Tudor Places To Visit In Warwickshire
If you’re looking for Tudor places to visit in Warwickshire, the Lord Leycester is one of the most intriguing!
Built by the Guilds in the 14th century, their half-timbered buildings are classic medieval and not Tudor buildings. Two hundred years later it becomes a distinctly Tudor story!
Robert Dudley Earl of Leycester rode into Warwick to look for buildings to found his “Hospital”. In the Tudor Age a Hospital was a place of hospitality for the deserving poor to live – not a place for sick people.
Dudley was a man of immense political influence and a favourite of the Queen! Was his quest to found a Hospital because of his close relationship with Queen Elizabeth I? Was he trying to impress her? The Queen was highly supportive of Laws and policies to protect homeless people in the Tudor Age and asked each parish to create “a Hospital”. Whatever Dudley’s reason, the Guilds were persuaded to hand over the Deeds to their precious buildings to Robert Dudley. Records show that the last Guild Meeting was held in the Guildhall in November 1571. By December1571 Robert Dudley had installed a new Master of the Lord Leycester who moved in with twelve Brethren – deserving soldiers – to occupy the old Guild buildings. This new cohort moved in without changing anything – it seems they were delighted with their new found home! The one big change was that the Tudor Age had firmly arrived at the Lord Leycester!