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Significant Dates in the History of Tamworth

43-81: Romans conquer Britain. Some evidence of Roman occupation in Tamworth, Watling Street constructed nearby & evidence in Wilnecote and other areas.

122: Emperor Hadrian passes through the Tamworth area, on-route to inspect Hadrian's Wall via North Wales.

c.313: Emperor Constantine recognises Christianity.

c.300-340: The so-called `Golden Age' of Roman Britain, the province being largely self sufficient and economically prosperous.

410: Roman legions withdrawn.

449-700: Angles, Saxons and Jutes settle in Britain (`Angle-land' or England).

584: King Creoda founds Mercia - the last of the Saxon Kingdoms to be formed. He built a fortress in Tamworth, the seat of the Kingdom of Mercia.

c.667: St Chad, Bishop of Lichfield, probably visits Tamworth.

667: Earliest recorded church in Tamworth.

757-796: King Offa, first `King of the English' builds his palace at Tamworth, possibly on the site of what was to become St Editha's churchyard (now a garden of rest).

781: Offa, King of Mercia, signs two charters in his famous Palace at Tamworth. They are dated "on the second day of the Nativity of our Lord" (26th December) and. the King desscribes himself "gratia dei donante Rex Anglorum sedens in regali palatio Tamoworthie".

787: Beginning of Viking raids.

796: (29thJuly) Death of King Offa, after a reign of 39 years - succeeded by his only son Ecgfryth, (He survived only 141 days before been succeeded by Coenwulf).

796-796 Ecgfryth, King of Mercia (reigned for 141 days)

796-821: Coenwulf, King of Mercia.

814: Coenwulf of Mercia signs two charters "in vico celeberimmo qui vocatur Tomoworthing".

827: Egbert of Wessex unites England.

840-845: King Berthwulph issues seven charters.

852-874: Burgred, King of Mercia

855: King Burgred signs two charters at Tamworth.

855: Tamworth clergy sign Burgred's charter.

857: Burgred, 20th King of Mercia signs a grant at Tomanuworthig. (This is the last one recorded at Tamworth)

c.864: The birth of Aethelflaed, the eldest child of King Alfred of Wessex and his Queen Ealhswith.

874: The Vikings drove Burgred from Mercia after they had sacked Tamworth. Burgred retired to Rome and died there.

874: Ceowulf, a Mercian, was appointed King of Mercia by the Vikings.

877: The Mercian kingdom came to an end after an existence of nearly 300 years.

871-901: Alfred the Great, father of Aethelflaed `the lady of the Mercian's', rules southern England.

874: Tamworth and church destroyed by Danes and for 39 years remained "a heap of blackened ruins".

c.888: Lord Aethelred II of the Mercians is struck down with a debilitating illness. His wife, Princess Aethelflaed of Wessex joins him as joint ruler of Mercia.

889: Lord Aethelred II and Lady Aethelflaed of the Mercians begin their policy of fortifying Mercian cities as defensive burghs, starting with Worcester.

901-999: 10th century: The County Boundaries are laid down; Tamworth is divided between Staffordshire and Warwickshire.

910-954: Northern England (Danelaw) re-conquered from Danes.

913: Tamworth and church rebuilt. Fortification of Tamworth by Aethelflaed, one of a series of forts built as part of her successful campaign against the Danes.

918: (13th June) Aethelflaed dies at Tamworth. Edward, King of Wessex, her brother, occupies the town and received the submission of the Mercians. December of the same year, Edward again visits Tamworth, deprives Aelfwyn, daughter of Aethelflaed "of all authority among the Mercians" and takes her away to Wessex.

925: Great Council held at Tamworth appoints Athelstan (Aethelflaed's nephew) the first King of the English (Mercia and Wessex), crowned at Tamworth.

925: At a great battle, Athelstan defeats Sigtrygg the Danish Jarl of Northumbria, and uses his great powers of diplomacy to arrange a marriage at Tamworth Church between his sister, Editha, and his defeated foe on condition that the latter embraces Christianity.

925: Sigtrygg breaks troth and relapses into paganism, deserting Editha who retires into a convent which she founds at Tamworth. (She was to become the patron saint of the parish church.)

927: Aethelflaed's nephew Athelstan, first `King of all Britain', crowned at Kingston upon Thames.

928: King Athelstan confirms the privilege of mintage at Tamworth, first recorded Tamworth coin dates from this time.

943: Tamworth and second church destroyed by Danes, led by Sigtrygg's son Anlaf `the Terrible'.

960: Editha, (the sister of King Athelstan) who is said to have founded Polesworth Abbey, died.

963: King Edgar rebuilds church and possibly founds a college, but Tamworth ceases to be a royal residence, though still retains its royal privilege of minting.

978-1016: Inept King Ethelraed `Unraed' (the Unready) rules the kingdom.

1000: King Ethelred attempts to buy off further Danish attacks by paying `Danegeld.'

1004: Wulfric Spott, who founded Abbey at Burton-on-Trent, mentions lands at Tamworth, also a convent at Tamworth.

1010: Wulfric Spott, of Burton, in his Will writes of the "Conventui in Tamwurthin."

1016-1035: Canute of Denmark king.

1042-66: Edward the Confessor king.

1066: The Norman conquest.

1066-1072: The Normans arrived in Tamworth and built the present mound or motte with a wooden palisade and tower on top of it.

1072: William the Conqueror bestows the wooden Tamworth Castle upon his champion, Robert de Marmion, Lord of Fontenaye, in Normandy.

c.1080: Marmion believed to have rebuilt and enlarged the church.

1086: Doomsday Book; Tamworth is not directly included in the survey, but under the entry for the Manor of Drayton it is stated that eight Tamworth Burgesses labour in that Manor as other villeins do.

1100: King Henry I holds court at Tamworth Castle.

1120: William, heir of Henry I of England, was drowned in the wreck of the "White Ship" off Normandy, together with 300 others including Geoffrey Ridel, the Lord of Drayton, whose widow subsequently founded a Benedictine Monastery at Canwell.

1131: The Staffordshire Manor of Tamworth is pardoned by Royal Writ from payment of its annual fee farm rent (already reduced from 30 shillings to 25 shillings) because of the poverty of the Burgesses.

c.1139: The legendary appearance of the ghost of St. Editha to the 3rd Baron Marmion.

1141-1148: Empress Matilda (daughter of Henry I) captures King Stephen at the battle of Lincoln, give's the Town and Castle to one of her adherents, Sir William de Beauchamp.

1148: Empress Matilda reigns disastrously as queen; she is driven out by a popular rising. Robert Marmion was restored to the Castle by King Stephen for services rendered to the King by his father, who was one of the staunchest supporters of King Stephen against the claims of the Empress Matilda to the throne.

1158: King Henry II with Thomas a Beckett (later Archbishop of Canterbury) visit Tamworth Castle.

1158: Henry II reduced the number of mint's, the small mint at Tamworth was not one of these and was closed down, the last known coin to be minted in Tamworth was in the reign of King Stephen (1135-1154).

1159: William Burdett founded a Benedictine Monastery at Alvecote just outside Tamworth, he is said to have founded the monastery as an act of remorse after he had killed his wife.

c.1180: The stone Shell-Keep, the Tower and the Herringbone Curtain Wall were built.

1204: First reference to Bailiffs (Mayors).

1204: The first records of Tamworth market appear, but it is probably of earlier origin.

1215: Castle resists King John and is ordered to be destroyed. Order not carried out.

1215: References to prisoners at Tamworth Castle in orders written by King John.

c.1220: The North Wing, the oldest surviving apartment in the Castle is built.

1222: In the roll of tallage for Staffordshire, Tamworth is called `Villata de Tamworde.'

1233: Robert de Marmyon assigns his estate for seven years to the care of Peter de Rupibus, Bishop of Winchester.

1242: King Henry III granted the Manor of Wigginton to Henry de Hastings and his wife Ada together with other manors in exchange for land in Cheshire, but in 1266 the Manor is confiscated from his son because of his support for the rebel, Simon de Montford.

1245: High-bailiffs, one for the Warwickshire and the other for the Staffordshire side of the town, first mentioned.

1246: An inquisition is taken which states "the town is divided: by the two Counties, Stafford and Warwick and the King has on either side dyvers burgesses holding in the same manner as his freer tenants in Wygington. Rent of assize on the Warwick side 48 shillings 4 pence, on the Stafford side 50 shillings. The Burgesses on the Stafford side give pannage according to the number of their hogs 1/2 mark. The Dean and Cannons of the church receive the issues of the fair, but the issues of the market appertain to the King which are worth with pleas, fines and other perquisites of courts on the Stafford side 50 shillings and on the Warwick side 50 shillings". The two Manors of Tamworth are granted to Philip de Marmion, Lord of Tamworth Castle.

1250-1260: Original north aisle of Tamworth Church built.

1250-1260: Old font (now in St George's Chapel) installed in Tamworth Church.

1257: Henry III visits Tamworth Castle.

1257: William Marmion the first recorded Dean of Tamworth.

1258: The Spital Chapel (built earlier) endowed by Philip Marmion.

1258: Philip Marmion complained to the King's court that his crop's had been reaped and stolen and his men maltreated in Tamworth market.

1262: Philip Marmion was accused of a multitude of outlaws - after sending welshman and other's to neighbouring Bitterscote, breaking the mill doors, damaging the mill-pool and taking flour from the mill to Tamworth Castle.

1274: Spital Chapel rebuild by Philip Marmion.

1275: Philip Marmion's men attacked the Bishop of Leighlin and stole two of his horses.

1276: Holy Well of St Ruffianus, in Castle Grounds, first mentioned. (The well is probably of Saxon origin).

1285-1544: Spital Chapel used as way side house of prayer and refreshment.

1289: First record of Gungate, anciently Gumpiyate or Gumpigate. Alan de Gumpigate mentioned in Court Rolls.

1291: Philip Marmion, the last and eighth Baron, died.

1293-1547: Old Stone Cross stands in Church Street.

1294-1727: Pillory in the Market Place, recorded. - First mentioned, when Nicholas Alcus was sentenced to it, on his conviction for selling light loaves, for the third time.

