Romans When the
Romans arrived in Britain, (43–409 CE) the Trent Valley was home to the British
Coritani tribe. Evidence of Roman activity in the area of Tamworth consists of fragments of Roman building materials found near Bolebridge Street. The Tomsaete were a military tribe; however, soldiers eventually reached an age where they retired from military duty and were then allotted parcels of land to farm, manage and defend. Fertile lands surrounding the rivers were allotted first, then the hill lands; this land spreading further and further, spreading the power and influence of the tribes. The Tomsaete were one of countless tribes "all vying for power and influence", however the Lords of the Tomsaete came to control and to "dominate" the area known as
English Midlands. The tribes initially ruled through unions and alliances of leading families and there is evidence of contact with families across England and also back in the Anglo-Saxon homelands. However, this "warlord" form of government developed and the Tomsaete's lands became a Kingdom with a single leader. It was fortified as a
burh in the late 8th century, with an earthen rampart and timber palisade surrounded by a ditch. One of the earliest surviving written records mentioning Tamworth dates from Offa's reign; a grant of land to monks at
Worcester dating from 781, signed by Offa, King of Mercia, addressed from his royal palace at
Tamworthie. Offa built what was described as a Royal palace at Tamworth, however this was almost certainly a timber and
thatch construction (as were
most buildings in Anglo-Saxon England) which left little physical trace, and so the location of Offa's palace has never been identified, although excavations north of Bolebridge Street in 1968 revealed what appeared to be the outline of a large Saxon building. Between 790 and 850 Tamworth was the main location for the signature of Mercian royal charters. In 868 the
Great Heathen Army invaded England and in 874 they drove out
King Burgred, who fled to Rome. Tamworth was then a frontier town between Viking ruled east Mercia and Anglo-Saxon ruled west Mercia until 913, when
Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians, made Tamworth her capital, and re-fortified the town against Viking attacks. Æthelflæd led a successful military campaign to win back territory from the Danes, driving them back to their stronghold at
Derby which was then captured. She died at Tamworth on 6 June 918. During the reign of
Æthelstan (924–939) the Kingdom enjoyed a period of relative peace and prosperity. In
Tamworth church in 926, a sister of King Æthelstan, perhaps Saint
Edith of Polesworth, was married to
Sitric Cáech, the squint-eyed Norse King of York and Dublin. It was during this period that a
mint was established at Tamworth producing silver coins, many stamped with the name of a local moneyer called Manna. Many coins produced in Tamworth during this period have appeared in Scandinavian museums, as much of it was used to pay
Danegeld, a tribute paid in an attempt to buy off invading Vikings. This however proved fruitless, as following Æthelstan's death in 939, Tamworth was again plundered and devastated by Viking invaders led by Sitric's son Olaf (later called
Amlaíb Cuarán). It was soon recovered and rebuilt by Æthelstan's successors, but Tamworth never regained its pre-eminence as a Royal centre. In the early 10th century the new
shires of
Staffordshire and
Warwickshire were created, and Tamworth was divided between them, with the county border running through the town centre along the streets of Gungate, Church Street, Silver Street and Holloway, with the castle on the Warwickshire side of the border. The reason for this division was probably so that the town would be divided between the two separately administered
Hundreds of
Offlow and
Hemlingford to ensure that sufficient manpower would be available to man the town's defences.
Norman and Medieval Following the
Norman conquest of England in the 11th century, the Normans built a large
motte and bailey castle, the forerunner of the present
Tamworth Castle, partly on the site of the Saxon fort which still stands to this day. Unusually Tamworth wasn't mentioned in the
Domesday Book; this may have been due to its division between two counties confusing the surveyors. From around 1093, the
Marmion family became
lords of the manor, and eight generations of Marmions inhabited Tamworth Castle until 1294. It was the Marmions who were largely responsible for building the present
sandstone fort at Tamworth Castle, replacing the original wooden Norman structure. During the period of
The Anarchy in the 12th century,
Robert Marmion supported
King Steven in his fight with
Empress Matilda. In the ensuing struggle, Tamworth Castle was taken and occupied by the forces of Matilda, but was returned to the Marmions when Steven finally prevailed in the war. In 1215
King John threatened to have Tamworth Castle destroyed, in revenge for the
3rd Baron Marmion's support for the
baronial revolt against the King. However, this threat was not carried out. In the Middle Ages Tamworth was a small market town. However, the king gave it charters in 1319. In 1337 Tamworth was granted the right to hold two annual fairs. In the Middle Ages fairs were like markets but they were held only once a year and they attracted buyers and sellers from great distances. In 1345 Tamworth suffered a disastrous fire, and much of the town burned. This was followed by the
Black Death which arrived in England from 1348, which reduced the population by at least a third. However, the town eventually recovered from these disasters. In 1877 a
hoard of silver pennies of William I and William II was found during construction of the town's
board school. Many were
minted in Tamworth. 294 coins were recovered, approximately four or five having been sold by the finder before the hoard's significance was realised.
