Gnosall
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Gnosall () is a village and
civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
in the
Borough of Stafford The Borough of Stafford is a local government district with borough status in Staffordshire, England. It is named after Stafford, its largest town, which is where the council is based. The borough also includes the towns of Stone and Ecclesha ...
,
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, with a population of 4,736 across 2,048 households (2011 census). It lies on the A518, approximately halfway between the towns of Newport (in
Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...
) and the county town of Staffordshire,
Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, England. It is located about south of Stoke-on-Trent, north of Wolverhampton, and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 71,673 at the 2021–2022 United Kingd ...
. Gnosall Heath lies immediately south-west of the main village, joined by Station Road and separated by Doley Brook. Other nearby villages include Woodseaves, Knightley, Cowley, Ranton, Church Eaton, Bromstead Heath, Moreton, and Haughton.


History

The village was 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
, in which it was named ''Geneshale''. It is listed there as having a population of 12 households. According to research presented online by the
University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. Nottingham's main campus (University Park Campus, Nottingh ...
, the name ''Gnosall'' derives from a combination of the Old Welsh ''Genou'' meaning 'mouth' and the Mercian word ''halh'' meaning 'a nook of land' or 'a small valley' or 'dry ground in marsh.' The Gnosall Parish Council also believes that ''Gnosall'' derives from both ''Genou'' and ''halh,'' however believes that ''halh'' actually stands for 'low-lying land by a river' and states that ''Gnosall'' translates to a ‘narrow valley that suddenly opens out into a wider one’. That same site also states that there are at least 27 different spellings of the name, the oldest surviving record being for ''Geneshale'' in the ''Domesday Book'' of 1086, and that it is only by chance that ''Gnosall'' is the current spelling. The Stafford to Shrewsbury railway line once ran through the village. Gnosall's railway station opened on 1 June 1849 and closed on 6 August 1966. The line was built by the
Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company The Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company was a Company in England, formed in 1846, which managed several canals and railways. It intended to convert a number of canals to railways, but was leased by the London and North Western Railway (LN ...
, which also managed the
Shropshire Union Canal The Shropshire Union Canal, sometimes nicknamed the "Shroppie", is a navigable canal in England. It is the modern name for a part of the Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company network. In the leisure age, two of the branches of that netwo ...
which runs through the village. A footpath, the Way for the Millennium, now follows its route. Landmarks of interest include: * St. Lawrence's Church, which dates from Norman times and stands over the site of an earlier
Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...
church. *Coton Mill, where local rumours suggest self-raising flour was invented (despite strong evidence it was created in 1845, by Henry Jones, a baker in
Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
). *The lock-up, originally built on Station Road some time after 10 June 1820, when its construction was scheduled, and moved to its current site on Sellman Street in 1971. There are also several old, privately owned, buildings such as the Duke's Head on the High Street that was previously a public house. With a thatched roof, and herring-bone brick pattern between faded, unpainted wooden beams, it may be suggested that it forms one of the most picturesque scenes in the village. A new primary school opened in 2016 replacing the building constructed as Heronbrook School. This building was unusual in that it was designed to appear attractive from the railway line passing behind it rather than from the front.


Amenities

Gnosall is fairly self-contained in terms of shops and amenities, with its own fire station, supermarket, doctor's surgery, one dental practice, petrol station, sports club, take-aways, five pubs and historic high street. Gnosall Heath has two canalside pubs, The Boat and The Navigation. The Royal Oak is situated on the main A518. In Gnosall village centre may be found The Horns and George and the Dragon, the latter a micropub which opened in 2015. The Sports Club is situated in extensive grounds off the 1970s Brookhouse Estate. Many of the village's ancient traditions are still honoured today, notably the carnival, where children dress up in themed costumes, and a parade complete with custom made floats and a brass band that runs to the Grosvener Centre field from the Royal Oak. A large health centre was completed in 2006 at the opposite end of Gnosall from the old doctor's surgery which was situated by the fire station; tribute to the rapid increase in population of recent years. The village has a
community first responder A Community first responder (CFR), is a person available to be dispatched by an ambulance control centre to attend medical emergencies in their local area. They can be members of the public, who have received training in life-saving interventions s ...
group, a charity consisting of trained local people who provide emergency cover on behalf of West Midlands Ambulance Service in response to 999 calls and administer basic life support, oxygen therapy, defibrillation and first aid whilst an ambulance is ''en route''. The village's newspaper; "GPN" (Gnosall Parish News), is produced and sold in the village, and serves as a local advertiser of services and events, as well as publishing articles of interest to the local community. Despite there being controversy over the legality,
fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...
is popular and fruitful on the canal.


Notable people

* The Rev. Adam Blakeman (1596–1665), the
Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...
minister who founded the early American town of
Stratford, Connecticut Stratford is a New England town, town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is situated on Long Island Sound at the mouth of the Housatonic River. The town is part of the Greater Bridgeport Planning Region, Connecticut, Greater Bri ...
, in 1639, was born in Gnosall.


See also

* Listed buildings in Gnosall


References


External links


Gnosall history - including BMDs, maps, photos, videos and storiesGnosall Web:) - Community Portal to the Global VillageGnosall and District Community First RespondersGnosall St. Lawrence C.E.(C) Primary SchoolGnosall Parish Council Website
{{authority control Villages in Staffordshire Borough of Stafford Civil parishes in Staffordshire