By the mid-nineteenth century the industrial revolution brought further changes to Tong.
The Durant money had all but gone and maintaining such a grand mansion as Tong Castle proved costly.
George Durant IV sold the estate to the Earl of Bradford in 1854. This extended
the Bradford estates
that existed to the north of the parish.
The Castle was then rented out to the industrial entrepreneur John Hartley,
Mayor of Wolverhampton and owner of collieries, ironworks and glassworks John Hartley was a leading local figure and dubbed the 'Squire of Tong'.
Once again, Tong was following the national trend that replaced 'colonial' money with 'industrial' money but there was not enough to repair and refurbish it.
“Mrs Christabel Werstley (Mrs Hartley's great grand-daughter) recalled splendid Christmas celebrations. However, all the events took place on the ground floor,
because the upper rooms were not safe. At the slightest shower of rain, hipbaths had to be placed all over the building to catch the water, which was pouring through the roof.
When Mrs Hartley died in 1909, it was decided to sell the remaining contents of the Castle. The sale catalogue listed the contents. There were nearly 1,000 items, plus the
contents of 25 Bedrooms, and 18 reception rooms. There were still 130 oil paintings, and six carriages. There were 759 books; 161 bottles of wine; musical instruments; crockery;
cutlery, and vast amounts of furniture. The sale took place over 3 days at the end of September. Mr Ingram Brown told me that he attended with his father,
taking their purchases away in a horse and cart. During the sale, the main staircase fell in.”
One hundred years on and the Castle had become a dangerous ruin. Chapter 5 describes its eventual demise in 1954:
“On the night before the demolition, two girls from the village reported that they had encountered the ghost of a monk leaving the Castle. Then, on 18th July 1954, a large crowd gathered to watch this historic event (illustration page 71 of the book). The operation was conducted by the 213 Field Squadron Royal Engineers (T.A.). 208 boreholes were placed around the building, using 136 lbs of plastic explosive, and 75lbs of amatol. The Church windows were opened to cope with the blast. At 2.30 p.m. Lord Newport fired the charges. There are some fine photographs of this event, with the whole base of the Castle covered in smoke. A great cloud of dust and debris covered most of the buildings in the village. Tong Castle was no more. Among the people attending was Anthony Durant (later the M.P. for Reading). It was an event that the first and second George Durants could not have imagined.”
The Castle's secrets did not have to wait long before they were uncovered. Alan Wharton carried out a rescue archaeological dig in 1976-1980 to better understand its nine centuries of history. The M54 now cuts a path directly through the middle of the site of the castle, small portions of the remains can be seen on either side of the motorway.
For more about the nine distinct buildings on the Tong Castle site unearthed by Alan Wharton please visit our Castle Excavation pages.
Late fourteenth century pewter cruet unearthed during the excavation of Tong Castle.
Copyright © 2007, 2008 Discovering Tong
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