16th and 17th centuries Queen Elizabeth I granted Tamworth another charter in 1560 confirming the town's existing rights and privileges, and incorporating it as a unified
borough with a single
municipal corporation. Prior to this there had been separate corporations for the Warwickshire and Staffordshire sides of the town. The charter enabled Tamworth to elect a representative to
Parliament. Another charter was granted in 1588, further consolidating the town's rights of self-government. Tamworth suffered from outbreaks of
plague in 1563, 1579, 1606, and 1626. Many died but each time the population recovered.
James I, the first Stuart king of England, visited Tamworth on three occasions, with his first visit in 1619, and was accommodated by Sir John Ferrers at Tamworth Castle. The king was accompanied by Prince Charles (the future king
Charles I), who was entertained by William Comberford at the Moat House. During the
English Civil War from 1642, Tamworth Castle was initially garrisoned for the
Royalists under William Comberford, however in June 1643 it was captured by a detachment of
Parliamentarian forces under the command of
William Purefoy after a short two-day siege, and remained in Parliamentarian hands for the remainder of the conflict, despite unsuccessful attempts by Royalists who controlled nearby
Lichfield to recapture it. In 1646, a large Parliamentarian force, backed by soldiers from Tamworth captured Lichfield after a four-month siege. After the conflict was over, the castle was again threatened with destruction, when an order was issued for it to be destroyed, but again this was not carried out. Tamworth continued to grow and remained one of the most populous towns in the Midlands by 1670, when the combined hearth tax returns from Warwickshire and Birmingham list a total of some 320 households. Its strategic trade advantage lay with control of the two vital
packhorse bridges across the Anker and the Tame on the route from London to
Chester. As today, a market town, it did a brisk trade providing travellers with at least staple bread, ale and accommodation, maintaining trading links as far afield as Bristol. Charles II's reconfirmation of its borough's privileges in 1663 gave the town an added boost, as confirmed by
Richard Blome's description of its celebrated market, well served with corn, provisions and lean cattle.
18th and 19th centuries The town grew rapidly in the 18th and 19th centuries during the
Industrial Revolution, benefiting from the surrounding coal mines. It also became connected to the
canal network, with the
Coventry Canal being built through the town. The late 18th century saw further improvements in the local transport infrastructure, and the beginnings of industrialisation: In 1770 the Tamworth
Turnpike trust was established, which set about making improvements to the roads in and around the town. In 1777 the
Trent and Mersey Canal was completed, running to within a few miles of Tamworth. In 1790 the
Coventry Canal was completed through Tamworth, linking Tamworth to the growing national canal network, a junction was soon made between this and the
Birmingham and Fazeley Canal.
Influence of the Peel family Robert 'Parsley' Peel (1723–1795) a
Lancashire cotton mill owner was the first member of the Peel family to become established in the area. Peel had become well known for producing textiles with a parsley leaf design, this led him to becoming known as 'Parsley' Peel. After his mills in Lancashire were damaged by riots, Peel moved his mill operations to
Burton upon Trent in Staffordshire in 1780, attracted in part due to the improving local transport systems. His son,
Sir Robert Peel, 1st Baronet (1750–1830) played a major role in developing Tamworth's economy, he established the first cotton mills in Tamworth in 1788, one of which, known as 'Castle Mill' was based in
Tamworth Castle. Textiles soon became Tamworth's main industry. Peel also established several banks in Tamworth. Peel moved permanently from Lancashire, and set up home in
Drayton Manor just outside Tamworth in the 1790s. He became the town's Member of Parliament in 1790, and remained so until 1820. He used his parliamentary influence to improve the working conditions in factories. By far the most famous member of the Peel family, was his son
Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet (1788–1850) who rose to become one of the most famous
Prime Ministers of the
Victorian era, and served as the town's Member of Parliament from 1830 until his death in 1850. He lived at the nearby Drayton Manor. It was in Tamworth that Robert Peel unveiled his
Tamworth Manifesto in 1834 which created what is now the modern
Conservative Party. While Home Secretary, Peel helped create the modern concept of the police force, leading to officers being known as "bobbies" or "Peelers". Peel is commemorated in Tamworth by a statue in front of the town hall, which was produced by
Matthew Noble in 1852.
