Abbots Bromley is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

in the

East Staffordshire East Staffordshire is a local government district with borough status in Staffordshire in England. It has two main towns: Burton upon Trent and Uttoxeter. Villages in the area include Abbots Bromley, Stretton, Tutbury, Barton-under-Needwood ...

district of Staffordshire and lies approximately east of

Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies about north of Wolverhampton, south of Stoke-on-Trent and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 70,145 in t ...

, England. According to the University of Nottingham English Place-names project, the settlement name Abbots Bromley could mean 'clearing/wood frequented by

broom A broom (also known in some forms as a broomstick) is a cleaning tool consisting of usually stiff fibers (often made of materials such as plastic, hair, or corn husks) attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. I ...

'. The prefix 'abbots' was added because the village was held by

Burton Abbey Burton Abbey at Burton upon Trent in Staffordshire, England, was founded in the 7th or 9th century by St Modwen or Modwenna. It was refounded in 1003 as a Benedictine abbey by the thegn Wulfric Spott. He was known to have been buried in the abbey ...

. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 1,779. Abbots Bromley was rated the best place to live in the Midlands by the '' Sunday Times'' in 2013 and again in 2016. The

is a regular entrant and often winner of the Staffordshire Best Kept

Village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

Competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indivi ...

which takes place across the county each year. Originally organised by the

Community Council A community council is a public representative body in Great Britain. In England they may be statutory parish councils by another name, under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, or they may be non-statutory bodies. In ...

of Staffordshire there is a best-kept village award for a large and small village in each of the county's Districts and Boroughs. Whilst down the years the

district prize has been awarded to Abbots Bromley on a number of occasions the overall county title continues to elude. In August 2017 the village won the double honour of winning both the best kept village and community council trophy award, a double not achieved for many years. This double was repeated again in 2018. In 2019 the competition was taken on by The Community Foundation for Staffordshire and Abbots Bromley won for the third consecutive year. Through the competition Abbots Bromley maintains a healthy rivalry with nearby

Yoxall Yoxall is a village and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Swarbourn on the A515 road north of Lichfield and south west of Burton upon Trent. South of the village, Yoxall Bridge crosses the River Trent. The ...

, also a regular winner in the

section. The village is world-renowned for its annual Horn Dance, an ancient tradition which attracts visitors from far and wide.

Location

The village sits within the Postal Area of the nearby settlement of

Rugeley Rugeley ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Cannock Chase District in Staffordshire, England. It lies on the north-eastern edge of Cannock Chase next to the River Trent; it is situated north of Lichfield, south-east of Stafford, nort ...

which is the closest town to the village at from Abbots Bromley. The village and civil parish lie within the

District. The village is north of the city of

Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west o ...

and is south west of

Uttoxeter Uttoxeter ( , ) is a market town in the East Staffordshire district in the county of Staffordshire, England. It is near to the Derbyshire county border. It is situated from Burton upon Trent, from Stafford, from Stoke-on-Trent, from De ...

.- Staffordshire A-Z County Atlas: 2011 Edition: Scale:3.8 inches to 1 mile (5.9cm to 1km) The nearest railway station is at

which is south west of the village. The

Blithfield Reservoir Blithfield Reservoir is a large raw water reservoir in Staffordshire, England, owned by South Staffordshire Water. Some 800 acres (324 hectares) of reservoir was formed on land sold by Baron Bagot to the South Staffordshire Water Works (SSWW) i ...

History of Reservoir
retrieved 11 April 2013 is from the centre of the village. Within the parish there are the natural features of

Bagot's Wood Bagot's Wood is the largest extant piece of the ancient Needwood Forest, located near to Abbots Bromley, in Staffordshire, England. The forest derives its name from the Bagot family, seated for centuries at Blithfield Hall Blithfield Hall (pron ...

and the largest remaining part of the

Needwood Forest Needwood Forest was a large area of ancient woodland in Staffordshire, England, which was largely lost at the end of the 18th century. History The forest was on extensive lands owned by the Berkeley family of Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershi ...

Phil Drabble Philip Percy Cooper Drabble (13 May 1914 – 29 July 2007) was an English countryman, author and television presenter. Brought up in the Black Country, he later lived in – and wrote mostly about – the countryside of north Worceste ...

's Goats Lodge nature reserve is also in the parish.

