History of Kenilworth

rounded by a moated earthwork about 600 feet (180 m) by about 500 feet (150 m) that 15th century kings used instead of the castle's state apartments. In the 16th century Henry VIII had the banqueting house demolished and the materials re-used for new timber-framed buildings inside the castle. The mere was drained in 1649 but "The Pleasance" earthworks survive and are a Scheduled Monument.

Elizabeth I visited Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester at Kenilworth Castle several times, the last of which was in 1575. Dudley entertained the Queen with pageants and banquets that cost some £1,000 per day, presenting diversions and pageants surpassing anything ever before seen in England. These included fireworks.

Warwick District Council owns and manages land across the Coventry Road at Tainter's Hill. This area of public open space was designated "for the poor of the parish" under an inclosure act in 1756 and is now registered as common land. Around this time in 1778 Kenilworth windmill was built, which was later made the town's water tower. It is now a private home, minus its sails.

In 1844 the London and Birmingham Railway opened the Coventry to Leamington Line, including Kenilworth railway station. The L&NWR had a new station built in 1883 and a new link line between Kenilworth and Berkswell in 1884 to bypass Coventry. In the latter part of the 20th century British Railways closed the link line and had it dismantled.

BR withdrew passenger services from the Coventry to Leamington Line and closed Kenilworth station in January 1965 in accordance with The Reshaping of British Railways report. In May 1977 BR reinstated passenger services but did not reopen Kenilworth station, which fell into dereliction and was eventually