During the Middle Ages, Kenilworth played a significant role in the history of England: Between June and December 1266, as part of the Second Barons' War, Kenilworth Castle underwent a six-month siege, when baronial forces allied to Simon de Montfort, were besieged in the castle by the Royalist forces led by Prince Edward, this is thought to be the longest siege in Medieval English history.

[7] Elizabeth I visited Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester at Kenilworth Castle several times, the last in 1575.

[10] Near the castle there is a group of thatched cottages called 'Little Virginia': According to local legend they gained this name because the first potatoes brought to England by Sir Walter Raleigh from the New World were planted and grown here in the 16th century.

Modern historians however consider this unlikely, and have suggested that the name may have originated from early colonists to America returning to England from Virginia.

[11][12] During the English Civil War, Kenilworth Castle, was occupied by Parliamentarians, after the Royalist garrison was withdrawn.

[14] With the demise of the defensive role of the castle, Kenilworth had ceased to be a place of national significance, but Sir Walter Scott's 1821 novel Kenilworth brought it back to public attention, and helped establish the ruins of the castle as a major tourist attraction.

Industrialists from Birmingham and Coventry arrived, developing the area around the town's railway station with residential and commercial buildings.

It was designed by Ewan Christian and built in 1851–1852 as a Gothic Revival building with a south-west bell tower and broach spire.

[15] In 1869, local whitesmith and engineer Edward Langley Fardon demonstrated the first bicycle with wire-spoked wheels and rubber tyres, riding from Warwick Road to Leek Wootton.

[19] During The Blitz in World War II on the night of 21 November 1940, a German aircraft dropped two parachute mines on Kenilworth; the large explosions in the Abbey End area demolished a number of buildings, killing 25 people, and injuring 70 more.

[20][5] In May 1961, the Kenilworth Society was formed over concerns about protecting a group of 17th-century listed cottages adjacent to Finham Brook in Bridge Street.

In May 1977, British Rail reinstated passenger services, but did not reopen Kenilworth station, which became derelict and was eventually demolished.

In 2011 Warwick Council granted John Laing plc planning permission to build a new station,[22] It finally reopened in 2018.

[31] Near the centre of Kenilworth is Abbey Fields, a public park which covers 68 acres (28 hectares) within the valley of Finham Brook.

It contains public amenities such as a swimming pool, a lake, a children's play area and heritage trails.

[36] Knowle Hill Nature Reserve, managed by the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, is found near the Common and covers 9.7 acres (3.9 hectares).

[37] In the centre of Kenilworth stands a Kugel ball water feature, called the Millennium Globe.

It was first built in 1906–1907 by a notable local benefactor, George Marshall Turner, as a memorial for his late wife.

The top part of the tower was severely damaged in 1940 by World War II bombing and had to be pulled down, it was fully restored in the 1970s.

[43] Warwick Parkway station is located nearby, which hosts Chiltern Railway services between London Marylebone, Birmingham Snow Hill and Stourbridge Junction.

[73] Kenilworth is close to the University of Warwick at Gibbet Hill in Coventry 2.5 miles (4.0 km) to the north.