Staunton 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

Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the Counties of England, county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangle, triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and no ...

in west

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

, England, close to the border with Wales.

Location

Staunton is 2.5 miles east of

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 ...

and 2.5 miles north west of Coleford in the

, on the border of England and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. The main road which passes through Staunton is the A4136 road.

History

The

name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A person ...

Staunton comes from the

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

words ''Stane'' (as in Stane Street) and ''Tun'' meaning "stony farmstead or settlement". Stane may also refer to six notable stones within the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

, including a rocky outcrop called the Frog or Toad's Mouth at the west end of the village. The Long Stone, a pillar of rock or possible

standing stone A menhir (; from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large upright rock (geology), stone, emplaced in the ground by humans, typically dating from the Eur ...

(which may date from before 1700 BC), is visible on the Coleford road. The Broad Stone is the largest of several rocks in the fields of Broadstone Farm. The Buckstone is nearby, as are the Suck Stone and the Near Hearkening Rock. There is little documented history of the parish of Staunton before 1100. Plenty of evidence of

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

man has been unearthed over the years in the form of flint cores from weapons and

flint tool Stone tools have been used throughout human history but are most closely associated with prehistoric cultures and in particular those of the Stone Age. Stone tools may be made of either ground stone or knapped stone, the latter fashioned by a c ...

chipping. It is known that the Romans moved

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

from local mines down to ''

Blestium Blestium (also Blestio in the Antonine Itinerary (Iter XIII)) was a small fort and iron working centre in the Roman province of Britannia Superior, part of Roman Britain. It has been identified with the site of the later town of Monmouth in s ...

'' (Monmouth), probably on the ancient route lying below and to the east of the present A4136 road between Staunton and Monmouth. After the Romans left, Staunton remained as one or two farmsteads.

Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was King of England from 1042 until his death in 1066. He was the last reigning monarch of the House of Wessex. Edward was the son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy. He succeede ...

was the first English King to designate the area between the

River Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...

and the

River Wye The River Wye (; ) is the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, fourth-longest river in the UK, stretching some from its source on Plynlimon in mid Wales to the Severn Estuary. The lower reaches of the river forms part of Wales-England bor ...

as the "King's Forest", a

Royal Forest A royal forest, occasionally known as a kingswood (), is an area of land with different definitions in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The term ''forest'' in the ordinary modern understanding refers to an area of wooded land; however, the ...

. Staunton 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 ...

as one farmstead and a waste or ''meend''. It is probable that the first Norman Lord of the manor arrived in about 1100, and a

fortified manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a Manorialism, manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were usually held the lord's manorial courts, ...

was built above Castle Ditch. The

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

was also initially built at this time. The Grade I listed All Saints church has 6 bells, which over the years has been of some interest to campanologists. There have been many bellringing clubs in the past, training new bellringers to ring for local weddings and funerals. The church originally had a paved path leading out of the porchway direct in a straight route to the main road. During the 1980s, this was altered. The original entrance to the graveyard was replaced with a right-angled route instead. Opposite the village hall is a pound where lost sheep would be kept. When farmers collected their sheep, they would have to pay for their release. This is now a frequent place for the Summer fete to be held. In 1608 there were 50 houses in the village of Staunton. A muster roll for the parish includes one labourer, two miners, three farmers, one lime burner, one husbandryman, two blacksmiths, one carpenter and a tiler, with others making a total of 35 – this is for fighting men (when called) with weapons in the parish. This would mean that there were about 150 residents altogether. Deposits of

in the parish were being dug in 1608 and various small mines provided work during the 18th century. In 1871 Robinhood's Mine, in the Marian's Enclosure, was opened and was worked mainly for red oxide. It produced iron ore for several years before it closed in 1932. The

Ministry of Supply The Ministry of Supply (MoS) was a department of the UK government formed on 1 August 1939 by the Ministry of Supply Act 1939 ( 2 & 3 Geo. 6. c. 38) to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to all three British armed forces, headed by the Ministe ...

gave it a short lease of life when they opened it up during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1664 there was a limekiln on waste land near the church, and in 1792 one at a quarry at Tillys, which grew to three in the 19th century. From the 1950s the quarry on the ridge of the plantations north of Highmeadow above Cherry Orchard Farm was worked for road stone. By 1994, it was operated and enlarged by Tarmac Ltd, and a new access road was made through the woods to the Coleford–Monmouth road. In 1799 the village had one inn, The Ostrich, which became the Royal Oak in 1832. In 1813 competition arrived as the White Horse opened in the west part of the village street, which later became the main road. It publicised itself as the last Inn in England. The White Horse, which was rebuilt in the latter part of the 19th century, is now the only public house as the Ostrich closed in the 1890s. Until the 1970s there was a nursery below the White Horse with large greenhouses on the area stretching from the pub car park to the High House – the site is now built on. At the beginning of the 19th century a parish day-school was held in Staunton church for around 20 children. In 1828 a small single-room school was built near the east end of the main village street. This school was closed in 1911 and the building used as a reading room. Subsequently, it has been used as the Village Hall. The old post office – no longer standing – was on the main road on the corner of what is now Well Meadow. It relocated to the opposite side of the road and was combined with a village shop where today there is an architectural antique shop. The post office was relocated again next to High House but closed in the early 1990s. Staunton used to have a petrol filling station where there is now a vehicle repair business. In the 1960s the Elms Nursing Home was a working dairy farm. It became the nursing home in the 1980s. Opposite the church is a large collection of buildings which were the granary and mill. This building had a windmill in the small field outside, although this has now gone. Next to this, an

almshouse An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) is charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the Middle Ages. They were often built for the poor of a locality, for those who had held ce ...

