Dosthill is an area of Tamworth, Staffordshire, 2.5 miles south of the town centre, and close to the River Tame. The area is mostly residential, centering on Dosthill High Street, with local employment on the adjoining Tame Valley Industrial Estate. The High Street includes a public house called 'The Fox' and Dosthill Primary Schoo
(photo)
which dates back to 1887.

History

Dosthill is a small ancient hamlet and is mentioned in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

. It has quickly grown in size up until recent centuries, when a large number of housing developments have been constructed. The area will continue to grow in size in the near future, with many more planning proposals in the pipeline and the area becoming more desirable to young families. Dosthill School was 125 years old in 2012 Until 1965 Dosthill was a village in the county of

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Av ...

, associated with the larger village of

Kingsbury, Warwickshire Kingsbury is a large village and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. The civil parish population at the 2011 census was 7,652. The village is situated between Bi ...

some three miles to the south. The county boundaries were altered in that year partly to accommodate the expanding town of

Tamworth, Staffordshire Tamworth (, ) is a market town and borough in Staffordshire, England, north-east of Birmingham. The town borders North Warwickshire to the east and north, Lichfield to the north, south-west and west. The town takes its name from the River T ...

and Dosthill became part of that town, moving into Staffordshire by default. The nearby hamlet of Whateley remained in Warwickshire. The county boundary is now at the southern edge of the village. Originally most of the buildings in the area were agricultural. In the late 18th and 19th centuries the village was developed with the building of a number of farms and cottages. By the 20th century Dosthill had been transformed into a coalmining and brick making village. There are 2 important historical buildings in the village which form part of a conservation area. The oldest building is Dosthill Chapel, which is a

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

building that dates from the 12th century, but has some later additional architectural features. The building is now used as a Sunday school, day nursery and parish room. Cruck Bern is one of the most important timber-framed buildings in the area and dates from the 15th century. In 1870 St. Paul's Church was opened and replaced Dosthill Chapel as the principal place of worship. The building was designed by Edward Holmes of Birmingham. The church continues to be a functioning parish church. The foundation stone was laid by Farmer Cheatle, a member of one of the main four original families of Dosthill. The other three families are the Laytons, Tolsons and Tromans, descendants of whom still live in the village today. Dosthill Hall is also a building of historic significance. It is a Georgian mansion originally owned by the Tolson family. Some people have linked Dosthill Hall with Sir Robert Peel but Sir Robert Peel or the Peel family neither lived at Dosthill Hall nor ever owned it. The building and grounds have now been restored and converted into a number of apartments.

Leisure

Dosthill is a popular place for scuba divers, water skiers and bird watchers. A former

quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envir ...

is now a diving centre and is considered to be the oldest inland dive site in the country.Dive In Centre
/ref> The quarry site consists of several submerged features for divers to explore, including numerous vans, caravans and other vehicles. There are also some good diving platforms for training. No other water activities such as fishing, water skiing, or the use of speed boats or jet skis are allowed on this site. Greenhill Close was named after Florence Greenhill, a local nurse and midwife, who became known for delivering babies while bombs fell around her and her patients. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

she served for a time on Tamworth Town Council. Dosthill Lake is home to the West Midlands Water Ski Centre and has been designated as a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC) due to its winter waterfowl populations, swamp vegetation and marshy grassland. From 2020 it is part of Dosthill Park Local Nature Reserve. A

public right of way A right-of-way (ROW) is a right to make a way over a piece of land, usually to and from another piece of land. A right of way is a type of easement granted or reserved over the land for transportation purposes, such as a highway, public footp ...

to Middleton Lakes RSPB reserve, west of the river (and mostly in

) exists, but the public bridge over the river collapsed and in 2016 was replaced close to the same site. Some pools east of the river are also part of the reserve.

References

External links

Tamworth Borough Council
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North Warwickshire Borough Council
{{authority control Villages in Staffordshire Areas of Tamworth, Staffordshire

History

Leisure

See also

References

External links