Inside Tamworth Castle | Over a 1000 Years of History
In this video, Kevin Hicks takes you on a captivating tour of Tamworth Castle in Staffordshire. Explore this medieval marvel as you journey through centuries of history. The site on which Tamworth Castle stands originally served as a residence of the Mercian kings in Anglo Saxon times, survived Viking invasions, was refortified by the Normans, later enlarged and survived more than one siege during the English Civil War. Tamworth Castle has witnessed it all and it remains today one of the best preserved motte-and-bailey castles in England.
For more information on Tamworth Castle, a great day out, check out their website: https://www.tamworthcastle.co.uk/
If you'd like to support the channel more and help us continue making fun, fascinating videos, please check out our PATREON page for perks. https://www.patreon.com/thehistorysquad
OTHER LINKS:
Website: https://historysquad.ca
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/historysquad
Twitter: https://twitter.com/history_hicks
CREDITS:
Saxon Mill illustration: © David Hobbs/TAMCM
Offa's Palace illustration: © David Hobbs/TAMCM
Original Norman Castle: © Mike Oakenfull/TAMCM
Living Accommodation illustration: © John Priest/TAMCM
AERIAL FOOTAGE:
Andrew Dalton - YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeYak9S2WBM&t=91s
Rise Above it All - YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7spF7eefRcQ
John McHale - Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gF6rBwBbbjk
MUSIC:
For What is Right, Trevor Kowalski/Epidemic Sound
For more information on Tamworth Castle, a great day out, check out their website: https://www.tamworthcastle.co.uk/
If you'd like to support the channel more and help us continue making fun, fascinating videos, please check out our PATREON page for perks. https://www.patreon.com/thehistorysquad
OTHER LINKS:
Website: https://historysquad.ca
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/historysquad
Twitter: https://twitter.com/history_hicks
CREDITS:
Saxon Mill illustration: © David Hobbs/TAMCM
Offa's Palace illustration: © David Hobbs/TAMCM
Original Norman Castle: © Mike Oakenfull/TAMCM
Living Accommodation illustration: © John Priest/TAMCM
AERIAL FOOTAGE:
Andrew Dalton - YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeYak9S2WBM&t=91s
Rise Above it All - YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7spF7eefRcQ
John McHale - Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gF6rBwBbbjk
MUSIC:
For What is Right, Trevor Kowalski/Epidemic Sound
Transcript
00:10[Music]
00:23Hi, my name's Kevin Hicks, welcome to my YouTube
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undefined:undefinedthe castle I've got to mention that the castle
00:46sits at the confluence, as it called, of two
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undefined:undefinedso it was quite an important place for the Saxons,
01:12a royal residence. But in 74 A.D the Vikings used
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undefined:undefinedGreat, Aethelflade, she re-fortified this area,
01:43turned it into a burgh, that's a fortified town,
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undefined:undefinedthe Norman Conquest of Britain. Now we can go and
02:09have a look at the castle because it's those
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undefined:undefinedlayers of stone, compacted earth and the locals,
02:31by point of sword, were made to raise these. Some
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undefined:undefinedmeters high, over two meters thick and for 800
03:01years the castle has grown around that stone
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undefined:undefinedthey've done is they built this stone causeway.
03:28Just look at this herringbone pattern here how
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undefined:undefinednow it's time to have a look inside the castle,
03:56let's make our way across this causeway.
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undefined:undefinedsome definite medieval. In fact it's the dungeon.
04:24It's interesting what you find, just before we go
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undefined:undefinedand it does in fact look like a chimney
04:47and further up another one so perhaps we
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undefined:undefineddonjon. Mind the step. This is the base of the
05:25Norman tower right. Now this tower I do know part
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undefined:undefinedcastle and to have an original dungeon, donjon,
05:51it's absolutely brilliant. So let's explore a
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undefined:undefinedactual arrow slit, perfect.
