RoutesHiking trails & RoutesUnited KingdomEnglandWest Midlands RegionWarwickshireWarwickKenilworth
Kenilworth Greenway – Bat Roost loop from Kenilworth
RoutesHiking trails & RoutesUnited KingdomEnglandWest Midlands RegionWarwickshireWarwickKenilworth
Kenilworth Greenway – Bat Roost loop from Kenilworth
Easy
4.8
(4)
35
hikers
Kenilworth Greenway – Bat Roost loop from Kenilworth
01:35
6.07km
40m
Hiking
Easy hike. Great for any fitness level. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Waypoints
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Start point
Bus stop
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1
337 m
St Nicholas' Church, Kenilworth
Highlight • Historical Site
The church of ST. NICHOLAS is situated on the north side of the ruins of St. Mary's Abbey and overlooking a valley which divides the town into two parts. The church consists of chancel, nave, north and south aisles, south chapel, south transept, north porch, vestry, and west tower. It dates from the middle of the 14th century; the south arcade was added about the end of the 14th century; the south chapel, vestry, and south transept are modern. The church is built of red sandstone ashlar of uniform colour; all the roofs are covered with small green slates. On the north side there is a good example of a lead rain-water-head, dated WB 1701, from the gutter of the nave roof.
The nave has a clearstory with six two-light and one single-light windows on each side, the single lights being at the western end. When the south aisle was formed the design and detail of the north side were followed. They are cinquefoil lights with square heads dating from early in the 15th century, surmounted by a plain parapet which rises from a coved string-course. The north aisle is lighted by three square-headed windows of three trefoiled lights with tracery composed of small circles. There are four buttresses, opposite the arcade pillars; they are small, in two stages with wide splayed bases, and terminate as stops to the coved eaves-course. The western end is occupied by a north porch with an angle buttress of the same design as in the aisle. The entrance doorway has a four-centred arch of three sunk splayed orders continued down the jambs to splayed stops. It has a moulded label with return ends. Centrally over the door is a quatrefoil light in a square splayed opening. On the west side is a similar doorway, blocked with masonry, and above this is a traceried window of two trefoil lights with a pointed arch. There are two loop-lights to the turret stair, the lower one blocked with masonry.
The tower, with angle buttresses, rises in three stages, the second stage diminished by an offset and the third also, and from this point receding with deep corner splays from a square to an octagon surmounted by an octagonal spire, reduced before tapering upwards by a slightly curved splay. On each corner at its base is the figure of an angel holding a shield. The spire, which terminates in a vane representing a cock, is divided into three by two bands of billets. The ground-floor stage forms a west porch and the doorway, which is a later insertion, is an elaborate one of the late 12th century and probably came from the adjacent St. Mary's Abbey. It has a semicircular arch of three moulded orders with a label decorated with nail ornament. The outer order has a zigzag moulding, the inner a bead with birds' beaks, and the lower is fluted. This lower order is continued down the jambs and the upper two are supported on detached round shafts with scalloped capitals; no bases are visible above ground. The whole is set within a square framework of cable moulding and a band of diaper work, the spandrels being filled in with large circular paterae. Above is a modern two-light traceried window, with a pointed arch, which lights the porch. Above the first offset there are small trefoil lights with pointed arches on the north, south, and west sides, and below them are the clock faces. On the cardinal sides of the belfry there are two-light trefoil tracery windows with hood-mouldings having returned ends. Near the base of the spire small rectangular lights have been cut through the masonry. Above the first band of billets are canopied spire lights with trefoil heads on the cardinal faces. On the east wall are the lines of a very steeply pitched roof reaching to the apex of the belfry window.
