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Dunston is a small village in England lying on the west side of the
A449 The A449 is a major road in the United Kingdom. It runs north from junction 24 of the A48 road at Newport in South Wales to Stafford in Staffordshire. The southern section of the road, between Ross on Wye and Newport forms part of the trunk ...
trunk road about south of
Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, England. It is located about south of Stoke-on-Trent, north of Wolverhampton, and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 71,673 at the 2021–2022 United Kingd ...
, close to Junction 13 of the
M6 motorway The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 motorway, M1 and the western end of t ...
. The population of the village at the 2011 census was 281. It lies at roughly 300 feet (98 m) above sea level.


History

Dunston was formerly part of the ancient parish of
Penkridge Penkridge ( ) is a village and civil parish in South Staffordshire, South Staffordshire District in Staffordshire, England. It is to the south of Stafford, north of Wolverhampton, west of Cannock, east of Telford and south-east of Newport, Shro ...
. In the Middle Ages it formed a member of the manor of Penkridge and at
Domesday 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
in 1066 this was a royal manor. However, by 1166, Robert de Stafford was recognised as lord and Hervey de Stretton was his tenant at Dunston, although the de Staffords retained land at Dunston at least until the 16th century. The lordship and the bulk of the land descended in the de Stretton family for several generations but, by 1285, they were renting most of their land to the Pickstock family, and in 1316 John Pickstock was named as lord of Dunston. The Pickstocks's were actually business people, burgesses of the county town of Stafford. The lordship passed through their hands for several generations, uninterrupted even by the
Black Death The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...
, until John Pickstock granted most of his lands to members of the Derrington family in 1437. They held it for more than two centuries and sold it to Thomas Adshed in 1638. After only a decade it returned to the Pickstocks, as one Henry Pickstock bought the estate. The history of the remainder of Dunston, retained by the de Staffords, is complex. A considerable part passed by inheritance to Greville Verney, 7th Baron Willoughby de Broke in 1634 and stayed with his descendants until the 20th century. Other lands were being rented in the early 15th century by Sir Fulke Pembrugge, who became the owner of Tong Castle. In 1577 Thomas Fowke, a London businessman and Merchant of the Staple, bought what was now described as the Manor of Dunston from Edward Stafford, 3rd Baron Stafford. This he later divided in two with John Barbour, another businessman. After Fowkes's death, his share was sold by his son to William Anson, a City lawyer. The Ansons held land at Dunston as they rose up the social ladder. George Anson, a prominent Whig politician, was able to buy the other half of the manor. George's son became Viscount Anson in 1806 and his grandson the first Earl of Lichfield in 1831. A small portion of the Pickstock lands was rented by the Trumwyn family in the 14th century. This land ultimately passed in the late 16th century into the hands of John Cowper, who sold it to the Ansons in 1607, including a house called the Hall of Dunston. The Ansons leased the property and by the mid-19th century it was the home of the Perry family, from whom it passed to the Thorneycrofts. Dunston was formally constituted a civil parish separate from Penkridge in 1866. Part of Penkridge was added to the civil parish of Dunston under the
Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...
Review Order of 1934, increasing the land area from to . In 1680, there were 20 houses in Dunston, and in 1817 44 houses, with a population of 214. The population in 1951 was 295. In the next decade, however, the population rose by more than a third to 427.


