The county was relatively settled during the rest of the Middle Ages and Early Modern period; Coventry developed as a major centre of the textiles trade.

During the Industrial Revolution, the Warwickshire coalfield was exploited and Coventry and the west of the county became manufacturing centres; Leamington Spa developed as a tourist resort at the same time.

An average-sized English county covering an area of 1,975 km2 (760 sq mi),[5] it runs some 56 miles (90 km) north to south.

[6] The market towns of northern and eastern Warwickshire were industrialised in the 19th century, and include Atherstone, Bedworth, Coleshill, Nuneaton, and Rugby.

The prosperous towns of central and western Warwickshire, including Leamington Spa, Warwick, Stratford-upon-Avon, Kenilworth, Alcester, Southam and Wellesbourne, harbour tourism, gaming and services as major employment sectors.

The north of the county, bordering Staffordshire and Leicestershire, is mildly undulating countryside (rising to 178m / 581 ft near Hartshill) and the northernmost village, No Man's Heath, is only 34 miles (55 km) south of the Peak District National Park's southernmost point.

The south of the county is largely rural and sparsely populated, and includes a very small area of the Cotswolds, at the border with northeast Gloucestershire.

81,900), Rugby (70,600), Leamington Spa (49,500), Bedworth (32,500), Warwick (30,100), Stratford (25,500) and Kenilworth (22,400)[10] Much of western Warwickshire, including the area now forming part of Coventry, Solihull and Birmingham, was covered by the ancient Forest of Arden[11] (most of which was cut down to provide fuel for industrialisation).

The remaining area, not part of the forest, was called the Felden – from fielden - and is now an undulating and agricultural landscape, through which the rivers Avon and Leam flow.

[12] Areas historically part of Warwickshire include Coventry, Solihull, Sutton Coldfield, and some of Birmingham including the city centre, Aston, Castle Bromwich, Digbeth, Edgbaston, Erdington, Hodge Hill, Ladywood, Nechells, Saltley, Shard End, Sheldon, Small Heath and Sparkbrook.

In 1986 the West Midlands County Council was abolished and Birmingham, Coventry, and Solihull became effective unitary authorities.

Warwickshire contains a large expanse of green belt area, surrounding the West Midlands and Coventry conurbations, and was first drawn up from the 1950s.

In the north, BMW's Hams Hall plant employs over 1,000 people,[16] while Jaguar Land Rover and Aston Martin Lagonda have headquarters, including a giant advanced production creation centre,[17] at Gaydon in the south.

The prefix wara- is the genitive plural of the Old English noun waru, which means "those that care for, watch, guard, protect, or defend".

[c] During the Middle Ages Warwickshire was dominated by Coventry, at the time one of the most important cities in England because of its prominence in the textiles trade.

Warwickshire played a key part in the English Civil War, with the Battle of Edgehill and other skirmishes taking place in the county.

Kenilworth railway station was rebuilt and opened in April 2018,[31] with an hourly service to Coventry and to Leamington provided by West Midlands Trains.

Canals and navigable waterways in Warwickshire include: The county is covered by BBC West Midlands and ITV Central from its studios in Birmingham.

Warwickshire's rural roads, canal towpaths and historic towns are increasingly popular with cycling enthusiasts.

[40] In 2022, St Nicholas Park in Warwick hosted the Elite Men's and Women's Road Race as part of the Commonwealth Games that took place in Birmingham.

As of the 2022–23 season, the highest-placed team is Leamington, who play in the National League North, the sixth tier of English football.

There are six Saturday morning 5 km parkruns in Warwickshire for all ages and abilities: Leamington, Stratford upon Avon, Rugby, Bedworth, Southam and Kingsbury.

Smith, Bob Willis, Dennis Amiss, Jonathan Trott, Ian Bell, Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes.

Overseas players have included Alvin Kallicharran, Rohan Kanhai, Brian Lara, Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock.

In 2014, the club partly severed its links to the county by renaming its Twenty20 side the Birmingham Bears, much to the chagrin of many supporters.

The county has produced figures such as Aleister Crowley (from Leamington Spa), George Eliot and Ken Loach (from Nuneaton), Rupert Brooke (from Rugby), and Michael Drayton (from Hartshill).

Frank Whittle the inventor of the jet engine was born in Coventry and was closely associated with Warwickshire, growing up in Leamington Spa, and carrying out much of his work at Rugby.