Priory Park is an urban park located in the centre of Warwick, England. Originally the land was the grounds of a 12th-century priory dedicated to St Sepulchre and built in 1124 but this was closed down by

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disag ...

during the dissolution of the Monasteries. It was then destroyed and a residential home was built in 1566 by a man named Thomas Fisher known as Hawkins. In the 17th century, the estate was owned by

Sir Thomas Puckering, 1st Baronet Sir Thomas Puckering, 1st Baronet (1592 – 20 March 1637) was an English landowner, courtier and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1621 and 1629. Puckering was the son of Sir John Puckering and his wife Jane Cho ...

and his heirs, including

Sir Henry Puckering, 3rd Baronet Sir Henry Puckering, 3rd Baronet (Newton until 1654, 1618–1701) was an English royalist and politician. Life Baptised at St. Dunstan's-in-the-West, London, on 13 April 1618, he was a younger son of Sir Adam Newton of Charlton, Kent, by Katha ...

who was MP for Warwickshire and then the

borough of Warwick A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

. By 1850 the property had been taken over by the famous Warwickshire family, the Wises. During that year the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

company were allowed to build an embankment to extend the line to Warwick station which was built in 1852 at the north-east of the estate. In 1926 Alexander W. Weddell, an American diplomat and his wife Virginia, a wealthy woman in her own right, purchased the property after seeing the advertisement that Priory House was to be demolished. They bought the house and shipped several thousand tons of the stones and other materials for the building of

Virginia House Virginia House is a manor house on a hillside overlooking the James River in the Windsor Farms neighborhood of Richmond, Virginia, United States. The house was constructed from the materials of the 16th-century Priory House, Warwick in Warwic ...

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

in 1928. They signed the house to the Virginia Historical Society who still maintain it today. http://www.vahistorical.org/your-visit/virginia-house The estate now is owned and managed by Warwick District council and is a public park. (Part of the park is owned by Warwickshire County Council but managed by WDC) There is very little evidence of the previous buildings in existence. In 1958 and 1979 there were international scout gatherings at the park and a plaque by one of the paths commemorates this. The AMIKARO referred to on the plaque means Friendship in Esperanto. Seven trees were planted, although 3 of these have since died and replaced in 2012, to spell AMIKARO. In the 1970s Warwickshire County Council moved its record offices to the eastern part of the estate into a purpose built building. The public park area is composed of unimproved grass areas that are cut but not landscaped and there are many clumps of trees to explore. Until the late 1990s there was a small children's play area in the middle but this was removed. The nearest play area can be found a minute's walk north west from the park under the railway bridge in a smaller park called Priory Pools. Because there are many

burrow An Eastern chipmunk at the entrance of its burrow A burrow is a hole or tunnel excavated into the ground by an animal to construct a space suitable for habitation or temporary refuge, or as a byproduct of locomotion. Burrows provide a form of sh ...

s around the park European rabbits are a common sight, even to the casual observer. The total public area of the main park currently stands at 28.7 acres. Famous artists have visited the park; Canaletto in the 1740s and in 1809

John Constable John Constable (; 11 June 1776 – 31 March 1837) was an English landscape painter in the Romanticism, Romantic tradition. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for revolutionising the genre of landscape painting with his pictures of Dedha ...

made a sketch. A painting by a Pre-Raphaelite artist John Brett was auctioned in 2018. A free leaflet has been published which is both a nature and history walk around the Park and Priory Pools. Available at Warwick Tourist Information Centre, Jury Street, Warwick (with effect from February 2016) and also online.

References

{{coord, 52.2852, -1.5845, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Urban public parks in the United Kingdom Warwick Christian monasteries established in the 12th century 1124 establishments in England Parks and open spaces in Warwickshire