In & Around the Old Market Town of Tamworth
St Editha's Parish Church
£250,000 is urgently needed for repairs to this cathedral like church, and part of fundraising will be the opportunity of going up the double spiral staircase to the roof, weather permitting, from 10am to 12.30pm on Saturday 17th November.
If it's not possible to get to the church and you'd still like to make a donation, you can send your gift to The Parish Office, 29 Church St., Tamworth, B79 7BX and make cheques payable to St Editha's PCC.
Save Our Anker Valley!
Did you know ...
- that Tamworth was the capital of Mercia in the reign of Offa (757-796AD) and is one of the oldest Boroughs in England?
- that we have (or had) the largest natural collection of swans in Europe
- that we have one of only two largest Parish Churches in England and it has a double spiral staircase - the only church in England to have such a staircase I believe.
If anyone can confirm/deny any of the above then please let me know.
We used to have a Swan Warden but alas no longer!
Please fill in the Feedback Form if you have any information to share with us on or about Tamworth and would be happy for us to include it on the site.
For more facts on Tamworth visit the Tamworth Council web site, and for the Castle, visit the Friends of Tamworth Castle web site.
Click on any of the highlighted links below to find more information
- Colin Grazier Monument - In the Church St Square
- War Memorial - outside St Editha's Church
- Town Hall & Sir Robert Peel Statue
- St Editha's Church - link to the St Editha's Church web site.
- Guy's Alms Houses
- Queen Elizabeth Mercian School (QEMS)
- Tamworth Castle, Bandstand and Gardens
- Ladybridge - at the confluence of the Rivers Tame and Anker
- 19 Arches Railway Bridge
- Snow Dome & Ice Skating rink complex - eye sore to some of us!
- Hostelries
- Tamworth Herald - Local paper for the local news!
- 'Vision of Britain' - facts on Tamworth
- Tradesmen & Services - have used myself and am happy to recommend.
To view a larger version of the photos, just click on the photo in question.
Hovering over the photo should pop up a brief description of same.
It's Official - SE Staffs has the cleanest drinking water!
It was announced this week, w/c 11th July 2005, that SE Staffs has the cleanest drinking water in the whole of the UK! The SE Staffs area includes Tamworth, Burton and Lichfield and is served by the South Staffs Waterworks, for whom I used to work for back in the early 1970s!!
I can remember taking in a bottle of horrible tasting water back then and asking the question "Why?" when the decision was immediatley taken to stop the cleaning process. I'm glad to say we've not experienced the situation since!!
Farmers' Market
The market does exist and is on the SECOND Thursday of the month in the Church Square.
Having said that I visited the market today and counted 4 or 5 stalls in total, but I guess that could be attributable to the hot weather we are currently experiencing! So unseasonal for a British Summer! I hope so as it is a disappointment otherwise!
War Memorial - outside St Editha's Church
Town Hall with the statue of Sir Robert Peel
Castle, Bandstand & Gardens
Why not take a few minutes to read a short History of Tamworth Castle?
Hostelries
An item that may be of use to a number of you is one of what Hostelries are available in and around Tamworth, with a new guide having recently been published by the Tamworth Pub Company, and more information is available on their web site.
This guide basically lists the pubs in Tamworth and the immediate area but doesn't review things like food for instance. Maybe we need a suitable guide for this too?
If you have other experiences of eating in and around Tamworth, then feed them back for inclusion of a new page "Where to eat in and around Tamworth". Travelling slightly further afield, then *The Four Counties in No Man's Heath is good value for money and The Red Lion in Hopwas was good food.
*This has changed hands and we haven't been in since so I don't know what it's like now.
Sir Thomas Guy and the Almshouses
Thomas Guy became the MP for Tamworth in 1695, but lost the election in 1707 and later moved to London where he built the famous Guy's Hospital. It's said he went to London and built the hospital there to spite the people of Tamworth for not re-electing him their MP!
The houses were erected in 1673 on a piece of land at Lower Gungate purchased by Thomas Guy. The Alms were erected to house seven poor Women. Guy later erected accommodation to provide for men at a cost of £200. Some of the rooms were rebuilt in 1827, but the whole site was demolished in 1913. New almshouses were built on the site and retained the name.
Tradesmen & services we've used and can recommend
I've listed here tradesmen/contractors I have used personally and have been satisfied with the standards of their work.
Please mention where you got their contact details if and when you contact them.
- Clock repairer - Austrey Antique Clocks, Kevin Skates on 01827 830340
- Builder - Shane on 01827 65625
- Tiler and Roofer - M Tallis on 01827 286494 or 07944803955
- Fencing and Landscaping - Classic Landscapes - Stuart - 01827 54764
- Electrical work - Elec-craft - Roy on 01827 302963
- Roofer - Felt roof on garage - Danny Maclaughlin on 01827 383378
- Garage - MOT, Service &/or repairs - Ashby Road Service Station - 01827 64459
Eating Places In & Around Tamworth
Some of the places we &/or friends have visited in recent times include the following, some of which have been Good (G), Average (A) or Poor (P)
- The Four Counties, No Man's Heath - (G) - Hot and Home cooking.
- Pretty Pigs, Amington (A) - Carvery Meal not as hot as it could have been and some veg overcooked. Carvery service slow on the 2 lunchtimes we were there.
- Unicorn, Orton on the Hill (G) - Just waited a while but hot when it arrived!
- Tame Otter, Hopwas (A-) - Variable
- Red Lion, Hopwas (A)
- The Globe, Tamworth (A+) - Had to wait longer than normal last time, which is unusual.
