52-739: Wilnecote is a suburban area about two miles (3.2 km) south-east of Tamworth , in the Tamworth district, in the county of Staffordshire , England, however, it also lies within the historic county of Warwickshire . It lies between the River Tame to the west and Kettle Brook to the north and east. It is one of the largest communities in the town. Wilnecote borders Hockley, Dosthill , Two Gates , Belgrave and Stonydelph . Wilnecote appears as Wilmundecote in Domesday Book , with eighteen households, and as Wylmyndecote in 1349. It
104-606: A Moat House . Tamworth was historically divided between Warwickshire and Staffordshire until 1889, when the town was placed entirely in Staffordshire. The town's industries include logistics, engineering, clothing, brick, tile and paper manufacture. Until 2001 one of its factories was Reliant , which produced the Reliant Robin three-wheeler car and the Reliant Scimitar sports car. The Snowdome ,
156-433: 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
208-456: A bit further afield. Tamworth has a number of suburbs: According to the 2011 census the borough has a population of 76,900. White British is the predominant ethnicity , then 97% of the population. The second largest ethnicity is White Irish , making up 0.9%. 95% of people in the borough were born in England, with Scotland ranking next, with 1% of the population. Tamworth was in 2013
260-570: 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. * population figures based on current borough boundaries. Tamworth
312-495: 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
364-572: 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
416-689: 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
468-794: A prototype real-snow indoor ski slope is in Tamworth and 1.7 miles (2.7 km) south is Drayton Manor Theme Park and one of the many marinas serving the Coventry Canal and Birmingham and Fazeley Canal which combine south of the town. 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. Tamworth
520-549: Is an election of 1 councillor for each of the wards every year for three years but the fourth year see elections to Staffordshire County Council. Councillors are elected for a four-year term. The borough is used as the starting point of the extent of the Westminster seat of Tamworth , which is held by Sarah Edwards for Labour since the 2023 by-election held after the resignation of former MP Chris Pincher . Mercia Too Many Requests If you report this error to
572-451: Is an old coal mining , lime-burning and brick-making area centred on an ancient village on Watling Street . Holy Trinity Church dates back to about 1250. It was completely rebuilt in 1821 as a simple Georgian chapel with a square bell tower which overlooks the Roman road Watling Street . The church design is unusual, as the entrance is halfway down the side of the building, as opposed to
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#1732782968766624-611: 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. The Tomsaete lived in the heartland of what by the late 6th century had become the Kingdom of Mercia , the largest of the kingdoms in what is now England. A fortress built by King Creoda would later, under King Penda in
676-465: Is located at the confluence of the rivers Tame and Anker , which meet just south of the town centre. Tamworth is on the southeastern tip of Staffordshire, with the Warwickshire border just 3 miles (4.8 km) east of the town centre. The Derbyshire and Leicestershire borders are 6 miles (9.7 km) to the north-east. Tamworth's built-up area includes the smaller town of Fazeley which
728-437: 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. There were a number of improvements to Tamworth during the 19th century. In 1807 the pavements were flagged. 1809 A new church entrance
780-688: Is to the south-west of Tamworth, on the opposite bank of the River Tame , Fazeley is not part of Tamworth borough, instead it is administered as part of the Lichfield District . The built-up area of Tamworth and Fazeley was recorded as having a population of 81,964 in the 2011 census. Tamworth is 13 miles (21 km) north-east of Birmingham city centre and 6 miles (9.7 km) from the Lichfield city centre. Other nearby places include Polesworth , Atherstone and Sutton Coldfield , with Nuneaton , Burton upon Trent , Walsall and Rugeley
832-574: The Greater Birmingham & Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership along with neighbouring authorities Birmingham , Bromsgrove , Cannock Chase , East Staffordshire , Lichfield , Redditch , Solihull and Wyre Forest . Tamworth is also a non-constituent member of the West Midlands Combined Authority . The council retains a cabinet system of governance. Tamworth Council elects by thirds meaning there
884-627: 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
936-648: The " Tomsaete ": Tame-settlers. Tomtun was initially "not much more than a fortified manor". The settlement straddled the River Anker and contained a "large hall for public gatherings" as well as individual homes and agricultural buildings such as stables and granaries. The Lords of Tame-Settlers quickly became wealthy and Tamworth was thus able to be fortified further. 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
988-640: 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
1040-573: 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
1092-405: The 7th century, become the most powerful. The King was not static and would not have a single residence; instead he travelled round his territories "to be seen by his people, to give legal judgments, to reward loyalty and to try offenders". Tamworth was likely a stopping place on the royal circuit, becoming a royal vill from the seventh century, with an early minster church and river crossing. It
