Longdon History

LONGDON
Description and History from 1868 Gazetteer

LONGDON, a parish in the S. division of the hundred of Offlow, county Stafford, 4 miles N.W. of Lichfield, and 4 S.E. of Rugeley, its post town. The Armitage station, on the London and North-Western line of railway, is about 1 mile N. from the village, which is a long, irregular place.

The parish, which is of large extent, includes Gentleshaw, Brereton, and several other hamlets. It belongs chiefly to the Marquis of Anglesey. The surface is undulating and well wooded. Coal is found. The Trent and Mersey canal passes about two miles northward of the church. Portions of this parish and of the parish of Cannock were, in 1837, assigned as a district to the church at Gentleshaw.

The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Lichfield, value £180, in the patronage of the bishop. The church, dedicated to St. James, is a stone edifice, with a Norman arch. It contains numerous monuments, some very curious.

There are almshouses for 9 poor women, and other charities, producing about £80 per annum. The Independents and Wesleyan Methodists have each two chapels, and there is a very ancient burial-ground belonging to the Society of Friends at Gentleshaw. The National school for both boys and girls has an endowment of £5 per annum.

The Marquis of Anglesey is lord of the manor, and has a seat at Cannock Chase, called "Beaudesert", about 2 miles distant from the village. It was formerly the palace of the Bishops of Lichfield, and at several times has undergone improvements. The park and grounds are most tastefully laid out. A spring, called the "Nun's Well," is believed by many to possess medicinal properties. There are several good residences, and traces of ancient camps in the neighbourhood.

Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) - Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003]