Castle Bromwich Hall
Castle Bromwich Hall is a Jacobean mansion that was built between 1557 and 1585 by Sir Edward Devereaux, the first MP for Tamworth in Staffordshire. It was single storey with a plain entrance. It was bought by Orlando Bridgeman (keeper of The Great Seal) in 1657, for his son Sir John Bridgeman I. Sir John extended and improved the property in 1672, adding the second floor and a large front porch. His son, Sir John Bridgeman II, inherited in 1710. He extended the Hall and rebuilt it in local hand made bricks of clay. The Bridgmans were created Barons of Bradford in 1792 and (Earls) in 1851. A marriage also brought Weston Park into their possession, where they now still reside. The Hall was then rented out or used for other family members to live in. It is famous for having twelve windows (one for each Disciple) and four dormers above (one for each Apostle).
The garden door passed through a grapevine which was always trimmed into the form of a cross. The last family member (Lady Ida Bradford) left the Hall in 1936. It then was used for storage during World War II. Post war it was leased out as an apprentice training centre for the GEC, and then used as offices while the outbuildings are used by other small companies. The conservation area is centred on the Hall. The Hall is reported as having tunnels linking to the ex-vicarage and ex-public house nearby. These tunnels are not in use anymore.
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Let the castle be within me.”
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