Eccleshall, Staffordshire

Historical Description

Eccleshall, a small market-town and a parish in Staffordshire. The town stands near the river Sow, 3 miles WSW of Norton Bridge station on the L. & N.W.R. and North Staffordshire railway, 7 NW of Stafford, and 136 from London. It dates from very ancient times, is neat and regularly built, has a head post office, and is a seat of petty sessions. The castle was founded in remote times; has belonged since the 13th century to the Bishops of Lichfield; was rebuilt in 1310 by Bishop Langton; sustained much damage in the Parliamentary war; was partly restored, partly rebuilt in 1695 by Bishop Lloyd; has been enlarged and improved by several subsequent bishops; and was until 1867 the episcopal residence. The church is Early English; was the retreat of Queen Margaret after her defeat; and was restored, as a memorial of Bishop Lonsdale, in 1869. There is a grammar school. The inhabitants are employed partly in various trades, but chiefly in agriculture. A weekly market is held on Friday, and cattle sales on alternate Mondays. There is a town-hall and a market-hall. The parish contains also the townships of Horsley, Wootton, Walton, Three Farms, Aspley, Slindon, Millmeece, Coldmeece, Cotes, Pershall, Sugnall Parva, Sugnall Magna, Charnes, Chatcull, Podmore, Bromley, Broughton, and Croxton. Acreage, 19,609 of land, and 146 of water; population of the civil parish, 3878; of the ecclesiastical, 2510. An area of about 1300 acres, 2 or 3 miles from the town, is covered with trees and coppice, and large quantities of young timber are sent thence to the potteries for making crates. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Lichfield; gross value. £300 with residence. Patron, the Bishop of Lichfield. Croxton, Cotes Heath, and Broughton are separate benefices. The latter has no cure of souls attached to it. There are Roman Catholic, Congregational, and Wesleyan chapels.

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.

Church Records

Findmypast, in association with the Staffordshire & Stoke on Trent Archive Service have the Baptisms, Banns, Marriages, and Burials online for Eccleshall

Civil Registration

For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.

Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Eccleshall from the following:

• Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Eccleshall (Holy Trinity))

Land and Property

A full transcript of the Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Staffordshire is online.

Maps

Online maps of Eccleshall are available from a number of sites:

• Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• Google Streetview.
• National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
• OpenStreetMap.
• old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
• Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)

Newspapers and Periodicals

The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Staffordshire newspapers online:

• Staffordshire Advertiser
• Tamworth Herald
• Lichfield Mercury
• Staffordshire Sentinel
• Wolverhampton Chronicle and Staffordshire Advertiser

Villages, Hamlets, &c