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Stretton en le Field

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STRETTON-EN-LE-FIELD, a parish in the hundred of Repton, county Derby, 5 miles S.W. of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, its post town, and 9 N.E. of Tamworth. The village is on the road from Atherstone to Burton-upon-Trent, the river Mease, and the Upper Saltway. The parish includes the hamlet of Oakthorpe.

The living is a rectory* in the diocese of Lichfield, value £450. The church, dedicated to St. Michael, contains several ancient monuments. The parochial charities produce about £2 per annum. There is a school supported by Lady Cave, also one at No Man's Heath under the direction of the rector. Sir Browne Cave, Bart., who resides at Stretton Hall, is lord of the manor.”

from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868

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Archives & Libraries

There is no Library facility in the village. You may find the Library at Swadlincote most useful because it has a Local Studies and Family History Section.

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Census

  • The parish was in the Hartshorn sub-district of the Ashby-de-la-Zouch Registration District.
     
  • The table below gives census piece numbers, where known:
     
Census
Year
Piece No.
1851H.O. 107 / 2084
1861R.G. 9 / 2268
1871R.G. 10 / 3244
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Church History

  • The Anglican parish church is dedicated to Saint Michael.
     
  • The church was originally constructed in the 14th century.
     
  • The church was restored in 1911.
     
  • Mark WALTON has a photograph of St. Michael's Church on Geo-graph, taken in December, 2004.
     
  • The church is maintained by the "Redundant Churches Fund" since 1911.
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Civil Registration

  • Civil Registration began in July, 1837.
     
  • The parish was in the Hartshorn sub-district of the Ashby-de-la-Zouch Registration District.
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Description & Travel

"STRETTEN-EN-LE-FIELDS is an inconsiderable parish, both in extent and population, in the hundred of Repton and Gresley, between four and five miles S.W. from Ashby-de-la-Zouch. The church, dedicated to St. Michael, contains some ancient tombs of ecclesiastics; the living is a rectory, in the patronage of Sir William B. Cave, Bart. The population of this parish has been retrogressive for the last thirty years, - in 1801 it contained 212 inhabitants, and in 1831 only 109."

[Description from Pigot and Co's Commercial Directory for Derbyshire, 1835]

Mat FASCIONE has a photograph of the Village Sign on Geo-graph, taken in March, 2008.

You can see pictures of Stretton en le Field which are provided by:

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Directories

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Gazetteers

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Historical Geography

Trevor RICKARD has a photograph of the River Mease as it starts its meander toward the River Trent on Geo-graph, taken in April, 2010.

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History

Remains of two Roman buildings have been found on the boundary between Stretton and neighbouring Appleby Magna.

David ROGERS has a photograph of the church Sundial on Geo-graph, taken in August, 2008.

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Manors

In 1835, the Lord of the Manor was Sir John Robert Cave-Browne-Cave, 10th Baronet of that name. A relative, Henry Meyrick Cave-Browne-Cave, was an early member of the RAF and was prominent in the development of seaplanes as a combat aircraft.

The 1891 Directory entry describes: "Stretton Hall is an ancient mansion near the church and surrounded by a shrubbery.

Stretton Hall was demolished about 1945.

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Maps

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SK305119 (Lat/Lon: 52.703917, -1.550056), Stretton en le Field which are provided by:

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Military History

Stretton-en-le-Field is a "Thankful Village", having lost no men from the village in World War I. 11 men from the village went to war, but all returned.

Stretton Hall was used in World War II to billet soldiers and then housed Italian prisoners of war.

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Military Records

For a photograph of the Stretton en le Field Roll of Honour and the list of names on it, see the Roll of Honour site.

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Newspapers

Jane TAYLOR in Redcar shares this notice from the Derby Mercury of 5 January, 1804: "MISC: Committed to the county gaol since our last William KNIGHT, charged upon oath with feloniously stealing from the back door of the house of Mr EAGLISTON of Stretton in the Fields, on 27th Dec inst. one brass cheese pan of the value of one pound."

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Politics & Government

  • This place was an ancient parish in Derby county and became a modern Civil Parish when those were established.
     
  • This parish was in the ancient Repton and Greasley Hundred (or Wapentake).
     
  • The citizens of this parish have elected to forgo a formal Parish Council. They hold periodic Parish Meetings for all residents to discuss civic and political issues.
     
  • The village has passed between historic Derbyshire and Leicestershire several times and on occasions straddled by the boundary. In 1897, Stretton En Le Field was transferred from Derbyshire into Leicestershire; where it remains.
     
  • District governance is provided by the North West Leicestershire District Council.
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Poor Houses, Poor Law

  • As a result of the 1834 Poorlaw Amendment Act reforms, this parish became part of the Ashby-de-la-Zouch Poorlaw Union.
     
  • Bastardy cases would be heard in the Swadlincote petty session hearings every other Tuesday.
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Population

The population table shows a large "bump" in inhabitants with the arrival of the railways and an increase in mining activity, followed by quick decline.

 YearInhabitants
1801212
1811138
1821116
1831109
1841354
1851340
186170
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Schools

The children of this place attended the schools at Appleby & Donisthorpe.