Editing Kenilworth (section)

==History==
===Medieval and Tudor===
[[File:Kenilworth Castle gatehouse landscape.jpg|left|thumb|Kenilworth Castle]]
[[File:Ancient gate house kenilworth 9l07.JPG|left|thumb|The ruins of the gatehouse of [[Kenilworth Abbey]]]]
A settlement existed at Kenilworth by the time of the 1086 [[Domesday Book]], which records it as ''Chinewrde''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Warwickshire G-P |url=http://www.domesdaybook.co.uk/warwickshire2.html |publisher=The Domesday Book Online |access-date=8 September 2021}}</ref>

[[Geoffrey de Clinton]] (died 1134) initiated the building of an [[Kenilworth Abbey|Augustinian priory]] in 1122,{{sfn |Salzman |1951 |pp=132–143}} which coincided with his initiation of [[Kenilworth Castle]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/kenilworth-castle |title=Kenilworth Castle and Elizabethan Gardens|publisher= English Heritage |accessdate= 10 November 2018}}</ref> The priory was raised to the rank of an [[abbey]] in 1450{{sfn |Salzman |1951 |pp=132–143}} and suppressed with the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries]] in the 1530s. Thereafter, the [[St Mary's Abbey, Kenilworth|abbey grounds]] next to the castle were made [[common land]] in exchange for what [[Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester]] used to enlarge the castle. Only a few walls and a storage barn of the original abbey survive.

[[File:Kenilworth Abbey Fields.jpg|thumb|255px|[[Abbey Fields]]]]
During the [[Middle Ages]], Kenilworth played a significant role in the history of England: Between June and December 1266, as part of the [[Second Barons' War]], Kenilworth Castle underwent [[Siege of Kenilworth|a six-month siege]], when baronial forces allied to [[Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester|Simon de Montfort]], were besieged in the castle by the Royalist forces led by [[Edward I of England|Prince Edward]], this is thought to be the longest [[siege]] in Medieval English history. Despite numerous efforts at taking the castle, its defences proved impregnable. Whilst the siege was ongoing [[Henry III of England|King Henry III]] held a Parliament at Kenilworth in August that year, which resulted in the [[Dictum of Kenilworth]]; a conciliatory document which set out peace terms to end the conflict between the barons and the monarchy. The barons initially refused to accept, but hunger and disease eventually forced them to surrender, and accept the terms of the Dictum.<ref name="VKKH">{{cite web |title=Getting to know Kenilworth's History! |date=10 June 2021 |url=https://visit.kenilworthweb.co.uk/getting-to-know-kenilworths-history/ |publisher=Visit Kenilworth |access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Siege of Kenilworth |url=https://www.ourwarwickshire.org.uk/content/article/the-siege-of-kenilworth |publisher=Our Warwickshire |access-date=8 September 2021}}</ref>

During the [[Wars of the Roses]] in the 15th century, Kenilworth Castle served as an important [[House of Lancaster|Lancastrian]] base in the Midlands: The Lancastrian King [[Henry VI of England|Henry VI]] and his wife, [[Margaret of Anjou]] spent much time here.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kenilworth Castle: Chapter 4 : Lancastrian Stronghold |url=https://tudortimes.co.uk/places/kenilworth-castle/lancastrian-stronghold |publisher=Tudor Times |access-date=13 September 2021}}</ref>

[[File:Kenilworth StNicholas southwest.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[St Nicholas' Church, Kenilworth|parish church of St Nicholas]], where [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth I]] worshipped in 1575 and [[James VI and I|James I]] visited in 1616]]
[[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth I]] visited [[Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester]] at Kenilworth Castle several times, the last in 1575. Dudley entertained the Queen with pageants and banquets costing some £1,000 per day that surpassed anything seen in England before.<ref>[http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-masques.htm Information about Elizabethan masques] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071021033351/http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-masques.htm |date=21 October 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cris.com/~Oakapple/gasdisc/sullchoral.htm#kenilworth |last=Shepherd |first=Marc |work=Gilbert & Sullivan Discography |title=Kenilworth (1864) |date=24 December 2003 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080625050032/http://www.cris.com/~oakapple/gasdisc/sullchoral.htm#kenilworth |archive-date=25 June 2008 }}</ref> These included fireworks.<ref name=Langham>{{cite book |last=Langham |first=Robert |title=[[Langham letter]] |year=1580}}</ref>

