Armitage in 1868

[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer (1868)]

"ARMITAGE, a parish, united with Handsacre, in the southern division of the hundred of Offlow, in the county of Stafford, 5 miles to the N.W. of Lichfield, 31 from Rugeley, and 12¼ from Stafford. The village of Armitage, anciently Hermitage, is pleasantly situated on the river Trent and the Grand Trunk canal. It is a station on the Trent Valley section of the London and North Western railway. The canal passes through a cavern here.

There are two earthen pot and sanitary pipe manufactories, which employ a great part of the population; also a brewery; the remainder are employed in agriculture and rearing of cattle, a great part of the land being rich pasture. Part of the village of Brereton, and the hamlet of Handsacre, are included in this parish.

The living is a perpetual curacy in the diocese of Lichfield, value £100, in the patronage of the bishop. The church is a handsome stone structure, in the Norman style of architecture, with a Gothic chancel and Norman doorway, which was preserved with the ancient tower when the rest of the church was rebuilt, in 1850. It is dedicated to St. John the Baptist, and stands upon a rocky eminence, commanding an extensive view over the vale of Trent and the distant forest of Charnwood. The Wesleyan Methodists and Independents have chapels here; the latter is a commodious building, recently erected by Thomas Birch, Esq., and is cased with stone. There is also a national school.

Hawkesyard Park, the seat of Josiah Spode, Esq., J.P., is pleasantly situated on elevated ground, and has extensive prospects over the country. The house is a handsome Gothic mansion, forming a square with an embattled pediment and four turrets at the corners, crowned by cupolas. The other residences are Armitage Lodge, and Lee Hall. J. N. Lane, Esq., is lord of the manor."

An 1868 Gazetteer description of the following places in Armitage is to be found on a supplementary page.

• Brereton
• Handsacre

[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) - Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003]