Gnosall in 1872

GNOSALL, a village, a parish, and a sub-district in the district of Newport and county of Stafford. The village stands on the river Rowley, adjacent to the Birmingham and Liverpool canal and to the Shrewsbury and Stafford railway, 6 miles WSW of Stafford; and has a station on the railway, a post-office under Stafford, and fairs on 7 May and 23 Sept.

The parish is divided into the quarters of Gnosall, Cowley, Knightley, and Moreton; and includes the hamlets of Alstone, Befcote, Great Chatwell, Coton, Cowley, Moreton, Plardwick, and Wilbrighton, and parts of Apeton and Rule. Acres, 10,497. Real property, £17,154. Pop., 2,400. Houses, 515. A number of cottages have become dilapidated; and a decrease of pop. has taken place. The Newport workhouse was here, but has been removed to Newport.

The living is a vicarage, annexed to the perpetual curacy of Knightley, in the diocese cf Lichfield. Value, £175. Patron, the Bishop of Lichfield. The church is partly Norman, partly of later dates; comprises a nave and two aisles, a chancel and cross aisle, with a central tower; and was once collegiate. The vicarage of Moreton is a separate benefice. There are a national school, and charities £173. The sub-district contains five parishes. Acres, 24,815. Pop., 4,969. Houses, 1,022. 

An 1872 Gazetteer description of the following places in Gnosall is to be found on a supplementary page.

• Alstone
• Apeton
• Befcote
• Chatwell (Great & Little)
• Coton
• Cowley
• Knighley
• Moreton
• Plardwick
• Rule
• Wilbrighton

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