Kenilworth Revealed

Step back in time at St Mary’s Abbey, Kenilworth, and discover the lost world of the Augustinian canons who lived there.

Use your Kenilworth Revealed app at any of the 30 plaques placed around the abbey ruins to discover life in 1500 as it was for the canons and the people who lived in and around the Abbey. You will be invited simply to explore or to embark on one of five quests across different themes:

Daily life: An Augustinian canon’s life was governed by the Rule of Saint Augustine and included religious devotion as well as working within the Abbey and the diocese.

Produce & Diet: Unlike today, moderation and abstinence were a key part of a canon’s diet, but they still appreciated ale and wine and especially fish from their own fishponds.

Visitors: plenty of people came to the Abbey, including pilgrims, clergymen, family (yes, they were allowed!), and the Constable from nearby Kenilworth Castle.

Religious observance: Augustinian canons were expected to chant the Divine Office daily and participate in services dictated by the church’s ceremonial calendar.

Abbey surrounds: St Mary’s Abbey was a key part of Kenilworth’s landscape in 1500 with its close links to the Castle and the local townsfolk, so where did it fit in local history?

You can complete the whole adventure or visit as many times as you choose to pick up your quest. Don’t forget to collect the relics along the way to compete with friends and family and find out who is the modern-day master of St Mary’s (the canons won’t mind!).

The app includes live-action video, 3D reconstructions and audio experiences for you to enjoy and share. You can even join in with the Gregorian chanting if you fancy a sing-along. You’ll also hear a canon accuse a brother of a bizarre crime, learn what the servants had to put up with, and eavesdrop as the abbey’s medic – the infirmarer – prepares a canon for his regular blood letting…

The in-built map shows you the location of each of the plaques around the abbey and when you arrive at a plaque, the app fades from the real to the virtual and your quest begins (or resumes).

Perhaps the best feature of the Kenilworth Revealed app is that the plaques and the quests are self-contained, so you can enjoy them at any time and in any order. It’s a perfect excuse to visit Kenilworth and spend time enjoying local history alongside the best the town has to offer.