Warwick - St Mary's Collegiate Church

The collegiate church of St Mary stands in Church Street in Warwick town center. It was rebuilt (apart from the east end) in 1694 after the great fire and completed in 1704 by Sir William Wilson with the help of Christopher Wren. The most splendid feature of the church is Beauchamp Tower, on the south side of the choir, built in the Perpendicular style (1443-1464). The late-medieval windows are mainly original.

The tomb of the church's founder, Richard de Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick (1381-1439), can be found in the middle of the chapel. His marble sarcophagus (about 1450) features 14 mourners, all made of gilded copper, standing in front of the reclining figure of the earl. It is the work of the only well-known English medieval sculptor, John Massingham. The tomb of the Earl of Leicester, favorite of Elizabeth I, is also here. The choir, completed in 1394, has finely-carved choir stalls (1449), a sedilla, an Easter Sepulcher and the tomb of Thomas Beauchamp (d. 1369). The Norman crypt, dating from 1123, is attractive.