Day OneOn arrival at your hotel, your host will welcome you to the area before dinner. Following dinner, a local historian will give you a fascinating insight into the history of churches within Shakespeare Country.
Day Two
The day begins with a visit to the Saxon Sanctuary, Warwickshire’s oldest church. A Minister was present from 800 AD, although the church may have existed since 720 AD. See every stage of English church architecture and wander through the Arden heritage exhibition. At Coughton Court, one of England’s finest Tudor houses and home to the Throckmorton family, two churches stand in the grounds,
one Catholic, the other Anglican, which reflect the turbulent past of this area. In the afternoon, enjoy a tour of Holy Trinity Church, one of England's most beautiful mediaeval parish churches where Shakespeare was baptised and buried. Dating back to the early 1200’s, the church is considered to be a fine example of perpendicular architecture.
Day Three
Enjoy a visit to Stoneleigh Abbey, which was founded in 1154 by a group of Cistercian monks and where Queen Victoria and Prince Albert stayed in 1858. En route to Warwick, you will pass by the ruins of the Abbey of St Mary’s before arriving at St Mary's Church. This beautiful church dates from the 12th century but was rebuilt during the 14th century and again between 1697 and 1704 after the great fire of Warwick. See the Beauchamp Chapel, known to be the finest mediaeval chapel in England. Your tour concludes at the Lord Leycester Hospital which was founded in 1571 as a retirement home for old soldiers. Visit the candle-lit chapel, galleried courtyard, great hall and the regimental museum of the Queen's Own Hussars. Today, eight ex-servicemen and their wives live in modernised flats and in return help with the running of the Hospital.
