Armonico's Carols by Candlelight is at St Mary's, Warwick, on 15 and 19 December from £17.50, and Carols at the Castle is on the 19th at £12. Every date.

Armonico Consort’s Carols by Candlelight is at St Mary’s Collegiate Church, Warwick, on Tuesday 15 and Saturday 19 December 2026, both at 7.30pm, with tickets from £17.50. The same Saturday, Carols at the Castle fills Warwick Castle’s courtyard from 6.30pm, at £12 for adults and £5 for children. Both are on sale now. The dates and prices below come from the Royal Spa Centre box office, which sells the Armonico tickets, St Mary’s own events listing and Warwick Castle’s carols page.

The quick answer

  • Carols by Candlelight: Tuesday 15 and Saturday 19 December, 7.30pm, doors 7pm, St Mary’s Church, Warwick, CV34 4RA. £17.50 to £44.50.
  • Carols at the Castle: Saturday 19 December, gates 6.30pm to 9pm, Warwick Castle courtyard. Adults £12, children £5, all for local charities.
  • Free carols in Leamington: the Lantern Parade ends with carols at the Town Hall tree on Sunday 6 December, at about 5pm from the Pump Room Gardens.
  • Bach instead of carols: the Christmas Oratorio is at Holy Trinity, Leamington, on Tuesday 1 December.
  • Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services: not yet published. We will add them.

Carols by Candlelight at St Mary’s, Warwick

This is the Armonico Consort, the Warwick-based choir and ensemble, with singers from its education programme, AC Academy. Christopher Monks directs and George Herbert plays the organ. Armonico’s own page calls it “a sold-out success once again”, so book early.

Monks writes that he wants the evening to feel like the carol services he grew up with, “and, of course, an essential helping of Rutter”. The programme highlights St Mary’s lists for 2026:

  • Shepherd’s Carol (Chilcott)
  • Astronomer’s Carol (Young)
  • Stille Nacht (Grüber)
  • The Twelve Days of Christmas, arranged by Humphris
  • Lully Lulla (Stopford)
  • Jesus Christ the Apple Tree (Poston)
  • What Sweeter Music (Rutter)
  • Mistletoe (Roberts)
  • Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, arranged by Gritton

Tickets

Both nights are on the council’s Royal Spa Centre booking system. The prices are the same for each night:

Ticket Price
Top price, with a programme and an interval drink £44.50
Band A £28.50
Band B £22.50
Listening only seats £17.50
Wheelchair space £28.50
Access companion or carer Free

On 2 November the box office showed 207 seats left for 15 December and 201 for 19 December. “Listening only” means you may not see the choir from your seat, as in any big church. Book through the Royal Spa Centre box office.

Carols at the Castle, Saturday 19 December

This is a community carol concert rather than a castle ticketed attraction. The choir of St Mary’s leads the singing with Royal Spa Brass in the castle courtyard. Warwick Castle says the tradition goes back more than 50 years, to when Lord Brooke invited the town in.

  • Gates: 6.30pm. It runs until 9pm.
  • Tickets: £12 for adults and £5 for children. All the money goes to local charities and good causes.
  • Organisers: the Warwick Lions Club, Warwick Rotary Club, the Friends of St Mary’s Choir, Royal Spa Brass and Merlin’s Magic Wand.
  • Food: stalls selling hot food and drinks, including mulled wine.
  • Parking: none at the castle. Use the town centre car parks.

Note the clash: Armonico’s second night at St Mary’s starts at 7.30pm the same evening, a short walk away, so you cannot do both. Our Warwick Castle Christmas page has the light trail, skating and Santa tickets for the rest of the season.

More carols and Christmas concerts at St Mary’s

St Mary’s has a full December. These are the dates on its events listing:

Date Event Times
Tuesday 1 December Bublé Christmas By Candlelight 6.15pm and 8.30pm
Thursday 3 December Rat Pack: A Swingin’ Christmas By Candlelight 3.30pm, 6.15pm and 8.30pm
Saturday 5 December Christmas By Candlelight, with West End singers 3.30pm, 6.15pm and 8.30pm
Saturday 12 December ABBA Christmas By Candlelight 3.30pm, 6.15pm and 8.30pm
Tuesday 15 December Armonico: Carols by Candlelight 7.30pm
Wednesday 16 December Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols, the Girls’ Choir of St Mary’s 5.30pm
Saturday 19 December Armonico: Carols by Candlelight 7.30pm
Tuesday 22 December The Snowman with live orchestra and solo chorister 1.30pm, 3pm and 4.30pm

The four “By Candlelight” shows are tribute and West End concerts run by Concerts by Candlelight, not carol services. Its box office prices each of them from £30 for a restricted view to £50 for VIP, with Band A at £40, plus a £4.50 booking fee per ticket. Each sitting lasts an hour and a quarter, and doors open 45 minutes before the 3.30pm show.

St Mary’s own listing does not show a price we can match to the Ceremony of Carols or The Snowman, so check its events page before you book. Tickets for The Snowman went on sale on 14 October.

Before all of this, St Mary’s hosts the Warwick Christmas Tree Festival from 20 to 29 November, with a carol service at 8.45pm during the Victorian Evening on Thursday 26 November.

Carols and Christmas music in Leamington

  • Sunday 29 November, Advent service, 6.30pm, All Saints’ Parish Church, CV31 1AA, during Leam Tree Fest.
  • Tuesday 1 December, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, 7.30pm, Holy Trinity Church, CV32 5RE. Parts I, III, V and VI. Nave seats £24.50 to £28.50, restricted view side aisle seats £17.50, from the Royal Spa Centre box office.
  • Saturday 5 December, charity concert, 6.30pm, All Saints’ Church, as part of Leam Tree Fest. Last year this slot was Carols by Candlelight with the All Saints’ choir, and it needed a ticket. The organiser has not yet said what the 2026 concert is.
  • Sunday 6 December, Lantern Parade: the free parade leaves the Bandstand in the Royal Pump Room Gardens at about 5pm and ends with carols at the Town Hall Christmas tree on the Parade. Our Lantern Parade page has the route.

St Mary’s events listing does not yet include its Christmas Eve or Christmas Day services, and we have not found published times for Leamington’s churches either. We will add them to this page when they appear.

Getting there and parking

St Mary’s is in Old Square, in the middle of Warwick town centre, and Warwick Castle is a short walk away. Neither has its own parking for these concerts, so use the town centre car parks; our parking in Leamington page has the car parks and tariffs, and the roadworks and travel page has any closures.

For everything else on before Christmas, see what’s on in Leamington this month and our panto page.

Questions people ask

When is Carols by Candlelight in Warwick in 2026?

Armonico Consort’s Carols by Candlelight is at St Mary’s Church, Warwick, on Tuesday 15 December and Saturday 19 December 2026, both at 7.30pm with doors at 7pm.

How much are Carols by Candlelight tickets?

From £17.50 for a listening only seat to £44.50 for the top price, which includes a programme and an interval drink. Band A is £28.50 and Band B £22.50.

When are Carols at Warwick Castle?

Saturday 19 December 2026, gates at 6.30pm, finishing at 9pm. Tickets are £12 for adults and £5 for children, and all the money goes to local charities.

Are there free carols in Leamington?

Yes. The Lantern Parade on Sunday 6 December is free and finishes with carols at the Town Hall Christmas tree on the Parade.

Sources