Gnosall (St. Lawrence)

GNOSALL (St. Lawrence), a parish, in the union of Newport, W. division of the hundred of Cuttlestone, S. division of the county of Stafford, 6½ miles (W. S. W.) from Stafford; containing 2424 inhabitants. The parish is about seven miles in length, and comprises 10,027 acres, of which 106 are waste or common. The soil is various, but the uplands have commonly a strong loam; there are several valleys with rivulets, and the meadows on their banks are generally very productive. Fairs for cattle, &c., are held on May 7th and September 23rd. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £114; patron, the Bishop of Lichfield: the tithes have been commuted for £1540, and the incumbent has a glebe of 45 acres. The church is a large edifice in the form of a cross, with a tower rising from the centre; the building was repaired in 1820, and enlarged in 1826 by the erection of galleries. It was given by King Stephen to the church of Lichfield; but afterwards became a royal free chapel, and had an establishment of secular canons: in the reign of Henry VIII., the Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry was titular dean, but with no profits attached to the office, and there were four prebendaries, namely, of Chiltrenhall, Baverley-Hall, Mordhall, and Suckerhall; the first valued at £14. 6. 8., and the others at £11 each, per annum. At the hamlet of Moreton is a chapel, forming a separate incumbency. Edward Cartwright, in 1653, endowed a school, of which the income is £23; and another is endowed with £5 per annum.