Tamworth Castle

Located in the town of Tamworth, within the county of Staffordshire, England; Tamworth Castle sits on land which has history dating back to the year of 401. Starting as a fortified settlement, the structure was developed over time to eventually resemble the castle which can be seen today. Following it's years as a defensive structure, it was converted into a grand home which resembled the status of it's owners. Tamworth Castle saw a few seiges during it's time, most notably during the English Civil War. The location has also seen a number of Royal visits. As with many castles, there are tales of this location containing a few spirits which have been witnessed by staff members and visitors to the structure. The most noted is 'The Black Lady', believed to be a nun. Another spirit, known as 'The White Lady', may have possible connections to Sir Lancelot.

History

From the year 401 until 1066, Tamworth was inhabited by the Anglo-Saxons. During this time, Tamworth was incredibly important as it sat at the heart of the kingdom of Mercia. Between the years of 527 and 918, Tamworth was so vital that it functioned as the capital of Mercia, and during the 600s and 800s Tamworth was the main royal and administrative centre of the Mercian kings. It is believed that Tamworth had a royal palace, and so certain celebrations, such as Christmas and Easter, were celebrated at Tamworth by the royal families between the years of 751 and 857. During this time the Mercian royal families stayed at Tamworth more than any other palace, and it is believed that the palace may have stood on the site of the current parish church. However, it isn't known for sure where the palace once stood, and so there is speculation that it may have been located where the castle stands today.

It is thought that a buhr was created within the 700s during the reign of King Offa, who ruled over Mercia during the year of 757. A buhr was a fortified settlement that was usually surrounded by a ditch and earthen ramparts. This kind of structure was particularly useful during this time as it helped to protect trade and culture from viking attacks. The structure could also be used as a base to launch an attack against the local viking raiders. It is thought that a woman called Aethelflaed, although one source has referred to her as 'Queen Ethelfleda', built the buhr. Regardless of the name difference, she was the daughter of Alfred the Great, and so was known as the 'Lady of the Mercians'. It's been said that Aethelflaed built the buhr during the year of 913, however it's also been said that she re-fortified Tamworth. As a result, I believe a buhr-like structure could have existed during the time of King Offa, and then Aethelflaed could have improved it.

Aethelflaed died on the 12th of June during the year of 918, and this resulted in Mercia being merged into Wessex; possibly due to the lands being recaptured by vikings around the year of 937. Tamworth had previously been attacked and destroyed by vikings during the year of 874, so perhaps a buhr was created during Offa's time, destroyed, and then recreated by Aethelflaed. Even though there is a bit of contradiction around the year the buhr was created, and who by, Aethelflaed definitely seems to have had a strong connection to Tamworth as the Aethelflaeda Monument stands at the foot of Tamworth Castle, just through the Gatehouse.

Some archaeological findings, which occured during the 1970s, revealed that there were two water mills in Tamworth. The first mill dates to the mid-800s and is believed to be the earliest example of a watermill in Britain following the Roman period. These water Mills were used to grind grain for food, and they were powered by the River Anker. The mills were most likely located a little out of the royal palace enclosure. Following the year of 874, the next 35 years saw the vikings gradually taking control of large chunks of Mercian territory to the East. This growing threat caused the royal palace to fall out of use during the 900s as the increasing proximity to the viking raiders deemed Tamworth as unsafe. The viking threat grew so severe that by the year 911, Tamworth had become a border town between the Daneclaw and the English. This is likely what caused Aethelflaed to re-fortify Tamworth, possibly creating a new buhr in the process, during the year of 913.

It was during the 11th century, so the 1000s, that the first proper structure which would go on to become Tamworth Castle was constructed. This first structure was a wooden tower which was built on the motte. This was built on the site of earthworks dating back to the 700s when Tamworth operated as the capital of Mercia; and so these earthworks could possibly have been the remnants of the buhr. It was from the year of 1066 that any family ownership of this site occured. Following the Battle of Hastings in 1066, and the resulted Norman conquest, the castle site was given by William the Conqueror to his steward, Robert le Despenser.

