Blithfield

Blithfield is a civil parish in the East Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England. It includes the settlements of Admaston (a small hamlet in Staffordshire), Newton along with Blithfield Hall, home of the Bagot family since 1360. It is situated south-west of Uttoxeter and north of Rugeley. Blithfield and Admaston comprise of land, with Newton occupying . The nearest railway stations are Rugeley Trent Valley and Rugeley Town .

Blithfield is a civil parish in the East Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England. It includes the settlements of Admaston (a small hamlet in Staffordshire), Newton along with Blithfield Hall, home of the Bagot family since 1360. It is situated south-west of Uttoxeter and north of Rugeley. Blithfield and Admaston comprise of land, with Newton occupying . The nearest railway stations are Rugeley Trent Valley and Rugeley Town . ==History== A parish like Blithfield is normally formed around a small settlement. Blithfield used to be centered around the Parish Church. At the end of the 1800s Church and State divided and this area is now represented as "a local authority by the Blithfield Parish Council and the Church of England by the Parochial Church Council". The population in Blithfield decreased from 439 people¹ in 1801 to 262 people in 1961. According to the 2001 census it has a population of 225, situated within 96 households. The number of houses has stayed relatively stable since 1830, fluctuating from 81 houses in 1830, dropping to 65 in 1920 and then steadily increasing until 2001. One hundred and seventy-three of the 225 people in 2001 were between the ages of 16 and 74. Blithfield Reservoir takes up much of the parish and the area is home to the Bagot goat. ===Domesday Book=== Domesday Book, commissioned by William the Conqueror, is a land survey, which was completed in 1086. Its purpose was to assess the extent of the land and of resources owned in England, and the amount of the taxes that could be raised at the time. ==Church== St Leonard's Church dates from the 13th century, it is set away from the modern village of Admaston, and lies just west of the modern Blithfield Hall. The church was built between the 13th and 19th centuries. In the late 13th and early 14th centuries, four "bay arcades" were built. The base of the western tower and the windows were constructed in the 14th century, and the "clerestory above the nave" was added in the 15th century. The upper part of the tower, with stained glass in the west window is thought to date back to 1525. The rest of the church dates to the 19th century. The remains of a 13th- or 14th-century cross can still be seen in the churchyard. The church contains tombs of the Bagot family as well as an original helmet, ancient stained glass windows and a floor paved in Minton tiles. Parish registers of the church begin in 1538. The churchyard contains a war grave of a Royal Flying Corps officer of World War I. ==Medieval Blithfield== The "late-Saxon" settlement of Blithfield, which appears in Domesday Book did not last, and the last documented evidence of the village was in 1334. This site of the original village is now defined as a "Deserted Medieval Village (DMV)" with hardly any visible remnants. However, the site is strongly thought to have been located within the grounds of Blithfield Hall. The original mansion of Blithfield Hall, was built with a moat in the 1390s by Sir John Bagot. It is thought, however, that the Lord of Blithfield was unhappy with some of the work done on the hall, so in 1398 the carpenter, Robert Stanlowe, was sued. The present hall is now largely 16th century, with additions of 1740 and of the later 18th century, and is Grade I listed. ==Modern Blithfield== ==See also== Listed buildings in Blithfield ==References== ==External links== Blithfield Parish Council OS map link

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