Conservation Management Plan - Tamworth Borough Council

Holloway Lodge was built as a suitably grand entrance from Holloway for the George Ferrers Townshend in 1810.
It was originally built as a single storey lodge, but was raised to two storeys following the purchase of the castle by
Tamworth Borough Council in 1899.
Presumably the gothic revival coach house and stables with hay loft above were also built at this time.
The mature trees and gently sloping lawn that overlies the ditch around the base of the motte were probably part
of Townshend’s landscaping scheme. The motte was not planted with trees in 1788 (Plate 13), but immature trees
were depicted in views made some time after 1814 (Plate 20) , so they were also part of Townshend’s scheme along
with the row of trees along the edge of the bailey (Plate 21). It is likely that the ornamental steps leading diagonally
up the motte from Holloway Lodge were also built at the same time as the refurbishment of the perimeter path
retaining wall.
The decorative wrought iron gate and arch at the top of the steps up from Holloway Lodge is probably that
constructed by Isaac Slatterthwaite, along with the short stretch of iron railings along a low wall terminating in
stone piers topped with fashionable stone pineapples, symbols of friendship and welcome.
Three Portland stone urns stand on plinths within the castle pleasure grounds (the medieval bailey). Peter Edden
dates them on stylistic grounds to around 1710-1730 and states that they were probably imported into the castle
grounds from elsewhere around 1807. So they too are probably part of the Townshend campaign of creating a
private pleasure ground (Plate 27).
When the Marquis died with significant debts in 1811, all work was stopped. Complicated disputes arose amongst
the trustees and those owed money. His son agreed to sell Tamworth castle to one of the creditors, John Robins, a
London auctioneer.
On acquiring the castle he built the Market Street Lodge in 1814, over and adjacent to the medieval gatehouse, with
an arched entrance way into the former bailey/landscape garden from Market Street. Palmer records
(Palmer 1845: 403) that at the time this lodge was being built workmen uncovered the remains of an ancient
staircase but had it immediately backfilled. This was the staircase uncovered during McNeill’s excavations in 1974, as
part of the thirteenth century gatehouse and lodging range, currently visible as part of the medieval gatehouse site.
The anchor standing east of Holloway Lodge beside the main carriage drive is Russian and was brought from the
Crimea by Captain Sir William Peel (son of Robert Peel the Prime Minister).
Phase 7 Victorian Municipal Asset, Public Museum and Public Pleasure Grounds
1899 – 1930s
Following the death of John Robins in 1831, the castle was restored to the Townshends. The 1834 sales particulars
noted that the castle had been ‘recently repaired and fitted up by a nobleman with acknowledged antiquarian
research’. It was then occupied by a series of tenants, including Thomas Cooke, a local man, and wholesale clothing
manufacturer, who traded in Tamworth and Manchester. He leased it from 1869 at an annual rent of £65. In 1897 5 TH
Marquis Townshend offered it for sale to the Borough of Tamworth and Thomas Cooke and his family were evicted
(Plates 26 - 29).
The castle was bought for £3000 to mark the diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria. A plaque commemorating the
acquisition of the castle was mounted on a brick panel built into the loggia under the storeyed porch.
In 1913 a statue of Aethelflaeda and her nephew Athlestan was commissioned to commemorate the supposed
millennium of the construction of the castle mound by Aethelflaeda in 913 (Plates 33 & 34).
This prompted a tradition of historic costumed pageants staged by the residents of Tamworth proud of their rich
heritage, starting with the Millenary Pageant in 1913 and continuing right through to the present day by the Friends
of Tamworth Castle (Plates 33, 35 & 46).
Tamworth Castle Conservation Management Plan www.marionblockley.co.uk
Part 1
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