1294: Castle passed by marriage from the Marmions to Frevilles.

1294: Ladybridge first recorded (Bridge of Our Lady).

1294: It was ordered that the makers of tripe's henceforth do not wash tripe's except by the lord's bridge (Ladybridge) where it will not be harmful to the town, under pain of 12d.

1296: It was ordered that no one allow strange women to brew in his house under pain of half a mark and that no one carry his malt to be ground or water for brewing under the same pain. ("Strange women" = women from outside the borough.)

1297-1580: The Bull Ring at the junction of George Street, Bolebridge Street and Colehill, recorded.

1304: First record of town name being spelt as present "Tamworth".

1304: It was ordered under pain of 2s.(10p) and the forfeiture of anything found that women who sell the entrails of oxen or other animals shall not henceforth throw out refuse at their doors to the harm and abomination of passers-by.

1312: Bole Mill and Bole Bridge first recorded.

1316: Bolebridge Street first recorded (Bollebruggestrete).

1317: (21st Oct.) Rent to be paid to the King for the use of his land - "Commitment during the pleasure of the King to Baldwin de Freville of the keeping of the King's portions within the town of Tamworth at the rent of £4:16:0 (£4.80) a year at the Exchequer".

1317: Grant by Edward II of the Warwickshire part of the town and confirming former privileges.

1318: Robert Slorecock surrendered custody of Ladybridge to the town's burgesses.

1319: Letters Patent of Edward II, given at York on the 27th May. The Warwickshire Manor, described as being "of the ancient demesne of the Crown" is given to the Burgesses, their heirs successors in consideration of the payment of a yearly fee farm rent of 5 pounds 16 shillings. Charter granted, and ancient prescriptive rights confirmed by Edward II.

1326: (11-12 March) King Edward II visits Tamworth Castle before going on to Lichfield.

1327: Alexander de Freville is the King's Champion at the Coronation of Edward III, by right of his barony and Castle of Tamworth.

1332: Ranilf Blonded of Chester was hanged for stealing seventeen pigs at Hopewaswode.

1337: Edward III made a grant of two fairs, to be held on St. George's Day and St. Edward's Day, and the four succeeding days.

1337: John le White was fined 2d.(1p) "for evacuating his bowels to the abomination of neighbours and passers-by".

1345: Great Fire of Tamworth (23rd May) - most of the Church and the central portion of the town is destroyed. The townspeople request relief from their taxes because of this calamity.

1346-1366: Tamworth Church (the fourth) rebuilt by Dean of Tamworth, Baldwin de Witney.

1348: The `Black Death' kills approximately 35% of population.

1348: The inhabitants of Tamworth besieged Sir Baldwin in his Castle, cutting off his supplies.

1357: It was ordered that no brewer sell ale above 1d.(.5p) a gallon, under pain of 12d.(6p).

1367: It was ordered that henceforth no man or women put, or cause to be put, the entrails of oxen upon the pavement, under pain of 3s. 4d. (17p).

1368: Ordered by the assent of the whole township on the part of the county Warwick that no men or women from Wales sell ale in Gumpigate, under pain of forfeiture of all their ale each time.

1368: All who refuse to watch according to the custom of the town shall pay 4d.(2p) a time to the Bailiffs.

1369: Lichfield Street first recorded (Lichefeldstrete).

1369: Baldwin de Witney, Dean of Tamworth died and is laid to rest within the newly rebuilt Church.

1371: Ordered that any butcher putting blood or entrails upon the pavement shall give 6d. each time to the Bailiffs.

1377: Claim of Sir Baldwin Freville to perform the office of Champion at the Coronation of Richard II disputed by Sir John Dymoke, owner of Scrivelsby Manor. The latter performed the office.

1378: King Richard II issues a charter.

1380-1420: Tamworth Church tower erected. The height to the battlements is 92 feet and the highest weather vane is 130 feet, it has a double spiral staircase, one of only two within the UK, (it was originally intended to have a high central spire but the plan was abandoned when it was discovered that subsidence had taken place).

1383: The Court Leet ordered Ladybridge to be repaired.

1390: It was ordered that men charged to watch at night are forbidden to eavesdrop by the walls of their neighbours' houses, under pain of 40d.

1390: It was ordered that each burgess send one able man to watch at night, under pain of 40d. for each default. - Apparently substitutes were allowed, provided that they were fit men.

1390: It was decreed that no-one should be out at night unless they carried a light.

1416: John Page was fined twopence (1p) in the Staffordshire court for throwing manure from the Warwickshire side of the town into the Staffordshire side.

1420: Sir Thomas Ferrers married Elizabeth Freville, heiress of Tamworth castle.

1424: An order was made by the Tamworth Court Leet:- that anyone who left manure in Aldergate must pay a fine of 6d. to the Bailiffs.

1425: It was ordered that if any boy breaks the church windows his father shall pay 8d., (4d. to the Bailiffs and 4d. to the church).

c.1437: Tamworth Castle's baronial banqueting hall (Great Hall) built.

1440: Kettlebrook first recorded (Ketulbroke).

1444: An order prohibited the depositing of manure by the Church stile.

1448: (13th Oct) The twelve jurors ordered that the Dean of the church ring the bell daily at the third hour.

1455: The Butcher - the east end of Church Street - first mentioned.

1455-1484: Wars of the Roses.

c.1460: Former Watson's newsagents shop (now Baldric's Wine Bar) built.

1460: Henry Jeeke was fined for putting refuse in the River Tame by Ladybridge.

1460-1480: Tamworth Church clerestory built.

1465-83: The legendary meeting supposedly takes place between Edward IV and the "Tanner of Tamworth". An early ballad relates how Edward makes sport of the Tanner who mistakes the King for a highway robber. Edward finally reveals himself and rewards the Tanner who promises:- "if ever thou comest to merrie Tamworth Neates leather shall clout thy shoen".

1485: Richmond's army encamped on Staffordshire Moor, before the Battle of Redemore Plain (Bosworth).

1485: Earl of Richmond, afterwards King Henry VII, reputed to have attended mass on the tower of Tamworth Church before the Battle of Redemore Plain (Bosworth).

1500: Sir John Ferrers was elected Sheriff of Staffordshire.

1505: An order was made by the Tamworth Court Leet:- "No one from henceforth to sell fresh fish before bringing them into the common market, penalty 6d."

1506: Sir John Ferrers was made High Steward of Tamworth by King Henry VIII.

1509: Pooley Hall built at Polesworth, Warwickshire, believed to be one of the first brick residences in the County.

1512: Sir John Ferrers, lord of Tamworth Castle, dies, He held the office, as some of his ancestors had, of high steward of the town. He is succeeded by his son Humphrey.

1516: The Court Leet ordered that butchers should henceforth not sharpen axes or knives upon the cross, penalty 12d. to the common chest. - This was the Stone Cross at the junction of Colehill and Gungate; the Butchery was opposite.

1517: It was ordered that all who have pigs must keep them out of the market and the churchyard, penalty for each pig, 1d., half to the church and half to the chamberlains.

1519: The monks of Alvecote Priory (who were Lords of the manor) decided to increase their flocks of sheep, and to make this possible, part of the village of Shuttington was depopulated, (eight cottages were destroyed at their order).

1534: A Robert Parrott was chaplain of Spital Chapel, the chapel and it's appurtenances being then worth £3.6.8d (£3.34) a year.

1536: Alvecote Priory destroyed by order of Henry VIII's commissioners.

1541: Historian Leyland visits Tamworth and reports to Henry VIII that "the base courte and greate warde of the castle is clene decayed, and the waulls faulin downe...The dungeon hille yet standithe, and a great round towre of stone on it, wherein Mr Ferrares dwellithe, and now repayreth.''

1547: Tamworth Grammar School founded by the medieval Guild of St. George.

1551: William Wodde was fined 12d. for keeping his servants in at sermon time in contravention of a order made by the jurors in the previous year.

1552: First record of a peal of bells at St. Editha's, when church commissioners carried out an inventory of churches.

1558: St. Editha Parish Church Registers commenced.

1559: The Deanery (remains of which are still visible behind the Stone Cross pub) destroyed by fire.

1560-1563: The Plague in Tamworth.

1560: Elizabeth I grants the town a Charter of Incorporation confirming all the previously held rights and privileges, the market, the two annual fairs and the town courts etc. The two Manors of Tamworth are brought together under the government of two bailiffs and twenty four Capital Burgesses.

1563: Tamworth sends two Members to Parliament.

1567: Queen Elizabeth I stay's at Middleton Hall for a week and before leaving she knighted the then owner Francis Willoughby.

1572: Moat House built by the Walter Harcourt, after his death it passed to his wife's (Comberford) family.

1576: John Ferrers dies. He was High Steward.

1577: Humphrey Ferrers appointed High Steward both by the Crown and by the Corporation of the town.

1579-98: The Plague in Tamworth.

1581-83: Queen Elizabeth sells the decanal and prebendal lands.

1586: John Ferrers, MP for Tamworth.

1586: The earliest reference for coal mining in the area - "raffe-baker slean in a col pitt burr" (a drift mine, probably in the Wilnecote area).

1588: Queen Elizabeth's second charter, appoints the Earl of Essex first High Steward, and constitutes the Corporate Body Guardians and Governors of the Grammar School.

1588: Queen Elizabeth's second charter grants a third fair to the town, which became known as St. Editha's Fair or the Cherry Fair.

1592: Letter from Earl of Essex to Richard Bagot nominates "for Tanmworth my servant Thomas Smith"..."for the Parliament to be held verie shortlie."

1593-1629: Protonotary, or first Town Clerk, Henry Mitchell.

1596-97: Famine and plague visit the Borough. The Parish Register records that "dyvers died of ye blouddie flixe at which time the darth of corne somewhat abated by reason of deathe".

1599: The Earl of Essex leaves Drayton Manor with an army for the conquest of Ireland.

1606: (31st Jan.) Former Tamworth MP Robert Wright was hung, drawn and quartered for his part in attempting to blow up the Houses of Parliament with Guy Fawkes.