The south aisle has four buttresses similar to the north side and an angle buttress at the south-west corner. The south wall is lighted by four modern twolight trefoil-traceried windows, and farther east by a large five-light traceried window contemporary with the arcade. At the eastern end is a narrow blocked opening with splayed head and jambs 2 ft. high by 6 in. wide, 3 ft. above ground level, and at the western end is a very narrow blocked vertical two-light opening with splayed head, jambs, and transom; each light is 1 ft. 7 in. high by 2 in. wide. In the west wall there are three blocked openings at different levels with splayed heads, jambs, and sills, probably to light a vestry with a room above.
The modern south transept of red sandstone carries on the coved eaves-course and plinth of the south aisle, with angle buttresses, and has a slated roof of a somewhat steeper pitch than the aisle roof. It is lighted by a two-light traceried window with a pointed arch on the west, and by a three-light window with a hoodmoulding in the south gable wall.
The south chapel, built at the same time, is similar in detail. It has two buttresses and an angle buttress, and is entered by a door in the centre with a pointed arch of two orders, the mouldings continuing to a splayed stop. In the east wall there is a three-light window with a pointed arch and hood-moulding. The east wall of the chancel, with two buttresses, is modern (1864) and the three-light window was inserted in 1867. The north wall has coved eaves-course and parapet similar to the nave, but at a lower level. There are three equally spaced two-light trefoil-traceried windows with hood-mouldings continued as a stringcourse, dating from the 16th century.
In the east wall of the north aisle there is a threelight window of poor workmanship, probably of the early 19th century. A modern vestry projecting from the east end of the north aisle is built of red sandstone with a slated roof and has its entrance in the west wall. It is lighted by three-light trefoil windows on the north and east sides.
The interior of the church is not imposing; the walls are plastered and much of the work is modern and of poor design. The chancel (38 ft. by 23 ft.) was drastically altered in 1864, when the flat ceiling was removed, the chancel lengthened, a pitched roof erected, south chapel, north and south transepts added, and a new chancel arch inserted. It has a floor of glazed tiles laid in 1879, with one step from the nave, two to the altar rails, and one to the altar. On the south side is the modern arcade of three moulded, pointed arches constructed of alternate courses of red and yellow sandstone, the arches being supported on octagonal pillars with foliated capitals and moulded bases. Built into the east bay about 1920 and facing the chancel are sedilia, which had been ejected from the church, probably in 1864. They are of late-14th-century work of rather crude design with three seats on one level, having ogee trefoil heads which die into a sunk splay. The sides and divisions are splayed, making the seats narrower at the back, and the divisions have slightly chamfered arrises. A modern elaborately moulded capping has been added. To the east of the sedilia there is a modern piscina with a cinquefoil ogee head, and crocketed label terminating in a poppy head and resting on bosses of male and female heads. The modern chancel arch has two splayed orders, with its floriated capitals cut away for the insertion of a carved oak screen in 1913. In the north-west corner there is a wide splay with evidence of a blocked doorway which probably gave access to a rood-loft. Just south of the chancel arch is a rectangular opening 1 ft. high by 8 in. wide, and 3 ft. above the floor, with splayed reveals on the chancel side and with chamfered head, jambs, and sill to the nave. The windows have splayed reveals and the internal arches follow the external. The altar table is a modern one constructed of oak, as are the altar rails. The modern roof consists of curved trusses supported on traceried brackets resting on moulded stone corbels and matchboarded on the backs of the rafters.
