Gentian
21-01-2009, 09:26 PM
These are photographs I took today when we visited Kenilworth and thought you might enjoy this as the first of our Heritage threads. The last one is a painting I found on line.
An old hamlet called Little Virginia is situated close to the castle in Kenilworth. It originally consisted of 15 cottages housing, it was thought the masons and builders employed by Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester for work on the castle. They were most needed in 1575 when Elizabeth 1st visited for 19 days.
It is called Little Virginia because it is thought the first potatoes brought back from The New World by Sir Walter Raleigh, a favourite of Elizabeth, were planted there.
These cottages had fallen into disrepair and declared derelict in 1973, following which a plan of restoration was put in place, resulting in the return of this beautiful hamlet to its original condition.
An old hamlet called Little Virginia is situated close to the castle in Kenilworth. It originally consisted of 15 cottages housing, it was thought the masons and builders employed by Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester for work on the castle. They were most needed in 1575 when Elizabeth 1st visited for 19 days.
It is called Little Virginia because it is thought the first potatoes brought back from The New World by Sir Walter Raleigh, a favourite of Elizabeth, were planted there.
These cottages had fallen into disrepair and declared derelict in 1973, following which a plan of restoration was put in place, resulting in the return of this beautiful hamlet to its original condition.