was built. This was used for any person 'in need' from the village to live in. This may have been due to illness, advanced age or financial need. The Whippington Brook Road is the old road to Christchurch and in this area there has been infill housing amongst the now mostly privately owned former council houses, from Whippington's Corner leading onto Forest Close cul-de-sac. The Old Rectory and its outbuildings, which date from the 17th century, were split up into separate freeholds in the late 1980s, and the Coach House and

Tithe Barn A tithe barn was a type of barn used in much of northern Europe in the Middle Ages for storing rents and tithes. Farmers were required to give one-tenth of their produce to the established church. Tithe barns were usually associated with the ...

converted into residential properties. The village has won the Bledisloe Cup for 'Best Kept Village' twice, a highly acclaimed judged competition.

Surroundings and amenities

Staunton is known for being surrounded by stones such as the Buckstone, the Suckstone and the Near Hearkening Rock. The best-known stone and a local landmark is the Buckstone. When

Lord Nelson Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...

and Lady Hamilton visited

and district, it was painted white in their honour. Up to the middle of the 19th century it used to rock on its base – however, in June 1885 a party of five travelling actors from the London Star Company and the landlord at the Agincourt Inn in Monmouth, having enjoyed an evening of sampling fine wines, managed to dislodge the stone and send it crashing down the slope. It split into several pieces, but was hauled back up the hill at great cost and to prevent further vandalism was cemented in place and no longer rocks. The Suckstone is reputed to be the largest piece of detached conglomerate or puddingstone rock in England and Wales and has been estimated to weigh maybe 14,000 tons. It is possible to climb this huge stone at the bottom right-hand corner. According to local myth, those that climb the Suckstone are visited by the mischievous and capricious Fairy of the Rock, who will grant certain visitors superhuman powers. Notable people who have encountered this woodland spirit are said to include Victorian artist

J. M. W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbu ...

, during a boyhood visit to the area, and Coleford-born playwright Dennis Potter. The Near Hearkening Rock is a large exposed and weathered cliff face of

Old Red Sandstone Old Red Sandstone, abbreviated ORS, is an assemblage of rocks in the North Atlantic region largely of Devonian age. It extends in the east across Great Britain, Ireland and Norway, and in the west along the eastern seaboard of North America. It ...

and

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The Atom, atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen Tetrahedral molecular geometry, tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tet ...

conglomerate and reputedly was given its name by local gamekeepers who used it to detect poachers in their woods at night, both as an observation platform and as a listening post; it is reputedly possible to detect even a whisper or the slightest movement such are the acoustics in this area while standing with your back to the concave cliff face or on the top of the cliff. It is the first village in the

when approached from Monmouthshire, sited high above

and the

. The English-Welsh border and

Offa's Dyke Path Offa's Dyke Path () is a long-distance footpath loosely following the Wales–England border. Officially opened on 10 July 1971, by John Hunt, Baron Hunt, Lord Hunt, it is one of Britain's National Trails and draws hillwalking, walkers from th ...

pass close to the village. The Wysis Way runs through the back of Staunton and goes from Monmouth to

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

. It links up with Offa's Dyke path and the

Thames Path The Thames Path is a National Trail following the River Thames from one of its sources near Kemble, Gloucestershire, Kemble in Gloucestershire to the Woolwich foot tunnel, south east London. It is about long. A path was first proposed in 1948 ...

. In the churchyard is the grave of David Mushet (1772–1847), a noted

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

metallurgist Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the ...

, who built Darkhill Ironworks and who, with his son, greatly advanced the iron and steel industries. Stowfield quarry lies approximately 2km south of the village.

Village activities

The village pub, the White Horse Inn, closed in March 2009, but reopened under new ownership on 3 July 2010. The village and

is dedicated to All Saints. A local bed & breakfast is called Steep Meadow. The old octagonal village pound is just past the

village hall A village hall is a public building in a rural or suburban community which functions as a community centre without a religious affiliation. United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, a village hall is a building which is owned by a local gover ...

where there is some seating and views. There was a thriving horticultural show held each year; this was followed by the Staunton Country Fayre which ran very successfully for many years, the last one being in 2005. The village hall today is the meeting place for the village art group, book group, harvest suppers, sewing classes, the Garden Club, table-tennis club, keep fit, pantos, musical evenings, Forest of Dean Quaker Sunday worship and parish council meetings. It holds many events throughout the year.

References

External links

Staunton, Forest of Dean, Glos

The Wild Boar of Staunton in the Guardian

Staunton Parish Website

Basic information on the Buckstone (Bristol & Glos Archaeological Society)

Archaeologia Cambrensis

photos of Staunton and surrounding area on geograph
Aerial View – 2010 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2159216 {{authority control Villages in Gloucestershire Forest of Dean