Gayton in 1817

Description from A Topographical History of Staffordshire by William Pitt (1817)

GAYTON

Gayton, a village and small parish of Pirehill South, is situated about two miles to the east of Sandon. The village is small and pleasant, on a fertile loamy soil, and from the higher grounds there is a magnificent view of Sandon Obelisk, the plantations of Lord Harrowby, and the still more picturesque ruins of Chartley Castle, situated on the side of a hill, about a mile distant, in the parish of Stone.

The parish contains 48 houses, 49 families ; 137 males., 124 females : total of inhabitants, 261. 

Two rivulets of clear water pass near the village of Gayton, and unite in the adjacent meadows. 

The Church, which is of stone, is a place of great antiquity, built in the Gothic style with small arched windows. The window at the east end is adorned with painted glass. The interior is in a ruinous state, the old oak pews and seats mouldering and falling to pieces. There is a very ancient monument of the Ferrers family in a recess on the north side of the chancel. 

Gayton Church is dedicated to St. John the Baptist, and is a curacy : the Rev. Thomas Hilditch is the present minister.