The Lord Leycester

Over 700 years ago, the United Guilds of Warwick built their headquarters consisting of a meeting room, banqueting hall, mansion for the Master of the Guilds, storage rooms and lodgings for travellers. The Guildsmen built this splendid example of medieval half-timbered buildings with trees felled in the 1200’s from forests across England. Today, the site survives intact and tops the list of most complete and important medieval buildings in the British Isles.

The buildings are extraordinary, but what makes them unique is the enduring communities that have lived within the walls since the 1300’s. First came the Guilds, and then the Earl of Leicester, Robert Dudley, who was a favourite of Elizabeth I. Dudley founded the Lord Leycester Hospital in 1571 – a philanthropic community of a Master and twelve Brethren. Coming from the ranks of soldiers injured in Tudor wars, the Brethren were deserving recipients of Dudley’s philanthropy.

Today, the Master and Brethren still live in the community of the Lord Leycester established by Robert Dudley. Within the honey-coloured half-timbered walls it is as if time stood still. The Master and Brethren still wear Tudor livery and adhere to an ancient way of life. The Royal Hospital Chelsea, with its in-pensioners in their scarlet coloured livery are famous worldwide – The Lord Leycester is a much older, quieter and smaller forerunner of this most English of institutions. However, both have stood the test of time and still provide a place of sanctuary for those who have sacrificed to serve their country.

Buildings that are over 700-years-old need repair and restoration from time to time. Over the years, the site has seen several restorations, firstly in the 1800’s and again in the 1950’s. In 2017, a third major capital works project was launched to repair and improve The Lord Leycester. With over £5m of funding from major grant makers including the National Heritage Lottery Fund, The Lord Leycester has restored the fabric of the building and greatly enhanced the visitor experience. Accessibility has been improved across the medieval site and the exhibition spaces have been modernised to showcase the Lord Leycester’s rich history like never before.