The Ripples of History

Despite what you might expect, Warwick Walking Tours is about far more than Warwick’s history. Rather, it is through the overlooked and hidden parts of the town centre that we can spot historical patterns and events that impacted the whole country.

It may seem ambitious to tell the story of national history through a relatively small midlands settlement, but Warwick’s appearance reveals far more than initially meets the eye. A key example is found in Warwick’s inconsistent architecture. While some building sport characterful, irregular beams and thatched roofs, others stand taller and stronger with a distinctly modern façade.

This division can be explained by the Great Fire of Warwick which ravaged the town centre in September of 1694. It was estimated at the time that the fire destroyed 157 buildings in total, giving politicians and local authorities reason to reflect on the fire’s causes.

The truth is that fires in town centres were very common at the time. The most notorious comparison is the Great Fire of London which occurred some thirty years beforehand in 1666. The ripples of this historical similarity reveal themselves in the causes of the fire. Both fires wreaked so much havoc because of a combination of increasingly high population density in town centres, and highly flammable building materials.

The thatched roofs and timber frames of buildings - often constructed with the typical overhang (see below) - made the buildings nearly impossible to extinguish once properly alight. The use of exposed flames as light sources and the relative non-existence of any fire brigade further exacerbated the conflagrations.

Book a tour to find out why buildings were designed with this characteristic overhang in the first place. It’s probably not the answer you expect!