Festival of British Archaeology: The Middleton Torc

The 13th to the 28th July 2025 is the Festival of British Archaeology and what better time than this to do a post on an archaeological find at Middleton Hall!

In 1977, an Iron Age torc, known as the Middleton Torc, was found at Middleton Hall in the area adjacent to the Tudor Barn. It was found by fieldwalking. A torc was a large metal neck-ring that was open at the front and could be made as a single piece or from multiple metal strands twisted together.

The Middleton Torc was dated to c.75BC, which makes 2025 its, roughly, 2,100th anniversary! Only a fragment was found but it was enough to identify it as being of the Needwood Forest type. It was made of gold alloy wires that were twisted together. Twelve separate wires had been twisted together in pairs to form six strands. These six strands had then been plaited to form a single strand, which was about 5mm in cross-section diameter, and that was curved into a round shape in order to create a large ring in a penannular, or incomplete, circle form. The entire piece of the Middleton Torc has a diameter of 19.5cm.

The Needwood Forest Torc (above) and the Middleton Torc fragment (below) on display at The British Museum, 2016. Photograph taken by Debbie Jordan.

Torcs were made throughout Continental Europe but appear to have gained particular popularity in Britain, especially with the Iron Age Celts. They were normally worn by a person of very high rank. Discoveries indicate that torcs were prevalent in all areas of Britain, but there are only two recognised British distribution groups: East Anglia; and Needwood Forest. These two areas created their own torc design style, different from that of Continental torcs.

The Needwood Forest type is extremely rare to find. To date, the only discovered examples of this type are two complete torcs, the Needwood Forest Torc discovered in 1848 and the Glascote Torc discovered in 1943, and the incomplete Middleton Torc. The unique feature of this style is that it is a twisted torc with loop terminals instead of the traditional disc form. This is believed to have been a result of influence from British Bronze Age leatherwork craftmanship. The studded design on the loop terminals of the Needwood Forest Torc also suggest a leatherwork influence.

The Middleton Torc is currently on display alongside the Needwood Forest Torc in the British Museum. The Glascote Torc has returned this year on loan to Tamworth Castle and is on display there for the next 3 years.

Further Reading: British Museum, "Torc", https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/H_1977-0401-1.

C. F. C. Hawkes, "The Needwood Forest Torc", The British Museum Quarterly, vol. 11, no. 1, 1936, http://www.jstor.org/stable/4421890.

Sarah Williams, "New Artefacts at Tamworth Castle", Tamworth Heritage Magazine, Spring 2025, vol. 3 (2), pp.25-29. https://www.tamworthheritage.org.uk/Magazine/2025/THMagazine2025Vol3_2.pdf

Author - Debbie Jordan, Middleton Hall Volunteer.

Please consider supporting Middleton Hall Trust by sending us a donation.