The nave (71 ft. 6 in. by 26 ft. 2 in.) has an arcade on the north side of four bays with pointed arches of two splayed orders supported on pillars with splays following the arches, with simple moulded capitals and bases of the mid 14th century. The eastern bay differs from the remainder, the arch being supported on inserted foliated capitals on modern short engaged trefoil shafts terminating on corbels, probably part of the alteration to form the north transept of 18645. This bay is now occupied by an organ and a passage to the vestry on the site of the 18645 north transept, of which little trace remains. The clearstory windows have flat heads, with slightly splayed reveals, the lintels chamfered on the lower edge. The aisle windows have square reveals and project beyond the wall-face, forming a splayed moulding supported on moulded corbels, the splay being carried up to mitre with a cornice having a corresponding splay at wall-plate level. The western end has a four-centred arch doorway from the north porch. In the north-west corner there is a splayed projection formed by the circular staircase to the tower. The tower arch is pointed, with three splayed orders which continue down the jambs and have no stops. The south arcade has five bays with arches of the same detail as the north, but supported on octagonal pillars with moulded capitals and bases typical of the beginning of the 15th century. The arch of the eastern bay, which leads into the modern south transept, is supported on modern corbels. None of the blocked openings mentioned on the exterior are visible under the wall plaster. The west bay is used as a baptistry. The font is circular, of light sandstone, and is dated 1614. The basin has a moulded rim with a running scallop at the top and bottom of the frieze, which has four small rosettes at intervals and the date. Around the tapering stem are eight small attached shafts resting on a plain circular drum moulded at the base. It has a modern carved oak cover. The nave and both aisles are paved with stone slabs, some of them inscribed
The base of the tower forms a west porch (12 ft. by 12 ft.). Painted on the north and south walls is a list of charities. The ceiling is formed by the underside of a modern pitch pine floor to the ringing chamber, the beams and joists are stop-chamfered. Between the ringing chamber and the belfry a modern floor has been inserted to house the clock works; the clock is dated 1865.
The nave roof is a modern one of the king-post type with moulded tie-beams, tracery brackets resting on moulded stone corbels, and matchboarded between the trusses. Both the aisle roofs are of the same period, matchboarded between moulded purlins.
The north porch (9 ft. by 9 ft.) originally had an upper floor, which has been removed, leaving the doorway to the turret stair high up in the wall and now reached by a flight of wooden steps. The door to the north aisle has a four-centred arch with a rather deep moulded splay continuing down the jambs and is without stops. The doorway to the turret stair has a fourcentred arch without mouldings, but is rebated for a door, now missing. The turret stair has been blocked at the level of the belfry, and below this point a passage has been roughly hacked through the thickness of the tower and turret walls to give access to the ringing chamber. The belfry is now reached by a ladder from the ringing chamber. The blocked opening on the west side is not visible on the inside.
The south transept (14 ft. 6 in. by 13 ft. 4 in.) has no features, the walls are plastered and the floor is of stone slabs. It has a roof similar to that of the south chapel.
The south chapel has one step from the transept and one to the altar. The walls are plastered and the floor is of wood block. The open roof is of pitch pine with curved braces and a circular collar-beam, slightly moulded.
The pulpit is of carved oak, dated 1911, and is placed on the north side of the chancel arch. The lectern is also of carved oak of about the same date and is placed on the south side of the chancel arch.
In the chancel is a large elm chest bound with plain iron bands and straps, probably of the early 17th century, and fitted with three drawers on each side, added in the 18th century, all locked with a single clasp. All the original locks are missing.
Against the step to the chancel is placed a large boatshaped lead casting, 4 ft. 4 in. long by 1 ft. 3 in. wide, dug up in the churchyard in 1888.
All the seating is modern varnished pitch pine put in in 18645, and the stained glass is all of 19th-century work. There are a number of mural tablets and memorials of little artistic merit, and none earlier than the 18th century.
In the churchwardens' accounts is a faculty from the Bishop of Lichfield for the erection of a gallery in the north aisle which was built in 1751, and another faculty for a gallery in the south aisle erected in 1760 (a late-18th-century print shows a row of dormer windows in the aisle roof, no doubt to light the gallery). Both these galleries were removed about 1850. In 1766 an agreement was made for reroofing the church, and in 1767 335 4s. was paid in cash and timber for the new roof. In 1693 an agreement was made with Charles Hewitt, a goldsmith of Coventry, for a new clock for the sum of 5 and the old clock. In 1700 repairs were made to the dial in the churchyard, and there still stands opposite the west door a stone column on two steps, with the matrix of a sundial on its cap.
