Warwickshire

WARWICKSHIRE, a midland county of England. The area is 939.8 square miles. The river Avon, watering a rich valley on a line from north-east to south-west, divides the county into two unequal parts. The greater, lying to the north-west, drains principally to the Trent through the rivers Cole, Blythe, Rea, Anker and minor streams. Between these valleys, and dividing the system from that of the Avon, the land rises in gentle undula tions. The land is formed for the most part of Keuper marls and sandstones, the sandstones forming picturesque scarps. The Bunter rocks are represented only between Birmingham and Sutton Coldfield. From this side the Avon receives the Swift, the Sowe and the Alne. An important fault crosses the area from Kenilworth northwards to Tamworth, and brings up the Coal measures on the eastern side. The Upper Coal-measures, with the so-called Permian Beds, occupy the larger part of the War wickshire Coalfield, whilst the productive Middle Coal-measures crop out in a narrow fringe along the north and east. The esti mated reserves of coal are 1,126,981,00o tons. The eastern margin of the field is marked by an inlier of Cambrian and Pre-Cam brian rocks, the Hartshill quartzite (Cambrian) being extensively quarried. The northern district was distinguished by Camden as the Woodland, as opposed to the southern or Feldon, "a plain champain." The woodland embraced the ancient forest of Arden. The finest scenery is found on the banks of the Avon at Guy's Cliffe and Warwick Castle. It is not difficult to trace the influence of the scenic characteristics of the county in the writings of its most famous son, William Shakespeare.

Coal, ironstone, lime and cement are the chief mineral prod ucts ; manganese ore was formerly got from the Cambrian rocks.

History and Early Settlement.

Warwickshire being the area once largely occupied by the Forest of Arden is poor in pre historic antiquities though one find, of a palaeolithic implement at Saltley, gave rise to a good deal of discussion some years ago. (See Evans, Ancient Stone Implements, pp. 522 and 578.) The Fosse Way cut across the south-east of the county and Wat ling street touched it in the north. The earliest English set tlers in the district were a tribe of Hwiccas who, pushing up the Severn valley early in the 6th century, made their way by the Avon valley and the Roman Fosse Way, the extent of their set tlement being indicated by the ancient limits of the diocese of Worcester. Humphreys' recent (Archaeologia, 1922-3, vol.

lxxiii.) discoveries at Bidford-on-Avon have demonstrated these points. The vast forest of Arden, from the Avon to modern Birmingham, barred progress northwards. It was only after the battle of Cirencester in 628 that the whole of the Hwiccan terri tory was comprised in Mercia. In 675 Cosford was included in the endowment of Peterborough, and in 757 Aethelbald was slain at Seckington in a battle with the West Saxons. The shire of Warwick originated in the loth century about Aethelflaed's new burgh at Warwick, and appears in the Saxon Chronicle of 1016.

The shire offered little resistance to the Conqueror, who was at Warwick in 1 o68, and the Thurkill family kept its lands and took later on the name of Arden. A fortress built by Thurkill was entrusted by William to Henry, son of Roger de Beaumont, afterwards earl of Warwick, and Robert, count of Meulan, Henry's elder brother. Coventry Minster was richly endowed. The earl dom and castle of Warwick subsequently passed to the Beau champs, and in the reign of Henry VI. to the Nevilles.

In the 13th century Warwickshire included the deaneries of Warwick and Kineton within the archdeaconry and diocese of Worcester; the rest of the county constituting the archdeaconry of Coventry within the Lichfield diocese. Both Coventry and Birmingham have been made separate sees in the 2oth century.

In the wars of the reign of Henry III. Simon de Montfort placed Kenilworth Castle in charge of Sir John Giffard, who in 1264 attacked Warwick Castle and took prisoner the earl and countess of Warwick, who had supported the king. During the Wars of the Roses the Nevilles, represented by the earl of War wick, supported the Yorkist cause, while Coventry was a Lan castrian stronghold. On the outbreak of the Civil War of the 17th century Warwickshire and Staffordshire were associated for the parliament under Lord Brooke. The battle of Edgehill was fought in 1642, and in 1643 Birmingham was sacked by Prince Rupert. Coventry endured a siege in 1642, and skirmishes took place at Southam and Warwick.