Rocester

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Rocester
Rocester (Staffordshire)
Rocester

Rocester shown within Staffordshire
OS grid reference SK109393
District East Staffordshire
Shire county Staffordshire
Region West Midlands
Constituent country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town UTTOXETER
Postcode district ST14
Dialling code 01889
Police Staffordshire
Fire Staffordshire
Ambulance West Midlands
European Parliament West Midlands
UK Parliament Burton
List of places: UK • England • Staffordshire

Coordinates: 52°57′04″N 1°50′17″W / 52.951, -1.838

Rocester (pronounced /ˈroʊstɚ/) (listen) (help·info) is a village and civil parish in the East Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England. Its name is spelt Rowcestre in the Domesday Book, i.e. something + Anglo-Saxon ceaster = "town"; but there is doubt as to what the Row- part came from. The Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names suggests the origin is either a person's name or from rūh meaning rough.

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[edit] Geography

The village is about four miles north of Uttoxeter, and close to the county border with Derbyshire. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 1,431. The village lies on a triangle of land between the River Churnet and River Dove, which join to the south. The parish borders, from the south going clockwise, the parishes of Uttoxeter Rural, Croxden, Denstone, Ellastone, all in East Staffordshire, and then Norbury and Roston, Marston Montgomery and Doveridge, all in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire.

[edit] History

A Roman fort was founded on the site about 69 AD as an intermediate point between Derby and Newcastle-under-Lyme. The remains of the earthworks can still be seen. After the Romans departed, in the 2nd century, the village remained in use by the Anglo-Saxons throughout the Middle Ages.

In 1141 the St Mary's Augustinian Abbey was built on the site now known as Abbey Fields. The order was disbanded in 1538; the Abbey and its chapel were demolished and a manor house was built on the site. The village church, St Michael's, was constructed in the 13th Century. However, it was mostly rebuilt in 1873 although the tower is the original.

In 1781 an old corn mill on the River Dove was purchased by Richard Arkwright and converted to a water-powered cotton mill. This introduced industry to a predominantly agricultural community. With industry came the canal and railway networks, and Rocester became an important trading point. The mill was a great driving force in the expansion of the village; its owners were responsible for much building in the village.

Rocester railway station was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway on 1 August 1849.

[edit] Modern Times

The mill remained the primary employer until the 1950s, and finally closed in 1985. By this time another major employer had arrived in the village, JCB. The present factory, on the site of the original 1950s factory, was opened in 1970 and is the World Headquarters for the company.

There are a number of sculptures located around the JCB site and landscaped parkland nearby. Most significant of these is The Fossor, which takes its name from the Latin for “the digger”. The steel sculpture, created by Walenty Pytel, is made entirely of digger parts and is a powerful representation of JCB. It weighs 36 tonnes, stands 45 ft high and was the largest steel sculpture in Europe at the time of its creation. It can be clearly seen from the road as you travel South along the B5030.

Today, 2006, the village has several businesses, a school, and a church. Rocester is home to the football team Rocester F.C..

[edit] External links