The communion plate is of exceptional interest: it includes a silver-gilt cup of 1568, its cover having a ring handle, engraved with the bear and ragged staff, the badge of the Earl of Leicester. There is another large plain cup, of 1626, given by Elizabeth, Countess of Monmouth; but the chief feature is the remarkable set of silver-gilt plate given by Alice, Duchess Dudley. This, made in 1638, comprises a chalice of medieval form, a paten, a flagon engraved and embossed with floral patterns, and a ciborium in the form of a tazza with cover.
There are six bells, five recast by J. Taylor & Co. of Loughborough in 1875; the other is the sole survivor of five cast at Coventry by Brian Eldridge in 1656. The great bell described by Dugdale as brought from the Abbey and bearing the name of Prior Thomas Kidderminster [140339] was recast in 1734 by either Abraham Rudhall or Thomas Eayre, and again in 1875.
The registers begin in 1630.
The nave has a clearstory with six two-light and one single-light windows on each side, the single lights being at the western end. When the south aisle was formed the design and detail of the north side were followed. They are cinquefoil lights with square heads dating from early in the 15th century, surmounted by a plain parapet which rises from a coved string-course. The north aisle is lighted by three square-headed windows of three trefoiled lights with tracery composed of small circles. There are four buttresses, opposite the arcade pillars; they are small, in two stages with wide splayed bases, and terminate as stops to the coved eaves-course. The western end is occupied by a north porch with an angle buttress of the same design as in the aisle. The entrance doorway has a four-centred arch of three sunk splayed orders continued down the jambs to splayed stops. It has a moulded label with return ends. Centrally over the door is a quatrefoil light in a square splayed opening. On the west side is a similar doorway, blocked with masonry, and above this is a traceried window of two trefoil lights with a pointed arch. There are two loop-lights to the turret stair, the lower one blocked with masonry.
The tower, with angle buttresses, rises in three stages, the second stage diminished by an offset and the third also, and from this point receding with deep corner splays from a square to an octagon surmounted by an octagonal spire, reduced before tapering upwards by a slightly curved splay. On each corner at its base is the figure of an angel holding a shield. The spire, which terminates in a vane representing a cock, is divided into three by two bands of billets. The ground-floor stage forms a west porch and the doorway, which is a later insertion, is an elaborate one of the late 12th century and probably came from the adjacent St. Mary's Abbey. It has a semicircular arch of three moulded orders with a label decorated with nail ornament. The outer order has a zigzag moulding, the inner a bead with birds' beaks, and the lower is fluted. This lower order is continued down the jambs and the upper two are supported on detached round shafts with scalloped capitals; no bases are visible above ground. The whole is set within a square framework of cable moulding and a band of diaper work, the spandrels being filled in with large circular paterae. Above is a modern two-light traceried window, with a pointed arch, which lights the porch. Above the first offset there are small trefoil lights with pointed arches on the north, south, and west sides, and below them are the clock faces. On the cardinal sides of the belfry there are two-light trefoil tracery windows with hood-mouldings having returned ends. Near the base of the spire small rectangular lights have been cut through the masonry. Above the first band of billets are canopied spire lights with trefoil heads on the cardinal faces. On the east wall are the lines of a very steeply pitched roof reaching to the apex of the belfry window.
The south aisle has four buttresses similar to the north side and an angle buttress at the south-west corner. The south wall is lighted by four modern twolight trefoil-traceried windows, and farther east by a large five-light traceried window contemporary with the arcade. At the eastern end is a narrow blocked opening with splayed head and jambs 2 ft. high by 6 in. wide, 3 ft. above ground level, and at the western end is a very narrow blocked vertical two-light opening with splayed head, jambs, and transom; each light is 1 ft. 7 in. high by 2 in. wide. In the west wall there are three blocked openings at different levels with splayed heads, jambs, and sills, probably to light a vestry with a room above.
