HORTON

Grid Ref: SJ 942 574
8 April & 16 September 2003 and 17 August 2015

Old Vicarage
The Old Vicarage in 2015
St. Michael's spacer Tower
St. Michael's, Horton, 2015        St. Michael's Horton
Gate   Sign
The lych gate   Millennium Sign
War memorial   Horton Hall
Parish War Memorial   Horton Hall
Autumn Light   Crocus
Autumn light, Sept 2003   Colchicum Autumnale

 

Horton is a very quiet village - it had a public house at one time but there is neither a shop nor a post office. St. Michael's church in Horton dates largely from the late 15th century. The tower and chancel are early 16th century but the south aisle, porch and east window in the chancel were built in 1864. The church was not open on the day that I visited but it has a brass dedicated to John Wedgwood, who died in 1589. In the churchyard is the grave of George Heath, the poet, who died of tuberculosis aged 25 in 1864. He published poems at the age of 21 and worked on the restoration of the church as a builder's apprentice. This is a very peaceful and beautiful spot on a fine warm day.

Horton Hall is a 17th century house with a recessed centre. The gables have ball finials. The vicarage dates from the early 18th century and is brick built with five bays.

The stone memorial is unusual in commemorating wars and Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. The inscription on the side pictured reads:

Erected by the
Parishioners of Horton
in commemoration of the
Diamond Jubilee
of
Queen Victoria
Who completed the sixtieth
Year of her reign
June 20th 1897
Sustained by counsels wise and just
and guarded by a peoples trust.

Died Jany 22nd 1901

Boer War
Began Oct: 11 1899
Ended June 1 1902.

On another face are inscription relating to the two World Wars, the date given for the end of the Great War is not Armistice Day (11 November 1918) nor even the signing of the Treaty at Versailles, which was on 28 June 1919. The United States rejected the Treaty of Versailles and signed a separate peace treaty with Germany on 31 August 1921.

The Second
Great War
1939-1945

Great War
Began Aug: 4 1914
Ended Aug 31 1921.

The east face commemorates the birth, coronation and death of Edward VII and George V.

Sources:

The Buildings of England, Staffordshire, by Nikolaus Pevsner, Penguin, 1974, ISBN 0 14 071046 9
Staffordshire Churches, by Mike Salter, Folly Publications, 1996.
The King's England, Staffordshire, by Arthur Mee, Hodder and Stoughton, London, first published in 1937.

 

Index button

Strolling through Staffordshire
©  Craig Thornber, England, United Kingdom    Main Site Address:  https://www.thornber.net/

W3C XHTML 1.0 1.0 Strict W3C_CSS