Tixall

Tixall is a small village and former civil parish in the English county of Staffordshire lying on the western side of the Trent valley between Rugeley and Stone, Staffordshire and roughly 4 miles east of Stafford. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 239.[1] Deriving from the Old English 'Ticheshale' the name is said to mean 'hollow of the goats'.[2]

It is a fairly elongated village lying to the west of Great Haywood and just north of the sprawling Shugborough estate, the River Sow forming the natural boundary between the two, which joins the Trent on the Shugborough estate a mile or so east of Tixall. The village has benefited substantially from its close proximity to such affluent estates as Shugborough to the south and Sandon Hall and Ingestre Hall to the north, homes of the Earl of Lichfield, the Earl of Harrowby and the Earl of Shrewsbury respectively. Also passing nearby to the east and through the Trent valley is the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal, which expands into a body of water called Tixall Wide near to Tixall Gatehouse.

Tixall Hall was the home of the Aston family, who held the title Lord Aston of Forfar. They were staunch Roman Catholics and Tixall was the centre of the local Catholic community. During the Popish Plot Tixall briefly became notorious as the centre of the alleged conspiracy to kill King Charles II, and many victims of the plot such as William Howard, 1st Viscount Stafford were questioned intensively as to their actions while at Tixall.[3]

The village, and former civil parish, of Ingestre is nearby. The civil parishes of Tixall and Ingestre were merged into a single parish of Ingestre with Tixall in 1979.

Notable buildings

Church of St John the Baptist
The church of St John the Baptist, Tixall, May 2008
Obelisk at Tixall, May 2008

A free chapel has existed in Tixall since the 12th Century but the present church was built in 1848 by the Hon. John Chetwynd Talbot, son of the 2nd Earl Talbot of Ingestre. It is built of local sandstone with a roof of Staffordshire blue tiles. The floor tiles are by Minton. The oldest grave in the churchyard is reputed to date from 1627.

Tixall Gatehouse
Main article: Tixall Gatehouse

The 16th century 3-storey gatehouse of the now-demolished Tixall Hall, built by the Aston family, is in the care of the Landmark Trust, which offers it as a holiday let.

Obelisk

There is a sandstone obelisk in Tixall dated 1776 sat in a triangle where the road from Stafford meets the road from Milford. It is said to have been placed there by Thomas Clifford, who owned the estate at the time.

References

  1. ↑ "Civil Parish population 2011". Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  2. ↑ Roman Britain website
  3. ↑ Kenyon, J.P. The Popish Plot 2nd Edition Phoenix Press 2000 pp.157-161
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Coordinates: 52°48′10″N 2°02′03″W / 52.80275°N 2.03407°W / 52.80275; -2.03407

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