The modern south transept of red sandstone carries on the coved eaves-course and plinth of the south aisle, with angle buttresses, and has a slated roof of a somewhat steeper pitch than the aisle roof. It is lighted by a two-light traceried window with a pointed arch on the west, and by a three-light window with a hoodmoulding in the south gable wall.
The south chapel, built at the same time, is similar in detail. It has two buttresses and an angle buttress, and is entered by a door in the centre with a pointed arch of two orders, the mouldings continuing to a splayed stop. In the east wall there is a three-light window with a pointed arch and hood-moulding. The east wall of the chancel, with two buttresses, is modern (1864) and the three-light window was inserted in 1867. The north wall has coved eaves-course and parapet similar to the nave, but at a lower level. There are three equally spaced two-light trefoil-traceried windows with hood-mouldings continued as a stringcourse, dating from the 16th century.
In the east wall of the north aisle there is a threelight window of poor workmanship, probably of the early 19th century. A modern vestry projecting from the east end of the north aisle is built of red sandstone with a slated roof and has its entrance in the west wall. It is lighted by three-light trefoil windows on the north and east sides.
The interior of the church is not imposing; the walls are plastered and much of the work is modern and of poor design. The chancel (38 ft. by 23 ft.) was drastically altered in 1864, when the flat ceiling was removed, the chancel lengthened, a pitched roof erected, south chapel, north and south transepts added, and a new chancel arch inserted. It has a floor of glazed tiles laid in 1879, with one step from the nave, two to the altar rails, and one to the altar. On the south side is the modern arcade of three moulded, pointed arches constructed of alternate courses of red and yellow sandstone, the arches being supported on octagonal pillars with foliated capitals and moulded bases. Built into the east bay about 1920 and facing the chancel are sedilia, which had been ejected from the church, probably in 1864. They are of late-14th-century work of rather crude design with three seats on one level, having ogee trefoil heads which die into a sunk splay. The sides and divisions are splayed, making the seats narrower at the back, and the divisions have slightly chamfered arrises. A modern elaborately moulded capping has been added. To the east of the sedilia there is a modern piscina with a cinquefoil ogee head, and crocketed label terminating in a poppy head and resting on bosses of male and female heads. The modern chancel arch has two splayed orders, with its floriated capitals cut away for the insertion of a carved oak screen in 1913. In the north-west corner there is a wide splay with evidence of a blocked doorway which probably gave access to a rood-loft. Just south of the chancel arch is a rectangular opening 1 ft. high by 8 in. wide, and 3 ft. above the floor, with splayed reveals on the chancel side and with chamfered head, jambs, and sill to the nave. The windows have splayed reveals and the internal arches follow the external. The altar table is a modern one constructed of oak, as are the altar rails. The modern roof consists of curved trusses supported on traceried brackets resting on moulded stone corbels and matchboarded on the backs of the rafters.
The nave (71 ft. 6 in. by 26 ft. 2 in.) has an arcade on the north side of four bays with pointed arches of two splayed orders supported on pillars with splays following the arches, with simple moulded capitals and bases of the mid 14th century. The eastern bay differs from the remainder, the arch being supported on inserted foliated capitals on modern short engaged trefoil shafts terminating on corbels, probably part of the alteration to form the north transept of 18645. This bay is now occupied by an organ and a passage to the vestry on the site of the 18645 north transept, of which little trace remains. The clearstory windows have flat heads, with slightly splayed reveals, the lintels chamfered on the lower edge. The aisle windows have square reveals and project beyond the wall-face, forming a splayed moulding supported on moulded corbels, the splay being carried up to mitre with a cornice having a corresponding splay at wall-plate level. The western end has a four-centred arch doorway from the north porch. In the north-west corner there is a splayed projection formed by the circular staircase to the tower. The tower arch is pointed, with three splayed orders which continue down the jambs and have no stops. The south arcade has five bays with arches of the same detail as the north, but supported on octagonal pillars with moulded capitals and bases typical of the beginning of the 15th century. The arch of the eastern bay, which leads into the modern south transept, is supported on modern corbels. None of the blocked openings mentioned on the exterior are visible under the wall plaster. The west bay is used as a baptistry. The font is circular, of light sandstone, and is dated 1614. The basin has a moulded rim with a running scallop at the top and bottom of the frieze, which has four small rosettes at intervals and the date. Around the tapering stem are eight small attached shafts resting on a plain circular drum moulded at the base. It has a modern carved oak cover. The nave and both aisles are paved with stone slabs, some of them inscribed
The base of the tower forms a west porch (12 ft. by 12 ft.). Painted on the north and south walls is a list of charities. The ceiling is formed by the underside of a modern pitch pine floor to the ringing chamber, the beams and joists are stop-chamfered. Between the ringing chamber and the belfry a modern floor has been inserted to house the clock works; the clock is dated 1865.
