Swynnerton 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 ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands C ...

, England. It lies in the Borough of Stafford, and at the 2001 census had a population of 4,233, increasing to 4,453 at the 2011 Census. Swynnerton is listed 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 ...

identifying the lord in 1066 as Brothir (of Oaken) and in 1086, Edelo (of Rauceby), who was in service to

Robert de Stafford Robert de Stafford ( 1039 – c. 1100) (''alias'' Robert de Tosny/Toeni, etc.) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman, the first feudal baron of Stafford in Staffordshire in England, where he built as his seat Stafford Castle. His many landholdings are li ...

, the tenant-in-chief. The record shows the settlement consisted of ten villagers' households, and five smallholders. Property consisted of eight ploughlands suitable for one lord's plough teams, and six men's plough teams. Other resources are listed as ten acres of meadow, and one league of woodland. The owner's value was estimated at £2. St Mary's Church dates back to at least the 13th century, and as far back as the 11th century. Swynnerton received its charter from Edward I in 1306. During the 14th century a market used to be held every Wednesday and an annual fair was held on 15 August each year. A grand manor house used to exist until its destruction in the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I (" Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of r ...

Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

's men, its replacement being

Swynnerton Hall Swynnerton Hall is an 18th-century country mansion house, the home of Lord Stafford, situated at Swynnerton near Stone, Staffordshire. It is a Grade I listed building. History The manor of Swynnerton was owned by the eponymous family for seve ...

, built in 1725 by

Francis Smith of Warwick Francis Smith of Warwick (1672–1738) was an English master-builder and architect, much involved in the construction of country houses in the Midland counties of England. Smith of Warwick may refer also to his brothers, or his son. Architectura ...

, which still dominates the Swynnerton skyline today. The Roman Catholic church of Our Lady adjoins the hall, which was built in 1868 by

Gilbert Blount Gilbert Robert Blount (1819–1876) was born at Mapledurham, near Reading, on 2 March 1819, the second child and son of Michael Joseph Blount and his wife Catherine (née Wright). Blount was educated at Downside in Somerset, (from September 183 ...

. Most of the houses in the village are post

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Nearby Cold Meece houses a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

training area that used to be a

Royal Ordnance Factory Royal Ordnance Factories (ROFs) was the collective name of the UK government's munitions factories during and after the Second World War. Until privatisation, in 1987, they were the responsibility of the Ministry of Supply, and later the Mini ...

ROF Swynnerton ROF Swynnerton was a Royal Ordnance Factory, more specifically a filling factory, located south of the village of Swynnerton in Staffordshire, United Kingdom. Built between 1939 and 1941, it remained operational until 1958. It is now operated b ...

. It is often used by the Air Training Corps and the Army Cadet Force, but is also a regular training area for the

. During the war, the factory was served by

Cold Meece railway station Cold Meece railway station was a short-lived railway station built during the Second World War by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) to serve ROF Swynnerton. History ROF Swynnerton was a Royal Ordnance filling factory built in ...

. Yarnfield and Cold Meece

and parish council came into being in April 2019, with two wards,

Yarnfield Yarnfield is a village in Staffordshire, England. Population details as taken in the 2011 census can be found under Swynnerton It is considered part of historic Stone, and is near to other historic locations such as Eccleshall and Swynnerton. ...

and

Cold Meece Swynnerton is a village and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. It lies in the Borough of Stafford, and at the 2001 census had a population of 4,233, increasing to 4,453 at the 2011 Census. Swynnerton is listed in the Domesday Book identify ...

. It is included in the Borough of Stafford, and was previously the southern part of Swynnerton parish. The village pub, the Fitzherbert Arms, has three bars, two dining areas and accommodation.

Transport

D&G Bus service number 14 calls at the church bus stop five times a day on its way to and from

Hanley Hanley is one of the six towns that, along with Burslem, Longton, Fenton, Tunstall and Stoke-upon-Trent, amalgamated to form the City of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. Hanley is the ''de facto'' city centre, having long been the ...

, Trentham, Barlaston, Stone, Eccleshall and

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 th ...

. Swynnerton is directly connected to Eccleshall by the Swynnerton Road. It is also a 10 minute drive from Stone and Meaford via the A51. The nearest city is

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...

, a 15 minute drive via the A51 and A34 roads.

Notable residents

Thomas Fitzherbert Thomas Fitzherbert (155217 August 1640) was an English Jesuit. Early life Fitzherbert was born at Swynnerton, Staffordshire. He was the eldest son and heir of William Fitzherbert and grandson of Sir Anthony Fitzherbert, a Justice of the Common ...

(1552–1640) was an English Jesuit, born at Swynnerton. His father died whilst he was an infant and he was the head of an important family. * Lord Stafford's family presence dates back several centuries. *

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include "Paul Revere's Ride", ''The Song of Hiawatha'', and '' Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely trans ...

(1807–1882) is believed to have penned his famous poem, ''The Village Blacksmith'', in Swynnerton.

Nearby locations

* Eccleshall * Meaford *

* Stone *

Tittensor Tittensor village is located in Staffordshire, England, between Newcastle-under-Lyme and Stone. The population as taken at the 2011 census can be found under Swynnerton. The village consists of mostly 1960s housing as well as the few remaining ho ...

References

External links

Swynnerton Parish Council Website

Swinnerton / Swynnerton Family web pages

Our Lady Parish Church web pages

= Has several old pictures, drawings and historical narrative about St. Mary's Church, Swynnerton {{authority control Villages in Staffordshire Borough of Stafford

Transport

Notable residents

Nearby locations

See also

References

External links