1606: Outbreak of the Plague.

1607-1672: A new ring of six bells placed in St. Editha's Church belfry.

c.1619: State drawing room and apartments on south side of Castle added.

1619: King James I stays at Tamworth Castle while his son Prince Charles (later Charles I) stays at the Moat House.

1621: King James re-visits Tamworth Castle.

1624: King James I once again stays at Tamworth Castle.

1626: Further outbreak of the Plague. In October 11 persons buried `cum multis' aliiss ratiore pestis.'

1629: Thomas Blake, eminent Puritan divine and writer, appointed Vicar of Tamworth.

1635: First record of a "Victualling House" owned by Thomas Lakin on the site of the Castle Hotel.

1642-9: English civil war.

1643: Tamworth Castle, occupied by Royalist forces, is besieged and surrenders to the Parliamentary army on the 26th June. The Town supports Cromwell. Command is given to Captain Waldyre Willington.

1643-44: Cromwell's Committee of Safety appoint Theophilus Lord to be Minister of Tamworth.

1643-46: Continuous fighting wages between Parliamentarian Tamworth and Royalist Lichfield.

1645: Scots army comes to Tamworth (4th July).

1645: Richard Vaughton of Comberford is buried after being slain at Lichfield in the war. Thomas Piccard of Comberford slain in Lichfield Close. Robert Brabin murdered in Lichfield Close.

1649: (13th July) Cromwell's "Council of State" orders Tamworth Castle to be dismantled or destroyed. (Order not carried out).

1654: Tamworth is deprived by Cromwell of its Parliamentary representation. No members returned in 1654, 1656, and 1658.

1660: Restoration of the monarchy (Charles II) enables Tamworth to resume Parliamentary representation, returning two members.

1660: George Antrobus "whose memory ought to be perpetuated to eternity" appointed Grammar School Master.

1663: King Charles II renews Elizabeth's two charters of Incorporation.

1668: The town's charter surrendered to James II.

1671: South aisle roof re-instated in Tamworth Church.

1678: Grammar School in Lower Gungate rebuilt (it stood opposite BJ's Wine Bar).

1678: Almshouses built in Lower Gungate by Thomas Guy to accommodate 7 poor women.

1680: Ann Ferrers succeeded to the Castle.

1687: Charter restored by James II.

1688: Tamworth Castle passes to the Shirleys of Chartley on the marriage of Ann Ferrers to Robert Shirley (Earl Ferrers), uniting the two main branches of the Ferrers family - Chartley and Tamworth - after a lapse of more than four centuries.

1686: John Rawlett bequeaths library, school and charities to town.

1687: Thomas Viscount Weymouth founds Spinning School - giving a barn and fold on south side of a lane leading from the school house of Tamworth towards Amington Hall.

1692: Guy's Almshouses enlarged, Guy created a library room (one of the first public libraries in England), to house the books bequeathed to the Grammar School by his fellow ex-pupil John Rawlett.

1695: The building now occupied by Dewes and Sons Solicitors on Colehill built, it was once home to the Willington Family.

1695-1707: Thomas Guy serves as MP for Tamworth.

1700: Staffordshire side Town Hall (in Lichfield Street) pulled down.

1701: A new Town Hall is provided for the Borough by Thomas Guy, member of Parliament for Tamworth.

1702: (20th July) First meeting in the new Town Hall of the "Bayliffes and Capital Burgesses" of the town,

1703: School of Industry founded.

1704: George Street, anciently known as Bullstake or Bullstock Street, first mentioned.

1707: when the local people did not re-elect him to Parliament Thomas Guy accused the townsfolk of being ungrateful to him. He never really forgave the people of Tamworth for this and later in his will he excluded the residents of the town from benefiting from his alms houses.

1708: Dr Samuel Shaw appointed Grammar School Master.

1711: Title of Earl Ferrers and Viscount Tamworth granted to Baron Ferrers of Chartley, who intended them to descend with the male children of his eldest son, Robert Shirley. But the Baron survived his son and his three grandsons, and on his death the titles went to a branch of the family unconnected with Tamworth.

1712: The town's Bailiffs ordered that "The overseers of the poor of Tamworth provide brass letters of "TP" (Tamworth Poor) for such poor as receive weekly pay of the town".

1714: William Inge, MP for Tamworth.

1715: Castle passes to the Comptons of Northampton (Lord Northampton) like the Shirleys they did not reside in the Castle.

1719: Bailiffs direct that the Spinning School should be converted into houses for the poor.

1723: Daniel Defoe (author of Robinson Crusoe) called Tamworth "a small but very handsome market town".

1724: Unitarian Chapel built (it now serves as the Navy Club in Victoria Road).

1724: Death of Thomas Guy.

1724: Epidemic of smallpox in Tamworth.

1724: In Hopwas, Thomas Barnes grants his house for the education of poor children.

1726: (26th Feb.) Earliest known Tamworth Post Mark. Letter from Thomas Orton (Guy's cousin) from London to Mr Jos Wilson at the "Syne of the Wool Pack in Tamworth Warwickshire", The Wool Pack Tavern stood on the Warwickshire side of Church Street.

1730: Piece of ground given as a cemetery by Mrs Grace Wolverston of Statfold.

1731: North aisle roof of Tamworth Church re-instated.

1739: Bailiffs decide to erect a workhouse.

1741: James Earl of Northampton, Lord of the Castle, gives land in Gungate adjoining Colehill to erect a workhouse.

1745: Bonnie Prince Charlie's advance guard stable in College Lane.

1750: Workhouse in Gungate abandoned and another house on Lady Bank (now known as the Brewery House) erected and furnished at the expense of Thomas Weymouth and Francis Lord Middleton.

1751: Castle passes to the Townshends of Raynham in Norfolk (Marquis Townshend).

1761: Lawsuit rages between the Repingtons of Amington Hall and the Corporation as to the appointment of Tamworth Vicars. Settled in favour of the former.

1766: First organ installed in Tamworth Church.

1770: Marquis Townshend succeeds to the Castle and manor of Tamworth.

1771: First record of Methodist preachers in Tamworth.

1771: Town Hall's outside staircase was replaced by extra rooms with an inside staircase.

1777: Wigginton chapel rebuilt.

1783: Marquis Townshend refaced portion of the south side of Castle.

1783: The north wall of the Castles' Great Hall is whitewashed, irretrievably destroying a 16th century mural of a combat between Sir Lancelot du Lac and Sir Tarquin.

1785: Birmingham and Coventry canals linked at Fazeley.

1786: The Castle is 'new fronted' by Lord Townshend.

1788: Cotton mills built on Lady Meadow by Mr Robert Peel (1st Baronet).

1790: Mr Robert Peel elected MP for Tamworth.

1790: The Coventry Canal is opened.

1790-92: Mr Robert Peel purchases Drayton Manor, and rents the Castle (to use as a forge) and Castle Mill for printing calicoes.

1791: Peel build's water-powered cotton mill on the Coventry and Fazeley Canals at Fazeley.

1792: The original stone floor of the Castles' Great Hall, destroyed by Peels' forge, replaced by a floor of red bricks, they are still there under the present wooden floor.

1792: Second organ installed in Tamworth Church.

1792: A roman lead ingot 'pig' (dating from 76 AD) was dug up by labourers on Hints Common (Moor), It measures about 23 inches (595mm) long and weighs about 150Ibs. (it is now to be seen in the British Museum).

1794: Methodist Society moved in to a small building in Bolebridge Street, with the help of Sir Robert Peel.

1795: Tamworth Fire Brigade founded.

1795: Part of the north-west pinnacle of Tamworth Church Tower damaged by lightning.

1795: Ladybridge destroyed by severe winter weather.

1796: Freemason's Lodge of Harmony founded.

1796: Robert Peel helps pay to have Ladybridge rebuilt.

1797: Addition to cemetery on north-west side of Church consecrated.

1798: The independent Tamworth Volunteer Troop raised, part of Staffordshire Yeomanry from 1813.

1798: The Tamworth Arts Centre building was originally built as a theatre (known as "The Theatre").

1799: New Ladybridge opens.

1800: Mr Robert Peel earns Baronetcy.

1801: Census of population of Borough 2,786 (1,154 Staffordshire - 1,632 Warwickshire) - Census of population of Parish 5,337.

1801: Tamworth had a total of 545 houses (228 Staffordshire - 317 Warwickshire).

1802: First Sir Robert Peel (1st Baronet) elected MP for Tamworth.

1804: Permanent free library established.

1805: Lord Townshend created a public passageway between Market Street and George Street (Middle Entry).

1807: Tamworth's pavements flagged for the first time.

1807: Nave roof re-instated in church.

1807: Tamworth's first known post office on the corner of Market Street and Silver Street demolished to make way for an extension to the King's Arms, (later renamed the Peel Arms).

1808: Walter Scott finished `Marmion', a poem telling of the skullduggery and tragedy surrounding Lord Marmion's unrequited love for Clara de Clare (Tamworth Castle is mentioned in verse X1 of the poem)

1809: St. Editha's church was repewed and the whole edifice completely repaired.

1810: Holloway Lodge built.

1810: Fazeley church (St. Paul) erected and endowed by the Sir Robert Peel.

1810: Market Street Gate rebuilt on foundations of a 13th century gatehouse.

1811: Sir Robert Peel (1st Baronet) first elected High Steward.

1811: Census of population of Borough 2,991 (1,327 Staffordshire - 1,664 Warwickshire) - Population of Parish 5,994.

1812: The two rooms added to the Town Hall in 1771 were enlarged.

1813-1816: First Baptist Chapel in Peel Street.

1815: Market Street Gate rebuild.

1816: First Tamworth Bank failure.

1816: New larger Wesleyan Methodist Chapel erected in Bolebridge Street.

1817: Mr John Robins, who owned the Castle for a short time, donated a clock to be mounted on the Town Hall.

1818: Handbook (timetable) issued giving details of coaches departing from Kings Arms (Peel Arms) to London daily at 2.00 pm and to Liverpool daily at 7.00 am.

