Shenstone 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in The Lichfield District,

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, ...

, England, located between

Lichfield Lichfield () is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated south-east of the county town of Stafford, north-east of Walsall, north-west of ...

and

Sutton Coldfield Sutton Coldfield or the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield ( ), is a town and civil parish in the city of Birmingham, West Midlands County, West Midlands, England. The town lies around 8 miles northeast of Birmingham city centre, 9 miles south of L ...

. The parish also contains the village of Stonnall.

Transport

Shenstone is very well served with

National Express West Midlands National Express West Midlands (NXWM) is bus operator in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. It is a subsidiary of Mobico Group (formerly National Express Group) and is the largest bus operator in the region, as well as one of ...

service X3 to

, Erdington and Birmingham along the Birmingham road. Chaserider service 36 operates through the village connecting to

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

, Aldridge and Lichfield. The railway station in the village is served by the

Cross-City Line The Cross-City Line is a suburban rail line in the West Midlands region of England. It runs for from Redditch and Bromsgrove in Worcestershire, its two southern termini, to Lichfield, Staffordshire, its northern terminus, via , connecting the ...

and offers connections to the

West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...

at and the Chase Line at

Aston Aston is an area of inner Birmingham, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Located immediately to the north-west of Birmingham city centre, Central Birmingham, Aston constitutes a wards of the United Kingdom, war ...

for services to

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 ...

Cannock Cannock () is a town in the Cannock Chase district in the county of Staffordshire, England. It had a population of 29,018. Cannock is not far from the towns of Walsall, Burntwood, Stafford and Telford. The cities of Lichfield and Wolverhampton ...

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 north of Lichfield, southeast of Stafford, northeast of ...

and for the West Coast Main Line. There are also services to

Redditch Redditch is a town and non-metropolitan district with borough status in Worcestershire, England. It is located south of Birmingham, east of Bromsgrove, north-west of Alcester and north-east of Worcester. In 2021, the town had a population of ...

and

Bromsgrove Bromsgrove is a town in Worcestershire, England, about north-east of Worcester and south-west of Birmingham city centre. It had a population of 34,755 in at the 2021 census. It gives its name to the wider Bromsgrove District, of which it is ...

as well as Birmingham New Street. The village also is the only settlement in Lichfield District to have an active railway station after the two stations in Lichfield. The village is also situated next to the M6 Toll which offers road connections to

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 ...

, Wolverhampton,

South Staffordshire South Staffordshire is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. Its council is based in Codsall. Other notable settlements include Brewood, Cheslyn Hay, Coven, Essington, Featherstone, Four Ashes, Great Wyrley, Huntington, ...

Brownhills Brownhills is a historic market and industrial town in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall of the West Midlands county, England. The town is located south of Cannock Chase and close to the large Chasewater reservoir, it is northeast of Walsa ...

, Tamworth and Coleshill. It also offers connections to 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 ...

and

M42 Motorway The M42 motorway runs north east from Bromsgrove in Worcestershire to just south-west of Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire, passing Redditch, Solihull, the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) and Tamworth, Staffordshire, Tamworth on the way, ...

. The village is also near

Watling Street Watling Street is a historic route in England, running from Dover and London in the southeast, via St Albans to Wroxeter. The road crosses the River Thames at London and was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the M ...

which connects from

Holyhead Holyhead (; , "Cybi's fort") is a historic port town, and is the list of Anglesey towns by population, largest town and a Community (Wales), community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales. Holyhead is on Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island ...

in Wales to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. The village is also near the main Chester Road between Brownhills and

Leamington Spa Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply LeamingtonEven more colloquially, also referred to as Lem or Leam (). (), is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Pri ...

Education

The village is served b
Greysbrooke Primary School
on Barnes Road. A previous incarnation of the school was located on Birmingham Road, on the land currently occupied by the Greysbrooke cul-de-sac. Shenstone Lodge School lies on the Birmingham Road approximately south of the village.

Interests

Shenstone was formerly the manufacturing home of the

Norton Motorcycle The Norton Motorcycle Company (formerly Norton Motorcycles.) is a brand of motorcycles headquartered in Solihull, West Midlands, (originally based in Birmingham), England. For some years around 1990, the rights to use the name on motorcycles we ...

. David Garside, a mechanical engineer who had developed a twin-rotor Wankel motorcycle for BSA, joined NVT to help establish production of the Norton Rotary bikes. The old factory still remains on the outskirts of the village, however has been taken over by Elbit Systems and is the site of regular protests. These protests have intensified after the drone engines produced at the factory contributed to the killing of over 51000 (mostly civilian) Palestinian people by the Israeli army from autumn 2023 to spring 2025. The village is served by four

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

s: The Fox & Hounds, The Railway, The Plough, and The Bull's Head.

Demography

The village had an estimated population of 2,234. The ethnic make-up of the village was 97% White, 2% Asian, and 1% Other ethnic. The religious makeup of the village was 62.7% Christian, 35.1% No Religion, 1% Muslim, 0.8% Sikh and 0.2% Hindu.

Gallery

File: Shenstone railway station - 2008-02-17.jpg, Shenstone railway station File:A5127 passing The Bulls Head, Shenstone - geograph.org.uk - 6922517.jpg, A5127 passing The Bulls Head, Shenstone File:War Memorial, Shenstone.jpg, War Memorial, Shenstone File:5 ^ 7 Pinfold Hill, Shenstone - geograph.org.uk - 7346219.jpg, 5 & 7 Pinfold Hill, Shenstone File:A5127 Approaching Shenstone - geograph.org.uk - 2730014.jpg, A5127 Approaching Shenstone

Notable people

* Henry Sanders (1727–1785), curate of Shenstone from 1755 to 1770, author of ''The History and Antiquities of Shenstone'', described as "a model parish history, containing elaborate accounts of the local manors, hamlets, farms, genealogies, and assessments". * John Lewis Petit (1736–1780), physician and

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

. * Sir William Parker, 1st Baronet, of Shenstone (1781–1866), a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officer, fought in the Battle of The

Glorious First of June The Glorious First of June, also known as the Fourth Battle of Ushant, (known in France as the or ) was fought on 1 June 1794 between the British and French navies during the War of the First Coalition. It was the first and largest fleet a ...

in June 1794, died locally. * Edward Hartopp Cradock D.D. (1810–1886), Principal of

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The l ...

from 1853 until 1886 *

Sir Richard Cooper, 1st Baronet Sir Richard Powell Cooper, 1st Baronet (21 September 1847 – 30 July 1913) was a British industrial entrepreneur. He was a member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and inherited the family business, an agricultural chemical manufactu ...

(1847–1913), industrial entrepreneur,

High Sheriff of Staffordshire This is a list of the sheriffs and high sheriffs of Staffordshire. The sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. The sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities as ...

, 1901, lived at Shenstone Court. * Helen Baxendale (born 1970) actress on stage and screen, she grew up in the village.

History

Shenstone is mentioned 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

and its population described as quite large.

References

External links

Parish Council websiteSt. John's Church, ShenstoneThe Staffordshire Archaeological and Historical Society: A Landscape Survey of the Parish of ShenstoneGENUKI: Shenstone (Quotes from historical documents)
{{authority control Civil parishes in Staffordshire Lichfield District Villages in Staffordshire