The nave roof is a modern one of the king-post type with moulded tie-beams, tracery brackets resting on moulded stone corbels, and matchboarded between the trusses. Both the aisle roofs are of the same period, matchboarded between moulded purlins.
The north porch (9 ft. by 9 ft.) originally had an upper floor, which has been removed, leaving the doorway to the turret stair high up in the wall and now reached by a flight of wooden steps. The door to the north aisle has a four-centred arch with a rather deep moulded splay continuing down the jambs and is without stops. The doorway to the turret stair has a fourcentred arch without mouldings, but is rebated for a door, now missing. The turret stair has been blocked at the level of the belfry, and below this point a passage has been roughly hacked through the thickness of the tower and turret walls to give access to the ringing chamber. The belfry is now reached by a ladder from the ringing chamber. The blocked opening on the west side is not visible on the inside.
The south transept (14 ft. 6 in. by 13 ft. 4 in.) has no features, the walls are plastered and the floor is of stone slabs. It has a roof similar to that of the south chapel.
The south chapel has one step from the transept and one to the altar. The walls are plastered and the floor is of wood block. The open roof is of pitch pine with curved braces and a circular collar-beam, slightly moulded.
The pulpit is of carved oak, dated 1911, and is placed on the north side of the chancel arch. The lectern is also of carved oak of about the same date and is placed on the south side of the chancel arch.
In the chancel is a large elm chest bound with plain iron bands and straps, probably of the early 17th century, and fitted with three drawers on each side, added in the 18th century, all locked with a single clasp. All the original locks are missing.
Against the step to the chancel is placed a large boatshaped lead casting, 4 ft. 4 in. long by 1 ft. 3 in. wide, dug up in the churchyard in 1888.
All the seating is modern varnished pitch pine put in in 18645, and the stained glass is all of 19th-century work. There are a number of mural tablets and memorials of little artistic merit, and none earlier than the 18th century.
In the churchwardens' accounts is a faculty from the Bishop of Lichfield for the erection of a gallery in the north aisle which was built in 1751, and another faculty for a gallery in the south aisle erected in 1760 (a late-18th-century print shows a row of dormer windows in the aisle roof, no doubt to light the gallery). Both these galleries were removed about 1850. In 1766 an agreement was made for reroofing the church, and in 1767 335 4s. was paid in cash and timber for the new roof. In 1693 an agreement was made with Charles Hewitt, a goldsmith of Coventry, for a new clock for the sum of 5 and the old clock. In 1700 repairs were made to the dial in the churchyard, and there still stands opposite the west door a stone column on two steps, with the matrix of a sundial on its cap.
The communion plate is of exceptional interest: it includes a silver-gilt cup of 1568, its cover having a ring handle, engraved with the bear and ragged staff, the badge of the Earl of Leicester. There is another large plain cup, of 1626, given by Elizabeth, Countess of Monmouth; but the chief feature is the remarkable set of silver-gilt plate given by Alice, Duchess Dudley. This, made in 1638, comprises a chalice of medieval form, a paten, a flagon engraved and embossed with floral patterns, and a ciborium in the form of a tazza with cover.