It's thought that Despenser was likely the one who built the high motte and bailey fortification on the site, and that the site was chosen as the location for the castle due to it's strategic benefits given it was close to two rivers. This made a castle in this location easier to defend, plus it placed the location close to trade routes. It seems people don't know exactly when Despenser built the high motte and bailey, but it's been said to have been around 1070 or 1080. I have found one source claiming that it was the Norman Lord Robert de Muscegros that build the first motte and bailey, and that he build it during 1075. Having looked more into Robert de Muscegros, it seems this source has mixed up Tamworth Castle with Bunratty Castle as Robert de Muscegros built the first defensive fortress there during 1250, which was similar to what Despenser did as both Tamworth and Bunratty began as an earthen mound with a wooden tower on top. This mix-up could explain more odd and exclusive information on 'Tamworth' that has been provided by this particular source.

Part of the bailey wall, which originally stood with the old motte, does still exist today and you can walk along a path on it which leads up the motte to the castle entrance. Only the bailey foundations can be seen today. A thick stone causeway which crossed the moat, which was deep and dry, was also built and this structure led to the castle. This is quite possibly the part of the bailey wall described earlier. This causeway has a herringbone appearance, which is apparently quite a rare design in England. This design includes using stones at a 45 degree angle which then look like interwoven fish bones. It's also been speculated that the motte may not have been built by the Normans, but that they may actually have used the structure already built by Lady Aethelflaed and then added more earth to the mound she had created to make it a bit taller. An interesting detail about the motte is that it's the second largest motte in England after Windsor Castle.

When Robert le Despenser died around 1114, the castle passed through various hands until it landed with the Marmion family. It's thought that Robert de Marmion may have come to own the castle due to marrying Despenser's daughter or niece, but I have found that he apparently married a woman called Matilda, who was the daughter of Urse of d'Abitot. A slightly contradicting detail I've found is the time period around which Robert de Marmion inherited Tamworth Castle. I've found he inherited the structure during 1100, but this is a few years before Robert le Despenser died. As a result, I'm suspecting as the source used for Despenser's death said 'around 1114', I'm assuming he actually died a few years earlier.

The Marmion family were lords of Fontenay le Marmion in Normandy, and so were kings of England following 1066. I have found that between the years of 1100 and 1294, there were six lords Marmion and all except the final one were called Robert. This seems potentially incorrect as, having done further research, it seems there were five Barons of Marmion; with all but the last being called Robert. Even though the lords Marmion lasted until 1294, they only had possession of Tamworth Castle from 1100 until 1291. I have found slightly conflicting information saying the Marmions were the owners from 1101 until 1291. I suspect the 1101 date could either be due to other sources rounding down to 1100, or it could just be an error. Another conflicting date I've found concerns the royal visit of King Henry I. It's been said that King Henry I visited Tamworth Castle during 1100, but other sources have said he visited somewhere between 1109 and 1115. It's possible that he could have made multiple visits, but it seems he definitely visited at least once somewhere between 1100 and 1115. The next royal visit was by King Henry II during 1157, or 1158, with Thomas Becker. Sources have said it was King Henry III who visited during this time, but this is definitely incorrect as he didn't ascend to the throne until 1216.

It has been said that Tamworth Castle was built between the years of 1170 and 1190. In line with this information, the wooden tower which stood on the motte was replaced during 1180 by a multi-sided stone shell keep. The shell keep walls were roughly 7ft thick so that they had enough room for staircases. The shell was also 33 metres, which is 106ft, in diameter. It has been said that the Normans added a grand stone tower which was thick, rectangular, and adjacent to the gatehouse entrance. I'm unsure if this was a seperate structure built along with the causeway, or if this is a description of the keep. Regardless, this tower spanned three storeys and the bottom may behave been a celler or dungeon. Some potentially false information I've found is that the original wooden structure was rebuilt in stone by King Henry II between the years of 1173 and 1174. While these are around the dates of the wooden tower being replaced, and King Henry II did visit, I don't think he built the tower; although he may have financed it following his visit.

There was a deep well within the keep so that the castle still had water supplies in the event of a siege; something which was to be needed as it was during the time of Robert de Marmion IV, who owned the castle between 1185 and 1218, that the castle was nearly destroyed. This fourth Robert de Marmion had been named and appointed as 'Robert the Justice', and he travelled to France as part of this role. During his time in France, he made a mistake by forming an alliance with the French King Phillip II. Creating an alliance with King John's enemy was seen as an act of desertion, and as punishment King John seized all of the Marmion estates. Following this event, orders were given by the king for Tamworth to be destroyed, and some destruction did take place.