1819: The second failure of the Tamworth Bank causes great hardship to many townspeople.

1820: Peel School founded in Church Street, adjoining the Churchyard. Moved to Lichfield Street in 1837.

1820: Bolebridge, following a severe accident the sidewalls were raised.

1821: Holy Trinity church, Wilnecote, was rebuilt.

1821: Census of population of Borough 3,574 (1,636 Staffordshire - 1,938 Warwickshire) - Population of Parish 7,177.

1821: Theatre build on corner of Church Lane, Lower Gungate later becomes Baptist Chapel.

1823: Tamworth Savings Bank founded by Sir Robert Peel.

c.1825: Small Lodge built next to the Market Street Gate (now shop).

1827: Guy's Almshouses partly rebuilt and new rooms added.

1827: Congregational Chapel built in Aldergate (now an Indian restaurant).

1827 - 1838: J.M.W. Turner painted Tamworth Castle as part of his series "Picturesque Views in England and Wales".

1828: Sir Walter Scott visits Tamworth Castle, 20 years after writing his poem `Marmion' (see above).

1828: National school built in College Lane (now a furniture warehouse).

1828: Repington Arms built by Charles Repington of Amington Hall, later renamed "Pretty Pigs".

1829: St John's Catholic Church built.

1829: Etienne Bruno Hamel's "Illustrations of Tamworth" first appeared as a series of prints.

1830: Sir Robert Peel (2nd Baronet) elected as Tamworth's MP.

1830: Wigginton chapel enlarged.

1831: Census of population of Borough 3,537 (1,711 Staffordshire - 1,836 Warwickshire).

1831-35: Sir Robert Peel (2nd Baronet) rebuilds Drayton Manor.

1832: The limits of the Borough extended to the whole parish.

1833: Tamworth Castle purchased by Lord Charles Vere Ferrers Townshend.

1833: High winds blew down a portion of the northwest pinnacle of St. Editha's Tower.

1834: A number of St. Editha's bells were relined.

1834: Sir Robert Peel makes his famous address "The Tamworth Manifesto" to the electors of his constituency, the Borough of Tamworth. (Historically important being the first of the modern electoral manifestos.)

1835: First town council elected. Bailiffs and Capital Burgesses replaced by a Mayor, four aldermen and 12 councillors appointed under Municipal Corporation Act. Office of High Steward lapses.

1835: The Tamworth Gaslight and Coal Company was formed.

1836: Robert Nevill becomes first Mayor of Tamworth.

1836: Hopwas chapel (St. John) built near the canal.

1836: The ancient and ruinous chapel at Amington was rebuild.

1837: First Peel school (now a betting shop) built in Lichfield Street.

1837: Poor Law Institution (Tamworth Workhouse) built off Wigginton Road. (It later becomes part of St Editha's Hospital.)

1838: Six female servants perish in a fire at the Castle Hotel (memorial still stands in Tamworth Churchyard).

1838: A second roman lead ingot "pig" (dating from 76 AD) was found on Hints Common, (the pack-saddle companion of the one found in the same place in 1772) It measures about 23 inches (595mm) long and weighs about 150Ibs. (It is now to be seen in the Tamworth Story Exhibition at the Castle). It carries the inscription "IMP. VESP. VII. T. IMP. V. COS.".

1839: (7th Jan.) Violent gale blew down the top of the southeast pinnacle and battlements of St. Editha's Tower.

1839: Gas first used for street lighting in the Borough.

1839: (4th Aug.) Completion of the nineteen arches viaduct enables opening of the Birmingham and Derby railway, by George Stephenson driving his engine "Tamworth" over it.

1839: Chancel added to Hopwas Chapel.

1839: Dowager Queen Adelaide, widow of King William IV, visits Sir Robert Peel at Drayton Manor.

1839: Ladybridge widened to accommodate more traffic, partly paid for by Sir Robert Peel, Henry Mitchell the town mason placed a lead time casket containing relevant things of the day.

1840: (April) Charles Dickens passed through Tamworth and was joined in the town by his younger brother Alfred who was sent to Birmingham to retrieve Dickens's gold watch from a pawn brokers.

1841: Census of population of Borough 3,789 (1,797 Staffordshire - 1,992 Warwickshire) - Population of Parish 7,746.

1842: Fazeley becomes a parish.

1843: Chancel added to Amington Chapel.

1843: Queen Victoria passes through the town on her way to Drayton Manor on an official visit and stays with her Prime Minster, Sir Robert Peel.

1843: The northwest pinnacle of St. Editha's Tower suffered damage during a violent thunderstorm.

1844: Visit of Czar Nicholas I to Drayton Manor and Tamworth.

1844: Miss Wolferstan becomes tenant of Tamworth Castle.

1844: (18 Nov.) David Kay , a native of Glasgow, fell to his death from the northwest pinnacle of the church. Aged 35, he was presumably a stonemason repairing the storm damage of 1843.

1845: Sir Robert Peel (Prime Minister) cut first turf for the Trent Valley Railway line in the presence of George Stevenson.

1845: The History of the Town and Castle of Tamworth published by Rev C F Palmer.

1845: The Town Hall was again extended to the east.

1846: Opening of Tamworth "High Level" railway station.

1847: Charles Canning, a colliery owner teamed up with John Gibbs to concentrate on the manufacture of bricks, tiles and stoneware in Glascote. Gibbs and Canning supplied terracotta facings for numerous buildings worldwide, including the Natural History Museum, London.

1847: (4 Dec) Opening of the Trent Valley Railway line - Low Level.

1848: First shafts of Pooley Hall Pit were sunk, (this was the beginning of the establishment of deep coal mining as a local industry).

1850: Second Peel School (now part of Shannon Mill sheltered housing scheme) built in Lichfield Street.

1850: Death of Sir Robert Peel (2nd Baronet) - He served as Prime Minister from 1834-5 and 1841-6.

1851: Piece of land given by Miss Hester Wolferstan fronting to Aldergate as a new burial ground.

1851: Census of population of Borough 4,059 (1,915 Staffordshire - 2,144 Warwickshire).

1852: (23 July) Peel statue unveiled in front of the town hall, sculpted by Matthew Noble.

1852: The steps of the ancient stone cross in Church Street removed.

1853: New font placed in nave of church.

1854: Two Tamworth men, Private Samuel Parkes VC and Private John Edden CM, are among the `Noble 600' who hurtle towards blazing Russian guns in the ill-fated Charge of the Light Brigade. Both survive.

1854: Building Society founded.

1855: Spital House (next to Chapel) built by Bishop Steere's, St Alban's Guild, a religious community for men, project was later abandoned.

1856: Wilnecote was formed into separate ecclesiastical parish.

1857: Sir William Peel, 3rd son of the Prime Minister, was one of the first to receive the Victoria Cross.

1858: Lord Townshend, MP for Tamworth dies - Mr John Peel elected in his place.

1858: Albert Yarrow open's "General Clothiers and Outfitters" shop in Market Street.

1861: Census of population of Borough 4,326 (1,989 Staffordshire - 2,337 Warwickshire).

1862: The town's Fire Station House opened in College Lane.

1863: After Lord Townshend's death the Moat House is acquired by Dr Robert Woody, who opened it for the local horticultural show, thereafter; the house was used as a private nursing home for the mentally ill.

1864: New Amington Church (St Editha's) built by Charles Henry Reppington.

1864: National Provincial Bank built on Market Street, designed by John Gibson.

1865: Post Office opens in George Street.

1865: Freemason's Marmion lodge founded.

1867: Grammar School moves from Lower Gungate (building demolished) to a new building erected on present site in Upper Gungate.

1868: Daniel Addison founds The Tamworth Herald. Original premises in Silver Street.

1869: Bolebridge Street Mission founded and endowed by Mr Hutton.

1869: Miss Wolferstan dies and Mr E Wood becomes tenant of Tamworth Castle.

1869: Thomas Cook becomes the last tenant of Tamworth Castle. He stays there until 1898.

1870: Three people killed when Irish Mail express is derailed at Tamworth.

1870: St John's School (St John Street) built.

1870: Tamworth Church's three decker pulpit of 1792; replaced by present pulpit.

1870: Theatre in Church Lane convertrd in to Baptish Chapel.

1871: Census of population of Borough 4,589 (2,351 Staffordshire - 2,238 Warwickshire).

1871: Number of houses in Tamworth over 1000 for the first time (1,017 - 512 Staffordshire - 505 Warwickshire).

1871: The Tamworth voluntary fire brigade was taken over by the Corporation.

1871: Tamworth Young Men's Christian Association formed.

1871: Tamworth Natural History, Geological and Antiquarian Society formed.

1872: John Peel, formerly MP of Tamworth, dies.

1872: A Medical Officer of Health was first appointed for Tamworth.

1872: St. Paul's Church Dosthill opened and consecrated by the Bishop of Worcester, replacing Dosthill Chapel as the main place of worship in the village.

1872: "The Marmion Stone" or "Cross and Dial" a pedestal, supporting either an image of the Virgin and Child, or a cross was removed from the west wall of Ladybridge to it's present position in front of the Tower, near the entrance to the Castle.

1872: Female Christian Association formed in Tamworth.

1873: Tamworth Cattle Sales Yard opened (there was previously a sales yard in Church Street).

1873: Last gallery removed from St Editha's Church.

1873: Stained glass windows (Marmion) by Ford Madox-Brown, RA, placed in chancel of St. Editha's.

1874: Stained glass windows, (St Christopher and Angels of Creation) by Sir Edward Burne-Jones, RA, placed in St George's Chapel at Tamworth Parish Church.

1874: First school board elected.

1875: (10 Nov) The factory of Thomas Cooke in Lichfield Street was destroyed by fire causing £18,000 worth of damage and "over 600 hands are thus thrown of employment".

1875: The Town purchased a Merryweather steam fire engine with a hose cart and fire escape (extending ladder-cart).

1875: Birch Coppice Colliery (also known as Hall End) began production.