There are six bells, five recast by J. Taylor & Co. of Loughborough in 1875; the other is the sole survivor of five cast at Coventry by Brian Eldridge in 1656. The great bell described by Dugdale as brought from the Abbey and bearing the name of Prior Thomas Kidderminster [140339] was recast in 1734 by either Abraham Rudhall or Thomas Eayre, and again in 1875.
The registers begin in 1630.
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423 m
Virgins and Castle, Kenilworth
Highlight • Historical Site
The Virgins and Castle can lay claim to being Kenilworth’s oldest pub, possibly past its 440th year, and in June 1760 when its ownership passed to one John Brown it was known, as it had been from its earliest record, as The Two Virgins and was described as having “..a barn, stable, brew house, gardens and backside.” Upon Brown’s death, the inn passed to his brother-in-law John Ball, and later to William Ball; the Ball family were from Aston. In early 1825 the inn was in a poor condition - “The whole of the premises (are) in a very ruinous state for want of repair.” The following month, Ball received £400 from his brother in law, but it is not clear if this was for a mortgage or repairs.
By 10th October 1826, Abel Miles had become the licensee and on Boxing Day that same year he married Kenilworth girl Sarah Lenton at St.Phillips Church in Birmingham. This was an expensive Christmas for Miles as four days previously he had spent £290 on household furniture and brewing equipment, a very large sum considering a good weekly wage was then under £1. The following year, with the pub now in a better state of repair and with a new licensee in place, the name was changed to The Castle Tavern, and in January 1831 ownership of the inn was conveyed from William Ball to Abel Miles.
Miles had a degree of financial success. During his time at The Castle Tavern he bought five nearby cottages which were alongside The Vicarage, two cottages in Albion Row(Street) and a two acre field with a trackway leading from it to Pipers Lane (part of Whitemoor Road).
By the 1850’s Abel Miles’s health was failing, and on 3rd September 1851 he let The Castle Tavern on a seven-year lease to Thomas Pettifor who was married to Abel’s niece, Keren. Just five days later Abel died aged 52, and remarkably his wife Sarah outlived him by only twelve days; she was 55. Abel and Sarah lie together in St.Nicholas churchyard, beneath one of the sepulchral slabs unearthed from the Abbey ruins.
Under the terms of his will, Abel Miles’s property came up for auction on 11th May 1852, but during those few months Thomas Pettifor had also died, leaving his widow Keren as licensee. Her auction bid of £700 was successful. It is the documentation concerning the death of Abel Miles, and Keren’s successful bid, that contains the details confirming The Two Virgins and The Castle Tavern were the same premises. There are several documents containing the phrase “Castle Tavern (or Two Virgins)”, and an Abstract of Title stating “Castle Tavern, formerly the Two Virgins.” The auction poster itself refers to it as “The Virgins Inn and Castle Tavern” and so it would appear that it was the Pettifors between September 1851 and May 1852 who decided to amalgamate the two names. The conveyance to Keren Pettifor reverses the name to “Castle Tavern and Two Virgins” and a number of variations have been used over the years. Today it is simply The Virgins and Castle.
By 10th October 1826, Abel Miles had become the licensee and on Boxing Day that same year he married Kenilworth girl Sarah Lenton at St.Phillips Church in Birmingham. This was an expensive Christmas for Miles as four days previously he had spent £290 on household furniture and brewing equipment, a very large sum considering a good weekly wage was then under £1. The following year, with the pub now in a better state of repair and with a new licensee in place, the name was changed to The Castle Tavern, and in January 1831 ownership of the inn was conveyed from William Ball to Abel Miles.
Miles had a degree of financial success. During his time at The Castle Tavern he bought five nearby cottages which were alongside The Vicarage, two cottages in Albion Row(Street) and a two acre field with a trackway leading from it to Pipers Lane (part of Whitemoor Road).