I've found two differing accounts as to why the castle was spared from total destruction. The first says the king died shortly after giving the command, which gave opportunity for the Marmions to regain royal favour along with their lands. The second says that even though King John did die during 1216, only one year after the rebellious act, he had a last minute change of heart regarding destroying the castle; however still confiscated the Marmion's lands. I honestly can't say which version of events is true, but it wouldn't surprise me if the second only exists to make the king look more favourable in the eyes of history.

The final Marmion to live at Tamworth Castle was Philip Marmion, and he lived there between 1241 and 1291. He was a nobleman that was both powerful and influential, plus he was a close supporter of King Henry III. This support is possibly what led to King Henry III visiting Tamworth Castle during 1257. More information I've found, which seemingly has been incorrectly connected to Tamworth Castle, is that Tamworth Castle was apparently besieged by Simon de Montfort's rebel army during the Second Barons War. The year this apparently happened was 1265, which is correct regarding when that war happened, but it seems Tamworth Castle was not one of the castles which came under seige by Simon de Montfort. I've tried finding connections between Tamworth Castle and the Second Barons War, but I have found none aside the one source which has provided a few seemingly incorrect details.

It's said the Marmions held Tamworth Castle until 1291, however the castle was held by Philip Marmion's daughter for a few years. I assume she had married out of the Marmion family at this point, and when she died during 1294 the castle was passed to her niece, Joan, and Joan's husband, Sir Alexander Freville. This marked the start of the Freville family ownership of Tamworth Castle, and this lasted between 1294 and 1423; however some sources have said their ownership came to end during 1418. Very little has been said about the Freville family, but I've found that they originated from Cambridgeshire.

More information that has been incorrectly associated with Tamworth is that it was apparently besieged by the scots during 1296, and then captured by them during 1314. This source has also said the English reclaimed Tamworth Castle during 1322. As far as I can tell, along with other information this source has provided, this is incorrect. While the Scottish Wars Of Independence did occur during this time period, I've found no other sources which say Tamworth Castle was at all involved. As a result, it's likely the source has somehow mixed up their information on a different castle and said Tamworth Castle instead.

The next royal visit occured under Freville ownership when King Edward II visited Tamworth Castle during 1325. This visit was followed by another during 1330 when the second Lord Baldwin De Freville entertained King Edward III at Tamworth. While King Edward III visited, he made use of the royal forest of Cannock Chase. The third Lord Freville, who was also called Baldwin, was a seasoned soldier. As a result, he played a part in the Hundred Years War against France, and he was in high favour of Prince Edward. This Freville family member died overseas. Regarding Tamworth Castle, I've found the only adjustment to the structure during this time occured during 1350 when the shell keep was repaired.

When final Baldwin de Freville died, he left behind three daughters and one two year old son who died a minor. Due to this, the castle passed to Baldwin's eldest daughter and husband, Elizabeth and Thomas Ferrers. The Ferrers ownership began during either 1418 or 1423. It was during the 1400s that the Ferrers looked to turn the castle into a grand home as opposed to the fortress it had been built as, and so Thomas Ferrers built a great hall during 1437 and the family later transformed the castle into the grand Jacobean house they desired. The home of the noble owners was built within the keep itself, and it was the Ferrers family which built the majority of the old buildings that can be seen today. The home being built within the keep was quite an unusual choice at the time as usually the home of the noble owners would be built outside of the keep.

The shell keep was further extended during the 1500s and 1600s. Lord Humphry Ferrers II made a number of changes, including remodelling and removing some medieval structures. His aim was to build a home that reflected his high status in society, and so he remodelled the hall to create a range of comfortable Tudor buildings. Two dates are associated with Lord Humphrey, these being written as 1576 - 1607. It's unclear if these are the dates between which Humphrey lived, or if they're the dates he owned Tamworth Castle. Unless he died incredibly young, I assume they're the dates he owned the castle; however a source has said the Ferrers' held the castle until the 1600s. It is possible this source simply rounded down and discounted the final seven years of Ferrers ownership.