St Leonard's Church

In the Middle Ages, Dunston was subject ecclesiastically to the large and important Collegiate Church of St. Michael at
Penkridge Penkridge ( ) is a village and civil parish in South Staffordshire, South Staffordshire District in Staffordshire, England. It is to the south of Stafford, north of Wolverhampton, west of Cannock, east of Telford and south-east of Newport, Shro ...
, a
royal peculiar A royal peculiar is a Church of England parish or church exempt from the jurisdiction of the diocese and the province in which it lies, and subject to the direct jurisdiction of the monarch. Definition The church parish system dates from the ea ...
whose dean was from 1215 the
Archbishop of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin () is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: ...
.Victoria County History: Staffordshire, volume 3: chapter 34, s.1.
/ref> The
prebend A prebendary is a member of the Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the choir ...
of Dunston, land amounting to perhaps 50 acres, supported one of the canons of St. Michael's. The prebend was established some time before 1261 and was worth £5 6s. 8d. in 1291. The village church has been dedicated to
Leonard of Noblac Leonard of Noblac (also Leonard of Limoges or Leonard of Noblet; also known as Lienard, Linhart, Lenart, Leonhard, Léonard, Leonardo, Annard; died 559) is a Franks, Frankish saint closely associated with the town and abbey of Saint-Léonard-de- ...
, a saint concerned with the liberation of prisoners, since at least the 15th century, as Richard Talbot, the dean and archbishop, confirmed this dedication in 1445 whilst declaring a hundred-day indulgence for all who would visit it and make a contribution to it The
prebendaries A prebendary is a member of the Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the choir s ...
of Dunston were responsible for the
cure of souls ''The Book of Pastoral Rule'' (Latin: ''Liber Regulae Pastoralis'', ''Regula Pastoralis'' or ''Cura Pastoralis'' — sometimes translated into English ''Pastoral Care'') is a treatise on the responsibilities of the clergy written by Pope Gregory ...
in the village. Prebendaries in royal chapels were generally absentees and paid
vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...
s to do their work for them, but no vicarage was apparently established for Dunston – a situation that persisted long after the
Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...
. In 1548 the Penkridge college under the terms of the Chantries Act 1547, a crucial part of the Reformation legislation of
Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...
's reign. A vicar was appointed at Penkridge, along with an assistant, and this arrangement persisted for several centuries. Ultimate control, however, rested with the successors to the royal peculiar. From 1585, this was the Littleton family of
Pillaton Hall Pillaton Hall was an historic house located in Pillaton, Staffordshire, near Penkridge, England. For more than two centuries it was the seat of the Littleton family, a family of local landowners and politicians. The 15th century gatehouse is th ...
, soon to become the Littleton Baronets, and later Barons Hatherton. They had
advowson Advowson () or patronage is the right in English law of a patron (avowee) to present to the diocesan bishop (or in some cases the ordinary if not the same person) a nominee for appointment to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living, a ...
, the right to appoint clergy in the parish, and were not subject to the ordinary, the
Bishop of Lichfield The Bishop of Lichfield is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers 4,516 km2 (1,744 sq. mi.) of the counties of Powys, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire and West M ...
. The little church at Dunston was termed a
chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently, generally due to trav ...
with cure of Penkridge but no specific appointment was made to it: it was simply part of a wider parish, served by two clergy, with the
curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...
generally attending to services at Dunston. Only with the final winding up of the peculiar in 1858 and the establishment of a separate parish was the way clear to provide adequate pastoral care through the establishment of a separate benefice. From 1868 the parish had a titular vicar, and from 1892 the benefice was merged with that of Coppenhall. A new building was erected at the expense of the Perry family. The village church of St. Leonard's is medium-sized, of
Neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...
style and was designed by architect Andrew Capper. Between 1876 and 1878 the old chapel was finally demolished and a new church erected on the same site. It is a stone building in 14th century style and consists of nave, chancel, transepts, vestry, and a spired west tower. In 1887, a new churchyard, given by the family of a former parishioner, was consecrated, previous burials having been carried out at Penkridge. In 1907, the vestry was added and a new organ installed. The church contains memorial tablets to Thomas Perry (d. 1861), in whose memory the church was built, to his widow Mary (d. 1881), and to later members of the Perry family who lived at nearby Dunston Hall. There are memorial windows and a tablet to members of the Hand family including Charles Frederic Hand (d. 1900), also tablets to John Taylor Duce (d. 1886), Albert Pickstock (d. 1926), and three members of the Thorneycroft family (d. 1913, 1924, and 1943). The two bells of the ancient chapel in 1553, were replaced by one bell in the new church by 1889. This arrangement was then replaced in 1890 by a
carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a musical keyboard, keyboard and consists of at least 23 bells. The bells are Bellfounding, cast in Bell metal, bronze, hung in fixed suspension, and Musical tuning, tu ...
of eight tubular bells, rung from a keyboard, donated by Mrs. Perry of Dunston Hall.


