Conservation Management Plan - Tamworth Borough Council

Cabinet members were given an evening walk around the castle to look at access, collections storage and
conservation issues and discuss resourcing and the need for a commitment to long term management of the fabric
of the castle and its collections.
The author attended an inaugural meeting of the Tamworth Town Centre Partnership to brief local business leaders
and council officers on: the significance of the castle; the role and purpose of the Conservation Plan; the need for an
integrated pedestrian, vehicular access and signage strategy, and how the castle should be central to plans for the
economic development of the town centre.
Articles highlighting the ongoing work and Open Days appeared in the Tamworth Herald, and included debate
around the future of the horse chestnut tree at the base of the castle mound. During the preparation of this plan the
Staffordshire Hoard of Saxon Gold was uncovered and this prompted massive coverage of the significance of Saxon
Tamworth; the value of Tamworth’s Heritage to its Place Making agenda and future prosperity; the importance of
the castle; and the need to provide a suitable level of security, conservation and access for the display of items from
the Hoard should the opportunity arise.
The responses from consultees were collated and are summarised in section 2.3.30 they informed the development
of the policies within the plan, particularly around access, presentation, engagement and learning.
The draft plan was reviewed in response to comments received from these consultees.
Acknowledgements
This Conservation Management Plan was written by Marion Blockley. She would like to thank a number of people
who participated in its production and the consultations that informed it:
It was prepared with the considerable help of the staff of Tamworth Castle, especially Louise Troman, Sarah Williams
and Monica Perez. Louise Troman, Heritage Services Manager Tamworth Borough Council , made available a wide
range of documentation including all the previous studies and helped with discussion of the key issues affecting the
management of the site, she also facilitated office space within the castle, access to files on previous works and did
everything within her power to assist the completion of this document.
Sarah Williams Collections Officer Tamworth Borough Council provided considerable help to enable access to
primary sources held within the archives of Tamworth Borough Council and to the museum stores both on and
off site. Monica Perez, part time Audience Development Officer funded with development phase grant from the
Heritage Lottery Fund, organised several of the youth and community consultation events. Kirsty Sherwood
Education Officer, discussed the needs and requirements of the schools and events programme and Audrey Pulcella
discussed operational and visitor management issues
Bob Meeson, former Staffordshire County Archaeologist kindly made available his draft Conservation Management
Plan and discussed the issues affecting the site. Steve Mason consulting engineer discussed the implications of
the cracking visible within the structure of the monument, the perimeter path and the retaining walls at the base
of the motte. Katy Stiles ecologist walked the motte and castle with the author and discussed issues affecting the
management and enhancement of the motte and parkland setting of the castle. The comments on condition in
the gazetteer are based on the continuing issues identified during the quinquennial inspection carried out by Bob
Tolley, former consultant architect, in 2005.
Additional help was provided by Duncan Geary, NGM land Surveys; Bob Davis and Paul Cripps, Wessex Archaeology;
Jane Parry Conservation Officer Tamworth Borough Council; Ian George Inspector of Ancient Monuments English
Heritage and Fred Gibson, Consultant Architect, ST Walker and Duckham.
The high quality aerial photos of the castle were provided by Paul Watkins of Sky Lens. Marion Blockley and Louise
Troman would like to record their thanks to him for providing an efficient and effective service at very short notice.
The photos published in this report are a small selection from a much larger project archive of detailed views of the
Shell Keep, the motte and roofs of buildings within the Shell Keep, to inform future quinquennial inspections and
specification of the programme of repairs.
Tamworth Castle Conservation Management Plan www.marionblockley.co.uk 17