WHITTINGTON is a parish and compact and well built village,
pleasantly seated 3 miles south-east from Lichfield Junction station on the
London and North Western Railway, 4 north-west from Tamworth, in the
Lichfield division of the county, North Offlow hundred, Elford petty
sessional division, Lichfield union and county court district, archdeaconry
of Stafford and in the rural deanery and diocese of Lichfield. The church of
St Matthew is a plain building of brick in mixed styles, consisting of
chancel, nave and an embattled western tower of stone with a lofty spire,
containing a clock and 3 bells: there are 250 sittings. The register dates
from the year 1575. The living is a vicarage, tithe rent-charge £161, gross
yearly value £300, including 46 acres of glebe, with residence, in the gift
of the Bishop of Lichfield, and held since 1883 by the Rev. William Henry
Kay M.A. of Worcester College, Oxford: a new vicarage was built in 1886 from
funds supplied by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. 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 and depot of
38th and 64th regimental districts (Lichfield),
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 (now
vacant) 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 loopholed for small arms: the front of the house is
covered with ivy. Broome Leasoe, the property and residence of Charles
Henry Inge esq. J.P. is pleasantly situated in its own grounds, 1½ miles
north-east from the village. The Marquess of Anglesey D.L. is lord of the
manor. The principal landowners are Col. Theophilus John Levett M.P., D.L.,
J.P. of Wichnor Park; the Right Hon. Sir Robert Peel, bart. G.C.B., D.L.,
J.P. of Drayton Manor; Col. Richard Dyott, D.L., J.P. of Freeford Hall. The
soil is gravelly; subsoil, sand, rock and clay. The chief crops are wheat,
barley and turnips. The area is 2,921 acres of land; rateable value £9,217;
and the population, including Huddlesford, in 1881 was 2,009, 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 the Right Hon. Sir R. Peel G.C.B. The
area is 770 acres; rateable value £2,198; the population in 1881 was 33.
WILLIFORD is 2 miles north, on the west bank of the river Tame.
POST, MONEY ORDER AND TELEGRAPH OFFICE, Savings Bank & Annuity & Insurance
Office--- John Elson, postmaster. Letters arrive by foot post from Lichfield
at 7.15 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; the school will hold 85 boys; average attendance, 96; William
Pinder, master
Girls & Infants, built principally by Col. Dyott in 1864, for 106 girls and
infants; average attendance, 100 ; Miss Elizabeth E. Henderson, mistress ;
Miss Eva Mercer, infants’ mistress
WHITTINGTON
PRIVATE RESIDENTS.
Beddow James, Thatchmore house
Heathcote Col. Chas. Graham, Whittington house
Inge Charles Henry J.P. Broom Leasoe
Kay Rev. William Henry B.A. (vicar)
Powell James
Taylor Mrs. Old Vicarage
COMMERCIAL.
Alsopp Thomas, farmer
Bates Geo. market gardnr. & beer retlr
Bates Thomas, farmer
Beale Joseph, farmer & landowner
Berks Henry, provision dealer
Booth John, farmer
Bridgen Thomas, farmer
Bridgen William, bricklayer
Capon Philip W. Peel Arms P.H.
Cartmail Thomas, farmer
Cotterill John Plough P.H. Huddlesford
Elson John, tailor & postmaster
Elson Joseph, tailor
Hodgkins Harry, brick ma. Huddlesford
Holmes Edward, nurseryman
Hurd Thomas, beer retailer, Marsh
Kelley John, Dog inn
Langton Thomas, wheelwright
Lees John, shoe maker & shopkeeper
Moody George, builder
Neville Daniel, provision dealer
Neville Francis, farmer & draper, Huddlesford
Neville Mary (Mrs), market gardener
Nourse William & Sons, engineers
Nourse Thomas, laundryman
Pass Hennis, Bell inn
Pass Edward, jun. bricklayer
Petty Catherine (Mrs.), farmer
Phillips Joseph, butcher
Phillips Emma (Mrs.), farmer
Powell James, farmer
Pratt Thos. W. frmr, Church House fm
Simkins Joseph, farmer, Hurst
Smith Francis, farmer
Smith Thomas, farmer
Smith Thomas, Swan P.H.
Sturgess Charles, farmer
Sturgess Harry, farmer & miller (water), Bannins mill
Toplis Charles, wheelwright
Wheelton Thomas, farmer, The Grove
Wheelton Walter Thos. farmer, Williford
Windridge Richard, smith
Wise George, farmer
Tamhorn
Booth Thomas, farmer
