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Lichfield in 1817 (Part 2)

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

VILLAGES IN THE PARISHES OF ST CHAD & ST MICHAEL, LICHFIELD.

A Brief Historical Account of the Villages, etc. in the Parishes of St. Chadd and St. Michael, which are without the boundaries of the City of Lichfield.

Curborough is a hamlet in the parish of St. Chadd, about a mile north of Lichfield; it was anciently a member of the Bishop's barony of that city, and was afterwards held at the manor of Longdon. The present proprietor is Theophilus Levett, Esq.

Elmhurst is a hamlet situated two miles north of Lichfield, near the turnpike-road to Uttoxeter. In the time of Edward I. Richard Puer held one-fourth part of a Knight's-fee at Elmhurst, of the Bishop of Lichfield. The subsequent owners of this estate were the Biddulphs; it was sold in 1754 by Sir Theophilus Biddulph, to Samuel Swinfen, Esq. whose nephew afterwards sold it to Francis Perceval Eliot, Esq. late a major in the army. This gentleman was a skilful agriculturist, as appears by his various letters to Arthur Young, Esq. When the Staffordshire Cavalry were embodied, in 1794, he published a pamphlet for the use of the corps, which he dedicated to their colonel, Earl Gower Sutherland. In March, 1797, the freehold and leasehold estates of Elmhurst and Stichbrook, containing about 836 acres, were upon sale by auction, and valued at 50,000 guineas.

Stichbrook is only remarkable for being in the vicinity of Christian-field, where, tradition says, one thousand British Christians were massacred.

Abenhall is an ancient mansion in the parish of St. Michael. It stands in a low situation, and was built in 1294 by Thomas de Abenhall.

Towards Fairwell, the ancient mansion of Ashenbrook attracts the attention of the traveller; it is the property of a Roman Catholic family, and several curious relics of painted glass adorn the windows.

Pipe is a manor about a mile south-west of Ashenbrook. It is a very ancient lordship, and an extensive constablewick, no less than nine villages being subject to the jurisdiction of the constable of Pipe.

Edial-Hall is a good square brick building, with a cupola and ballustrades at the top, the whole being enclosed by a court and garden-wall. This house was once the residence of the celebrated Samuel Johnson, who opened an academy here in 1736, for the instruction of young gentlemen in the Latin and Greek languages..

At a public-house called Muckley-Corner, the turnpike-road from Walsall crosses the Roman Watling-street.

Pipehill is a hamlet on the road from Lichfield to Walsall; it contains two houses, and a third to the east of the road, the residence of Mr. Bradburne, where some curious specimens of a Roman vallum are to be seen.

Wall, a hamlet and manor, is divided by the Watling-street, and is the ancient Roman station of Etocetum. The chief remains of this remarkable antiquity are walls which encompass two acres of land called the Castle Croft, but the part most visible, with the ancient cement, is that which forms the garden of Mr. Jackson, where pavements of Roman brick, and great quantities of foundation stones, have been dug up.

Aldershaw was formerly a manor. The mansion is neat, with walled gardens, canals, groves, and other rural ornaments. The situation is pleasant, on a rising ground which commands a fine view of Lichfield Cathedral and part of the city. Aldershaw-hill is the residence of Charles Bournes, Esq.

Freeford is an ancient manor, in a delightful situation, about two miles south of Lichfield: it formerly belonged to a family who took their name from the place. In the reign of Edward I. William de Freeford held half a knight's fee in Freeford of the Bishop of Chester. In the 40th of Edward III, it appears, by a French deed, that Sir John de Freeford was lord of the manor. According to the records of this manor, preserved at the family mansion, it devolved to the family of Dyott by marriage. This respectable family suffered much for their attachment to the Royal cause during the Civil wars.

The manor-house is distinct from the rest of the hamlet, and is extra-parochial. This house is in a retired situation, in a pleasant and highly-cultivated domain: it contains two spacious rooms, appropriated to that genuine hospitality which has long been characteristic of the proprietor, (Mrs. Dyott, widow of the late Richard Dyott, Esq.) and verifies the inscription over the hall-door: Nil nisi bonum, portus amicis. Among the antiquities in this house, may be mentioned a curious silver tankard, which holds two quarts, on which is engraved the figure of an Oliverian, in the costume of the age, pointing at a gnat and swallowing a camel

Fulfen is a small manor about a mile north of Freeford: it was tor several ages in possession of the family of Fulfen. In the 21st of Henry VI. Thomas Fulfen granted it to Oliver Chatterton and his heirs, and in the 14th of Charles I. it was purchased by Sir Richard Dyott, of Lichfield.

Streethay is a manor about two miles east of St. Michael's Church, Lichfield. It derives its name from its situation on the Roman road between Lichfield and Burton. The family of Streethay were in possession of this manor for many generations. In 1591 Philip Streethay, of Lichfield, sold this manor, with its appurtenances, to Richard Pyott, citizen and alderman of London, for £1,530. His eldest son, Richard Pyott, resided at Streethay, and was Sheriff of the county of Stafford in the 11th of Charles I. Richard Pyott, Esq. having no issue, devised the manor of Streethay to Edward Wilmot, Barrister-at-law, the father of Edward Wilmot, Esq. the present possessor.

Fisherwick is a small manor in a low situation on the banks of the Tame. It was held by the Bishop of Chester, and in the reign of Edward III, it came into the possession of Sir Roger Hillarye. In 1521, Fisherwick was the property of Sir John Skevington, Knight, alderman of London, and in this family it continued till 1756, when Lord Viscount Massareene sold it to Samuel Swinfen, Esq. by whom it was conveyed, in 1758, to the Right Honourable Arthur Chichester, Earl and afterwards Marquis of Donegal.

The old manor-house at Fisherwick, as represented in an engraving in Dr. Plott's History of the Antiquities of Staffordshire, appears to have been a magnificent specimen of the style of architecture in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. In 1766, this antique fabric was demolished, and in 1774 a modern mansion was erected of white freestone, by the Marquis of Donegal. A view of the elevation of this truly-magnificent building is given in Shaw's History of Staffordshire, accompanied with a florid description; from which it appears, that the noble founder erected it on such an extensive scale, and of such durable materials, that it might perpetuate his name.

A light portico of six lofty columns, of the Ionic order, supported a pediment, adorned with his Lordship's arms in alto-relievo, with the initials of the founder's name, and the date of the erection inscribed in large characters on the frieze. The extent of the front was 180 feet; the pilasters and decorations of the principal windows were of the Corinthian order; and the interior of the fabric and its furniture were correspondent to the dignity of its exterior.

The surrounding pleasure-grounds were laid out with great taste by Brown, the celebrated projector, so severely satirized for his fanciful decorations of the landscape, by Cowper, in his Task. But after this profusion of embellishment, and extravagance of expenditure, this earthly paradise, as it was foolishly termed by vulgar minds, was sold by the Marquis in 1810 to Richard Howard, Esq.; and this splendid mansion has since been sold by auction, and demolished by other architectural projectors for the value of the materials, which have been carried off to decorate the paradise of some other fanciful mortal.