1876: Last meeting of the Court Leet. (In Tamworth the Court Leet (or Court of View of Frankpledge), consisting of twelve jurors, which met twice a year. In addition to functioning as a court, it made orders and regulations, from time to time to govern and administer the town. This position existed from Anglo-Saxon times until the Borough was incorporated in 1560, however the Court Leet continued in a less significant roll until 1876.)

1876: St Editha's parish churchyard closed and Wigginton Road cemetery opened.

1876: Cemetery Lodge built at the Glascote Road, Cemetery.

1876: (Mar.) Public meeting in support of the proposal to form a Co-operative store in Tamworth (proposal carried).

1876: Edward Farmer local writer of "Little Jim" or "The Collier's Child" died age 67.

1877: 294 coins dating back to King William I (a number from the Tamworth Mint) discovered on the Marmion Street School site.

1877: Marmion Street schools erected (first board schools).

1877: Wesleyan Methodist Temple erected in Victoria Road (now converted to flats).

1877: Bolebridge Street, Wesleyan Methodist Chapel converted into school.

1878: Record flood, both the rivers Tame and Anker burst their banks.

1878: Rev William MacGregor (one of Tamworth's greatest benefactors) succeeds the Rev Brook Lambert as Vicar of Tamworth.

1878: Second Bolebridge opened.

1879: School of Industry built in Marmion Street.

1879: Water-works, first well, 165 feet deep, sunk at Hopwas.

1879-81: St Chad's Hopwas built by Vicar of Tamworth, Rev William MacGregor.

1880: Cottage hospital opened (a total of 6 beds) in Hospital Street due to generosity of local benefactor Rev William MacGregor.

1880: Glascote reservoir constructed - water supplied from the Hopwas water-works.

1880: Glascote Church consecrated.

1880: The Corporation gave permission for the space underneath the Town Hall to be used as a house for the town's fire engine.

1880: St. George's Church Glascote opened.

1881: Census of population of Borough 4,891 (2,589 Staffordshire - 2,302 Warwickshire).

1881: Water mains were laid throughout the town and district, and the supply to consumers began.

1881: Opening of Polesworth School Board's new mixed Schools.

1882: Second storey added to cottage hospital.

1882: (2nd May) Baddesley/Baxterley Colliery - (Baxterley Pit) A underground engine overheated and fired the coal, followed by explosions and roof falls, 8 men and 1 boy entombed, a further 23 men lost in a heroic attempt at rescue. The dead included 3 brothers the sons of the pit deputy Charles Day, Mr W S Dugdale, owner of the pit and lord of the manor of Atherstone.

1882: Opening of Tamworth Free Library, Colehill.

1883: Kettlebrook Infants' School built.

1883: (Feb.) Baddesley/Baxterley Colliery Explosion, Albert Medals distributed to those who descended Baxterley Pit in search of the miners entombed there.

1883: William Tolson's steam powered mill opened at Fazeley.

1883: Toll House was removed from Ladybridge to make way for road widening and improving.

1884: The Revd. William MacGregor purchased the Church Street and Colehill corner site, and helped to found the Co-op movement in Tamworth on it.

1884: Tenor recast + Three more bells added to the four bells existing in St. Editha's Church belfry.

c.1884: "The Theatre" sold to the Elders of the Baptist Church.

1884: Coins of Henry III found at Bittercote Lane.

1884: Tamworth Corporation purchase land from the Sir Robert Peel estate, later to become Corporation Street.

1885: Tamworth loses its ancient privilege of returning two members to Parliament.

1885: St. George's Hall, Baths and Institute erected in Church Street by William MacGregor.

1885: Inaugural dinner of the newly formed Tamworth Conservative Association.

1886: Aldergate Free Methodist Church erected.

1886: Tamworth Co-operative Society founded.

1886: A lodge of Good Templary formed in Tamworth.

1886: (Nov.) Opening of new reading room and club at Kingsbury.

1887: Celebration of Queen Victoria's first Jubilee. Old people entertained to dinner and school children to tea in Market Street.

1887: Rev. William MacGregor announces his retirement on account of ill health. On June 21, he climbs the church tower and counts 33 beacons and bonfires lit in connection with the Queen's Jubilee.

1887: Formation of Farmer Club in Tamworth.

1888: Opening of the new commercial room at the Staffordshire Yeoman Inn, Market Street.

1888: Staffordshire's Association of Bell Ringers, Tamworth Branch, first peal ever rung exclusively by Tamworth men.

1889: The Local Government Act brings to an end the longstanding division of the Borough. The County boundaries are altered to place Tamworth wholly in Staffordshire, as according to the 1881 census this side of the town is slightly more populous. The first expansion of the Borough takes place and the Castle and that part of its liberty lying north of the river are incorporated within its boundaries.

1889: In November miners at the local collieries threaten to strike unless wages go up to 4 shillings and 3 pence for a 7-hour shift.

1889: (1st April) Tamworth becomes wholly a Staffordshire Borough, (based on the 1881 census more people lived in the Staffordshire part of the town).

1889: Tamworth Assembly Rooms opened, built to mark Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee.

1889: Hutton Wing added to Tamworth Hospital in Hospital Street.

1890: Portion of the parish of Bolehall and Glascote lying to the east of the Borough added to the Borough and placed in Staffordshire for local government purposes.

1891: Census of population of Borough 6,614 (the whole of the Borough is now in Staffordshire).

1891: William MacGregor builds a house at Bolehall. (Now Bolehall Manor Club).

1891: Bolehall Boys' School built (now MacGregor County Junior School).

1891: Tamworth Corporation bought land in Salters Lane from the Trustees of Sir Robert Peel to establish a depot for their highways department.

1893: An Isolation Hospital, for the treatment of infectious diseases was built on land adjoining the Warwickshire Moor at Bolehall opened.

1894: The original Prince of Wales, Lower Gungate, demolished and the present public house of the same name built.

1895: Kettlebrook Church Mission room erected in Orchard Street, Kettlebrook.

1896: First motor car seen on the roads in Tamworth.

1896: (17th Oct.) A portion of old oak floor found in the Town Hall during repairs. Rudely carved upon it are the fleur-de-lis, and "CR 1672 Robert Peake, Cornelius Osborne, Chamberlains." ( CR means Charles (II) Rex. - Robert Peake was a bailiff in 1664, 1674 and 1683, Cornlius Osborne was a town bailiff in 1670). It may have belonged to the Town Hall, which preceded the present building. (It is now be seen in the Tamworth Story Exhibition at the Castle).

1897: Tamworth Corporation with the help of the people of Tamworth purchased the Castle for £3000, in commemoration of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.

1897: Tamworth Co-op opens new premises on the corner of Church Street and Colehill.

1897: Boys' School in Hospital Street erected.

1897: Fazeley Parish Hall opened.

1897: Pooley Hall Pit becomes a colliery.

1897: (June) National Telephone Company opened an exchange in George Street.

1897: (16th Oct.) It took a charge by mounted police to bring a crowd of several hundred protester's under control, at the proposed site of Tamworth's first golf course at Glascote Heath. The course was established for a few years on the old coalfields beside the Polesworth Road at it's junction with Sheepcote Lane.

1898: Bolebridge Street - new schoolrooms adjoining the "Temple" were erected at a cost of £1,200.

1898: Fountain monument erected in Upper Gungate by Mrs Hutton (in memory of her husband), standing over 15 feet high and topped with a copper lantern.

1899: (22nd May) Tamworth Castle formally opened and dedicated "to the use of the public forever", by the Earl of Dartmouth.

1899: Tamworth Assembly Rooms opened, build to mark Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897.

1899: Upper floor added to the Holloway Lodge.

1900: Tamworth Grammar School, demolition of the old buildings.

1900: Creation of Corporation Street's southern approach saw the demolition of buildings on Church Street and Bradbury Square.

1900: Tamworth volunteers (part of the North Staffs Volunteer Company) leave to fight in the Boer War.

1900: Bandstand erected in Castle Grounds.

1900: Major extension to Castle Hotel built in Silver Street.

1900: First borough housing scheme undertaken by town council (Bradford Street - 12 houses).

1900: Bolebridge Street and Mill Lane flooded again.

1900: Peel heirlooms sold at auction for £73,600.

1900: Tamworth historian Rev Charles Ferrers Palmer died.

1901: The old Globe Inn, Lower Gungate, demolished and completely rebuilt by Thomas Bath.

1901: Trent Valley Railway track quadrupled.

1901: Census of population of Borough 7,271.

1901: (June) Joseph Cooper, a labourer from Stonydelph, was fined 10/- (50p), plus costs, for been drunk whilst in charge of a house and trap in Watling Street.

1901: Tamworth Castle Bowling Club formed.

1902: Opening of the new Globe Inn, Gungate.

1902: Opening of Wilnecote Methodist Free Church.

1902: The Salvation Army's General Booth comes to Tamworth.

1903: New offices and committee rooms built adjoining the existing Co-op buildings on Colehill.

1903: Last meeting of Tamworth school board, on schools being transferred to county.

1903: Started to build Infirmary off Wigginton Road. (It later becomes part of St Editha's Hospital.).

1903: Death of Mr C H Repington, last lay dean of Tamworth.

1904: The Red Lion at Hopwas rebuild.

1904: Sir Robert Peel (4th Baronet) made bankrupt.

1905: Free library built in Corporation Street, through the generosity of Mr Andrew Carnegie (now the Carnegie Centre).

1905: Tamworth Infirmary opened.

1907: Twenty-four hours of continuous rain caused rivers Anker and Tame to flood.

1907: One of the lemurs in the Castle Zoo was poisoned - presumably by a visitor.

1907: The Castle Committee organise a string band of their own called the "Castle Orchestra".

1908: Tamworth's sewerage system was constructed including treatment works at Coton.

1909: Opening of Kingsbury sewage works.

1910: (April) Tamworth Skating Rink, opened by the Mayor, situated in Market Street.

1910: Tamworth Girls' School founded.

1910: County Council takes over Tamworth Grammar School.

1910: First aeroplane flies over Tamworth.