School

A
primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...
was built at Dunston in 1866 on a site given by the
Earl of Lichfield Earl of Lichfield is a title that has been created three times, twice in the Peerage of England (1645 and 1674) and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1831). The third creation is extant and is held by a member of the Anson family. Hi ...
, building costs being met by subscription. Attendance figures for the school in various years: It is now called Dunston
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
Voluntary Primary Controlled School, Junior Mixed and Infants. The building is of red brick, the original block, dating from 1866, has lancet windows with diagonal glazing bars.


Notable local houses

Dunston Hall, rebuilt on the site of an older house by Frederick C. Perry c.1870, is a large
stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...
ed mansion bearing his monogram. It has Gothic detail to the principal doorway and a central tower-like feature. Depressions in the north-east corner of the garden may indicate the presence of a former moat. The brick stable-range dates from the late 18th or early 19th century. The much extended Dunston Hall of today is divided into units for various businesses. Dunston House, lying on the east side of the
A449 The A449 is a major road in the United Kingdom. It runs north from junction 24 of the A48 road at Newport in South Wales to Stafford in Staffordshire. The southern section of the road, between Ross on Wye and Newport forms part of the trunk ...
trunk road opposite the church, is a square late 18th century building of red brick. Dunston Farm is of earlier 18th century date. The Toft, about a mile north-west of the village proper, known in the early 19th century as Old Toft, was built c.1700 and in its original form was a T-shaped brick house with a symmetrical front and a moulded stone cornice. The back wing has an early 19th-century extension and at the front a Georgian porch and a bay-windowed addition dating from the 20th century.Midgley, previous citation
/ref> This property also has a stone figure of a woman's head and shoulders mounted on the upper corner of the building looking out over the cross-roads.


Notable people

Dunston was home to some members of the Thorneycroft family, who lived at Dunston Hall. George Benjamin Thorneycroft, son of the first
Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
of
Wolverhampton Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...
(with the same name), was living at the Hall by 1901. His grandson was George Edward
Peter Thorneycroft George Edward Peter Thorneycroft, Baron Thorneycroft, (26 July 1909 – 4 June 1994) was a British Conservative Party politician. He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer between 1957 and 1958. Early life Born in Dunston, Staffordshire, Thor ...
(1909–1994) who originated from the area and was the
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
Member of Parliament (MP) for
Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, England. It is located about south of Stoke-on-Trent, north of Wolverhampton, and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 71,673 at the 2021–2022 United Kingd ...
1938–1945, MP for
Monmouth Monmouth ( or ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated on where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. The population in the 2011 census was 10,508, rising from 8 ...
1945-1966, and was created Baron Thorneycroft of Dunston (Staffs) in 1967. He held various political offices, for example,
Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...
, and was Chairman of the Conservative Party 1975-1981.''Thornicroft Family Web Site''
/ref>
Peter Thorneycroft George Edward Peter Thorneycroft, Baron Thorneycroft, (26 July 1909 – 4 June 1994) was a British Conservative Party politician. He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer between 1957 and 1958. Early life Born in Dunston, Staffordshire, Thor ...
sold the Hall in 1951 which was then converted into flats and in 1956 was sold to the English Electric Company.


See also

* Listed buildings in Dunston, Staffordshire


References


External links


''St Leonard's Church, Dunston''Dunston village websiteDunston School Web Site
{{authority control Penkridge Borough of Stafford Villages in Staffordshire