Near the castle there is a group of thatched cottages called 'Little Virginia': According to local legend they gained this name because the first [[potato]]es brought to England by Sir [[Walter Raleigh]] from the [[New World]] were planted and grown here in the 16th century. Modern historians however consider this unlikely, and have suggested that the name may have originated from early colonists to America returning to England from [[Virginia]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Raleigh's Potato Patch |url=https://www.victoriankenilworth.co.uk/index.php/raleighs-potato-patch |publisher=Victorian kenilworth |access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Little Virginia in Kenilworth |url=https://www.ourwarwickshire.org.uk/content/article/little-virginia-kenilworth |publisher=Our Warwickshire |access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref>

===17th and 18th centuries===
During the [[English Civil War]], Kenilworth Castle, was occupied by [[Roundhead|Parliamentarians]], after the [[Cavalier|Royalist]] garrison was withdrawn. After the end of the war, the castle's defences were [[Slighting|slighted]] on the orders of Parliament in 1649, after which the castle became a ruin.<ref name="VKKH"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Kenilworth Castle: Phase 3 |url=https://www.ourwarwickshire.org.uk/content/catalogue_her/kenilworth-castle-phase-3 |publisher=Our Warwickshire |access-date=8 September 2021}}</ref>

In 1778 [[The Water Tower, Kenilworth|Kenilworth windmill]] was built. In 1884, it was converted into a [[water tower]], by the addition of a large water tank on the top of the tower in the place of the sails. It continued to be the town's main water supply until 1939, and finally became disused in 1960. It is still a local landmark, but is now a private home.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kenilworth Windmill |url=https://www.ourwarwickshire.org.uk/content/article/kenilworth-windmill-2 |publisher=Our Warwickshire |access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref>

===19th century to present===
With the demise of the defensive role of the castle, Kenilworth had ceased to be a place of national significance, but [[Walter Scott|Sir Walter Scott]]'s 1821 novel ''[[Kenilworth (novel)|Kenilworth]]'' brought it back to public attention, and helped establish the ruins of the castle as a major tourist attraction.<ref name="VKKH"/><ref name="KTCHOK">{{cite web |title=History of Kenilworthl |url=http://www.kenilworthtowncouncil.co.uk/history_of_kenilworth/4559464915/index.html |publisher=Kenilworth Town Council |access-date=11 September 2021}}</ref>

In the early 19th century Kenilworth was known for its horn [[comb]] making industry, which peaked in the 1830s.<ref name="VKKH"/><ref name="BHOLken"/>

Kenilworth was revolutionised by the arrival of the [[railway]] to the town in 1844, when the [[London and Birmingham Railway]] opened the [[Coventry to Leamington Line]], including [[Kenilworth railway station]]. The station was rebuilt in 1884 and a new link line was opened between Kenilworth and {{rws|Berkswell}} to bypass {{rws|Coventry}}. This closed to all traffic on 3 March 1969.<ref>[http://warwickshirerailways.com/lms/kenilworthjunction.htm Warwickshire Railways – Kenilworth Junction]''Warwickshire Railways'' website article; Retrieved 3 September 2013</ref> The railway station was located to the south of the [[Finham Brook]] valley, and this caused the focus of settlement at Kenilworth to move south, away from the castle, and nearer to the railway station. Industrialists from [[Birmingham]] and [[Coventry]] arrived, developing the area around the town's railway station with residential and commercial buildings. In the 19th century Kenilworth had some fine large [[mansion]]s with landscaped gardens; these were demolished after the [[World War I|First World War]] and [[World War II|Second World War]] to make way for housing developments. The railway also brought a number of new industries to Kenilworth, such as [[Tanning (leather)|tanning]], [[brick]] making, and chemicals, and also caused substantial growth in Kenilworth's [[market gardening]], which became known for producing crops such as tomatoes and strawberries.<ref name="KTCHOK"/><ref name="BHOLken"/>

