Brocton is a village 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

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

of Staffordshire.OS Explorer Map 244: Cannock Chase & Chasewater: (1:25 000) :Map Details
retrieved 11 April 2013 It is within the borough of Stafford. The village describes itself as the ''Gateway to Cannock Chase, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and a Site of Special Scientific Interest''.

Location

It is located about four miles (6 km) south-east of Stafford town centre.

Population

The 2011 census recorded a population of 1,082 in 445 Households. The parish comes under the Stafford Non-Metropolitan District.

Description

The village is just outside the built-up area of Stafford, on the edge of

Cannock Chase Cannock Chase (), often referred to locally as The Chase, is a mixed area of countryside in the county of Staffordshire, England. The area has been designated as the Cannock Chase Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is managed by Forestry E ...

. The parish is one of the most affluent areas in Staffordshire and is an

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of ...

(AONB). There is a single shop/post office and some of the most beautiful timber-framed houses in Staffordshire. Good examples can be seen in Park Lane and The Green. The parish has a football club, Brocton F.C., though they currently play in Stafford. Near Brocton is Brocton Hall an early 19th-century Georgian mansion built in 1801 for Sir George Chetwynd. It now serves as a golf clubhouse

Brocton Military Training Camp

Brocton was once well known to servicemen as a

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Military Training Camp, remnants of which can still be seen up at the top of Chase Road. J.R.R. Tolkien came to Staffordshire in August 1915 when he served his military training at an

Army camp A military camp or bivouac is a semi-permanent military base, for the lodging of an army. Camps are erected when a military force travels away from a major installation or fort during training or operations, and often have the form of large ca ...

on the ancient forest and Royal hunting ground of

, Stafford. The military camp near Brocton was situated on the high ground of the of the chase, with its rolling moorland, unusual rock formations, and far-reaching views leading to dense forest all around. In March 1916 Tolkien married Edith Bratt and they moved into accommodation in

Great Haywood Great Haywood is a village in central Staffordshire, England, just off the A51 and about northwest of Rugeley and southeast of the county town of Stafford. Population details taken at the 2011 census can be found under Colwich. Haywood ...

, a small village on the edge of the Chase. Walking from the camp to his wife's house at the Presbytery in Great Haywood, Tolkien would have passed through the many-changing wild landscapes of the chase and past the great

sessile oak ''Quercus petraea'', commonly known as the sessile oak, Cornish oak, Irish Oak or durmast oak, is a species of oak tree native to most of Europe and into Anatolia and Iran. The sessile oak is the national tree of Ireland, and an unofficial embl ...

s of Brocton Coppice, many of which still stand at over 1000 years old. As well as a centre where soldiers completed their basic training in the First World War, Brocton Camp also acted as a Prisoner of War Camp from 1917 until the end of the War. The prisoners was separated from the basic training area by barbed wire and fencing. It is estimated that by the time the war ended Brocton Camp housed estimates of between 5,000 and 6,500 prisoners which placed it on the more expansive end of Britain's POW camps in the First World War.

Model World War I battlefield

In September 2013 it was reported that

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 ...

would excavate the

model battlefield near Brocton, which had been constructed by German Prisoners of War held in a camp on nearby

and guarded by soldiers of the

New Zealand Rifle Brigade (Earl of Liverpool's Own) The New Zealand Rifle Brigade (Earl of Liverpool's Own), affectionately known as The Dinks, was formed on 1 May 1915 as the third brigade of the New Zealand Division, part of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. During the First World War it foug ...

. The model of the village and surrounding area of Messines in Belgium, which included replica trenches and dugouts, railway lines, roads, and accurate contours of the surrounding terrain, would be open to public view for a few weeks before being buried over again to ensure its preservation. The excavation is revealing amazing details of the 40 metre square battlefield, which is said to be perfectly preserved. "Staffordshire County Council will be using laser-scanning technology to re-create the site as a 3D interactive model that can be explored online."Michael Bradley, 'Brocton's lost Army 'tribute' excavated after a century,' BBC News, 11 September 2013
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Notable people

Sir George Chetwynd, 2nd Baronet George Chetwynd (1783-1850), of Brocton Hall, near Stafford and Grendon Hall (demolished, 1933), near Atherstone, Warwickshire, was an English politician. He was born the eldest son of Sir George Chetwynd, 1st Baronet of Brocton, Staffordshir ...

of Brocton (1783-1850) MP for Stafford from 1820 to 1826 *

William Henry Chetwynd William Henry Chetwynd (17 September 1811 – 5 July 1890) was a son of Sir George Chetwynd, 2nd Baronet. He lived at Longdon Hall, Rugeley, in Staffordshire and was involved in a sensational divorce case in 1865. He had married Blanche Chetwynd ...

(1811 - 1890 in Longdon Hall, Brocton) son of

, he was involved in a sensational divorce case in 1865. *

Jackie Oates Jackie Oates is an English folk singer and fiddle player. Life Oates was born in Congleton in Cheshire in 1983 but grew up in Staffordshire. At the age of 18, she moved to Devon to study English literature at Exeter University and was based in ...

(born 1983) an English folk singer and fiddle player, grew up in Brocton.

References

External links

Brocton Old Post OfficePark LaneThe Green
{{authority control Villages in Staffordshire Borough of Stafford