During the 1600s, Tamworth remained in good condition when compared to other castles. Most other castles fell into ruin following the 1600s due to the impact of the English Civil War. Royal visits continued as King James I visited with his son, Prince Charles, during 1619. King James I also visited Tamworth Castle during 1621 and 1624. With all these royal visits, it's no surprise that Tamworth Castle was a supporter of the royal family when the English War began during 1642. During the Autumn of 1642, a man called William Comberford raised a small royalist force and garrisoned Tamworth Castle for King Charles I. The Comberford family were Lords of the manor of Comberford, Wiggington, and Wednesbury. They also owned a Tudor moat house in Tamworth, plus a hall in Wednesbury.

The neighboring town of Lichfield was held by Parliament, and so was the main target for Tamworth royalists. Comberford's tactics proved to be successful, and so supply routes to Lichfield were successfully disrupted. As a result, on the 23rd of June 1643, the parliamentarian forces laid seige to Tamworth Castle and captured it after two days. Oliver Cromell's forces were led by Colonel William Purefoy at the time of this seige. The garrison Comberford created was imprisoned, but Comberford escaped. The royalists did attempt to retake Tamworth Castle during 1644, but the parliamentarian garrison successfully retained control of the castle, against a force of 2,200 soldiers, under the command of Captain Waldyve Willington.

During the July of 1645, the garrison under Willington consisted of ten officers and seventy-seven soldiers. By the time of the 28th of May 1646, this was vastly reduced to only twenty-three soldiers. The castle had completely fallen to the parliamentarians by 1646, and even though it was never regained by it's original owners, but did stay in the Ferrers family, it was never destroyed by the parliamentarians. It's been speculated that they didn't destroy the castle as they wanted to preserve the mansion buildings inside for their own use. Regardless, the Civil War ended during 1651, and the castle could be owned by the Ferrers once again. John Ferrers IV died during 1680, and so the castle passed through his dead son to his grand daughter Ann Ferrers.

Not long after Ann took ownership of Tamworth, the castle was passed to the Shirley family during 1688. This could have been due to Ann marrying into the Shirley family, but I've found no record of this and so it's purely speculation. The Compton's then held the castle from 1715 when Elizabeth Ferrers married the 5th Earl of Northampton. Neither the Shirley or Compton families lived in the castle, and they made few changes during their ownership. Instead, they decided to rent it out to tenants until 1714; the year Tamworth Castle apparently became owned by the Townshend family.

It becomes a little complicated during this time period because there are two George Townshends, a couple of sources seem to contradict one another. An inventory from 1730 detailed all of the possessions of a Walter Milward who rented the castle during this time. During 1751, Charlotte Compton, the grand niece of the first Earl of Ferrers, married George Townshend of Raynham. A source has said it is with this marriage that the Townshends took ownership of Tamworth Castle, and this would line up with the inventory dating from 1730 as it seems the Townshends did not begin their ownership by renting out the castle. As a result, I suspect the 1714 ownership date is incorrect, and that Tamworth Castle passed from the Compton family to the Townshend family during 1751.

During 1781, lots of Tamworth Castle was improved by the Townshends. George Townshend left it to his son, also called George Townshend, to repair the castle and replace many Tudor features with gothic architecture which was much more fashionable at the time. Around the Tamworth Castle is an area known as the 'pleasure grounds', and it's said that they were originally laid out just around the castle during the 17th century, which would date them back to the 1600s, but I think the source made a mistake and meant the 1700s. My reason for thinking this is George Townshend II is said to have added new pleasure gardens around the castle.

During 1810, the Holloway Lodge was built by the then owner, the second Marquis Townshend. I've found that the Tonshends stopped owning the castle during 1817, however, I've found conflicting information saying that John Robins bought the castle during 1814. Apparently he didn't gain full possession of the castle until 1821. I'm guessing the 1817 date reported by another source was a compromise between the seemingly correct 1814 and 1821 dates. As for why the Townshends had to let the castle go, that's because the cost of repairs had bankrupted the estate. After George Townshend II died, the family let out the castle until it came to be owned by John Robins for a short while.

