The Battle of Edgehill Radway Exhibition

A free and interactive visitor exhibition adjacent to the Battle of Edgehill battlefield and permanently installed within the beautiful surroundings of St Peter's Church in the village of Radway (Warwickshire, England).

Website updated: July 2023.

Radway Battle of Edgehill Exhibition scenes

The exhibition

The exhibition is a modern and permanent visitor hub for one of England's most historic battlefields.

The village of Radway sits within the battlefield and the exhibition is installed within Radway's St Peter's Church.

Information boards, artefacts, specially commissioned films and interactive displays explain the events of the momentous battle and relate the impact it had upon the ordinary people of Radway and the surrounding area.

The exhibition forms the perfect base from which to explore the battlefield, the surrounding landscape and this historic village.

The battle & battlefield

Here on Sunday 23rd October 1642 the royalist army of King Charles I engaged the parliamentarian army in the first pitched battle of the English Civil War.

Approximately 25,000 men clashed that day and the news would reach all corners of the country. Mass grave pits were dug and legends were born, but archaeology from the battlefield would not reveal many of the battle's secrets until only recently, in the 21st century.

The Edgehill battlefield remains the largest in Britain and the battle was technically the longest of the entire conflict as military manoeuvres lasted a further two days.

Visit us

Our exhibition is free - but donations are gratefully accepted - and is open during daylight hours virtually every day of the year. Anyone interested in the battle is very welcome to visit the exhibition - it is suitable for all ages, families, organised groups and school parties.

We provide newly purpose built toilet facilities and from the exhibition you can walk the battlefield, explore the historic village and enjoy the public footpaths up and across the Edgehill escarpment.

We have also installed two duplicate 'wind-up' audio visitor's guides within the village to enhance your visit. See the 'Walks' section (below).

The Battle of Edgehill exhibition

The Radway Battle of Edgehill exhibition allows visitors to explore what happened at the battle, who was involved and why, what weapons were used, what the battlefield has revealed and how the local population experienced this momentous event. The exhibition also asks Was the battle an accident?, Villains or Heroes? and What was Radway like in 1642?

Artefacts are clearly displayed in illuminated cases and upon the walls, while life-size manikins demonstrate the style of clothing soldiers and the local villagers wore.

The exhibition features an interactive touch screen display allowing you to view modern and historic scenes of the battlefield, army deployment plans, archaeological surveys and specially commissioned videos exploring the impact upon the lives of those that witnessed the battle, those that fought within it and a film exploring the battle itself and how the battlefield is today.

Radway Exhibition touch screen display
Films to view via the touch screen display

For years, visitors to the battlefield have had precious little to help with their interpretation of this historic place. The exhibition provides a visitor hub and focus for the start or end of your visit to one of Britain's most historic and enigmatic of battlefields.

Radway Battle of Edgehill Exhibition
Radway Battle of Edgehill Artefacts

Enjoy your visit to Radway village

A beautiful and classic English village surrounded by a plethora of well signposted public footpaths which you can enjoy at your leisure.

Enjoy our Radway and battlefield walk which you can download as a PDF (see below).

The village enjoys its own impressive history, including the architecture and hillside landscaping of the world renowned Sanderson Miller who lived at Radway Grange - in the heart of the village - for much of his life during the 18th century.

Visit the historic site of the earlier medieval church, the ancient cart wash, the Fiennes Miller Obelisk and the Radway Meadows nature reserve, as well as enjoying walks through Miller's landscaping above the village (including his beautiful wooded trails through the escarpment's shady woodland canopy). Overlooking Radway is Miller's famous castellated Radway Tower (now a restaurant and Public House) along with an ancient track way dating back to the middle ages. To help enjoy your visit we have installed two duplicate wind-up audio guides for you to use within the village.

The battle exhibition is permanently installed within the beautiful St Peter's Church which is a fine example of gothic revival and is where you can also view the famous effigy of Captain Kingsmill; killed at the Battle of Edgehill.

Exhibition access

The church door has an automatic timed locking system, ensuring that you can enter the church during daylight hours: 8am till dusk.*

The church remains a fully functioning place of worship and traditional ceremonies and religious services continue.

Motion sensored lighting lights up the exhibition.  *If the door locks, there is a large button near the door to let you out).The church - and exhibition units - benefit from modern CCTV security, triggered security locking systems and remote alarm systems.

Amenities

Parking is easily available outside the church (along the grass verge). Please park sensibly and considerately.

Modern toilet facilities are available in a separate building behind the church. (Follow the path).

A small selection of shops, pubs and a coffee shop are available within nearby Kineton, while the Castle at Edgehill [The Radway Tower on the hill in Edge Hill village, which you can walk directly to from the exhibition] provide an excellent public bar, beer garden, restaurant and tea & coffees. Or there's the historic Rose & Crown country pub in nearby Ratley (technically a Cotswold village).

School parties: Please advise us of your visit as we can provide children's tables and chairs - available for your use - which we keep in storage, at the church.

History group visits: We can provide light catering and refreshments at the village hall for group visits when required (with advanced notice).

Book a group tour: Bespoke programmes for schools and other groups can be arranged. For just a small fee per-head you can have your own personal guide to the exhibition and a one hour history walk around the village of Radway. If you are interested in booking a tour, please let us know by sending us your contact details - using the email address towards the bottom of this page - and we'll contact you to discuss the arrangements. Thank you.

Find us

The exhibition is at:
Saint Peters Church,
Tysoe Road,
Radway,
Warwickshire,
CV35 0BS

View St Peter's location with Google maps.

Google map showing Radway's location

Further reading and useful links

The Civil War

The Battle of Edgehill

Radway

Message us on Twitter!

If you enjoyed your visit (and walk), give us a shout-out on twitter! Thank you!

Walk: A Radway and battlefield walk

You can combine your visit to the exhibition with our walking guide which highlights lots of points of interest, leads up the hill (where you can visit the Radway Tower - now a public house and restaurant), and continues through the hilltop woods, before returning to the village. (Approximately 1.5 hours).

A digital and interactive map, showing the route, works well on a desktop computer, but can be temperamental when used onsite with a mobile device (with the supporting text difficult to access), so we have created a standalone PDF walking guide version, which you can view on your mobile device (or print before you arrive):

Open the Radway and battlefield walk PDF
(Opens in a new tab. 1 MB)

Map of the area (PDF): Although this map shows two battlefield interpretations which are now outdated, it is useful for showing the footpaths around Radway and the battlefield (the green dashed lines). The Radway and battlefield guided walk document (above) includes the latest battlefield interpretation.

Additional walks...

View the public footpaths around Radway using free Bing online mapping. (The footpaths are not available on mobile devices).