Hanbury History

HANBURY
Description and History from 1868 Gazetteer

HANBURY, a parish in the N. division of the hundred of Offlow, county Stafford, 14 miles N.E. of Lichfield, 6½ N.W. of Burton-on-Trent, its post town, and 2½ from the Sudbury station on the North Staffordshire railway.

The parish, which is very extensive, being upwards of 5 miles square, comprises the following townships: Marchington, Woodlands, Coton, Fauld, Hanbury Woodend, and the hamlets of Draycott, Stubby Lane, and Moreton. The village is situated on an eminence near the river Dove, commanding a view of the hills of Derbyshire. The inhabitants are chiefly employed in agriculture. A nunnery was founded here in the 7th century by Ethelred, king of Mercia, of which St. Werburgh was abbess.

The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Lichfield, value £362, in the patronage of the bishop. On the verge of a steep declivity stands the church, dedicated to St. Werburgh, or, according to others, to St. James. It is an ancient structure, with a tower containing a clock and six bells. This church was thoroughly restored in 1849. In the interior are several monuments, among which is that of Sir John Hanbury. This last is inserted in the side wall of the S. aisle, and bears date 1303.

In addition to the parish church, there are three district churches at Marchington, Newborough, and Marchington Woodlands, the livings of which are all perpetual curacies, varying in value from £107 to £60. The charities produce about £159 per annum, of which £36 goes to the support of a school. There is a National school, erected in 1848 at a cost of £850. The Bishop of Lichfield is lord of the manor.

[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) - Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003]