Alrewas A38 Welcome to Tamworth The Staffordshire Hoard A513 Overseal and Tamworth, the Ancient Fradley M Capital of Mercia. A51 A515 A513 No Man’s Heath A38 Fazeley 11 It’s not very often that you get the chance to get close to Lichfield real, valuable buried treasure and look back in time to the Heritage A51 A513 6th century, when Tamworth was the Ancient Capital of A5 Mercia, one of the three kingdoms that ruled the county. T5 A5 M42 M6 Toll T4 The Anglo-Saxons came to Staffordshire in the late 6th Tamworth century as groups of settlers or tribes. Mercia means Trail boundary and the area grew from a number of these A5 Polesworth A453 Fazeley separate tribes. A454 10 A51 A5 The Mercians gradually conquered most of the other A446 M42 Midland tribes to become a powerful kingdom stretching Sutton A4091 Atherstone Coldfield M6 Toll from the Humber to the Thames. The rest of the country T3 A452 was ruled by the kingdoms of Northumbria and Wessex. Kingsbury T2 9 Birmingham Lea Marston N Tamworth was the heartland of the Mercian Kingdom and M6 T1 the King’s main residence was in Tamworth. It is certain A38 M42 that the Mercian kings spent more time at Tamworth than 6 5 4a 8 anywhere else, and it is thought that there was a royal palace at Tamworth by the end of the 7th century Route Description situated on the site close to St Editha’s Church. By road: From M42 take A5 Westbound, from A38 take A5 Eastbound, and follow signs for Tamworth. Evidence from signed charters also shows that the From A453, A51, A513 and B5000, follow signs for Mercian royal families were regularly here for the festivals Tamworth town centre. of Christmas and Easter between 751 and 857 A.D. The most well know Mercian Kings are Penda (625-655), Wulfhere (657-674), Aethelred (674-704), Aethelbald This leaflet has been designed and produced by (716-757) and Offa (757-796). Mercian power began to Tamworth Borough Council decline after the death of King Offa and by the 10th century it lost its independence, becoming part of the Kingdom of Wessex, to create the Kingdom of England. The town had significant importance as a military centre and the recent local All information believed accurate at time of print, based discovery of the Staffordshire Hoard, on available research. We accept no responsibility for the largest collection of Saxon gold errors. Suggested route is fully accessible by footpaths, ever found, has focused the world’s however paving surfaces may vary. attention on this area. We may never know why it was buried or who it belonged to. Was it part of the royal If you require this information in A self-guided walking tour through the treasure of the Mercian Kings, buried another format or language please historic town of Tamworth, Staffordshire. to hide it from invaders? phone 01827 709581, or email View this great You Tube video to [email protected]. see Saxons in Tamworth today: (9/17) 1650 www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHd5w8fp15A www.visittamworth.co.uk Welcome to the TAMWORTH 17 Tamworth Heritage Trail Heritage Trail This self-guided walking tour offers the ch. Lane L ing S opportunity to explore the best Tamworth has o inn 18 w Sp to offer. 26 e r C 16 27 G te o r 25 u a 28 p Little As the ancient capital of Mercia and once home o n 29 g r 19 r a g to the King of Mercia’s palace, Tamworth’s e a t 24 Church Lane d i t history is crammed with stories of intrigue and 30 l T o 15 e Council A n warfare. Discover its influential people, admire 32 31 Offices S t its grand architecture and see how ancient t 20 S . h 22 rc C meets modern today. Lichfield Street hu o C l . Church St St. 14 e t . h S Editha’s i Further information on l r 23 l Tamworth’s history and heritage, e Square v l 1 21 plus general information about i the town and local attractions S M arke may be obtained from: 33 3 t St. 11 12 y 2 et a George Stre w 10 o Tamworth Tourist Information Centre Ladybank l l 13 Philip Dix Centre, Corporation Street, o 9 Tamworth, Staffordshire B79 7DN. H 7 Ankerside Telephone: 01827 709 581 4 e g 6 Shopping Centre d Box Office: 01827 709 618 i r 8 T Fax: 01827 709 582 b e y Email: [email protected] R v i i ver T d a r me a L d Monday-Friday: 9am – 7pm iver A r R nke e Saturday: 9am – 5pm 5 r k n A Get the Tamworth Heritage T Trail iPhone app! 1. Co-op Grocery Store 12.Town Hall 24. Assembly Rooms If this brochure has whetted your 2. Castle Hotel 13.George Street 