1910: (June) Birch Coppice Colliery, suffered a pit fire no fatalities, but pit out of action for three weeks. The Warwickshire Miners Association decided that "as the men were thrown out of work through no fault of their own" they should receive "out of work pay" of one shilling (5 pence) per day, plus 6d.(2.5 pence) a week for each child for two weeks.

1910: (July) Application put forward for the conversion of Mr J Thornburn's factory into an electric theatre in George Street.

1910: Opening of rifle range at Kingsbury by the Marquis of Hertford.

1910: (Nov.) Tamworth Palace Theatre, opened in George Street, owned and managed by the Thornburn family.

1911: Census of population of Borough 7,378.

1911: Territorial Drill Hall (now the Philip Dix Centre) built in Corporation Street.

1911: (May) Opening of Tamworth Labour Exchange by the Mayor.

1911: (Dec.) Opening of new footbridge at Kingsbury station.

1912: Floods up to 2ft deep on some roads in August.

1912: Coal wars, miners in Tamworth area take part in general coal strike.

1912: Electric picture palace opened at Polesworth.

1912: (Aug.) Extension to the Palace Theatre, further seating, new stage and balcony.

1913: New mines rescue station opened at Wilnecote, for the use of all the surrounding collieries.

1913: Guy's Almshouses demolished and rebuilt.

1913: New Girls' High School opened off Salters Lane by the Countess Ferrers.

1913: Unveiling of the Aethelflaed monument, commemorating the millennium of the construction of her burh.

1913: Chamber of Trade founded.

1913: The Staffordshire Yeoman, public house closed to became Mrs E Wheeldon's hardware and toyshop.

1914: Tamworth and District Rifle Club formed, set-up a 25-yard in-door range within the Castle Mill.

1914: (April) Major fire at No.1 pit shaft at Kingsbury Colliery, c.400 men trapped underground - but all got out via No.2 pit-head.

1914: First petrol driven omnibus plies for hire in Tamworth.

1914: (24th Feb.) For the first time in it's history the Tamworth Town Council met in the Great Hall of the Castle.

1914: Coins of the Tamworth Mint purchased for Tamworth Castle Museum by the Town Council.

1914: Spital Chapel restored and rededicated to public worship.

1914-18: First World War, 693 men from Tamworth and District perished.

1915: The Castle is scheduled by the Government as an ancient monument.

1915: Tamworth Grand Theatre built in George Street.

1915: Alders Paper Mill - a disastrous fire, damage at several thousand pounds, 300 employees rendered idle.

1915: Wilnecote Working Men's Club, new premises in Hockley Road, formally opened.

1915: Inauguration of the 1st Tamworth Company of the Boys Brigade at the Mission Room, Bolebridge Street.

1916: (14th Jan.) Earthquake shock the Midlands, caused damage to Polesworth Church.

1916: The Castle Committee recommended that the practice of granting free admission on Sunday to the inhabitants of the borough be limited to the grounds and that the usual charge of 3d. (1.5 pence) be made for admission to the Castle.

1917: The Rev. M B Peel (Vicar of Tamworth and Grandson of the great Sir Robert Peel) killed in France while searching for wounded solders.

1917: Tamworth and District Allotments Association formed.

1917: Mr Edward Cole built new premises in Upper Gungate to house his funeral business (now Co-op), up to this date he ran his three businesses (landlord / undertaker and postmaster) from the Golden Cup public House, Lower Gungate.

1917: Amington band formed by 8 young boys and old men unable to be soldiers.

1918: Tamworth Borough placed entirely in Staffordshire for Parliamentary purposes.

1918: (31st Dec.) Victory Ball held at the Assembly Rooms.

1919-1931: Stained glass windows by Henry Holiday placed in north aisle of church.

1920: (25 July) Fazeley's War Memorial unveiled on Atherstone Street.

1920: Old Castle Water Mill demolished.

1920: Bandleader Sir Robert Peel (5th Baronet) marries actress Beatrice Lillie at St Paul's Church, Fazeley.

1920: Tamworth Council builds houses on remainder of their land in Bradford Street (30 houses).

1920: Yarrow's clothes shop demolished to be replaced by the Midland Bank (now Halifax Building Society) in George Street.

1920: New clubhouse for Tamworth Ex-Service Men's Club opened in George Street.

1921: Census of population of Borough 8,032.

1921: Holy Trinity Church Wilnecote rebuilt.

1922: Tamworth Council starts work on new housing estate at Borough Road.

1924: HRH Duke of York (future King George VI) opens Hall of Memory at Tamworth Cottage Hospital and visits Pooley Hall Colliery.

1924: Two new wings built on to the Cottage Hospital.

1924: Lord Middleton sold his 3,600-acre Middleton Hall estate for £75,000, in 70 lots, including the ancient and historic Hall with 170 acres.

1924: Electricity first used for street lighting in the Borough, cabled into the town from Pooley Hall Colliery.

1924: Another major flood of Tamworth.

1924: The Mayor formally opened the new hard tennis counts in Castle Grounds.

1924: The Coventry Wireless Supplies Co Ltd, open a branch in Church Street, the first shop in Tamworth to specialise in selling wireless sets.

1924: Tamworth and District Radio Society formed.

1925: Order placed with Harrison & Harrison for new organ for St. Editha's Church.

1925: Interesting discoveries made during restoration work on St. Editha's Church Tower.

1926: Drayton Manor, ancestral home of the Peel family, sold to a London syndicate for £6,780 and demolished after Robert Peel (4th Baronet) gambled away the family fortune.

1926: Borough Road housing estate completed (140 houses + 1 shop).

1926: The Assembly Rooms used as soup kitchen during the General Strike.

1926: Old coin found during excavation work on the platforms in the Castle Grounds in connexion with new cement carriages for the small cannons.

1926: Tamworth Council purchase a motor fire engine at a cost of £1,269.

1926: Tamworth Hospital installs a wireless x-ray machine.

1926: Mr J C Arnold starts to build his fleet of coaches "The Royal Blue Bus Company" later to be called "Arnold Coaches".

1927: (March) Opening of a new pit at Hurley (Dexter Pit) by Kingsbury Collieries Ltd.

1927: Extension to Congregational Chapel in Aldergate.

1927: St John's School (Moorgate) built.

1928: Almshouses extended for the first time.

1928-59: Henry Wood serves as Town Clerk.

1929: Rural district council house built.

1929: Tamworth Girls' High School enlarged.

1929: Leys housing estate commenced by Tamworth Council (146 houses).

1929: Tamworth fire engine moved to new premises in Lichfield Street.

1929: To mark the church's centenary, a statue of St.John was erected on the gable of St.Johns Church.

1930: Tamworth takes on Hollywood with the formation of the Argyle film company, established by John Argyle.

1930: Castle Pleasure Grounds inaugurated.

1930: The Corn Exchange Inn, which stood in the shadow of the Town Hall, closed as a pub, later the ground was gutted to provide access to a makeshift car park at the rear.

1930: Nursing staff accommodation add to Cottage Hospital, through the generosity of the Miners Welfare Fund.

1930: A telephone call office opened for public use in the sub-post office, Amington, with full trunk call facilities.

1931: Census of population of Borough 7,510.

1931: Baddesley/Baxterley Colliery has pithead baths installed.

1931: New premises opened for Lloyds Bank in George Street.

1931: First Tamworth Carnival.

1931: New bridge built over the river Anker in the Castle Pleasure Grounds.

1931: Official opening of Tamworth Castle Pleasure Grounds, by the Earl of Harrow, laid out on former town rubbish dump.

1931: Two Tamworth born goalkeepers, Harry Hibbs of Birmingham City and Albert Pearson of West Bromwich Albion, play against each other in the FA Cup final at Wembley. (West Bromwich win 2-1.)

1931: Arley Colliery disaster 4 men die.

1931: Marmion Billiard Hall, Tamworth opened by the Mayor.

1932: (22nd May) Great Flood of Tamworth, parts of Bolebridge Street over 8 feet deep in water and no gas supplies for 24 hours.

1932: Tamworth Borough extension once more places part of the borough in the North Warwickshire Parliamentary division. Borough divided into wards.

1932: Population of Borough 11,711.

1932: Construction of Council housing estate at Bolehall (326 houses).

1932: All St. Editha's bells (seven bells), except the tenor, were re-cast and re-hung upon a new steel frame.

1932: New church clock installed.

1932: Wilnecote Parish Hall built.

1932: Moorgate Junior School built.

1932: First County Council senior (mixed) school opened.

1932: Tamworth Palace Cinema introduce "talkies".

1933: Formation of Tamworth FC. Matches are played on Jolly Sailor ground.

1933: Waterworks, second well, 189 feet deep, sunk at Hopwas.

1933: First automatic traffic signals set up at Silver Street crossroads.

1933: Death of Annie Maria Cooke, Thomas and Emma Cooke's second daughter (age 88 years).

1934: Tamworth FC move to The Lamb ground at Kettlebrook.

1934: The main room of the Town Hall fitted out as a Council Chamber.

1934: Burton opened new tailoring establishment in George Street.

1934: New telephone exchange opened in Victoria Road.

1934: (July) Fire at Pooley Hall Colliery two men trapped and die.

1934: Castle Hotel's new ballroom opened by Miss England (Miss J Lammas).

1935: Tamworth Palace Cinema, George Street, rebuilt and opened to the public, (10th June).

1935: Reliant motor company founded by Tamworth man T L Williams. Production starts on the first Reliant `three-wheeler' at former Midland Red Omnibus garage at Two Gates.

1935: Outdoor swimming pool built in Castle Pleasure Grounds.

1935: The White Lion Hotel, Lichfield Street demolished.

1936: Third Bolebridge built.

1936: The Paregoric shop in Church Street was demolished being replaced by the extended Co-op department store.

1936: Burton Tailoring opens in George Street.

1936: Grammar school extended and rebuilt.

1936: Boys' School, Hospital Street, enlarged.

1936: Girls' Senior School built at Perrycrofts.

1936: Further extensions added to the General (Cottage) Hospital.

1936: Almshouses extended again.

1936: Hopwas Reservoir constructed.