During 1825, a more modern greenhouse was built which is currently in use as an ice cream and souvenir shop. Due to the castle's status as a noble's residence, a painting of the locations as created by Turner during 1830. This occured a few years before the Townshend family repurchased the estate within 1833. It's been said that after John Robin's death, family disputes are what put the castle back into Townshend ownership. The Townshends let out the castle to a series of tenants until 1897, and so a 1851 census has it documented that a seventy-two year old spinster called Heather lived at the castle during this time with a footman, cook, and two maids. Another person who rented the castle is Heather Wolverton, and she rented it from 1844 until her death in 1861. Tamworth Castle was also reportedly let out to Robert Peel at one point during the 1800s.

From 1867, although other dates found have been from 1869 or 1837, the wealthy textile manufacturer Thomas Cooke rented the castle. He owned a warehouse on Church Street and a factory on Lichfield Street which produced functional, practical garments for working class people. His business provided jobs for five-hundred people in Tamworth. When Thomas began renting the castle, he was a widower and so lived there with a grown up family. Thomas married for a second time at the age of sixty-one during 1884. He and his new thirty-five year old wife, Frances Wann, had a daughter within the same year they were married and called her Aethelflaeda.

During 1891, Tamworth Castle was put up for sale and it was bought in 1897, by the Tamworth Corporation for £3000, to mark Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee. The Tamworth Corporation would later become Tamworth Borough Council. I have found a few contradictions to these dates as some sources have said the Cookes stayed at the castle until 1901, and others have said the castle was bought during 1891. Regardless, I suspect it was put up for sale during 1891 and bought during 1897. I've also found that Marquess Townshend put the castle up for sale following Cooke's death. I don't know how true that is, but I have found the Cookes had to leave when the Townshends decided to sell, and so the Cookes moved to Leamington Spa during 1904.

Following the Tamworth Corporation buying Tamworth Castle, the location opened as a museum. I've found the opening date for the museum was either 1897 or 1899, and the location has been open to the public ever since. It's possible that only the South Range, which shows the life of those that lived in the castle more recently, opened as a museum during 1897; but the rest of the castle could have opened as a museum during 1899. I don't know for sure, but I don't know where else the conflicting dates could have come from.

Tamworth Castle is currently a grade I listed building, and was first listed as so on the 8th of February 1915. The most recent development I've found of the area is that of the pleasure grounds outside the castle. A bandstand was built there during 1902, and they were extended to the river during the 1930s. At one point the pleasure grounds did also have a swimming pool and a bowling green, but these have been lost to time. Today there are over fifteen fully furnished rooms as follows: The Ancient Courtyard, The Armoury, The Grand Dining Room, The Battle and Tribute Exhibition, The Tower, The Servant's Chamber, The Lady's Chamber, The Georgian Room, The Oak Room, The With-Drawing Room, and The Great Hall. I've also found there is a Day Parlour and a Tudor Dining Room. The Battle and Tribute Exhibition is located upstairs and houses a display of the Staffordshire Hoard; a collection of golden Saxon weapons and artifacts. Some items in the collection are real and others are replicas, but all of the real items were found near to Tamworth.

Hauntings

As with many, if not all, castles which boast a history as long as Tamworth's; Tamworth Castle is said to be the home of a few different spirits. The Lady's Chamber is also known as 'The Haunted Room' due to tales of 'The Black Lady', thought to be a nun from the 800s. The legend of this nun, called Editha, involves one of the Marmion owners seeing her ghost in his bedchamber. It's said that the first Lord Marmion expelled Editha, who has also been referred to as St. Edith and St. Editha, from Polesworth Abbey. This led to the second or third Lord Marmion seeing her ghost in his bedchamber after a banquet. During this encounter, Editha gave a prophecy to the Lord which said that unless the nuns were restored at Polesworth, he would meet a painful and untimely death. To reinforce this message, it's said Editha struck him on the side with the point of her crosier before vanishing. The castle was woken by the Lord's cries of pain, and they advised him to confess himself to a priest and to restore the nuns to the abbey. He did this, along with allowing the nuns to return, and his pain ceased.

The above retelling of the legend is what I deem as the most complete version that compiles details given by different sources. There are slight variations of events though, and one source referred to the Marmions as Barons instead of Lords, which may be correct, although I'm really not sure. Looking at the time periods mentioned, and the history of Tamworth Castle, the Marmions are said to have been the owners of Tamworth Castle between roughly 1101 and 1291. It's also said the Lords of Marmion spanned between 1100 and 1294, although this could be variation on when they owned Tamworth Castle. As the first Baron Marmion died during 1143, it isn't at all possible for the first Baron Marmion to have interacted with Editha while she was still alive in the 800s; and so I think one of the variations is more likely to be right.

