Barton-under-Needwood is a village in the

East Staffordshire East Staffordshire is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Staffordshire, England. The council is based in Burton upon Trent. The borough also contains the town of Ut ...

district of

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

, England. Situated a mile from the A38, and located between

Burton upon Trent Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 censu ...

and

Lichfield Lichfield () is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated south-east of the county town of Stafford, north-east of Walsall, north-west of ...

. It had a population of 4,225 at the 2011 census. It is also near to the

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

village of Walton-on-Trent.

History

The Tudor church of St James is a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. It dates from 1517 and was built by Dr John Taylor, who lived at Barton and served as chaplain to

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

. It is constructed in stone and is castellated. The church contains several notable funerary monuments. The village has several shops and a village hall, local infant/junior schools and a larger secondary school: John Taylor High School, which serves Barton and the surrounding villages. It has seven pubs, six of which are owned by

Marstons Carlsberg Britvic is a British subsidiary of Carlsberg Group, created in January 2025 by the merger of Carlsberg's UK business (including the former Marston's plc breweries) and Britvic, acquired by Carlsberg Group in 2024. History In 2020, ...

. Barton also has a large marina complex on the

Trent and Mersey Canal The Trent and Mersey Canal is a canal in Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire in north-central England. It is a "narrow canal" for the vast majority of its length, but at the extremities to the east of Burton upon Trent and north of Middl ...

, home to some 300 narrow boats, with shops, a pub, a cinema and restaurants. The village sports teams are based at the Holland Sports Club, which has facilities for cricket, football, rugby, tennis, netball and tug of war. The club is named after the Holland family who were resident in Barton for 600 years from the 14th century to the mid-1900s. The earliest recorded member of the family was Richard de Holland who was involved in the Battle of Burton Bridge in 1322 (see 'Records of the Holland Family' published by William Holland). The tug of war team have won many national and international honours since forming in 1970 – including the title 'Guinness World Record Holders' for a record in Tug of War Endurance which was created in 2000, being selected to represent England at the 2008 World Tug of War Championships in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, and winning a World Open Silver Medal at the 2010 Championships in

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

, South Africa, see TWIF records (World Governing Body) 'Tug of War International Federation'. Barton has four churches: St James

C of E C, or c, is the third letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''cee'' (pronounced ), plural ''cees''. History "C ...

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

and

Christadelphian The Christadelphians () are a restorationist and nontrinitarian (Biblical Unitarian) Christian denomination. The name means 'brothers and sisters in Christ',"The Christadelphians, or brethren in Christ ... The very name 'Christadelphian' was co ...

. The name of the village had "under Needwood" added in 1327 to distinguish it from the other Bartons in England. Needwood Forest was a large area of ancient woodland in Staffordshire which was largely lost at the end of the 18th century. In 1995 a

written history Recorded history or written history describes the historical events that have been recorded in a written form or other documented communication which are subsequently evaluated by historians using the historical method. For broader world his ...

of Barton-under-Needwood was produced by Steve Gardner, named "Under the Needwood Tree", with the assistance of a book committee. In 2001 Gardner published a sequel, "Life and Times in Barton", and in 2007 a further volume: "Memories of Old Barton". Dunstall Hall is a stately home about a mile outside Barton in the hamlet of Dunstall. It is used as a conference centre and a venue for weddings. Barton-under-Needwood Golf Club (now defunct) was founded in 1892. The club and course closed in the mid-1920s. The UK's first Travelodge was opened in 1985 on the A38 just outside the village, by Thomas Cartwright. Between the 2005 and 2010 General Elections, the Needwood ward of East Staffordshire Borough Council (in which Barton-under-Needwood is the main settlement) was transferred from the Burton Parliamentary constituency to

Notable residents

* John Sutton, 1st Baron Dudley (1400–1487) diplomat, councillor of Henry VI, baptised in Barton * John Taylor (c.1480–1534) first

Master of the Rolls The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the President of the Court of Appeal (England and Wales)#Civil Division, Civil Division of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales ...

, ambassador to France for King Henry VIII, funded the building of St. James Church. John Taylor High School was named in his honor. *

Thomas Gisborne Thomas Gisborne (31 October 1758 – 24 March 1846) was an English Anglican priest and poet. He was a member of the Clapham Sect, who fought for the abolition of the slave trade in England. Life Gisborne was born at Bridge Gate, Derby, the so ...

(1758–1846) an English Anglican priest, poet; curate of Barton 1783 to 1820 * George Edward Anson (1812 – 1849 in Barton) a courtier and British politician from the

Anson family The Anson family is a British aristocratic family. Over time, several members of the Anson family were made knights, baronets and peers. Hereditary titles held by the Anson family include the earldom of Lichfield (since 1831) and the Anson baron ...

. * Walter Lyon (1841 in Barton – 1918) cricketer, played for Cambridge University 1861 to 1863 * Clement Charlton Palmer (1871–1944),

Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral is the cathedral of the archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Located in Canterbury, Kent, it is one of the oldest Christianity, Ch ...

organist, 1908 to 1936 * Sarah Mayer (1896 – 1957 in Barton), actress and judoka * Sir Robert Douglas (1899–1996), Midlands industrialist – founded a multi billion-pound empire

Tilbury Douglas Tilbury Douglas is a British construction business with its head office in London. The company was originally founded in 1884 as the London and Tilbury Lighterage Company Limited, and retained the Tilbury name until 2001. From 1991 it was know ...

which built the National Exhibition Centre and International Convention Centre in Birmingham * Sir

Stanley Clarke Stanley Clarke (born June 30, 1951) is an American bassist, composer and founding member of Return to Forever, one of the first jazz fusion bands. Clarke gave the bass guitar a prominence it lacked in jazz-related music. He is the first jazz-fus ...

CBE, DL (1933 – 2004 in Barton) an English businessman, a self-made millionaire property developer, horse racing enthusiast and philanthropist * Peter Hart (born in 1955) a British military historian who grew up in Barton * Steve Gardner (born ca.1965). former competitive

powerlifter Powerlifting is a competitive strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athlete attempting a maximal weight singl ...

and President of the International All-Round Weightlifting Association, lives locally (IAWA) * Ben Salfield (born 1971 in Barton) an English lutenist, composer and teacher * Brian Mills (born 1971) footballer, played 23 games for Port Vale F.C. and then taught Physics and Maths at John Taylor High School

References

Barton-under-Needwood Community Fire Station

External links

The Parish Of Barton Under Needwood In Staffordshire – G.E.Carey

Barton's Railway – G.E.Carey

History Of Thomas Russell, Draper (1529-1593) And Barton Under Needwood School – G.E.Carey
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barton-Under-Needwood Villages in Staffordshire Borough of East Staffordshire

History

Notable residents

See also

References

External links