[[File:Kenilworth St Johns - panoramio.jpg|thumb|Parish church of St John the Evangelist]]
The town's growth occasioned the addition of a second [[Church of England parish church]], St John's, which is on Warwick Road in Knights Meadow. It was designed by [[Ewan Christian]] and built in 1851–1852 as a [[Gothic Revival architecture|Gothic Revival]] building with a south-west [[bell tower]] and [[broach spire]].{{sfn |Pevsner |Wedgwood |1966 |p=319}} By the 1870s Kenilworth's population had exceeded 4,000.<ref name="KTCHOK"/>

[[File:Albion Street Kenilworth Antique Image Photograph Albion Tavern C. Brewer.jpg|thumb|right|Photograph of Albion Street & Albion Tavern]]
In 1869, local [[whitesmith]] and engineer [[Edward Langley Fardon]] demonstrated the first bicycle with [[Wire wheel|wire-spoked wheels]] and rubber tyres, riding from Warwick Road to [[Leek Wootton]].<ref name="Harringman">{{cite book| last = Harringman, Harmer & Harmer| title = The Fardons of Gloucestershire| publisher = Self published| year = 2018| pages = 43–45}}</ref>

During [[The Blitz]] in [[World War II]] on the night of 21 November 1940, a German aircraft dropped two [[parachute mine]]s on Kenilworth; the large explosions in the Abbey End area demolished a number of buildings, killing 25 people, and injuring 70 more. The bomb damaged area of the town was redeveloped in the 1960s.<ref>{{cite web |title=The war comes to Kenilworth |url=https://www.victoriankenilworth.co.uk/index.php/the-war-comes-to-kenilworth |publisher=Victorian Kenilworth |access-date=7 September 2021 |archive-date=7 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210907191420/https://www.victoriankenilworth.co.uk/index.php/the-war-comes-to-kenilworth |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="VKKH"/>

In May 1961, the Kenilworth Society was formed over concerns about protecting a group of 17th-century listed cottages adjacent to Finham Brook in Bridge Street.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thekenilworthsociety.co.uk/ |title=The Kenilworth Society |access-date=28 May 2012}}</ref> The Society sets out to promote awareness of Kenilworth's character and encourage its preservation.

[[British Rail]] withdrew passenger services from the Coventry to Leamington Line and closed Kenilworth Station in January 1965 in line with ''[[Beeching Axe|The Reshaping of British Railways]]'' report. In May 1977, British Rail reinstated passenger services, but did not reopen Kenilworth station, which became derelict and was eventually demolished. In 2011 Warwick Council granted [[John Laing plc]] planning permission to build a new station,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://planning.warwickshire.gov.uk/swiftlg/apas/run/WPHAPPDETAIL.DisplayUrl?theApnID=WDC/10CC067 |title= Planning Application WDC/10CC067 |publisher=[[Warwickshire County Council]] |access-date=14 September 2011}}</ref> It finally reopened in 2018.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/green-light-for-kenilworth-station |publisher=[[Department for Transport]] |title=Green light for Kenilworth station |work=Press release |date=12 December 2013 |access-date=13 December 2013}}</ref>

In the early 1980s, the town's name was used by one of the first generation of computer retailers, a company called Kenilworth Computers based near the Clock Tower, for its repackaging of the [[Nascom]] microcomputer, with the selling point that it was robust enough to be used by agriculture.<ref>http://www.nascomhomepage.com/pdf/Kenilworth_case.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref>

Kenilworth was struck by [[1981 United Kingdom tornado outbreak|an F0/T1 tornado]] on 23 November 1981, as part of the record-breaking nationwide outbreak on that day.<ref>[http://www.eswd.eu/cgi-bin/eswd.cgi European Severe Weather Dabase Retrieved 10 November 2018.]</ref>