Needwood Forest in 1872

NEEDWOOD, a quondam royal forest and a chapelry in the E of Stafford. The forest extended along the river Trent, at the boundary with Derbyshire, and thence westward from the neighbourhood of Burton-upon-Trent; measured about 20 miles in circuit; comprised 9,920 acres of rich soil and fine hilly ground, covered with natural wood; was anciently divided into five wards, called Barton, Marchington, Tutbury, Uttoxeter, and Yoxhall, and included thirteen parks; was used for hunting, first by the kings of Mercia, afterwards by the kings of England, down to the time of Charles I.;

It was under the charge of a lieutenant, deputy-lieutenants, a chief ranger, a surveyor, and other officers; underwent considerable alienation and disafforesting at and after the civil wars of Charles I.; was extra-parochial till 1801; and was then distributed among the parishes of Hanbury, Tatenhill, Tutbury, and Yoxhall; and is now a beautiful tract, chiefly under cultivation, but containing about 1,000 acres of good oak timber, and many mansions with large parks.

A tree, called the Swilcar oak, is a noble remnant of the forest; measures 21 feet round the trunk, to the height of 5 feet; contains at least 1,000 cubic feet of timber; and is celebrated in Mundy's poem of "Needwood Forest." The chapelry has no definite limits, but seems to be practically conterminate with the quondam forest; lies, averagely, 5 miles S by W of Sudbury railway station, and 6 W of Burton-upon-Trent; and has a post-office under Burton-upon-Trent. The manor belongs to the Duchy of Lancaster. The living is a perpetual curacy in the diocese of Lichfield. Value, £170. Patron, the Duchy of Lancaster. The church was built in 1809.

[Description(s) from The Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72) - Transcribed by Mike Harbach ©2020]