Ceremony for redeveloped historic Warwick site

Warwick mayor Richard Eddy cutting the ribbon at Jury Place. Photo submitted.

A ribbon cutting ceremony recently took place to mark a historic site in Warwick being redeveloped.

In December Warwick Mayor Richard Eddy cut the ribbon for the homes that have been created inside the former Lord Leycester Hotel in High Street.

The site, which is now called Jury Place, was completed in June 2018 and features nine apartments and nine town houses.

The conversion of the former Lord Leycester Hotel into homes was carried out to preserve the historic character of the listed building inside and outside.

It was completed earlier in 2018 by Leamington-based TAG Properties.

The site dates back to the late 1500s. Jury Street House, as the building was then called, belonged to the Ward of Barford, a wealthy Elizabethan merchant.

It is said that the 18 inch-thick stone walls saved the neighbouring half-timbered buildings in Jury Street from burning down in the Great Fire of Warwick in 1694.

The house remained in private hands for many years, but there are markings on the stone wall, of which it is thought that ‘Knights of Old’ used the soft stone to sharpen their swords as they passed, creating an indent over the years.

The stone which is thought to have been used by knights to sharpen their swords. Photo submitted.

A date, 1788, is inscribed above it.

In the Second World War, and although the building was by then well established as the Lord Leycester Hotel, it still served military needs. It was requisitioned by the Ministry of Production and handed over to the US army, with part used as an officers’ mess.

After the war, the hotel remained a popular local landmark before its purchase for redevelopment in 2014.

At the ceremony, the Mayor welcomed particularly the conservation of the old entrance and hall, which he said maintained the unique character of this historic building and the centre of Warwick.