Blithbury is a small village in
Lichfield District
Lichfield () is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. It is administered by Lichfield District Council, based in Lichfield.
The dignity and privileges of the City of Lichfield are vested in the parish council of the 14 km² ...
,
Staffordshire, England. Part of the
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 ...
of
Mavesyn Ridware, it lies near the
River Blithe, about north of
Handsacre, 3 miles north-east 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 ...
, and 3 miles south of
Abbots Bromley
Abbots Bromley is a village and civil parish in the East Staffordshire district of Staffordshire and lies approximately east of Stafford, England. According to the University of Nottingham English Place-names project, the settlement name Abbots ...
.
The
public house
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...
bears the name ''The Bull and Spectacles''. In the 19th century it had the more common name of ''Bulls Head''.
In the first half of the 12th century religious houses for monks and nuns were founded at Blithbury. Within a few decades only the nuns are mentioned. The order was associated with the nuns of
Black Ladies Priory,
Brewood
Brewood is an ancient market town in the civil parish of Brewood and Coven, in the South Staffordshire district, in the county of Staffordshire, England. Located around , Brewood lies near the River Penk, eight miles north of Wolverhampton c ...
, and was eventually absorbed by them, so that there is no mention of the nuns of Blithbury after the early 14th century.
According to
Douglas Adams
Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author and screenwriter, best known for ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Originally a 1978 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (radio series), BBC radio comedy, ''The H ...
' 1983 humorous dictionary "
The Meaning of Liff
''The Meaning of Liff'' (UK Edition: , US Edition: ) is a humorous dictionary of toponymy and etymology, written by Douglas Adams and John Lloyd, published in the United Kingdom in 1983 and the United States in 1984.
Content
The book is a " ...
", a Blithbury is "A look someone gives you by which you become aware that they're much too drunk to have understood anything you've said to them in the last twenty minutes".
References
External links
Villages in Staffordshire
Lichfield District
{{Staffordshire-geo-stub