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Nature Notes - Jun 2017

20 May to 19 June 2017 Despite a surprisingly windy spell in early June, the weather has mostly been quite pleasant and has been extremely warm and sunny over the last couple of days. The prevailing dry weather is pretty good for nesting birds (particularly those in open nests) but is far less good for our local Hedgehogs. I mentioned last month the courting which seemed to be taking place on our patio, since then we have increasingly been visited only by the female Hedgehog

History of Norton Parish

History of Norton Parish

These notes have been compiled from several sources. For more information about the owners of the land ‘Landed Estates and the Gentry’, vol .iii by Anthony Ruscoe is recommended. If anyone can correct errors or add information, the Webmaster would be very pleased to hear from you. Doomsday Norton is unusual in Shropshire by having a village green. This is often a sign that a village was originally an organised settlement in what was previously woodland. The earliest reference

Samuel Owen

A look at Norton In Hales in 1911

A look at Norton In Hales in 1911

In 1911 the census of England was taken on the nights of 2nd and 3rd of April. The census recorded detailed information on the people who spent the night in each household. There were 376 people in the village at that time, 185 females and 191 males, of which 4 were visitors. The youngest was baby Annie Gittins who was just 10 days old, and the eldest person was 95 year old Marie Brien who was boarding at Brook Farm. The most popular occupation was dairy farming and in 1911 w

The Remote Chapel

The Remote Chapel

The tiled floor is similar to that which is in the church, the walls are painted sky blue. There are only 3 surviving stain glass windows, of which are incomplete. It is believed from research that these would have been of St Luke, St Matthew, St Mark and St John. The wooden panels either side of the now bricked-up exit are the 10 commandments, above is a wooden panel, which looks like at some time was painted also. There are two benches that line the sides of the chapel This

The Railway Station

The Railway Station

Norton-in-Hales Railway 1870 – 1956 Norton-in-Hales station was built by the North Staffordshire Railway Co. and it stood on the Stoke to Market Drayton Line. The N.S.R. Co was nicknamed the ‘knotty’ because they adopted the Stafford knot as an emblem. This emblem was based on the badge of the de Stafford family and can be still seen on road signs today. In December 1865 a contract was approved by Parliament for work to begin on building the railway that would pass through N

Sir Rowland Cotton and the Ingo Jones Connection

Sir Rowland Cotton and the Ingo Jones Connection

Fascinating connection with a very famous architect. Lady Cotton Monument by Inigo Jones Commisioned by Sir Rowland Cotton Not completed until 1635 (Sir Rowland died in 1634) Made from Derbyshire Alabaster Believed to have cost £2,000 Moved to it’s current location between 1864-65 during church renovations A drawing in the collection of the Royal Insititute of British Architects has been identified as a design for the tombstone for Francis, the wife of Sir Rowland Cotton, wh

Shropshire in the First World War

A county wide account Sons of mine, I hear you thrilling To the trumpet call of war; Gird ye then, I give you freely As I gave your sires before, All the noblest of the children I in love and anguish bore. So wrote the poet W N Hodgson in August 1914 as England to her Sons. War was declared at 11pm on the 4th August 1914. Great Britain’s initial response was to send an Expeditionary Force of four divisions to France, approximately 80,000 men, to support the French Armies, arr

Register of electors 1949

Register of electors 1949

This section contains a Register of Electors for Norton in Hales parish and is dated 15th October 1949. It has apparently been used for election purposes and probably for the general election of 1950. The lists have been pasted onto 3 large cardboard sheets and have therefore been copied in two parts for each sheet, with an overlap in then middle. A PDF version of each image can be downloaded for an easier read. Register1b Register2b Register3b Register4b Register5b Register6

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