Tutbury History

TUTBURY
Description and History from 1868 Gazetteer

"TUTBURY, a parish and post town in the N. division of Offlow hundred, county Stafford, 4½ miles N.W. of Burton-upon-Trent, and 8 S.E. of Uttoxeter. It is a station on the North Staffordshire railway. It is a decayed market town situated in Needwood Forest, on the river Dove.

In the Saxon times it was a Mercian fort, and after the Norman conquest was given by William the Conqueror to Henry de Ferrars, who built the priory and castle, and in whose family it remained till Robert de Ferrars, joining Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, in his rebellion against Henry III., forfeited it in 1250, when the king bestowed it on his second son Edmund, Earl of Lancaster. In consequence of the rebellion of Thomas Earl of Lancaster against Edward II., it again reverted to the crown in 1332, when the castle was allowed to go to ruins, but was rebuilt by John of Gaunt upon the ancient site in 1350 for his wife Constance.

Upon the death of John of Gaunt it passed to his son, afterwards Henry IV., the honour and castle of Tutbury, with other properties, thus becoming attached to the crown in right of the Duchy of Lancaster. Its jurisdiction extends over a great portion of Staffordshire, and into several of the adjoining counties. This castle was for some time the place of confinement of Mary Queen of Scots, and at the commencement of the civil war it was garrisoned for Charles I., who resided here in 1643, but it succumbed to the parliamentary forces under Colonel Brereton in 1646, and was shortly afterwards dismantled by order of Parliament.

The ruins occupy the site of the lofty mount overlooking the valley of the Dove, and comprise the gateway and part of the walls and towers, surrounded by a deep dry moat. In 1831 upwards of 100,000 coins of Edward I., Edward II., Henry III., Alexander III. of Scotland, with some of Irish and foreign mints, were discovered in the Dove, supposed to have been lost by Thomas Earl of Lancaster, in his retreat from Tutbury Castle in 1322; they are now in the British Museum.

The town, situated on the W. bank of the river Dove, which is crossed by a modern bridge, was at an early period erected into a free borough, and possessed many privileges. On the river are extensive corn and cotton-spinning mills, and there is a large manufactory for making and cutting glass. The population in 1861 was 1,982. The country between Tutbury and Needwood Forest abounds in alabaster. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Lichfield, value £290.

The church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, was once a part of the Benedictine priory founded in 1080 as a cell to the Abbey of St. Peter-super-Divam, in Normandy. The church is now under restoration. The parochial charities produce about £650 per annum, of which £438 go towards apprenticing poor children, and to other charitable uses. The Independents, Wesleyans, and Primitive Methodists have chapels.

There are National and free schools, and an infant school. Berkley Lodge, Needwood House, and East Lodge are the chief residences. The Queen is lady of the manor. Ann Moore, the impostor, who professed to live without food, resided here. Fairs for cattle, horses, &c., are held on the 14th February, 15th August, and 1st December."

 

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