Ebook A History of the Parish of Tatenhill in the County of Stafford

The earliest history of the county is found in Camden's Britannia. William Camden was the son of Sampson Camden, a native of Lichfield. He was born in 1531 and died in 1623.

"The middle part of Staffordshire, which is watered by the Trent, is fruitful and woody; and is rendered pleasant by an equal mixture of arable and meadow grounds. It was inhabited by the Cornavii, and the people, therefore, as living in the heart of England, are called in Bede Angli Mediterranei." (Camden's Britannia, 1586.)

The parish of Tatenhill lies on the left bank of the Trent between Alrewas and Burton-upon-Trent. It includes the Manors of Barton, Wichnor, Blakenhall, Dunstall, Newbold, Bridshall and Tatenhill, also the Rectory Manor of Tatenhill, part of the Royal Forest of Needwood, the district of Highlands Park, and the hamlet of Callingwood. The total area is 9,751,041 acres.

An old rhyme runs: -

Barton under Needwood,
Dunstall in the Dale,
Tattenhill for a pretty girl,
And Burton for good ale.

The history of this ancient parish and the manors and townships included in it and lying in the valley of the "smug and silver Trent" I propose to write.

My authorities are: -

Dr. Robert Plot's Natural History of Staffordshire, published in 1686. Quaint and fanciful.

Sampson Erdeswicke's Survey, written about 1593, but not published till after his death in 1603. Genealogical and inaccurate.