Join the Mayor for birthday cake in the Town Hall
The Mayor of Tamworth is inviting people to join him for tea and cake at the historic Town Hall this Saturday, for a special open day which will also celebrate the birth of Sir Robert Peel.
Richard Kingstone will be continuing with Town Hall open days all this month, starting with Saturday, February 8, with a ‘Peel’ cake to remember the birth date of Robert Peel 232 years ago on February 5.
Visitors will have the opportunity to meet Tamworth and District Civic Society and talk about the history of the building, including Sir Robert Peel’s statue, which stands tall outside, and his portrait that hangs inside the Town Hall painted by Thomas Lawrence. Diane Wells and Jill Gadsby will also be in attendance promoting their new book about the history of Market Street.
Town Hall open days is an initiative which Richard started when he was elected Mayor of Tamworth in May this year, in a bid to encourage as many people as possible to discover what’s behind the mystery green door of Market Street.
So far hundreds of people have taken up the invitation to meet the Mayor and have a look around the main chamber, the mayor’s parlous and view the civic collection. Visitors have enjoyed seeing what’s inside and learning more about the building’s long and rich history.
If you haven’t managed to visit yet, and can’t make it on Saturday 8th, don’t worry as the programme will continue with two other dates planned on:
- Saturday, February 15 (11am-2pm)
- Saturday, February 29 (11am-2pm)
Saturday, February 29 may provide the perfect opportunity for any ladies out there who would like to propose to their loved ones in the splendour of the Town Hall, in keeping with the time-honoured leap year tradition.
Richard said: “I’ve been opening the doors to the Town Hall as often as I can during my mayoral year as there are so many people who have never seen the wonders it holds. I wanted to raise awareness of this lovely historic Tamworth building. The open events have been incredibly popular so far with people eager to see what is behind the mystery green door and they have all been impressed with what’s inside.
“This month’s events will be a great opportunity for people to see inside this wonderful building, while learning all about the hall’s history.
“If anyone would like to donate a raffle prize for the Mayor’s charity ball on Friday, February 14, they can drop this off at the Town Hall. The ball is being held at Drayton Manor and will be in aid of Tamworth Have a Heart and Changes Tamworth.”
Tamworth Town Hall was built in 1701 by Thomas Guy, the then MP for Tamworth. The original design consisted of a single room supported by 18 Tuscan style stone pillars. The area beneath the hall served as the Butter Market and later housed the town’s first fire engine.
The clock on the front of the Town Hall was presented to the town in 1812 by the then owner of Tamworth Castle, John Robbins.
Tamworth's most famous politician, Sir Robert Peel, reportedly read the first political manifesto to the people of Tamworth from the Town Hall window in 1834.
To keep up to date with news and information about the open events, and other activities being organised by the Mayor of Tamworth, you can follow @MayorofTamworth pages on Facebook and Twitter.
