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Tixall

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"Tixall is a small village, pleasantly situated near the confluence of the Trent and the Sow, four miles E of Stafford. It has in its parish 209 souls, and 2322 acres of fertile land, all of which belongs to Earl Talbot, whose father, the late Earl Talbot, purchased Tixall estate, about 1835, of Sir Thomas Aston Clifford Constable, Bart.
The manor of Tixall was held by Roger de Montgomery, in the 20th of William I, but in the reign of Henry II it passed to Paganus de Gastenois, whose descendants assumed the name of Wartney, and held Tixall for many generations, till their heiress sold it to the Littletons, whose heiress carried it in marriage to Sir John Aston, in 1507. One of his descendants was raised to the peerage, by the title of Baron Forfar, but Walter, the sixth Lord Aston, died without issue about 1720, when Tixall passed to his sister, who had married the Hon Thomas Clifford, whose successor was created a baronet, and whose present representative has assumed the surname Constable, from a Yorkshire family.
Tixall Hall, which now belongs to Earl Talbot, and is occupied by James Tyrer, Esq, stands at the head of a fine lawn, in the angle formed by the junction of the rivers Trent and Sow. It is a modern building, erected in 1780, in a plain style, but in front stands a magnificent gateway, a motley pile of Gothic and Grecian architecture, embellished with Doric, Ionic and Corinthian columns. This gateway house, and the ancient hall that stood behind it, were built by Sir Edward and Sir Walter Aston, about the middle of the 16th century. Adjoining the south wing of the hall was a handsome Roman Catholic Chapel, which was taken down and removed to Great Haywood, after the estate was purchased by Earl Talbot.
The Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal passes the south side of the park, and is there expanded into a beautiful lake. The upland is a rich loam, and the meadows on the banks of the Trent and Sow are luxuriantly fertile. A large quarry of excellent freestone, on this estate, supplies stone for building locks and bridges, for which it is peculiarly well adapted, having the property of resisting the action of water. The stone is found in immense blocks, and imbedded in the solid rock, hollow balls of crystalized spar are often found."
[From History, Gazetteer and Directory of Staffordshire, William White, Sheffield, 1851]

 

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Bibliography

'A Topographical & Historical Description of the Parish of Tixall
in the County of Staffordshire'

by Sir Thomas Hugh & Arthur Clifford
Published 1817, by M Nouzon, Paris.

'Tixall Letters, or, the Correspondence of the Aston Family
and their Friends during the Seventeenth Century '

by Arthur Clifford
Published in Two Volumes 1815, by Longman & Co, London.

 

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Cemeteries

A transcript of the Monumental Inscriptions of the church of St John the Baptist, Tixall, has been published by the Birmingham & Midland SGH.

 

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Census

The population of Tixall parish was as follows:
1831 -- 176
1841 -- 209

 

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Churches

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Church History

"The Parish Church, St John the Baptist, was rebuilt in 1849, in the style of the old one, and is a small neat fabric, with stained glass windows.
The rectory is in the patronage of Earl Talbot, and incumbency of the Rev W Webb, MA."

[From History, Gazetteer and Directory of Staffordshire, William White, Sheffield, 1851]

 

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Church Records

Church of England Registers
The surviving registers of the parish church of St John the Baptist commence in 1707. The original registers for the period 1707-1812 (Bapts), 1707-1836 (Mar) & 1707-1812 (Bur), and Banns for the period 1823-1966 are deposited at Staffordshire Record Office.
Bishops Transcripts, 1663-1865 (with gaps 1665-68, 1679, 1836 & 1853-55) are deposited at Lichfield Record Office.

Nonconformist Registers
Tixall Hall Roman Catholic domestic chapel of St John the Baptist, succeeded Bellamore chapel as the Catholic chapel for this area from 1751 until 1845 when it was physically moved to Great Haywood. The surviving registers of Bellamore / Tixall / Great Haywood are deposited at Birmingham Diocesan Archive.

 

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Description & Travel

A transcription of the section on Tixall from A Topographical History of Staffordshire by William Pitt (1817)

Conservation Area Appraisals for Tixall  - interesting accounts of the area, with excellent historical detail, numerous photographs and map

You can see pictures of Tixall which are provided by:

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Gazetteers

The transcription of the section for Tixall from the Topographical Dictionary of England (1859)

The transcription of the section for Tixall from the National Gazetteer (1868) provided by Colin Hinson.

The transcription of the section for Tixall from the Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72)

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Maps

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference SJ978229 (Lat/Lon: 52.80365, -2.034074), Tixall which are provided by:

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Poor Houses, Poor Law

Tixall parish became part of Stafford Union, following the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834.

 

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Taxation

A transcription of the Hearth Tax Returns 1666 for Tixall