Here are some brief summaries of key aspects of the history of Kenilworth:
- The Great Siege of Kenilworth 1266 In 1266 King Henry III (the Priory’s Royal patron) spent six months besieging Kenilworth Castle during the Second Barons’ War. The rebellious barons occupying the Castle wished to reassert the principles of Magna Carta and force the king to surrender more power to the baronial council. This was a pivotal phase of the struggle to wrest absolute power from the monarch, and thus a momentous step along the road to the constitutional democracy we enjoy today. READ MORE
- The Abbey of St. Mary the Virgin, Kenilworth This Augustinian convent was originally founded as a Priory in 1119 by Geoffrey de Clinton (also founder of Kenilworth Castle) on land granted to him by King Henry I. READ MORE