Mayor of Kenilworth visits the Abbey Museum - find out more about the museum over the bank holiday

On Sunday 28 April, Mayor of Kenilworth Cllr Alix Dearing visited the Kenilworth Abbey Museum.

The museum stands at a corner of the ruins of the Abbey of St Mary, adjacent to the children’s play park in Abbey Fields in Kenilworth.

Cllr Dearing received a tour of the museum and met members of the Kenilworth History and Archaeology Society.

On the subject of her visit, the mayor said that: "All of the displays in the Kenilworth Abbey Museum are fascinating. They are accessible, inclusively aimed to engage anyone with an interest in our wonderful heritage whether they are a committed historian or have a casual curiosity about our past.

"The museum is definitely worth a visit for anyone who wants to discover more about the history of the local area!"

Tony Shakespeare, elected chairman of the Kenilworth History and Archaeology Society (KHAS) earlier this year, said of the visit: “We were delighted to welcome the Mayor of Kenilworth, Alix Dearing, to our museum, which KHAS has run, for the benefit of our local community, for over 40 years.”

While the story of Kenilworth Abbey is an important part of the Abbey Museum, its displays touch on all aspects of Kenilworth’s history, from the Bronze Age to the present day.

Tony added: "The museum hosts displays on the life of those who lived in Kenilworth Abbey but also on the history of the town more broadly, including its industries, its places and, above all, its people.

"We love it when visitors share their own stories with our friendly volunteers," he added.

The Abbey Museum opens from 2:30-4:30pm every Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday between Easter and the end of September.

Additionally, the museum is open on some Heritage Open Days when free tours of the abbey ruins are also offered.

Entrance to the museum is free to both residents and visitors to Kenilworth and any donations are most gratefully accepted.

"Visitors can learn more about local archaeology and history or browse through the thought-provoking museum displays and perhaps reminisce about how life in Kenilworth once was’, Tony said. "It is a great place to explore on a Sunday afternoon."

The museum building was once part of the Kenilworth Abbey. Jan Cooper, the chairman of the Kenilworth History and Archaeology Society from 2009 – 2024 said: ‘The 14th century building in which the museum is housed is one of only two buildings from the Abbey complex – the other being the gatehouse – which remain substantially above ground."

The Priory (later Abbey) was founded around the same time as Kenilworth Castle in the first quarter of the 12th century and served as a working monastery for over 400 years before it fell victim to Henry VIII’s Reformation in the early 1530s when every monastic house in the country was forced to close.

Mrs Cooper added: "The Abbey Museum helps to show people what was once here and what life would have been like for the Canons who lived in the abbey and formed a key part of the local community.

"It is a great asset which showcases the rich heritage of the historic area of Kenilworth to both residents and visitors to the town."

The history of Kenilworth is wonderfully deep and encompasses the national and the local.

Kenilworth was the backdrop to many of the key events in English history, including the forced abdication of Edward II, the longest siege in English medieval history and Elizabeth I’s visit to Kenilworth Castle in 1575, where Robert Dudley unsuccessfully tried to court the Virgin Queen.

These stories, as well as many others, are told in the Kenilworth Abbey Museum.

To find out more about the Abbey Museum or the Kenilworth History and Archaeology Society, please go to www.khas.co.uk