Hundreds of poppies on display at historic site

A display of more than 600 ceramic poppies is being launched at a historic site in Warwick.

Venue The Lord Leycester said it would mark Remembrance Day with the installation in the medieval courtyard of the recently-restored Grade I listed building.

The home for veterans site is open as a visitor attraction, following repairs and renovations to 700-year-old buildings in a £4.5m initiative.

The Lord Leycester sought local artist Lottie Wilson to craft the poppies, with the help of children from Westgate Primary School and Warwick cub scouts.

Free drop-in workshops were held for members of the public to contribute to the artwork by making their own poppy on Friday and Saturday.

The artist previously said each poppy made would be "wholly unique - just like the people making them".

"I hope that the poppies serve as a sincere tribute."

The Lord Leycester, which is launching the installation on Tuesday, said it would be Warwick's answer to the Tower of London's poppy display.

The location of the hundreds of poppies at the High Street site was "fitting given the Lord Leycester's rich military history", it added.

It has been a home to ex-servicemen and women since it was founded in 1571 by Robert Dudley, Earl of Leycester, "to care for deserving soldiers known as ‘Brethren’, who fought in the wars of the Tudor age during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I".

It recently welcomed a female resident for the first time in its history.

After hosting 400 male residents, the Lord Leycester Hospital welcomed Maj Janet Brodie-Murphy, a former Women's Royal Army Corps member, who moved into the site with her partner, Capt Alan Gill BEM.

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