Warwick Castle unlocks four rooms that have remained closed for generations to reveal secrets and stories across four centuries of the Castle’s past. The four ancient rooms – Barbican Battlements & Captain’s Room; Bear Tower; Watergate Room; and The Guards’ Room in Guy’s Tower - unlock defining chapters in the Warwick Castle story to reveal tales of battle, siege, murder, power struggles and hauntings.

Barbican Battlements – The Fourteenth Century

Take a deep breath. See and smell this ancient room - never before open to visitors - readied for mediaeval battle. Built in the reign of Edward III to protect the entrance to the Castle, the Barbican Battlements over the Portcullis include deadly murder holes through which boiling tar and human waste were poured on attacking forces.

Bear Tower – The Fifteenth Century

The county of Warwickshire and the heraldic crest of the Earls of Warwick are represented by a Bear and Ragged Staff, symbols whose history can be traced back to Warwick Castle including the keeping of a bear here in the fifteenth century. In heraldry, a bear represents courage – but who will be brave enough to venture into the never-seen-before Tower with its recently unearthed bear pit?

Watergate Tower – The Sixteenth Century

Reputedly haunted by the ghost of Sir Fulke Greville - playwright, poet, Member of Parliament and victim of a gruesome murder - the Watergate Tower tells the tale of a notable life brought short by a disloyal, dagger-wielding servant. Fulke’s restless spirit is said to roam the tower – just one reason few people in living memory have ventured inside.

Guards’ Room – The Seventeenth Century

In 1642, during the Civil War, Warwick Castle - a stronghold for Parliamentary forces under its owner, Robert Greville - was besieged by Royalists stationed at St Mary’s Church in Warwick. This Guards’ Room at the top of Guy’s Tower was remodelled to fire cannons rather than arrows: discover the musty, smoky living conditions endured by the guards as they await attack and bore the ultimately futile siege.