Warwick House is situated in the historic market town of Southam in Warwickshire. Southam has a rich history and is mentioned in the Domesday Book. It played a significant part in the English Civil War, as the town had previously minted its own currency, which Charles I used to make coins to pay his troops.

Warwick House was originally built by Dr Henry Lilley-Smith (1787–1859), who was born in Southam, and who created the first self-supporting dispensary on the site which specialised in the treatment of eyes and ears, as local folklore maintained that the natural spring water, found at the nearby Holywell, was instrumental in the curing of eye ailments.