New display at St Mary’s Church showcasing untold tales from Warwick Castle
A display featuring untold stories of those who once lived and worked at Warwick Castle is opening at St Mary’s Church in Warwick.
The church is working with Warwickshire County Council’s Heritage and Culture Warwickshire service to host a display in support of the ‘Warwick Castle Unboxed: New stories from an old castle’ exhibition currently at the Market Hall Museum.
The Market Hall exhibition features personal tales of the Greville family and their servants, beginning more than 400 years ago, when Sir Fulke Greville asked King James I for Warwick Castle and he agreed.
St Mary’s Church is the location of Greville family tombs and memorials, and the complementary exhibition includes stories of unwanted funeral pomp and pageantry and beloved servants remembered, as well as a forgotten visit to Warwick by a famous artist who painted the castle.
These stories have all come from the Greville family archive. Warwickshire County Record Office raised funds to buy the nationally significant archive in 1978 and a special project to catalogue it and make it accessible to the public began in 2021.
The St Mary’s Church display will include a chance to see some original documents from the Greville family collection.
Rob Eyre, senior archivist said:
“The response to the exhibition in Market Hall Museum has been fantastic but there have been so many stories emerging from the archive it has been impossible to include them all.
“We are delighted therefore to have the opportunity to display additional material in St Mary’s.”
Kate Rist, communications and events manager for St Mary’s Church, said:
“We at St Mary’s Church are very excited to be a small part of the new exhibition at Market Hall Museum, bringing the remarkable story of the Greville family back into public view.
“A significant feature of the programme is the inclusion of the tomb of Fulke Greville inside St Mary's Church.
“The ornate monument remains one of Warwick’s most important historical landmarks and offers visitors a direct connection to the man whose ambitions secured the castle for his family line.
“The collaboration aims to present a fuller picture of Warwickshire’s heritage by connecting artefacts, archives and historic sites across the town.”
Councillor Darren Cheshire, Warwickshire County Council portfolio holder for environment, heritage and culture, added:
“Warwick Castle is one of the county’s most recognisable landmarks, but it’s the personal stories behind it that truly bring its history to life.“This exhibition helps us see beyond the walls to understand the lives of those who lived and worked there. By linking the displays at Market Hall Museum and St Mary’s Church, we can provide visitors with a richer, more connected experience of Warwickshire’s heritage.”
The exhibition at St Mary’s Church opens on Thursday May 28 and will run until the autumn.