25. Memorial Obelisk appetite and you want to know more 3. Bank House 14.Tamworth Co-op 26.The Library about the fascinating history and 4. Brewery House 15.Tamworth Registry Office 27.Carnegie Centre heritage Tamworth has to offer, then 5. LadyBridge 16.Almshouses 28.Philip Dix Centre download the Tamworth Heritage 6. Holloway Lodge 17.The Globe Public House 29.St Johns RC Church iPhone app FOR FREE. 7. Aethelfleda Monument and 18.Free Grammar School 30.The Methodist Church the Black Anchor 19.Little Church Lane 31.16th Century House 8. Bandstand and flowerbeds 20.St Editha’s Church 32.Old Peel School House 9. Tamworth Castle 21.Colin Grazier Statue 33.The Moat House 10.Castle Gatehouse 22.Colin Grazier Pub 11.Robert Peel statue 23. The Silk Kite Public House T: Public Toilets Welcome to Tamworth… Capital of Mercia… Heart of a Saxon kingdom Tomtum, the original Saxon settlement, strategically placed at the confluence of the rivers Tame and Anker, became the capital of the Kingdom of Mercia. King Offa, of Offa’s Dyke fame, built his palace here where he also founded a mint. Twice invaded by the Danes, who left their legacy in street names such as Gungate, excavations in the town centre have revealed the remains of fortifications built by King Alfred’s daughter, Aethelfleda. The Normans recognised the value of the site and built first a wooden castle, then the fine sandstone shell-keep, the walls of which stand high above the town. A great fire destroyed much of the town in 1345. Rebuilt, its prosperity increased following the granting of two Charters, in 1560 and 1588, by Elizabeth I. These were later renewed by Charles II in 1663. One of the privileges granted was for a weekly market; this tradition has continued for generations with colourful street markets on Tuesdays and Saturdays. With the 19th century came the railways and more prosperity for the town whose main industries were coal mining, tape mills, brickworks and ceramics. The Midland Railway from Derby to Birmingham is carried across the Anker by a fine 19-arch viaduct. George Stephenson attended the turf cutting for the Trent Valley Railway which opened in 1847. Today Tamworth still benefits from its location – an intercity railway station, direct access from two major motorways and two international airports within a 20-mile radius, together with its proximity to the NEC. The old main industries have virtually disappeared, but new industrial estates have been created with a large population expansion in the 60s and 70s. Tamworth is a lively, thriving town with an exciting future. 1 Co-op Grocery Store. GO BACK UP HOLLOWAY AND The Co-op acquired this THROUGH THE ARCHWAY TO… splendid building shortly 6 after World War One from Holloway Lodge. The lodge gatehouse is the most Alfred Sadler and Co Ltd, recent addition to the castle, and was built Grocery and tea merchants by the 2nd Marquis Townshend in 1810. Shields from around 1884-1917. above the archway commemorate previous castle WITH YOUR BACK TO THE CO-OP, WALK DOWN SILVER owners, including the Ferrers and the Marmions. STREET WHERE YOU WILL FIND THE CASTLE HOTEL ON THROUGH THE ARCHWAY ON THE LEFT IS THE… THE CORNER OF MARKET STREET AND HOLLOWAY… 7 2 Aethelfleda Monument. Castle Hotel. At the base of the castle mound stands a Dating back to the 19th Century, the monument to Aethefleda, daughter to King building has been used for numerous Alfred the Great. Known as ‘Lady of the purposes and been extended many Mercians’, Aethelfleda governed the times since. It presently contains the Kingdom of Mercia from 913 – 918 AD and Bow Street Runner pub and the led attacks on the invading Danes. She is Castle Hotel premises. depicted with her nephew Aethelstan, who CROSS OVER THE ROAD ONTO PAVEMENT UP THE SMALL later became the first King of all England. SLOPE AND BANK HOUSE IS IN FRONT OF YOU ON THE RIGHT IS THE… 3 Bank House. Formerly Black Anchor. Originally purchased Tamworth Savings Bank, this Tudor- from the Peel Family at Drayton Manor for £12, the Gothic style building dates from 1848 anchor was bought back from the Crimean war and was built to house the bank in 1855, by William Peel (VC), the third son of founded by Sir Robert Peel in 1823. Sir Robert Peel. Cannon balls from the Crimea CONTINUE AND BREWERY HOUSE IS ON YOUR RIGHT... were also purchased along with the anchor and 4 Brewery House. can be found within the Castle’s object collections.