Holy Trinity Church, Eccleshall (original) (raw)

next: Izaak Walton's cottage, Shallowford contents: index of buildings south of the Potteries

Eccleshall from Whites 1851 gazetteer...

"ECCLESHALL PARISH

is one of the largest and most fertile parochial districts in Staffordshire. It extends from 5 to 11 miles N. W. of Stafford, and comprises within its limits the seat of the Bishop of Lichfield, with many other handsome villas; the market town of Eccleshall, a considerable number of hamlets and scattered houses; and upwards of 20,000 acres of land, watered by the river Sow and its tributary streams, and swelling into bold undulations, highly cultivated and well clothed with wood.

It is divided into 21 townships or liberties, which support their poor conjointly, except Chapel and Hill Chorlton, which maintain their poor separately from the rest of the parish, which is divided into four quarters, for each of which an overseer is appointed annually, to collect the poor rates, &c.; but a managing overseer and a head constable are also appointed for the whole.

The Bishop is lord of the manor, and holds a court leet, to receive the amercements, &c. of the cottagers who have enclosed land from the wastes, and an acknowledgment of one penny from every householder, whether a freeholder or not. The officers appointed by the jury of the court leet are two constables, four headboroughs, and a clerk of the market for Eccleshall; and one headborough for each of the twenty out-townships.

R. H. Hand, Esq., of Stafford, is the manor steward; and Mr. Jas. Wood is the manor bailiff. The Earl of Lichfield and many other owners have estates in this extensive parish, which contains 20,930 acres, but only 4730 inhabitants,..... They ,are all in Stone Union and County Court District, except Chapel and Hill Chorlton, which are in Newcastle-under-Lyme Union and County Court District.

ECCLESHALL is a small but ancient and well built market town, pleasantly situated in a picturesque valley, on the south, side of a small stream, which flows eastward to the Sow; 7 miles N.W. by W. of Stafford, 6 miles S.W. of Stone, and 3 miles W.S.W. of Norton Bridge Railway Station.

It gives name to a deanery, and a petty sessional and polling district in the Northern Division of Staffordshire and Pirehill Hundred; and has been much improved during the present century, by the erection of new buildings on the sites of old ones. Its market is held every Friday, and is well supplied with corn and provisions. It has also four annual cattle fairs, held on the Thursday before Mid-lent Sunday, on Holy Thursday, on August 16th, and on the first Friday in November. The feast or wake is on Trinity Sunday.

Many of the inhabitants are shoemakers, employed by the manufacturers at Stone. Eccleshall township comprises 1850 acres and 1439 inhabitants.

A correspondent of Pitt carries back the antiquity of Eccleshall to the year A.D. 60, when Vespasian, the general of a Roman army then in Britain, is said to have built a town or fort here, which, from a Roman standard flying on its battlements, was called "Eagle's Hall".

The same authority says, the temple of Jove, built here by the Romans, was afterwards consecrated as a Christian church, which was rebuilt in 661, but was destroyed nine years afterwards by Wulfere, King of Mercia, who, in 670, "whilst at his castle at Uttoxeter, was informed that his two sons, Ulfred and Rufin, under pretence of hunting, were gone to Eccleshall, to Bishop Chad, to be baptised and instructed in the Christian religion. The King, being instigated by his concubine Werebode, hastened to Eccleshall, and finding his sons in the church, in divine contemplation, he slew them both with his own hand, and then destroyed the edifice. Queen Erminilda, the mother of the two royal martyrs, took their bodies and buried them in a certain place not far from Eccleshall, and built a monastery over them; and, from the great quantity of stones collected for this building, the place was called Stones, now Stone, a market town in this county. King Wulfere afterwards repented, rebuilt Eccleshall church, and all others which he had destroyed, and was very favourable to the Christians, but died without a heir. His brother Etheldred succeeded him in his kingdom; then Eccleshall began to flourish, and became so famous and populous, that it had five parish churches and two chapels in it.

This prosperity continued nearly three centuries and a half; but a sudden reverse took place in the year 1010, when the Danes laid Eccleshall town and castle, and all its churches, in ashes by fire. It lay in ruins till 1090, when Elias de Jantonice, prebendary of Eccleshall, rebuilt the old church, and dedicated it to the Holy Trinity." The church is said to have been again renovated by Bishop Clinton. It is a large and handsome fabric, with a lofty tower, in which are six hells and a clock. The chancel and the north side, being much decayed, were rebuilt in 1829, the former at the expense of the impropriators, except the large and beautiful stained glass window, which was purchased by subscription...."