Schools

The village is home to The Richard Clarke First School, run by the Uttoxeter Learning Trust for pupils aged 4–9. The school is rated as good by

OFSTED The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a Non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament of the U ...

with outstanding features. The village is part of the three tier school system, now quite rare in England. From age 9-13 pupils go to Oldfields Hall Middle School in

and then from age 13-16 (or 18 if students opt to stay on in the

sixth form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...

) to

Thomas Alleyne's High School Thomas Alleyne's High School (TAHS) is a coeducational upper school and sixth form located in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, England. It is one of three schools founded in 1558 from the will of Thomas Alleyne. It has four different coloured houses: ...

also in

. The village was also the home of one of the original

Woodard Schools Woodard Schools is a group of Anglican schools (both primary and secondary) affiliated to the Woodard Corporation (formerly the Society of St Nicolas) which has its origin in the work of Nathaniel Woodard, a Church of England priest in the Anglo- ...

, and the first in the Woodard Group for girls

Abbots Bromley School Abbots Bromley School (previously the School of S. Mary and S. Anne, Abbots Bromley before becoming Abbots Bromley School for Girls) was a coeducational boarding and day independent school in the village of Abbots Bromley, Staffordshire, Eng ...

(formerly known as Abbots Bromley School for Girls and before that the School of S. Mary and S. Anne). In 2015 the school opened a new International College on the former St Mary's site. The school closed in July 2019 and the site has been sold. The future of the site since the sale is as yet unclear.

Parish Council

Nine Parish Councillors, elected every four years represent the community. Every year the Council elects a chair (currently Cllr Richard Love) and vice chair. The Parish Council is supported by the Parish Clerk. Meetings are usually held in the village hall at 19:00 on the last Wednesday of every month (except August and December due to holidays). All meetings are open to the public. One Parish surgery is also held every other month on a Saturday morning in the Church House to enable Parishioners to bring any local issues to the attention of a

Councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

so that it can be reported to the full Parish Council meeting. Following the election of new Parish Councillors in May 2015 the council began the process of developing a

Neighbourhood Plan A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area ...

, administered through a sub-group of the Parish Council.

Other local representation

Abbots Bromley is part of the Bagots Ward on

East Staffordshire Borough Council East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

and is currently represented by Conservative Borough Councillor Gregory Hall. The former leader of the County Council, Conservative Councillor Phillip Atkins represents the Parish as it forms part of the Uttoxeter Rural Ward on

Staffordshire County Council Staffordshire County Council is the top-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Staffordshire, England. 62 councillors sit on Staffordshire County Council. Staffordshire operates a cabinet-style council In England, local auth ...

. The village is part of the

parliamentary constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

and is currently represented by

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

Michael Fabricant Michael Louis David Fabricant (born 12 June 1950) is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Lichfield in Staffordshire, formerly Mid Staffordshire, since 1992. Fabricant w ...

, MP.

History

The first historical record of the village dates from 942, when the manor of "Bromleage" was given to Wulfsige the Black. The will, dated 1002, of

Wulfric Spot Wulfric (died ''circa'' 1004), called Wulfric Spot or Spott, was an Anglo-Saxon nobleman. His will is an important document from the reign of King Æthelred the Unready. Wulfric was a patron of the Burton Abbey, around which the modern town of ...

, Earl of

Mercia la, Merciorum regnum , conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia , common_name=Mercia , status=Kingdom , status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879) Client state of Wessex () , life_span=527–918 , era= Heptarchy , event_start= , date_start= , ...

, gave the village to the Abbey of

Burton upon Trent Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. In 2011, it had a population of 72,299. The ...

. There is some evidence that the current settlement was a planned town – there is evidence of burgage plots, a grid pattern of streets and a wide market place.

''Domesday Book''

Abbas Bromley is recorded in the ''

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

'' of 1086–7 as ''Brunlege'', when it was part of the land of St Mary of Burton.

Royal Charter

In 1227, a weekly market was confirmed by Royal Charter at the site of the

Buttercross A buttercross, also known as butter cross or butter market, is a type of market cross associated with English market towns and dating from medieval times. Its name originates from the fact that they were located at the market place, where peop ...

