenilworth also has friendship links with: * Bo,

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

, through One World Link (OWL) * Uyogo,

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

References

Sources

* *

External links

Kenilworth Town CouncilKenilworth The Best Kept Secret in Warwickshire
— official Kenilworth town centre website
Kenilworth Chamber of TradeGeograph photos of Kenilworth and surrounding areaKenilworth local history articles and booksKenilworth in the Second World WarCatalogue of the Kenilworth Urban District Council archives
held at the

Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick The Modern Records Centre (MRC) is the specialist archive service of the University of Warwick in Coventry, England, located adjacent to the Central Campus Library. It was established in October 1973 and holds the world's largest archive collect ...

Warwickshire Geological Conservation Group (WGCG) is based in KenilworthKenilworth archives
– Our Warwickshire {{authority control Towns in Warwickshire