WARWICK, county town of Warwickshire, England; on the Avon. Pop. (1931) Warwick arwic, W arrewici, W arrewyk) seems to have been an early settlement fortified later by Aethelflaed, against the Danes. At Domesday, Warwick was a royal borough, contain ing 261 houses, of which 13o were in the king's hands, while 19 belonged to burgesses enjoying the privileges they had had in the time of Edward the Confessor. The Conqueror granted the borough to Henry of Newburgh, who was created earl of War wick, and in all probability built the castle on the site of Aethel flaed's fortification. The Beauchamps, successors of Henry of Newburgh as earls of Warwick, held the borough of the king in chief. In the vicinity of Warwick is Guy's Cliffe, the hermitage of the first Guy, earl of Warwick. Although the borough owed its early importance to the castle of the earls of Warwick as well as to its position, and received a grant of a fair from John, earl of Warwick, in 1261, it seems to have developed independently of them, and received no charter until it was incorporated in 1546 after it had come into the king's hands by the attainder of Edward, earl of Warwick, in 1499. Other charters were granted in 1665, 1684 and 1694, of which that of 1553 allowed the appointment of assistant burgesses. This was discontinued in 1698. The charter of 1694 conferred the title of "Mayor, Alder men and Burgesses" on the corporation..
The castle of the earls of Warwick stands on a rock above the river and includes a residential portion above the river as well as ruined towers of the 14th century and several parts of the ancient walls. There is a famous collection of pictures. The present church of St. Mary is a rebuilding after a fire in 1694. It appears from Domesday that a church existed before the Conquest. It was
made collegiate by Roger de Newburgh, the second Norman earl, in 1123. At the Dissolution Henry VIII. granted the foundation to the burgesses of the town. The Beauchamp chapel survived the fire ; it is of Perpendicular work, built between 1443 and There are only scanty traces of the old town walls, but the east and west gates remain, with chapels built above them. The priory of St. Sepulchre was founded by Henry de Newburgh and com pleted in the reign of Henry I., on the site of an ancient church, for a society of canons regular. It is now a private residence. Leicester Hospital, established by Robert Dudley, earl of Leices ter, is a fine half-timber building. It was originally used as the hall of the united gilds of the Holy Trinity, the Blessed Virgin and St. George the Martyr. The earl of Leicester, by an act of incor poration obtained in 1571, founded the hospital for the reception of twelve poor men. Thomas Cartwright was the first master of this Hospital. St. John's Hospital, a foundation of the time of Henry II., is represented by a beautiful Jacobean mansion. There are numerous charities in the town, the principal being those of Henry VIII., Sir Thomas White and Thomas Oken. The first is devoted to ecclesiastical and municipal stipends and to the King's School. By the charity of Sir Thomas White a sum of money is lent to young tradesmen for a period of years. The King's School dates from the reign of Edward the Confessor. Warwick re turned two members to parliament from 1295, but in 1885 the number was reduced to one. It has now no independent represen tation as a borough.