Castle Hill Young People 39;s Centre

[Germain Aguilera]

AlexanderKeir was a rich industrialist who ran a soap works and chemical factories in the Black Country. He rented Castle Bromwich Hall from Lord Bradford at a cost of 210 a year; that is about 500 times more than the rent an ordinary working family would pay for their cottage. Keir also rented 20 hectares of land around the Hall as his parkland.

Keir wrote to Lord Bradford at Weston Park asking him to refuse permission to open the cemetery - as it would spoil his 'pleasure ground'. Lord Bradford took no notice and the graveyard was opened anyway.

Near the entrance of the graveyard is the grave of Charles E Bateman, the well-known Castle Bromwich architect; the name of his father, John J Bateman can also be seen along with other members of the family.

A small (now broken) statue of an angel marks the grave of a member of the Bridgeman family who sadly died young; Ursula died of meningitis aged only 2 years. There are the gravestones of soldiers and airmen who were killed during the First and Second World Wars, as well as the graves of many ordinary people who lived in Castle Bromwich.

The cemetery was extended several times: in 1887, 1919, 1940 and 1956, but by the 1980s it was closed to new burials. By 2009 the graveyard had become overgrown and in a very poor state. A group of local volunteers from the Castle Bromwich Youth & Community Partnership set up a project with adults and youngsters to clear the graveyard and to discover its history and the stories of some of the people who are buried here.

You can't actually get to the next stop on the Castle Bromwich Village Trail. But you can see it. Stand by the wall at the far side of the graveyard to look across at the site of Bromwich Castle.

Just before the M6 was built, a team of archaeologists came to excavate the hill. They discovered that it was a natural hill, but that it had been built up to make it steeper and higher. It used to be higher than it is now, but over hundreds of years the rain has washed a lot of the soil away.

Some small pieces of broken pots were dug up. They dated from the New Stone Age 5000 years ago. In some gardens in Castle Bromwich you can find the red clay from which early people made their pots. There were signs that a wooden house had stood here.

The Castle Hill stood in an important place. For thousands of years the Chester Road has been a route for travellers from the south-east of England to the north-west. At the bottom of the hill the road crosses the River Tame. There is a bridge there now, but for thousands of years people just had to wade through the water. It may be that a local tribe guarded the crossing of the river. Perhaps they made travellers pay a toll to cross the river safely here.

Celtic people lived in Britain 2000 years ago. Evidence of them living in the Birmingham area is rare. But in 1960 on the open parkland at the back of Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens a single white and yellow glass bead was found. The bead is now in Birmingham Museum.

It is only one bead, but it was worn by a person who probably lived near here, so there must have been houses. And the people in the houses had to look after themselves, so there must have been farms with crops and animals in the fields. But after 2000 years the only evidence that they were ever here is one glass bead.

The Chester Road through Castle Bromwich and the Castle Hill were here long before the Romans came. But it very likely that the Roman army realised that they could see everyone who crossed the river from the hill. The archaeological dig uncovered evidence of a building from the Roman period near the Castle Hill. However, the archaeologists could not tell what it was used for.

People in Castle Bromwich have found Roman coins while they were gardening. Last century a gardener unearthed a gold coin of the Brigantes tribe. This coin had been made in the Roman style by a Celtic people whose capital was at York. In 1963 a coin of the Empress Faustina II was found on the land in front of Castle Bromwich Hall; someone had dropped it here over 1600 years ago. So keep your eyes skimmed while you're helping in the garden!

However, all across the country the Anglo-Saxons left their evidence - in placenames. Most English towns, cities and villages have names given to them by Anglo-Saxon settlers, including Bromwich, an Anglo-Saxon name which is over one thousand years old.

The first part of the name, comes from the word 'broom'. Broom is a bushy plant with bright yellow flowers. It grows best in light sandy soil, just the type of soil where the Chester Road crossed the River Tame through a ford hundreds of years ago. There were broom bushes growing on the Castle Hill and, in the summer, travellers would be able to see their bright flowers at a long distance.

'Wich' meant a farm, usually a farm belonging to another village. Castle Bromwich used to be part of Aston and it may be that the lord of Aston manor set up a farm here, probably to keep cows. The fields at the foot of the Castle Hill are close to the river and would have grown lush grass ideal for feeding cattle.

He got rid of all the Anglo-Saxon lords and put his own men in charge. To make sure the Anglo-Saxon people would not cause trouble, William's men built castles all around the country, including at Castle Bromwich. And the small hill which overlooked the Chester Road where it crossed the River Tame was the ideal place.

The castle at Bromwich was never a large stone castle like the castles at Warwick or Tamworth; it was made of wood. Archaeologists believe that there was a square wooden watchtower three storeys high on top of the steep hill. It was surrounded by a fence of sharpened tree trunks. Below it was the bailey, a large yard where the main hall stood. The lord and his family lived here with the followers and servants. In the bailey there were stables for the horses and workshops. A strong fence surrounded the bailey and below it was a moat 8 metres wide and 4 metres deep.

After examining the dig carefully, the archaeologists came to the conclusion that the castle of Bromwich was not lived in for very long. It may be that the lord of Bromwich had nothing to fear from the Anglo-Saxon villagers and that all was peacefull in the area.

The lord would have built himself a new manor house somewhere nearby, but it is not known where. Some people think that it stood where the Collector Road is now, in which case any evidence has probably been destroyed. Some people think it may have been built where Castle Bromwich Hall stands now, in which case any evidence has probably been destroyed.

Bromwich Castle was left to fall into ruins and the hill gradually became overgrown. When the Collector Road and the M6 motorway were built, it became impossible to get to the hill and it has now become covered with bushes and trees.

The photograph below shows the River Tame running beneath the M6 motorway. In the distance is the Chester Road bridge. Before the bridge was built travellers had to wade through the river. But look at the river bed here: it is sandy and pebbly not muddy. It would have been a good crossing place.

Mountfichet Castle in Essex is a recreated Norman castle which has been built on the site of the original Norman castle. Take a look at the pictures on their website to get a good idea of what Castle Bromwich looked like a thousand years ago. Click on the logo. Better still, go there!

Perched at the top of the Churnet Valley, Alton Castle is a Grade II listed neo-gothic building designed by A.W. Pugin and built in 1847. It was constructed within the ruins of the previous medieval castle, which is a Grade I listed scheduled ancient monument, making it a truly fascinating site.

These days, Alton Castle is a Catholic youth retreat centre that encourages visitors to grow closer to God and each other through a unique blend of outdoor activities and inspiring retreat experiences.

Youths are encouraged to trust in each other, work together and conquer challenges. Activities include abseiling, archery, team building games, mountain biking, rock climbing, trekking, survival skills and crate stacking.

As well as regular residentials, the site offers a day retreat programme for schools that are preparing young people for their First Holy Communion, combining team building activities with times of prayer and reflection to help young people think more deeply about receiving the sacrament of Holy Communion.

Residential retreats provide young people with many opportunities to pray and reflect, including a small group night gathering, where young people are invited to pray openly, and the celebration of mass on the second evening.

Staff at Alton Castle put together a selection of activities suited to the age range of young people on the retreat. These activities, combined with the times of prayer, meditation and reflection, help to promote personal, social and spiritual development.

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