(recorded in 1339, the present structure said by

Pevsner Pevsner or Pevzner is a Jewish surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Aihud Pevsner (1925–2018), American physicist * Antoine Pevsner (1886–1962), Russian sculptor, brother of Naum Gabo * David Pevsner, American actor, singer, da ...

to date from the 17th century), which survives to the present. The current, triangular market place is now grassed over and serves as a

village green A village green is a common open area within a village or other settlement. Historically, a village green was common grassland with a pond for watering cattle and other stock, often at the edge of a rural settlement, used for gathering cattle t ...

and the focus for events on Horn Dance Day.

Dissolution of the Monasteries

The village remained affiliated to the Abbey till the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1545. Henry VIII gave ''Bromley Abbatis'' to Sir William Paget, Clerk of the Signet and Privy Councillor. The village was known as ''Paget's Bromley'' for several centuries, (distinguishing it from the part of the parish in the hands of the Bagot family, still known as ''Bagot's Bromley'') but eventually the influence of the Paget family declined, and the name reverted to ''Abbots Bromley''.

Industry

Despite being an agricultural centre on account of its market and fairs, Abbots Bromley enjoyed some industrial success. In the 16th century it was a major centre for glass manufacture. In 1606 it gained a

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

, now Richard Clarke First School.

Decline

Despite nineteenth century efforts to connect the village to the expanding railway network the

North Staffordshire Railway The North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) was a British railway company formed in 1845 to promote a number of lines in the Staffordshire Potteries and surrounding areas in Staffordshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and Shropshire. The company was based ...

received an act of parliament to build a branch line from

Stowe-by-Chartley Stowe-by-Chartley is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Stafford, Staffordshire, England. According to the parish council, the parish includes Amerton, Chartley, Grindley and Drointon. The village and civil parish of Hixon is to ...

which was never taken advantage of. Abbots Bromley remained comparatively isolated and in decline, losing its market, fairs and economic status.

20th century

By the 1950s the village faced economic decay and an ageing population. It was also comparatively late in receiving mains electricity and gas services. More recently it has become a

dormitory settlement A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

for surrounding urban areas such as the

West Midlands conurbation The West Midlands conurbation is the large conurbation that includes the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton and the towns of Sutton Coldfield, Dudley, Walsall, West Bromwich, Solihull, Stourbridge and Halesowen in the English West Midland ...

and

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

. There has been some new development as well as the restoration of historic buildings, with a Millennium Hall perhaps the most noted recent example.

Historic buildings

The village has a large number of listed buildings, and its historic core has conservation area status, reflecting its pre-industrial townscape. Of these, the half timbered Church House,Listed building status- Church House
retrieved 12 April 2013 The Goats Head Inn,Listed building status-Goats head Inn
retrieved 12 April 2013 which is claimed to be the original town hall, and the SchoolhouseListed building status- Old School House
retrieved 12 April 2013 (Richard Clarke's 1606 Grammar School) are some of the most noteworthy. The Market Cross (

) has been designated a scheduled Ancient Monument.

Gallery

File:The Butter Cross, Abbots Bromley - geograph.org.uk - 123390.jpg, the Butter Cross, A scheduled Ancient Monument. File:Bentilee - geograph.org.uk - 402725.jpg, The Grade II listed Bentilee Park Farmhouse File:Approaching The Hurst from Priory Farm. - geograph.org.uk - 439511.jpg, The Grade II listed Hurst Farmhouse. File:Abbots Bromley School for Girls - geograph.org.uk - 511397.jpg, The Grade II listed Coleridge House, School of St Mary and St Anne. File:St. Nicholas, Abbots Bromley - geograph.org.uk - 118977.jpg, The Grade II listed Church of St. Nicholas.

