WHITTINGTON is a parish and compact and well built village, pleasantly situated 3 miles south-east from Lichfield junction station, 4 north-west from Tamworth, in the Eastern division of the county, North Offlow hundred, Lichfield union and county court district, rural deanery of Lichfield, archdeaconry of Stafford, and diocese of Lichfield. The church of St Matthew is a plain building of brick, consisting of nave, and a stone tower, of later date, with lofty spire. The register dates from the year 1575. The living is a vicarage, tithe rent charge £161, gross yearly value about £300, in the gift of the Bishop of Lichfield, and held since 1883 by the Rev. William Henry Kay B.A. of Worcester College, Oxford. There is a small Congregational chapel. The general charities amount to £7 yearly. The heath consisting of 338 acres, on the south-east side of the village, is an open sheep-walk, where the Lichfield races are held. The barracks, situated on the Heath, occupy a site of 40 acres, in a fine position: the buildings comprise armoury, officers’ quarters, recreation rooms, and a chapel, a brick building in the Early English style: the barracks are available for 1,200 men, exclusive of officers. Whittington Hall, the residence of George Akexander Baird esq. is a large and ancient brick mansion, with stone mullioned windows, added about the Elizabethan period: nearly all the rooms are wainscoted, and some of the walls are loop-holed for small arms: the front of the house is covered with ivy. The Marquess of Anglesey D.L. is lord of the manor. The principal landowners are Col.T. J. Levett M.P., D.L., J.P., The Right Hon. Sir Robert Peel, bart. G.C.B., M.P., D.L. and Col. Richard Dyott D.L. J.P. The soil is gravelly; subsoil, sand, rock and clay. The chief crops are wheat, barley and turnips. The area is 2,921 acres; rateable value £9,560 ; and the population, including Huddlesford, in 1881 was 2009 which includes 982 in the barracks.
HUDDLESFORD, a hamlet, 1 mile north from the village, is in this parish.
HURST is a hamlet, 1½ miles north-north-east, situated close to the river Tame.
TAMHORN, 2 miles south-east, formerly extra-parochial, is now a parish in the Lichfield union and belongs to Right Hon. Sir R. Peel bart. G.C.B., M.P. The area is 770 acres; rateable value £2,198; gross estimated rental, £1,844 ; the population in 1881 was 33.
WILLIFORD is 2 miles north, on the west bank of the river Tame.
Sexton, Joseph Elsom
POST, MONEY ORDER & TELEGRAPH OFFICE & Savings Bank. --- John Elson, postmaster. Letters arrive by foot post from Lichfield at 7.10 a.m.; dispatched at 6.25 p.m.; on sunday at 9.25 a.m.
WALL BOX, Huddlesford, cleared at 4.55 p.m.
SCHOOLS:-
Boys (endowed), founded in 1741 by Mrs. Sarah Neal, & endowed in 1800 with a legacy of £200 left by the late Rev. Richard Levett & invested in 3 per Cent. Consols; Edwin Nixon, master
Girls & Infants, built principally by Col. Dyott in 1864; Miss Elizabeth King, mistress; Miss Caroline Meacham, infants’ mistress
Whittington
Baird George Alex. Whittington hall
Beddows James
Griffith John Delane
Inge Charles J.P. Broomleasoe house
Kay Rev. William Henry B.A. (vicar)
Powell James
Taylor Mrs
COMMERCIAL.
Alsopp Thomas, farmer
Bates Geo. market gardener & beer retlr
Bates Thomas, farmer
Berks Henry, provision dealer
Booth John, farmer
Bridgen Thomas, farmer
Bridgen William, bricklayer
Cartmail Thomas, farmer
Cotterill John, Plough, Huddlesford
Elson John, tailor
Elson Joseph, tailor & parish clerk
Hall Thomas, market gardener
Haskew Frederick William, farmer
Hodgkins Harry, brick ma. Huddlesford
Holmes Edward, nurseryman
Hurd Thomas, beer retailer, Marsh
Johnson Henry, farmer, Brook hay
Langton Thomas, wheelwright
Lees John, shoe maker & shopkeeper
Myatt John, Dog inn
Neville Daniel jun. assistant overseer & provision dealer
Neville Francis, farmer & draper, Huddlesford
Neville Mary (Mrs.), market gardener
Nourse William & Sons, engineers
Nourse Thomas, Peel’s Arms, & coal dlr
Pass Abraham, Bell inn
Pass Edward, jun. bricklayer
Petty Catherine (Mrs.), farmer
Phillips Joseph, butcher
Phillips William, shopkeeper
Powell James, farmer
Shufflebotham John Henry, farmer, The Hurst
Smith Francis, farmer
Smith Thomas, farmer
Smith Thomas, Swan
Sturgess Charles, farmer
Sturges Eliza (Mrs.), farmer & miller (water), Bunnins mill
Sumnerfield Harry, farmer
Tideswell Thomas, farmer, Whittington hurst
Toplis Charles, wheelwright
Wheelton Thomas, farmer, The Grove
Wheelton Walter Thos. Farmer, Williford
Tamhorn
Booth Thomas, farmer
© 2018 Whittington History Society