1936: Tamworth and District Electric Supply Company (TADESCO) showroom and offices erected in Church Street by Colonel D'Arey-Chaytor, owner of Pooley Hall Colliery and was the man largely responsible for bringing electricity to Tamworth.

1936: `Tamworth Tower and Town' by H Chas. Mitchell published.

1936: Francis Edward Paget gave away Elford Hall, his family home for genarations, to Birmingham Corporation, so working men from the slums could spend holidays in the country.

1937: William MacGregor dies at his Bolehall mansion and is buried at St.Chad's Hopwas, aged 89.

1937: Open-air bathing pool opened in Castle Grounds.

1937: Tamworth Amateur Swimming Club formed.

1937: Manor Road, Council housing estate commenced (160 houses).

1937: Members of Tamworth's Scout Group visit Germany; Members of the Hitler Youth pay a return visit to Tamworth.

1938: Castle Pleasure Grounds opened free of charge.

1939: Discovered at Ladybridge by Henry Charles Mitchell while widening and improving the bridge and approach road, a lead casket buried for one hundred years by Henry's grandfather - Henry Mitchell, containing newspapers, almanacs, Mr Hamel's illustrations of Tamworth and Dr Palmer's book of British Birds.

1939: The former home of William MacGregor formally opened as Bolehall Manor Club.

1939: National Registration Identity Cards issued to all inhabitants.

1939: 557 children from West Bromwich evacuated to Tamworth.

1939: Birmingham Corporation use Elford Hall to store it's art treasures during the war.

1939-45: Second World War, 340 men from the Tamworth area died.

1939-45: The town's air-raid siren, located on top the Electric Showrooms in Church Street, sounded on 138 occasions, (bombs were dropped on 4 occasions).

1940-45: Reliant factory used to make parts for war effort.

1940: Local Volunteer Defence Force (Home Guard) formed in Tamworth.

1940: Six high explosive bombs dropped in the Fazeley Road area, 25 incendiary bombs dropped near the railway station and 50 incendiary bombs dropped near Alders Mill.

1940: A new fire station was constructed at the corner of Lichfield Street and Wardle Street.

1940: Evacuees from Broadstairs (518) and London (294) arrive in Tamworth.

1941: Three high explosive bombs dropped on the Corporation housing estate at Manor Road, Bolehall. 98 houses slightly damaged, but no one is killed or injured.

1941: 81 children from Liverpool evacuated to Tamworth.

1942: Sir Robert Peel (6th Baron) killed in Japanese air raid, while serving on HMS Tenedos in Columbo Harbour, Ceylon. (Last of the direct line from the 1st Baron).

1942: (30th Oct.) Tamworth born Colin Grazier died removing vital enigma information from the German submarine U-559 in the Eastern Mediterranean. The mission which saved countless lives and paved the way for the build up of forces for the Normandy invasion remained a secret for 30 years.

1943: In a drain being cleared by the canal at Glascote, workmen found a gold torc, weighing 1lb., now in Birmingham Museum.

1946: Tamworth Arts and Science Club formed.

1946: The Borough's Fazeley Road housing estate commenced (250 houses + 3 shops).

1946: Birch Coppice appoint fully qualified male nurse (Mr John M Whitton), first in mining industry.

1947: Town and Country Planning Act paves the way for `overspill' population from Birmingham to be accommodated in Tamworth.

1947: Amington Road housing estate commenced (104 houses).

1947: The Tamworth Stadium at Fazeley, opened for speedway racing.

1947: (July) Five killed in railway crash at Polesworth, 15 of 16 coaches of the London to Manchester express derailed.

1947: First annual Tamworth Brass Band Contest held in the Castle Grounds, bands entered from a wide area.

1948: Tamworth Colliery renamed Alvecote Colliery.

1948: Greyhound racing started at the Tamworth Speedway Stadium.

1948: (Dec.) Management and control of the Castle Museum passed to the Library and Museum Committee, Miss M J Bygott became both Castle Curator and Head Librarian.

1949: (June) Vandalism at the Castle, four pictures slashed by unknown visitor to the Castle Art Gallery.

1949: Sons of Rest formed.

1949: Drayton Manor acquired by George Bryan, who develops it as a zoo and pleasure park.

1950: St. Editha's Churchyard laid out as a garden of rest.

1950: Excavator unearths 2000Ib. bomb, undetected at Dordon opencast coal workings for nearly 10 years. (Believed it was dropped early 1941).

1950: Tamworth Youth Club established in huts in Albert Road.

1950: (Nov.) First meeting of the Friends of Tamworth Church.

1951: Census of population of Borough 12,889.

1951: The Borough's Gillway housing estate commenced (525 houses + 8 shops).

1951: (May) The first of 84 "Wates" houses opened by the Mayor W.A. Peel on the Fazeley Road.

1951: The directors of Tamworth Greyhound and Sports Stadium Ltd announced the track would be closed down until further notice.

1951: Alvecote Colliery closed down, which was worked continuously for 75 years.

1951: Pooley Hall Colliery merged with nearby Amington and Tamworth Collieries to form North Warwick Colliery, under which name it traded

1951: Alderman Frederick Alton given first honorary freedom of Tamworth Borough in recognition of his services rendered to the borough over a period of fifty years.

1951: A slum clearance order was made to clear ten houses in Queen Street, Tamworth, followed by a second order to clear eight houses in Anchor Row, Glascote.

1952: Aldergate cemetery adapted as a garden of rest.

1952: Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, street parties held in the town.

1952: Joseph Paxton's general store and Shipley's on the corner of Church Lane demolished.

1952: Councillor Allsopp gave his private museum collection to the town.

1953: Tamworth Round Table established.

1953: 12 terraced cottages called "Arched Row", built behind the Red Lion and extending down to the River Anker demolished.

1953: (Jan.) Tamworth's Ambulance Station opened at rear of fire station, the first to be operated by a local authority.

1953: (April) Tamworth Arts and Science Club change title to Tamworth Arts Club.

1953: Lawrence's Yard in Aldergate cleared to make way for Tamworth's new Bus Station.

1955: Flax Hill County Primary School opens in Chestnut Avenue.

1955: Midland Red bus terminus opens in Corporation Street.

1955: New TV transmitter station opened at Hints.

1956: Post Office (now Yates's Wine Bar) opens in Lower Gungate. (Foundations were laid in 1939 but building work was abandoned during the war.)

1956: Tamworth College of Further Education opens in Upper Gungate.

1956: St John's Catholic Church completely remodelled and enlarged.

1957: St. Editha's Close was created following the demolition of the Old School Yard buildings.

1957: (Sept.) New sewage works opened at Kingsbury.

1958: Pets corner opened at Drayton Manor Park, later becomes Zoo.

1958: (June) Two coaches & five goods vans derailed at Tamworth Station.

1958: Henry Wood's `Borough By Prescription', a history of the municipality published.

1958: Grand Theatre in George Street demolished (closed 4th October).

1959: The Mount public house on Upper Gungate opened by the Mayor Cllr K A Mugleston (originally built as a private house).

1959: (June 23) The Old Bell Inn was closed, an 17th century ale house sited near the gate in the rampart which protected the town.

1959: First meeting of Tamworth Borough Council.

1960: Tamworth Secondary Modern Boys' School opens in Ashby Road.

1960: Edward The Martyr (975-978), half penny found in Castle Grounds.

1960: (July) 'Masque of Tamworth' presented in the Castle's Banqueting Hall.

1960: A further two bells (Treble & number Two) were added to St. Editha's tower to commemorate the 1000th anniversary of St. Editha's death and 400th anniversary of the Charter of Incorporation.

1960: Tudor building found in Castle Grounds together with remains of Mediaval, Tudor and Stuart pottery.

1960: Freedom of entry to the borough conferred on Staffordshire Regiment.

1961: Tamworth's Victorian railway station replaced by a modern design (opened July 1962).

1961: Euston-Crewe parcel train leaves a 2 mile trail of damage at Polesworth.

1961: Lord Lieutenant opens new High School at Wilnecote.

1961: Railway electrification of the low level line.

1961: (Aug.) New TV mast built at Hints, the old 450ft mast is removed.

1962: Elford Hall turned into flats, given to the City of Birmingham by it's last owner (Francis Paget), used in WWII to store Birmingham's art collection.

1962: (March) Wilnecote Library opened.

1962: Leyfields housing estate officially opened by the Mayor, a new home to 556 Birmingham overspill families.

1962: (June) New crazy golf course opened in Castle Grounds.

1962: Park shelter gift for Castle Grounds - donated by Alderman R M Turner 'Father' of the Borough Council.

1962: (Oct.) Territorial Army blow-up disused railway bridge over the river Anker.

1963: (May) Twycross Zoo opens after moving from Hints.

1963: (1st Feb.) The Beatles perform at Tamworth Assembly Rooms. Billed as a three group "Rock and Twist Sensation Dance Show", the price to see John, Paul, George and Ringo perform was 6s 6d (32.5 pence).

1963: (2nd Dec.) The Rolling Stones perform at Tamworth Assembly Rooms.

1963: Mick Jagger asked to leave the Stone Cross Public House after relieving him self in the Bar.

1963: Grand Prix world champion Jim Clark opens £72m extension to Reliant's Two Gates plant.

1963: Reliant expansion at Shenstone - Reliant plan to carry out sub-assembly work to boost production from 150 to 250 vehicles per week.

1964: Ethelflaeda daughter of Thomas and Frances Cooke died (born on August 2nd, 1885).

1964: Tamworth Flower Club formed.

1964: (Feb.) Amington library opened.

1964: Old Marmion (Infant) School closed.

1964: Vandals cause damage to Tapestry Firescreen at the Castle, at first it was believed it was beyond repair.

1964: A Large number of medals stolen from a showcase at the Castle, including a Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee Medal and Edward VII Coronation Medal.

1964: (Nov.) New Tamworth Automatic Telephone Exchange in Victoria Road, opened by the Mayor. - Familiar voices of the towns telephone operators will not be heard again.

1964: Elford Hall witha history dating back to Saxon times was demolished having deteriorated due to neglect by Birmingham Corporation. A housing estate now stands on the site.

