The Ladybridge Bank Workhouse at Tamworth
In Tamworth there is a plaque in memory of the construction of a workhouse for the town that was established by Thomas Thynne, 2nd Viscount Weymouth, and Francis Willoughby, 2nd Lord Middleton, the latter of whom was the owner of Middleton Hall.
Charles Ferrers Palmer wrote that the very first workhouse provision in Tamworth was established in 1687 by Thomas Thynne, 1st Viscount Weymouth. It came to be called the Spinning School. However, it fell into disuse and, in 1719, it was converted into houses for the poor.
However, the number of paupers continued to increase. In 1739, donations were requested for the construction of a new workhouse. James Compton, 5th Earl of Northampton, who was the Lord of Tamworth Castle as a result of his marriage to Elizabeth Shirley, then purchased land in Gungate Street near Colehill. He used that new land for the construction of a new dedicated workhouse building. On 14th December 1741, he granted it to Tamworth Borough.
Nevertheless, even this workhouse was insufficient for the number of paupers and the aforementioned site was abandoned for a new construction. The new building was the workhouse completely erected and furnished at the expense of Thomas Thynne, 2nd Viscount Weymouth, and Francis Willoughby, 2nd Lord Middleton. Thynne was High Steward of Tamworth at the time and Willoughby was the High Steward of Sutton Coldfield and former M.P. for Tamworth. They gifted this new workhouse to Tamworth Borough by deed dated 4th May 1750 for the use of the poor of the town.
Their workhouse was located on the west side of Ladybridge Bank and was created out of two adjacent sites. One site was called Hill Croft. It had been owned by the Earl of Northampton and had formerly been occupied by the Hazeldine family. In 1684, it was stated to have been owned by the King, but, by 1744, it was owned by Tamworth Borough. The Borough then sold it to Thynne and Willoughby, specifically for the expressed intention of constructing a workhouse there. The other site was originally a garden that had been sold by John Ferrers of Tamworth Castle to Thomas and Anne Varnam, who then sold it to Reginald Prinseps, and, in 1742 it was sold to Charles Rose. It is thought that it was acquired by Thynne and Willoughby in 1747 specifically in order to build the workhouse.
Palmer described the location of the Ladybridge Bank workhouse as “exceedingly fine, and very airy.” He commented that it was a large and substantial well-built building that was free of the gloomy prison-like appearance that frequently characterised workhouses. It originally had a wooden bell-turret at the centre of the roof, which also bore a clock and a weathervane, but the turret was removed in the 19th century. Palmer also described the internal rooms as spacious and very comfortable.
This site continued to function as the town’s workhouse even after the establishment of the Poor Law Union in Tamworth in 1836, which was a result of the national Poor Law Amendment Act 1834. As the Union Workhouse, it served not only the poor of Tamworth but also Austrey, Canwell, Chilcote, Clifton Campville, Croxall, Drayton Basset, Edingale, Harlaston, Hints, Kingsbury, Middleton, Newton Regis, Seckington, Shuttington, Statfold and Thorpe Constantine. Thus, the existing provision needed to be extended and this was achieved by the construction of an additional small building. However, that structure was described as very “melancholy” as it lacked every type of external ornament and only had a few very small windows.
Eventually the Ladybridge Bank site also became inadequate. In 1859, a new purpose-built workhouse, able to accommodate 212 individuals, was constructed on the Wigginton Road, which became part of St Editha’s General Hospital in 1948.
The Ladybridge Bank Workhouse building was subsequently purchased by Edward Morgan, who established a brewery, known as the Castle Brewery, behind the house. As a result, the building was re-named as the Brewery House, 1 Lady Bank. On 9th November 1972, the building was Grade II listed. For many years, it then served as annexe accommodation for The Castle Hotel, located on the opposite side of the street. It was then used as social housing for a time. At that time, it was described as containing 19 ensuite bedrooms over two floors. On 14th April 2026, Tamworth Borough Council approved its conversion into 10 self-contained supported-living residential apartments for adults with severe learning difficulties or brain injuries.
Further Reading:
Charles Ferrers Palmer, The History of the Town and Castle of Tamworth, 1845, pp.444-5
“Tamworth Borough Workhouses”, Staffordshire History, https://www.staffordshirehistory.org.uk/collections/getrecord/GB169_AE106_1
Craig Thornber, “Tamworth”, Strolling Through Staffordshire, 1 July 2009, https://www.thornber.net/staffs/html/tamworth.html
Adam Beech, “Apartments approved for historic hotel building opposite Tamworth Castle”, Insider Media, 17 April 2026, https://www.insidermedia.com/news/midlands/apartments-approved-for-historic-hotel-building-opposite-tamworth-castle
“Brewery House”, Historic England, https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1208383?section=official-list-entry
Author - Debbie Jordan, Middleton Hall Volunteer.
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