By the 1850’s Abel Miles’s health was failing, and on 3rd September 1851 he let The Castle Tavern on a seven-year lease to Thomas Pettifor who was married to Abel’s niece, Keren. Just five days later Abel died aged 52, and remarkably his wife Sarah outlived him by only twelve days; she was 55. Abel and Sarah lie together in St.Nicholas churchyard, beneath one of the sepulchral slabs unearthed from the Abbey ruins.
Under the terms of his will, Abel Miles’s property came up for auction on 11th May 1852, but during those few months Thomas Pettifor had also died, leaving his widow Keren as licensee. Her auction bid of £700 was successful. It is the documentation concerning the death of Abel Miles, and Keren’s successful bid, that contains the details confirming The Two Virgins and The Castle Tavern were the same premises. There are several documents containing the phrase “Castle Tavern (or Two Virgins)”, and an Abstract of Title stating “Castle Tavern, formerly the Two Virgins.” The auction poster itself refers to it as “The Virgins Inn and Castle Tavern” and so it would appear that it was the Pettifors between September 1851 and May 1852 who decided to amalgamate the two names. The conveyance to Keren Pettifor reverses the name to “Castle Tavern and Two Virgins” and a number of variations have been used over the years. Today it is simply The Virgins and Castle.
Tip by
3
2.80 km
Kenilworth Greenway
Highlight • Trail
Kenilworth Greenway is a former railway line, now a 6.5km multi-user path, which runs between Kenilworth and Berkswell through scenic countryside. Some of the Greenway is due to be removed by HS2, but diversions are in place.
Tip by
4
3.51 km
Bat Roost
Highlight • Structure
Old structure converted into a potential home for bat's and also explaining the plight of these enigmatic creatures.
Tip by
5
4.29 km
Kenilworth Sandstone Railway Cutting
Highlight • Natural
Kenilworth Sandstone exposed in Kenilworth old railway cutting
Warwickshire Museum. Situated at the eastern end of the Kenilworth Greenway, the cycle and pedestrian path that runs south-east of the new Coventry Road bridge passes through a disused railway cutting, excavated partly through the local natural bedrock. This can seen in the banks adjacent to the path and consists of thick beds of red sandstone. This is the so-called Kenilworth Sandstone, dating back roughly 280 million years to the Permian Period.
The sandstone originated as river sand, deposited on river floodplains at a time when what is now Warwickshire was much closer to the equator, and enjoyed a hot, semi-arid climate. The Kenilworth Sandstone was once quarried locally for building stone, and can be seen in many of the older buildings in and around the town. Kenilworth Castle is undoubtedly the best known example.
Warwickshire Museum. Situated at the eastern end of the Kenilworth Greenway, the cycle and pedestrian path that runs south-east of the new Coventry Road bridge passes through a disused railway cutting, excavated partly through the local natural bedrock. This can seen in the banks adjacent to the path and consists of thick beds of red sandstone. This is the so-called Kenilworth Sandstone, dating back roughly 280 million years to the Permian Period.
The sandstone originated as river sand, deposited on river floodplains at a time when what is now Warwickshire was much closer to the equator, and enjoyed a hot, semi-arid climate. The Kenilworth Sandstone was once quarried locally for building stone, and can be seen in many of the older buildings in and around the town. Kenilworth Castle is undoubtedly the best known example.
Tip by
4.66 km
Kenilworth Common
Nature Reserve
7
4.99 km
Kenilworth Common Local Nature Reserve
Highlight • Forest
You don't ride through it but the kids enjoy splashing around...
Tip by
B
6.07 km
End point
Bus stop
Way Types & Surfaces
Way Types
2.38 km
1.44 km
1.13 km
680 m
276 m
144 m
Surfaces
4.26 km
1.52 km
126 m
< 100 m
< 100 m
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Elevation
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Wednesday 8 July
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16°C
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