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#17327829687661144-602: 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
1196-590: 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. Queen Elizabeth I granted Tamworth another charter in 1560 confirming
1248-616: The Prince of Wales, and the Overwoods Arms. A former public house, known as The Red Lion, was converted for residential use in 2018. Wilnecote is also home to a members-only club called Wilnecote Working Men's Club. Holy Trinity Church, Wilnecote sits on the highest point of the village. Schools in the area include The Wilnecote School . The district is served by Wilnecote railway station with an hourly CrossCountry service between Birmingham New Street and Nottingham with most of
1300-487: 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. 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
1352-473: The end of the church. The stained glass windows in the west wall are by the renowned artist J. E. Nuttgens (1892 – 1982). The windows were installed in 1950 to mark the end of the Second World War, depicting the crucifixion (the death and sacrifice of war) and resurrection (the peace and victory). Stonydelph , which lies immediately north of Wilnecote, is a post World War II development. Wilnecote
1404-567: 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
1456-519: The most overweight town in the UK with a 30.7% obesity rate. Tamworth Borough is administered by a Council which has been local Conservative Party-led since 2004 and was Labour Party-led from 1990 to 2004. No part of the borough has a civil parish . On Staffordshire county council, Tamworth has six divisions, all of which are held by the Conservatives. Since 2011, Tamworth has formed part of
1508-573: The north, south-west and west. The town takes its name from the River Tame , which flows through it. The population of Tamworth borough (2022) was 79,639. The wider urban area had a population of 81,964. Tamworth was the principal centre of royal power of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Mercia during the 8th and 9th centuries. It hosts a simple but elevated 12th century castle , a well-preserved medieval church (the Church of St Editha ) and
1560-565: 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
1612-553: 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
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1664-465: 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
1716-510: 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 . Robert 'Parsley' Peel (1723–1795) a Lancashire cotton mill owner was
1768-477: The services going soutbound to Cardiff Central . [REDACTED] Media related to Wilnecote at Wikimedia Commons Tamworth, Staffordshire Tamworth ( / ˈ t æ m w ər θ / , / ˈ t æ m ə θ / ) is a market town and borough in Staffordshire , England, 14 miles (23 km) north-east of Birmingham . The town borders North Warwickshire to the east and south, Lichfield to
1820-484: 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 ,
1872-482: 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 likely 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. Following the Norman conquest of England in
1924-490: 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
1976-506: 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
2028-509: 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
2080-622: 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. The town grew rapidly in
2132-500: 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
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2184-413: 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
2236-481: 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
2288-541: 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
2340-560: 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
2392-533: Was formerly a township and chapelry , from 1866 Wilnecote was a civil parish in its own right, in 1894 the parish was abolished to form Wilnecote and Castle Liberty . In 1891 the parish had a population of 2351. It has several public houses , including the Globe Inn, the Queen's Head which is a Grade II listed building dating from the 17th century, The Centurion (on the nearby Centurion Park industrial estate),
2444-533: Was fortified as a burh in the late 8th century, with an earthen rampart and timber palisade surrounded by a ditch. By the end of the 8th century it had been established by King Offa of Mercia (757–796) as the stable centre of royal power for his expanding political ambitions – more like a capital than had previously been seen anywhere in Anglo-Saxon England. One of the earliest surviving written records mentioning Tamworth dates from Offa's reign;
2496-752: 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
2548-561: 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
2600-497: Was near the Roman road , Watling Street and a few miles from the Roman town of Letocetum . Following the end of Roman rule , the area around the Tame valley was occupied by Anglo-Saxons from northern Germany and Jutland. Stephen Pollington states that the settlers that reached Tamworth were Angles , who left their homelands after rising sea levels flooded much of the land. Britain offered an attractive option as its landscape
2652-498: Was similar to their homelands, but was more fertile and had a more moderate climate. The Angles arrived from the north, navigating inland via the River Humber , River Trent and the River Tame . The settlers established themselves in "an open meadow by the Tame" which they called "Tomworðig". Nearby they established an "enclosed estate" called "Tomtun" – Tame-town – fortified with a palisade wall. These people called themselves
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#17327829687662704-399: 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
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