06:24So what's happened here is this was a full arrow
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undefined:undefinedIn fact these are Tudor bricks so yeah, this has
06:52been altered, Civil War for firearms. The hidden
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undefined:undefinedheart. One of my earliest memories of a castle is
07:36here at Tamworth coming into this great hall with
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undefined:undefinedyou imagine coming into this place for a banquet,
08:01for a meal and the fire is blazing away or on
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undefined:undefinedbehind it and they will play. Now I seem
08:28to remember that they were fully open when I
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undefined:undefinedrafters they come together at a point but then
08:52you have a vertical beam joining them to
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undefined:undefinedhere we have all of this lovely oak paneling with
09:17a collection of swords and armor there's
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undefined:undefinedFranco Sebastian Solaris, a Spanish executioner,
09:40and it has been said that this sword has been
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undefined:undefinedand a parlor, so let's pop in and have a look.
10:13Come and have a look at this wall
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undefined:undefinedcut through you can see where alterations have
10:41been made looking at this carving here this is, is
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undefined:undefinedplaster that's what it's like on the inside.
11:11With some of the furniture in here a writing desk
11:18look at the glass work on there and the jug the
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undefined:undefinedthe dining room mainly for the family to
11:43eat but also for entertainment but
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undefined:undefinedjust an interesting aside that he suffered from
12:10constipation because it meet highs pasties gorged
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undefined:undefinedthat it wasn't that identities to set before
12:36the king well it's two pies you got the pie with
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undefined:undefinedhowever one slight problem if you're at a Tudor
12:59banquet most of the food you eat will be warm
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undefined:undefinedyou have a swan over yonder that's been prepared
13:29a royal feast now I used to think when I was a kid
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undefined:undefinedmaggots will eat all the way through and then drop
13:58out so they're actually gamey meat and then here
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undefined:undefinedcourse your willowed wine barrels down there
14:30this is great I love it fish from the
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undefined:undefinedgot the heel of the knife and just went a long
14:56breaking the crackling and the guys and the lasses
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undefined:undefinedcourse he's all the cups and jugs great just great
15:25now I don't know if this is a salt tower or
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undefined:undefinedshow you these because it's, it's just honest.
15:53These are brooms from the day they're not for
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undefined:undefinedspent an absolute Fortune modernizing the castle
16:26you have an iron fireplace there so the great
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undefined:undefinedthe world people they have houses they put in
16:50double glazing well hey that's exactly what the
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undefined:undefinedof Tamworth Castle I just thought I'd show
17:14you this because we're actually making our way
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undefined:undefinedup around it and it continues to grow
17:41so you've got Edith's church over there
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undefined:undefinedtop of the castle they don't just doss down
18:06in the great hall or anything like that they
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undefined:undefinedtightened them with a stick all the way down
18:33and then fasten them at the end and this is
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undefined:undefinedstages of the life of the castle but also the
18:57different people who worked and lived in
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undefined:undefinedthere this was a doorway so this was two separate
19:27rooms but in later history it's been opened
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undefined:undefinedbolster on the bed if you put pillows against it,
20:00it means that you can't lie full out and that's
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undefined:undefinedoh my goodness me the beliefs of history hey.
20:28This is the picture of Mary and it tells
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undefined:undefinedto this period exactly one of these pieces
20:56of furniture when a man called John Churchill who
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undefined:undefinedhim but somebody else. He heard the creek,
21:21so the legend goes, opens the wardrobe and there
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undefined:undefinedtale of a wardrobe from the Stuart period.
21:52You know it's incredible isn't it you look at
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undefined:undefinedin 1642 and this castle was held for the King,
22:15for Charles the first and it would have just
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undefined:undefinedParliament they should have left it alone. So it's
22:42the 23rd of June 1643 that the Parliamentarian
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undefined:undefinedsiege of Tamworth Castle but they failed and that
23:10meant that the castle stayed in the hands of the
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undefined:undefinedthe key thing. Come the end of the Civil War,
23:36this is in the hands of Parliament. It
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undefined:undefinedcastle and now here we are in the 18th century,
24:14the late 1700s. This is their parlor, and
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undefined:undefinedIt's sad, I think it was George on his death
24:45he was found to be bankrupt but they remortgaged
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undefined:undefinedThomas Cook was important because he was a
25:08textile manufacturer he employed 500 people in
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undefined:undefinedthere, survives the Civil War, it's not slighted
25:39because it was on the right side and then various
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undefined:undefinedvisit. Well if you liked it then of course like,
26:04share and subscribe and don't forget to
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undefined:undefinedbe able to do these films. Bye for now.