by Max Lehmann

Created on: July 24, 2011   Last Updated: July 25, 2011

Tamworth Castle dominates the centre of the small town, and has stood at the centre of its grounds for hundreds of years. The grounds themselves are now used as an attraction, bedecked with flower borders and a bandstand alongside the river Anchor, and also playing host to leisure attractions including an indoor ski slope, a bowling alley and an extensive children's park.

For those who want to find out more about the historic town, though, the castle is the best place to start as it offers something of a museum to the visitor and tells the tale of the rise and fall of Tamworth itself. Believed to have been originally built around 1070, the castle was something of a symbol of the Norman conquest. The castle passed to Robert Marmion in 1100 or thereabouts and the town continues to embrace this name in terms of local businesses and street names. A series of Lord Marmions continued to hold it until 1294, when the Marmion heirs were exhausted and the property passed to the closest relatives, the Frevilles. Again, the last of the line was reached in terms of male heirs and a daughter inherited it in the 1400s, thus the holder's name became Ferrers until under similar circumstances it was taken on by the Shirleys and later the Comptons. These families did not use the castle as their primary residence, but during the English Civil War the site saw many battles and held off great forces.

From this time onwards many relics of the era have been preserved and a good background of the castle's history can be gained from reading through bills and inventories.

In 1714, the Townsends took control of the castle, a family who never lived on the premises but rented it to wealthy tennants instead, and at one point selling it on to a Londoner, only to purchase it again later. It remained in their hands until it was eventually sold to Tamworth councile in 1897, at which point it became the museum it is today.

In recent years, the displays have been overhauled and updated and the castle stands as a monument to the historic town which in its heyday was one of the most important places in Britain, and which had Sir Robert Peel, founder of the police force (hence the name "Bobbies") as a prominent resident and MP for some time. Stories of the castle being haunted abound, and it remains one of the finest examples of herringbone wall structure that survives today. The Norman Motte is also recognised for its age and its unusual structure.There are many reasons to visit, and it is even possible to be married within the castle, holding a reception in the fifteenth century great hall.

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