Near Kenilworth Castle is a charming group of
thatched cottages called ‘Little Virginia’. The name is said to derive
from Sir Walter Raleigh’s introduction of potatoes from America in the
16th century. Thus the first crop of
potatoes harvested in England was grown on this spot. It was assumed
that the soil had similar properties to that in Virginia, and thus the
area was re-named.
It originally consisted of fifteen cottages, which date from the 17th Century, housing the masons & builders employed by Robert Dudley for works on the Castle.
The claim to fame of these picturesque thatched cottages is the
tradition that the first potatoes brought to England were planted in
Little Virginia by Sir Walter Raleigh.
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One of England’s most magnificent castles
The vast
medieval fortress of Kenilworth Castle is one of the largest historic
visitor attractions in the West Midlands and one of the most spectacular
castle ruins in England. |
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| the ancient St Nicholas’ Church |
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Historic Abbey Fields
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| Abbey Fields’ past as the farmland of St Mary’s Abbey, whose ruins adjoin the park. |
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| St Mary’s Abbey |
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Lake at Abbey Fields
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