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Warwick Castle lies in the town of Warwick in the county of
Warwickshire in central England
and overlooks the River Avon.
The castle today is a popular tourist attraction and attracts tens of thousands of visitors from all over the world.
History
Legend has it that the first fortifications of significance at Warwick castle were erected by Ethelfleda, daughter of king Alfred the
Great in the year 914. And these almost certainly replaced even older wooden fortifications, which had proven ineffective
against marauding Danes who had sacked the town in the reign of her father. They were
part of a network of fortifications built to protect the Kingdom of Mercia.
The remains of these ancient fortifications can still be seen on top of a large mound at the southern end of the castle's
courtyard which is known as Ethelfleda's mound, although most of these remains date from the Norman period.
After the Norman conquest of England in the 11th century William the Conqueror appointed Henry de Newburgh as Earl of
Warwick, and he proceeded to enlarge the mound and created a Norman motte-and-bailey castle.
In the year 1264 the castle was sacked by the forces of Simon de Montford and he imprisoned the then Earl and his countess at
Kenilworth (they were supporters of the king against the barons) until a ransom
was paid. After the death of this earl the title and the castle was passed to the Beauchamp family, who over the next 180 years
were largely responsible for most of the fortifications that can be seen today.
The castle was then owned by various Earls of Warwick (including Richard Neville, the Kingmaker) until 1978 when it was sold to the Tussaud Group, the
company which owns Madame Tussaud's in London, who carried out
extensive restorations to the castle and opened it to the public.
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