Ranton, Staffordshire
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ranton is a small village in Staffordshire, situated 3.5 miles west of Stafford, 2.5 miles east of Woodseaves and 2 miles northeast of Gnosall.
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[edit] All Saints church, Ranton
All Saints church, Ranton, is a small ancient structure, dating from the 13th century.
The building was renovated in 1753, when the chancel was built. The east window was probably put in at this time. The bell turret was removed in 1889, but was re-erected in the 1940s in memory of Frank Russell and John Owen Timms, two local men who lost their lives in the Second World War. The new turret was not strong enough to support the bells, which had to be removed and put onto storage until the turret was rebuilt.[1] The church has a small bell-tower at the west end of the nave with two bells, and was repaired and a gallery erected in 1840. The restoration was supervised by Staffordshire ecclesiastical architect Andrew Capper.[2] The parish registers commence in 1655. The original registers for the period 1655-1993 (Baptisms), 1655-1984 (Marriages) & 1655-1993 (Burials) are deposited at Staffordshire Record Office. Bishops Transcripts, 1660-1868 (with gaps 1840-1854) are deposited at Lichfield Record office.[3]
[edit] Ranton Priory
Standing close by are the ancient ruins of the Augustinian Priory, known locally as Ranton Abbey, which was built c.1150, and flourishing in the 13th century as a subordinate house to Haughmond Abbey (near Shrewsbury).[4] What remains today is the 14th century tower.
Abbey House, next to the tower, was built in 1820. In the early 19th century the property became part of the estate of the Ansons of Shugborough, latterly Earls of Lichfield. Abbey House is now a ruin having been destroyed by fire in the Second World War while occupied by Dutch soldiers.[5]
According to William White in his 1851 History, Gazetteer and Directory of Staffordshire:
- "Ranton, or Ronton, is a small scattered village, five miles W of Stafford, comprising within its parish the scattered hamlets of Extolls, Long Compton, Park Nook, and including 320 inhabitants, and about 2670 acres of land, belonging chiefly to the Earl of Lichfield, and Francis Eld, Esq, and the former is lord of the manor, which, at the time of the Norman Conquest, was held by Goderick, a Saxon nobleman, and afterwards by the Noels and Harcourts. Swynfen Jones, Esq, and a few smaller owners have estates in the parish.
- About a mile W of the village is Ranton Abbey, an extra parochial liberty of 700 acres belonging to the Earl of Lichfield. The ancient abbey was founded by Robert Fitz-Noel, in the reign of Henry II, for regular canons of the order of St Augustine. Considerable remains of the abbey are still standing, including a lofty well-built tower, and the outer walls of the church. The abbey liberty contains 28 inhabitants and the Abbey House which is the seat of ED Moore, Esq."[6]