Improvements There were a number of improvements to Tamworth during the 19th century. In 1807 the pavements were flagged. 1809 A new church entrance was completed and a new organ erected funded by public subscriptions. (source see 1809 Parish Records). From 1835 Tamworth had gaslight. In the late 19th century a piped water supply was created. The railways arrived with the
Midland Railway route from
Derby to
Birmingham arriving in Tamworth in 1847, and later the
London and North Western Railway, which provided direct trains to the capital.
A split-level station exists where the two main lines cross each another, the higher-level platforms (on the Derby to Birmingham line), being at right angles to the lower ones on the main line to London. The first municipal cemetery opened in 1876. The Assembly Rooms were built in 1889. In 1897 the corporation bought Tamworth Castle. A hospital was built in Tamworth in 1880 and was funded by one of the town's greatest benefactors, William MacGregor, at his own expense. An infirmary was built in 1903. MacGregor also built two churches at Glascote and Hopwas and had the bells at St. Editha's church recast. He also started a free library, a working men's club, a school (Now called William MacGregor School) and started the Co-operative society in the town in 1885 acting as guarantor. Tamworth was historically divided between Warwickshire and Staffordshire, with the county boundary running along the town centre. The boundary was re-drawn following the
Local Government Act 1888, which created
county councils. The Act decreed that urban areas, such as Tamworth, which were situated in more than one county, should transfer entirely into the county which contained the larger portion of the population at the 1881 census: In Tamworth's case, the Staffordshire part of Tamworth Borough contained 2,589 people and the Warwickshire part, 2,032, therefore Tamworth became part of Staffordshire from 1 April 1889. During the 19th century the
Tamworth pig, a long-bodied, heavily bristled breed, was first sold here by cross-breeding pigs available locally with imported Irish stock.
Modern history The first council houses in Tamworth were built in 1900. More were built in the 1920s and 1930s and after 1945. The first public library in Tamworth was built in 1905. Tamworth gained an electricity supply in 1924. Tamworth grew rapidly in the postwar years as it soaked up overspill from the
West Midlands conurbation to the southwest. A population of about 7,000 in 1931 had risen to some 13,000 just after the
Second World War; this figure remained fairly static until the late 1960s when a major expansion plan was implemented. Although not officially a "New Town", Tamworth's expansion resembled the development of many new towns. As part of this plan the town boundaries were expanded to include the industrial area around
Wilnecote to the south. The 1961 population of the new enlarged area was 25,000. In 1971 it was 40,000; in 1981, 64,000; in 1991, 68,000 and in 2001, 72,000, meaning that the town's population had almost doubled within 30 years. The
Reliant Motor Company was founded in Tamworth in 1935 by T. L. Williams and E. S. Thompson, and cars such as the
Scimitar four wheeled sports cars and the
Robin three wheeled economy cars were manufactured here until the company moved to
Cannock in 1998. A year later the old factory was razed to the ground and a new housing estate built in its place called "Scimitar Park" with street names assuming names of Reliant vehicles (e.g. Robin Close). The
A5 dual-carriageway
Fazeley, Two Gates and Wilnecote Bypass opened in July 1995, acting both as a bypass of Watling Street, and as a fast route for traffic into the town. This was further extended to meet the M6 Toll and A38 in 2005. The road's official name is
Thomas Guy Way. Tamworth has six designated
Local Nature Reserves, Hodge Lane (Amington), Kettlebrook, Tameside, Dosthill Park, Warwickshire Moor and Broadmeadow, which became the newest nature reserve in April 2013.
Historic population * population figures based on current borough boundaries. ==Geography==