The Lord Leycester is currently closed for renovation.
The Lord Leycester Hospital buildings, gardens and café are closed to the public until Summer 2023 for major capital works and improvements.
Built in the 1300s and one of the most important examples of intact medieval architecture in Britain - we are set to re-open in summer 2023 following a £4.5 million investment, including £1.8 million from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. The grant will be used to transform the Lord Leycester into a modern, authentic visitor attraction, featuring stories of the heritage buildings, and its residents past and present. It will also include developing exciting new historical interpretations throughout the buildings, gardens and online, plus a new gift shop, cafe, and ticket office. Read all about it here: https://www.heritagefund.org.uk/news/new-chapter-lord-leycester-hospital
When we reopen in 2023 visitors will be able to appreciate the beautiful buildings of the Lord Leycester, the most important and intact medieval buildings in England. Our refurbishment and improvement project will undoubtedly enhance these extraordinary spaces and create a visitor experience that will take you back in time to the medieval age and usher you back through the centuries to the Lord Leycester of the modern day.
- Architecturally they are priceless
- Aesthetically they are enchanting
- Historically they are fascinating
Our story begins over 700 years ago when the Guilds of Warwick built these half-timbered buildings as the centre of their activity - a Guildhall for meetings, a Great Hall for entertaining, and a kitchen - all built around the Chapel of St James.
Move forward in time to the Elizabethan age, when the Queen's close friend, the dashing Robert Dudley Earl of Leycester, was given the site by the Guildsmen to create a “Hospital” – a place of sanctuary, to take care of fallen and deserving warriors known as the Brethren and their appointed Master. Whilst maintaining this 450-year-old tradition, the Lord Leycester Hospital has evolved into a modern charity – Warwick’s answer to the Royal Hospital Chelsea except smaller and older, with the Brethren and Master still living within the walls today.