The variation discounts any Marmion involvement with Editha during the 800s and says that when the 1139 Marmion owner planned to evict the nuns from their convent, Editha visited him during his sleep as she was the one who had founded the nun's convent. The legend follows on the same regarding Editha's interaction with the Baron and the result. As for if it was the second or third Baron Marmion she interacted with, I have done further research into the Marmion family tree to find out exactly which Baron was around and when. The first Baron died during 1143, the second during 1181, the third during 1218, the fourth during 1248, and the fifth died during 1291. This means during the year the legend takes place, 1139, the experience likely would have occured to neither the second or third Baron, but instead to the first Baron; which would explain why one source has said the first Baron interacted with Editha. I think a clear game of Chinese whispers has occured with this legend over the years, which is why details around which of the five successive Robert Marmions experienced this have become seemingly so muddled.

Moving on from the legend, and onto details around Editha's haunting, it's said she descends from the Lady's Chamber, which is on the second floor of the castle, and down the wooden staircase to the floors below. I've also found that she is in the middle room of the Norman Tower, but this could just be a more accurate description of where the Lady's Chamber is. During 1949, some 'ghost hunters' photographed what they believe to have been Editha's shadow on the castle stairwell. Aside from the 'Black Lady', there is also a 'White Lady' said to haunt the castle. She is said to haunt the battlements, and is suspected to be either Aethelflaed, or the lover of Sir Tarquin. It is said she fell in love with Tarquin after he imprisoned her. Sir Lancelot de Lac tried to rescue her, and in the process he killed Tarquin. In grief, it's said the woman jumped off the battlements instead of being successfully rescued. During 1783 a mural of Sir Lancelot and Lord Tarquin, which was on the wall of the Great Hall, was apparently white washed over. It's been speculated that this mural held the key to the White Lady's identity. One source has referred to the White Lady as a nun, although this is likely a case of mixing up information regarding the Black Lady.

A Green Lady, believed to be Lady Elizabeth Drury, is also said to haunt the castle after her imprisonment there for her part in the Babington plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I. She's said to simply walk around the rooms of the castle. Another spirit present is a man in black, who is thought to be the spirit of a soldier who was killed in the English Civil War and it's said he is friendly. Plus it's been reported that a Blue Lady haunts Tamworth Castle after she took her own life when seeing her lover die in a jousting contest outside the castle. Apprently the Blue Lady patrols the battlements.

Staff members, along with visitors, have experienced a number of things within the castle. A guide who had worked at the castle for over twenty years said they have heard unexplained noises on two occasions when no one else was there at the time. Two rooms said to be haunted, aside the Lady's Chamber, are the Ferrers' Room and the Servant's Quarters. Someone called Ann, a museum assistant, said the castle alarm had gone off and while they were waiting for an engineer to arrive and reset it they sat in the reception. They heard odd footsteps while there, although nothing unusual, but the sounds got louder until they heard the dragging of tables and chairs across the wooden floor. Understandably, they become uneasy and frightened, and so went outside to the engineer. The engineer was shocked to see her as they had just seen a figure standing in the Ferrers' room window, and thought it was her. That day the room had been fitted with a new circular table and chairs, but nothing had been moved, despite the noises which had been heard.

Someone called June was opening the Tamworth Story Exhibition room, located in the Servant's Quarters, in the morning and was struck into the face and momentarily blinded. She said it felt like sand had been thrown at her, and once she cleared her eyes a blue mist could be seen swirling around the room's new display of ceramics dating from the 1800s. The mist was at least 6ft high and disappeared out of the window. It's also been said that doors open and slam, plus many sensitive and psychics have apparently sensed a Spanish executioner as being present in the castle. It's said the executioner is connected to the large executioners sword in the Great Hall, and that he is the one responsible for growls, cold spots, and poltergeist activity such as objects being thrown and bangs. As one of the mediums to have sensed the Spanish executioner is Derek Acorah, I am more skeptical of this particular haunting.

