Tamworth Castle dates back to the time of the Anglo-Saxons. In 757 AD, a man named Offa became King of Mercia and at some point during his reign he built a Palace in Tamworth which was so magnificent in style and furnishings it was described as 'the wonder of the age'. It's believed King Offa's Palace would've been situated either on the site of the Castle or nearby it.
Aethelflaed was one of the most incredible historical figures of early medieval England. She was the eldest daughter of Alfred The Great and together with her husband Aethelred they both ruled Mercia and fought off attacks from the Vikings in the Danelaw. The couple led military campaigns in the 10th Century which brought large parts of England back under Anglo-Saxon control. During this, Aethelflaed built a fortification or 'Burh' here at Tamworth where she spent much of her later life. She was often referred to as 'Lady of the Mercians' and on the 12th June 918 AD, Aethelflaed took her last breath here at Tamworth (capital on Mercia), leaving a legacy of being one of the most powerful and strongest female rulers in English history.
Following the Norman Conquest, Robert Despenser a steward to William the Conqueror, was granted the manor of Tamworth and built a motte and bailey castle there. Tamworth was already minting coins at the time of Norman rule, so building a castle here made a lot of sense to bolster the security of the Midlands. Tamworth Castle was constructed in c.1070-80. Robert died without an heir, so the Castle was passed on to his niece Matilda who married Robert Marmion, whom inherited Tamworth Castle in 1100. From the beginning of the 12th Century to the end of the 13th Century, six of the Marmions ruled as Lords over Tamworth Castle. The Marmions remodelled the Castle by replacing the wooden fortifications with stone to make it stronger and worthy for nobility. In 1215 while on a military campaign in France, Lord Robert IV Marmion deserted King John in favour of siding with the French King. Because of this betrayal, on the 30th December 1215 John ordered for Robert to have all of his lands seized, his son Geoffrey imprisoned and for Tamworth Castle to be demolished. It is thought that part of the Castle Keep was destroyed by this royal command. Thankfully John's death put a halt to any further destruction, and soon after Robert's sons made peace and amends with the Crown and the Castle was returned back to the Marmions. The Marmions would later go on to entertain Kings such as Henry I and Henry II. The last Marmion Lord to reside at Tamworth Castle was Philip Marmion who was here from 1241 until his death in 1291. He was an influential nobleman and a great supporter to King Henry III, which reflected in Henry's visit to Tamworth Castle in 1257, showing not just honour but symbolizing just how important Philip was to England. When Philip died in 1291 with no male heir, the Marmion family line at Tamworth was over and the Castle passed onto his daughter who sadly died just a few years later. The Castle was inherited by her niece Joan and her husband Alexander Freville in 1294, thus starting the Freville family line here.
The Freville family settled into their new home and were quick to entertain royal guests. In 1330, Lord Baldwin II de Freville invited King Edward III to visit and stay over at the Castle whilst he used the royal hunting forest of Cannock Chase. Baldwin III de Freville was a seasoned soldier who fought in the Hundreds Years War with France alongside Edward the Black Prince who thought very highly of Baldwin. The last Baldwin de Freville died in 1423, ending the male Freville line at Tamworth Castle. His eldest daughter Elizabeth took possession of the property along with her husband Sir Thomas Ferrers.
The Ferrers family were of rich nobility who had held lands in the Midlands for about 350 years at this point, and now they had a new abode, Tamworth Castle. The Ferrers would reside here at Tamworth Castle for about 300 years and throughout that time they made some new additions and renovated parts of the Castle to make it immaculate for the time, starting in 1437 when Thomas Ferrers built the Great Hall. During the Tudor and Elizabethan periods, the Ferrers transformed the Castle from a medieval fortress into a grand Tudor home suitable to flaunt their wealth and impress with their stature in high society. Lord Humphrey II Ferrers made some drastic changes by removing much of the existing medieval structures and replacing them with new buildings to help resemble this place as a family home. These changes certainly paid off in the end, because in the early 17th Century the Ferrers were rewarded for their loyal services with three visits from King James I in 1619, 1621 and 1624. The Tudor buildings comfortably accommodated a royal entourage with its grandeur and splendidness.
At the beginning of the English Civil War, William Comberford raised a small Royalist force and garrisoned Tamworth Castle on behalf of King Charles I. The Comberford family were Lords of various manors in the region and even owned the Tudor Moat House nearby. The neighbouring town of Lichfield was held by the Parliamentarians, so naturally Comberford had his eyes set on Lichfield. Rather than having an outright battle, the Royalists harried the opposition instead, halting supply routes which caused a nuisance towards the Roundhead army. Lichfield had a much larger Parliamentarian army and sought to eliminate the Royalists' power over Tamworth. On 23rd June 1643, Parliament laid siege against the Royalists at Tamworth Castle which lasted for two days until it was captured by a detachment of Cromwell's forces under Colonel William Purefoy. Comberford had escaped, but most of the garrison were imprisoned at the Castle. The next year, Royalist forces comprised of 2,200 soldiers attempted to take back the Castle by attack, but sadly they failed to do so.
In the 18th Century, George Townshend acquired Tamworth Castle through his wife Lady Charlotte. He was a prominent figure at that time, as he was a Field Marshal in the British Army, a member of the Privy Council and surprisingly a renowned caricaturist. It's unlikely that he lived at the Castle since he called for a survey of the structure which was described as being in a state of decay due to neglect in the early 1700s. George's son (also called George) inherited the Castle and carried out some renovations and refurbishments to repair the interior parts of the building. Sadly by the time these changes were completed, George II Townshend had already passed away. For a brief period the Castle was in possession of a London Lawyer called John Robbins, but in 1833 it was back in the ownership of the Townshend family. Again they didn't live in the Castle and instead rented it out to wealthy tenants.
One of Tamworth Castle's wealthy tenants was Miss Hester Wolfestan. She was a spinster who lived here with her footman, cook and two maids from 1844 until her death in 1861. Another tenant was Thomas Cooke, a wealthy textile manufacturer who took over the tenancy in 1867. He owned a warehouse and a factory in Tamworth which produced functional and practical garments for working class people. Thomas was a widower and lived at the Castle with his family, however in 1884 at the age of 61, he married a second time to Frances Wann who was aged 35. Interestingly also in 1884, Thomas and Frances had a daughter together whom they named Aethelflaeda, after the famous female warrior who died almost a thousand years before. By 1897, the Cooke's were obliged to vacate the Castle as the Townshend family had decided to sell the property. Tamworth Castle was sold for £3,000 to the Tamworth Corporaton, who opened it up in 1899 as a museum and visitor attraction.