1965: Hopwas waterworks pumping station goes electric, steam engines stilled after 80 years service.

1965: (April) Tamworth Herald offices move from Silver Street to Aldergate.

1965: Tamworth Rural Council held its final meeting, the end of a 70 year era of local government. Tamworth Rural District ceases to exist many of the surrounding villages (Amington, Glascote, Wilnecote and Dosthill) are brought within the Borough boundaries, extending for the third time..

1965: Councillor T Willcocks member of Tamworth Borough Council for only 12 days, elected as the first mayor of the new borough.

1965: North Warwickshire Colliery closed down after more than a century of coal mining.

1965: (June) Dosthill Branch Library opened.

1965: (Sept.) Tamworth's first Chinese restaurant, the "Sing Hong" opened in Lichfield Street.

1965: The Council decides that the town shall take in Birmingham over-spill. A target population of 78,000 is set and redevelopment moves into top gear.

1965: Opening of Guy's Almshouse's flats for married couples.

1965: (Aug.) First of the Gungate Precinct shops opened.

1965: New car park with 500 car capacity opened at rear of new shopping precinct in Gungate.

1966: Opening of first homes on Wilnecote's Tinkers Green housing estate.

1966: Old Bell Inn demolished (situated on the corner of Lower Gungate and Aldergate).

1966: Peel Street, Brewery Lane, New Street and large parts of Lichfield Street demolished to make way for multi-storey flats.

1966: Tamworth FC win West Midlands League Championship, Birmingham Senior Cup and Staffordshire Senior Cup.

1966: Church Street Baths and Institute demolished and Co-op department store extended.

1966: Gungate shopping precinct opened by comedian Stan Stennett.

1966: Hints Hall demolished.

1966: Pooley Hall Colliery closed.

1967: Tamworth Health Centre built.

1967: Coton Green housing estate commenced.

1967: (Sept.) Friends of Tamworth Castle and Museum formed.

1967-68: Construction of Lichfield Street multi-storey flats.

1968: Kingsbury Colliery closed making some 700 men redundant.

1968: Railings (dating from 1821) and mature trees in front of Tamworth Parish Church removed to widen pavement.

1968: Medieval Church Street buildings (some dating back to the 1400's) demolished to make way for St Editha's Square and new Middle Entry shopping arcade.

1968: Hutton Fountain removed from Upper Gungate.

1968: Tamworth's new health centre officially opened.

1968: Property on the western side of Silver Street (including the White Horse Inn) demolished to enable road widening.

1968: Large parts of George Street demolished to make way for modern shops.

1969: A member of the Friends and the Castle Curator (Miss Claire Tarjan) found two 'live' grenades with firing pin's intact in a collection of war trophies dating from the first world war on display to the public. The grenades were blown up by a army bomb disposal team.

1969: Tamworth FC defeat Torquay United 2-1 in the FA Cup First Round.

1969: Comedian Des O'Connor upsets Mayor Lilly Tricklebank by calling Tamworth "a cemetery with lights."

1970: The Star Inn, Lower Gungate, a tiny pub, together with adjacent houses, was pulled down to make way for the present car park.

1970: First Glascote Heath `overspill' tenants move into new estate.

1970: New purpose built Tamworth Youth Centre opens in Albert Road.

1970: Magistrates' Courts open in Spinning School Lane (up to this date the upper room of the Town Hall was used).

1970: The old Marmion School buildings demolished to make way for the towns new Police headquarters, which opened in 1975.

1970: New Woolworth's store in George Street opened by TV celebrity Hughie Green.

1970: Indoor swimming baths built in Castle Grounds.

1970: The Co-op department store had a new top floor added (now the restaurant).

1971: Introduction of decimal coinage.

1971: The imposing National Provincial Bank demolished to make way for the "Nat West" building in Market Street.

1971: Timbers from a Saxon water mill (c.760) found in Bolebridge Street.

1971: Opening of Glascote Comprehensive School (now Torc High School).

1972: Henry Wood's `Medieval Tamworth' published.

1972: Victoria Road Methodist Church closed; building becomes squash centre, before finally becoming flats.

1972-74: Major excavations of the Bailey and Gatehouse carried out.

1973: Tamworth Civic Society formed.

1973: (8th June) Margaret Thatcher officially opened the new library building.

1974: The new Tamworth District of Staffordshire comes into being. A New Borough Charter is obtained.

1974: Education minister Margaret Thatcher opens Tamworth's new Central Library.

1974: Eight-storey office block "Burlington House" built in Lichfield Street.

1974: Major fire in Hopwas Woods.

1975: Stonydelph housing estate under construction.

1975: Golf Course opened.

1975: Former Baptist Tabernacle (built originally as a theatre) opens as the town's Arts Centre.

1975: The old Palace Cinema (1,410 seat) in George Street was demolished (to make way for Wilkinson's hardware store, now a McDonald's restaurant).

1975: New police headquarters opened in Spinning School Lane by Princess Margaret.

1975: Work starts on the new Ankerside shopping centre.

1975: The 325 seat, "New" Palace Cinema opened in Lower Gungate.

1976: After 88 years of almost non-stop bread and confectionery production, Tamworth Co-operative Society's bakery in Orchard Street closed.

1976: A Tamworth team take part in the television programme "It's A Knockout" at Stoke.

1976: A network of street's in the town become one-way, including Colehill, Lower Gungate and parts of Victoria Road.

1977: Parts of St. Editha's Church restored including the crypt.

1977: Much of Bolebridge Street demolished to make way for Bolebridge `egg' traffic interchange.

1978: Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Mercian Secondary Boys School and Perrycrofts Girls combined under comprehensive education system.

1979: WH Smith opened in Ankerside first shop to trade there.

1980: Ankerside shopping centre opened by HM Queen Elizabeth II.

1980: "Burlington House" acquired by the borough council as new headquarters and renamed "Marmion House".

1980: Tamworth "twinned" with Bad Laasphe, Germany.

1981: The Rawlett School opened.

1981: Demolition of Hamel's Mill in Bolebridge Street after manufacturing fabrics for 142 years.

1982: Southern Loop road system and Tame Viaduct opened.

1983: The Friends of Tamworth Castle and Museum start 'Castle by Candlelight'.

1983: St. Giles Hospice opened.

1984: Bus terminus in Corporation Street redeveloped into a car park.

1986: Shannon's Mill sheltered housing complex opened.

1986: Roman farm discovered on newly excavated industrial estate site on Lichfield Road.

1987: Plans announced for massive Ventura Park `out of town' shopping development at Bitterscote.

1987: Birch Coppice Colliery closed.

1988: Princess Anne visits Tamworth Castle to present the town's business awards in the Great Hall.

1989: Tamworth FC meet Sudbury Town at Wembley in the final of the FA Vase. The game ends 1-1, but Tamworth win the replay at Peterborough 3-0.

1989: Market Street and George Street pedestrianised.

1989: Baddesley Colliery closed, the last pit in the Tamworth area.

1989: The Mount public house on Upper Gungate demolished and replaced by a GP's surgery.

1990: First dog warden appointed by Tamworth council (Alan Freeman).

1991: The "New" Palace Cinema closed to be adapted as a media centre.

1991: Opening of Tamworth's ten screen UCI cinema.

1991: New Tamworth War Memorial built outside St. Editha's Church to replace the old one at the General Hospital.

1992: Second phase of Ankerside Shopping Centre opened.

1993: End of 400 years' of papermaking with the closure of Alders Paper Mill.

1994: Opening of Tamworth Snow Dome and Peaks Leisure Centre.

1994: Demolition of Castle Grounds' indoor swimming pool.

1994: The Peel Arms Inn, Market Street, apart from its facade the building was demolished.

1995: Closed circuit TV system unveiled in town.

1996: (24th May) Opening of Sir Robert Peel Hospital at Mile Oak, by Lady Lightbown in memory of Sir David Lightbown MP.

1996: Most of the General (Cottage) Hospital demolished, the remaining part converted into the MacGregor Tithe flats.

1997: Drink banned from town streets.

1998: Reliant Motors leave Tamworth to consolidate with boat makers Fletcher in Burntwood.

1998: MacGregor Tithe sheltered housing complex opens on the site of Tamworth's former general hospital.

1998: The Hutton Fountain is re-sited within the MacGregor Tithe complex (after 31 years in storage).

1999: (22nd May) The Friends of Tamworth Castle re-enact the public opening, to mark the Castle's centenary.

1999: 'Now and Then' Photographic Exhibition staged by the Friends of Tamworth Castle to mark the Castle's centenary.

1999: Tamworth gets new Sunday newspaper "The Sunday" delivered free to homes across the town.

1999: Public referendum saves Wilnecote's threatened Parish Hall from demolition.

2000: Tamworth Heritage Trust formed.

2000: Tamworth Borough Council took control of 'Castle by Candlelight' after 17 successful years of Friends' organization.

2000: Houses built on the Reliant Motors factory site at Two Gates.

2001: (January) "The Sunday" the town's first independent local and national news publication, closes down.

2009: (July) The largest collection of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork ever found anywhere in the World was discovered in a farmer's field near Lichfield. Over 3,500 items, mostly martial, were recovered. The collection became known as the "Staffordshire Hoard".

2011: The Castle hosted an exhibition of important pieces from the Staffordshire Hoard.

2011: Tamworth castle received a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £876,200 for use in restoration and improvement works to the Castle. The Friends of Tamworth Castle donated a further £10,000 as part of the HLF bid.

2013: Work at Tamworth Castle as a result of the Heritage Lottery Fund grant was largely completed, including a new entrance layout, a re-laid inner courtyard, refurbished toilets, a re-surfaced perimeter path and the provision of new signage and interpretation panels around the Castle and in the Castle grounds. A permanent "Staffordshire Hoard" display was opened, containing items on loan from the owners (Birmingham and Stoke-on-Trent city councils)

This list contains over 800 dates from Tamworth's history. If you know of any significant Tamworth event not on the list, please let us know, providing us all of the details you have (see the Contacts page for our email addresses)