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Great Barr in 1817

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Description from A Topographical History of Staffordshire by William Pitt (1817)

GREAT-BARR.

This pleasant village is situated on the declivity of a lofty hill called Barr-beacon. It is a place of great antiquity, and the derivation of the name has been the subject of disputation and conjecture among antiquaries.

The family of the Scotts have long been proprietors of this manor, and the mansion, which was formerly called the Nether House, is now the seat of Sir Joseph Scott, Bart. It stands in a romantic and fertile vale, surrounded by an extensive lawn, and a great variety and abundance of trees. The hills in the rear of this villa, gradually sloping, and covered with trees, present a truly picturesque scene; they are intersected with gravel walks, and at different points rustic seats are fixed, on which the rambler may rest and gratify the eye with various views of the subjacent landscape. The ascent to High-wood and Barr-beacon, however fatiguing to the lover of rural magnificence, amply repays him by a prospect of fifteen counties, visible from the lofty summit.

Barr-beacon is supposed by antiquaries to have been the elevated point from which the Druids gave notice to the people of their quarterly sacrifices. In the time of the Saxons, a beacon was placed here to alarm the country on any invasion of the Danes.

One of the most interesting objects of this rich and charming rural scenery, is an Urn erected to the memory of Miss Mary Dolman, the cousin of Shenstone the poet. It stands near the flower-garden, and is of statuary marble, and fluted, with a medallion of Miss Dolman in the centre, and an elegant epitaph in Latin, from the pen of the poet, engraved on the pedestal.

The Chapel of Great-Barr is an elegant edifice, adorned by a stately spire, containing six musical bells. The interior is very complete; the pews neat, and the gallery is adorned with a handsome organ. This chapel was founded by Mrs. Bromwich, and the bells were the gift of Mrs. Whitby. An exquisite painting on glass adorns the east window ; it is the production of Mr. Eginton, who has borrowed it from the Rev. William Peter's Spirit of a Child, but has improved on the original design.

According to the population returns in 1811, Great Barr contained 436 males, and 360 females: total 796 inhabitants.