Summary Of Hauntings

1. The Black Lady, Editha/St. Edith/St.Editha, full back habit, 800s: The Lady's Chamber, stairs

2. The White Lady, lover of Lord Tarquin or Aethelflaed: Battlements

3. The Green Lady, Lady Elizabeth Drury

4. The Blue Lady, took her own life: battlements

5. The man in black, English Civil War soldier, friendly

6. The Spanish executioner, connected to executioners sword: Great Hall

7. Growls: The Spanish executioner

8. Cold spots: The Spanish executioner

9. Objects thrown:The Spanish executioner

10. Bangs:The Spanish executioner

11. Doors open

12. Doors slam

13. Blue light/mist: The Tamworth Story Exhibition Room

14. Footsteps

15. Figure seen (female?): Ferrers' Room

16. Sound of tables and chairs moving across wooden floors

17. Staff struck in face

18. Staff momentarily blinded

My Thoughts

I want to start by saying there is clearly lots of misinformation out there about Tamworth Castle's history and hauntings. I would like to think that everything I have written is absolutely correct, and that I've pointed out all of the details which may not be so, but I know some things will have slipped through the cracks. A good example is regarding the Marmion family as I had to do a whole other branch of research into them as I noticed problems regarding what I have found while writing about the hauntings of Tamworth Castle. All sources I've used will be linked at the end of the article as usual, and as lots of the information has come from Tamworth's website, I hope what I've written is correct.

As said earlier, I'm particularly skeptical on the Spanish executioner haunting. The only reason I'm skeptical is because of Derek Acorah being one of the psychics to mention it. He was, in my opinion, conclusively shown to not be a legitimate psychic medium and so I do not trust what he says about hauntings. However, he was shown to research locations before an investigation, so perhaps he was relaying researched information that may have been correct. Another haunting im skeptical on is that of the Green Lady as I found nothing at all while researching Tamworth Castle about people being imprisoned there due to the Babington plot.

The most interesting thing to me about what I've found regarding the hauntings is the account from one staff member which said in their twenty years of working there, they've only heard unexplained noises on two occasions. This strikes me as absolutely true as the paranormal is very few and far between like this. I can also see the story about the Ferrers' Room being true as I suspect it could quite often happen where people mistake spirits for the living. I know similar tales have occured at other locations where it was only after the experience that the individual who witnessed the apparition realised it was a spirit and not a living person.

As for who I think will likely be haunting the location, out of the people mentioned I do think Aethelflaed could potentially haunt the castle. I would also expect at least one person from the civil war era, along with a number of past owners. It would be interesting to see where the Editha story came from as it seems to be old given people seemingly knew of the tale back in 1949. You never know though, as the location was open as a museum during this time, they could have created the legend to boost the publicity, and so visitors, of the location.

Thank You!

Thank you for reading this article! It was surprisingly long and complicated, although I shouldn't have expected anything less from the capital of Mercia. I did find it wierd just how much misinformation there was about Tamworth Castle. I don't think I've experienced it before where a source has said so many significant events occured at a location when they didn't at all. It goes to highlight the purpose of these articles though as they not only give you a detailed account of a location, but they also serve to warn of the potential false information that's being spread. Again, not everything I write may be correct, but I make a good effort to say when I'm unsure on something I've found.

A special thank you goes to Damain, Nicolette, Kerry, GD, Chris Willcx, Nicola Jada, Nita Raveling-Hamilton, David Lee Jones, theinoculator, 1141520851813892291920, Angeles Wernicke Zapiola, Ke v, Crispinfandom, Thiago Lima, Edgar Darnell, Jacks-and-graves, The Cornish Ghost Whispers, Beardo Gets Scared, Starlight Phoenix Paranormal, Paranormal Penny Pinchers, the Australian Paranormal Society, Codegas Codex of Curiousity, Phantom Detectives LLC, Shadow Walkers Paranormal Investigators, South Of Spooky, Don't Scare Claire, blogparanormalexpresso2stuff, Paranormal Connections, Phantom Seekers Paranormal, chatibelieveinghosts, Purbeck Paranormal Investigators, and Ghost Investigations for your continued support of The True Paranormal. If you want to be thanked in an article, or in the monthly appreciation post I make across social media, then please share my articles and tag 'The True Paranormal'. If I see that you've shared, then I will publicly thank you!

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