Wootton is a village and civil parish in

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. The village is situated approximately 20 miles (30 km) east from

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...

and 20 miles (30 km) northwest from

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

History

Toponymy

The name ''Wootton'' is thought to come 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 ...

''wudu'' meaning wood and ''tūn'' meaning an enclosure; farmstead; village or estate. This translates to Wood Farm/Settlement.

In Victorian times

In 1870-72 ''John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer'' described ''Wootton'' as

Industry

In early reports Wootton was predominantly a farming village, with over 60% of males engaged in agriculture. Even to this day there remains a large farming culture, with still around 25% of the working population engaged in agriculture. The rest of the population are spread out between working in service industries or in managerial/professional occupations.

Notable Establishments

* Wootton Hall, the house where Rousseau stayed, was demolished in the 1930s. * Wootton Lodge, the privately owned 17th century house, is a grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

in the parish owned by the Bamford family. During the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

the house was held for the Crown and was badly damaged during a Parliamentary siege. It was restored in about 1700 when a flight of balustraded entrance steps was added. * Alton Towers Resort is a popular holiday amusement park with hotels and an indoor water park, located 4 miles (6.5 km) away from Wootton. The resort attracts 2.7 million visitors annually. The resort encloses an area known as "Slain Hollow", reputed to be the site of a battle between King Ceolred of Mercia and King Ina of Wessex in 716 AD.

In poetry

A rich poetic description of the area around Wootton is ''The vales of Wever, a loco-descriptive poem'' (1797) by John Gisborne, written as a present to his host after staying at Wootton Hall. It shows the influence of Erasmus Darwin, who also wrote similar topographic poetry on the district, and it was admired by many poets including Wordsworth.

Transport

Wootton is located about 1.5 miles off the B5032 Uttoxeter to Ashbourne road, and is served by the 409 bus service between those two towns, which stops at Ellastone village. The nearest railway station is in ''Uttoxeter'' around 8 miles (12.5 km) away which has regular trains to

Crewe Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the parish had a population of 55,318 and the built-up area had a population of 74,120. ...

and

References

Villages in Staffordshire {{Staffordshire-geo-stub