Listed Buildings in Abbots Bromley

* Dwellings at No's 5, 6, 7, 8, High Street, Grade II, Hall Hill Lane4 Houses Listings
retrieved 12 April 2013 * Bagot's Bromley Monument, near Bromley Farmhouse, Grade IIBromley Monument Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Bank House, Grade II, High Street.Bank House Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Barn and Cartshed close to Park Lodge, Grade II.Barn and Cart shed listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Barn in Goose Lane, Grade II.Goose Lane Barn Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Barn, Hurst Farm, Grade II.Hurst Farm Barn Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Barn, High Elms Farm, Grade II.High Elms Barn Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Batkin House, Harley Lane, Grade II.Batkin House Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Bentilee Park Farmhouse, Grade II.Bentilee Park Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Bromley House, Grade II.Bromley House Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Cael Cottage, Grade II.Cael Cottage Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Cedar Cottage, Grade II.Cedar Cottage Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Chesterton House, Grade II.Chesterton House Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Saint Nicholas Parish Church, Grade II.Parish Church Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Church View Farmhouse. Grade II.Church View Farmhouse Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 *North West Leafields Farm, Associated building and structures. Grade II.Leafield Farm Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Coleridge House School, Grade II.Coleridge House School Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Croft's House, Grade II.Croft House Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Crofts Cottage, Grade II.Crofts Cottage Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Dandelion Cottages and Associated structures, Grade II.Dandelion Cottages listings
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Falcott Inglenook, Grade II.Falcott Inglenook Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Georgian House, Grade II,Georgian House Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Gilleon's Hall, Grade II. *Goats Lodge, Grade II.Goats Lodge Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Granary and Associated structures at Hurst Farmhouse, Grade II,Hurst Farm Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Grange Farmhouse, Grade II.Grange Farmhouse Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Narley Farmhouse, Grade II.Narley Farmhouse Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Heatley Green Farmhouse, Grade II.Heatley Green Farmhouse Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Dwelling on Market Place, Grade II.Market Place Dwelling Listed
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Dwelling Owned by Goodwin, Grade II.Goodwin Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 * Inglenook Oak Cottage, Grade II.Oak Cottage Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 * Lancsuss House, Grade II.Lancsuss House Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Laurel Cottage, Grade II.Laurel Cottage Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Leacross Cottage, Grade II.Leacross Cottage Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Leafields Farmhouse, Grade II.Leafields Farmhouse Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Lychgate to the parish Church Saint Nicholas, Grade II.Lychgate Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Manor Farmhouse, Grade II.Manor Farmhouse Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Maxstoke House, Grade II.Maxstoke House Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Middleton House, Grade IIMiddleton House Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 * five different Milepost in the parish, Grade II.Mile Post Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Mount Pleasant Farmhouse, Grade II.Mount Pleasant Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Norfolk House, Grade II.Norfolk House Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Norman Villa, Grade II.Norman Villa Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Northwood House, Grade II.Northwood House listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Park Lodge, Grade II.Park Lodge Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 * Parkside Farmhouse, Grade II.Parkside Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 * Premises of C. Taswell, Grade II.C. Taswell Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 * Newsagent Premises of J.M. Meadows, grade II.JM Meadows Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 * Butchers Shop Premises of V.G. Wilson, Grade II.Premises Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Rose House, Grade II.Rose House Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Saint Helens, Grade II.Saint Helens Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Assorted structures Bentilee Park Farm, Grade II.Bentilee Listings
retrieved 12 April 2013 * Assorted structures Leafields Farmhouse, Grade II.Leafields Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 * Sunny Brae and Sunny Mead, Grade II.Sunny Listings
retrieved 12 April 2013 * Bagot Almshouses, Grade II.Almshouse Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Bagot Arms, Grade II.Bagot Inn Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Bakery, Grade II.Bakery Listing
retrieved 12 April 2013 *Big House, School, Grade II.Big House Listing
retrieved 13 April 2013 *Butter Cross, Grade II.Butter Cross Listing
retrieved 13 April 2013 * St. Mary and St. Anne school, Grade II.School Listing
retrieved 13 April 2013 * Coach and Horses Public House, Grade II.Coach and Horses Listing
retrieved 13 April 2013 * The Cross, Dwelling, Grade II.Cross Listing
retrieved 13 April 2013 *The Green, Grade II.Green Listing
retrieved 13 April 2013 * Hurst Farmhouse, Grade II.Hurst Listing
retrieved 13 April 2013 *The Maltings, Dwelling, Grade II.Maltings Listing
retrieved 13 April 2013 * Old Schoolhouse, Grade II.Schoolhouse Listing
retrieved 13 April 2013 *Royal Oak Public House, Grade II.Royal Oak Listing
retrieved 13 April 2013 *Town End Farmhouse, Grade II.Town End Listing
retrieved 13 April 2013 * Gilleon's Hall, Associated structures. Grade II. * War Memorial, Grade II.Memorial Listing
retrieved 13 April 2013 * Wheelwright House, Grade II.Wheelwright Listing
retrieved 13 April 2013

Traditions

The Horn Dance

Abbots Bromley is known for its annual Horn Dance, an English folk dance dating back to the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. The modern version of the dance involves

reindeer Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...

antlers, a

hobby horse The term "hobby horse" is used, principally by folklorists, to refer to the costumed characters t