Rocester 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

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. Its name is spelt ''Rowcestre'' 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 ...

. It is located on the Derbyshire border.

Geography

The village is about north of Uttoxeter and southwest of Ashbourne, situated on the county border with Derbyshire. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 1,431. The village lies on a triangle of land between the River Churnet and River Dove, which join to the south. The parish borders, from the south going clockwise, the parishes of Uttoxeter Rural, Croxden, Denstone, Ellastone, all in East Staffordshire, and then Norbury and Roston, Marston Montgomery and Doveridge, all in the

Derbyshire Dales Derbyshire Dales ( ) is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Derbyshire, England. The district was created in 1974 as West Derbyshire; the name was changed to Derbyshire Dales in 1987. The council is based in the town of Matl ...

district of Derbyshire.

History

A Roman fort was founded on the site in about 69 AD, as an intermediate point between

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

and

Newcastle-under-Lyme Newcastle-under-Lyme is a market town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. It is adjacent to the city of Stoke-on-Trent. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the population ...

on a route later known as Long Lane. The remains of the earthworks can still be seen. After the Romans departed in about 400 AD, the village remained in use by the

Anglo-Saxons The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

throughout the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. In 1141 the St Mary's Augustinian Abbey was built on the site now known as Abbey Fields. The order was disbanded in 1538; the abbey and its chapel were demolished and a manor house was built on the site. The village church, St Michael's, was constructed in the 13th century. It was mostly rebuilt in 1873, although the tower is the original. In 1781

Richard Arkwright Sir Richard Arkwright (23 December 1732 – 3 August 1792) was an English inventor and a leading entrepreneur during the early Industrial Revolution. He is credited as the driving force behind the development of the spinning frame, known as ...

bought an old corn mill on the River Dove and converted it to a water-powered cotton mill. This introduced industry to a predominantly agricultural community. With industry came the canal and railway networks, and Rocester became an important trading point. The mill was a great driving force in the expansion of the village; its owners were responsible for much building in the village. The mill has now been converted into the JCB Academy. On 1 August 1849 Rocester railway station was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway and closed on 4 January 1965.

Modern times

The mill remained the primary employer until the 1950s, and finally closed in 1985. By this time another major employer had arrived in the village, JCB. The present factory, on the site of the original 1950s factory, was opened in 1970 and is the world headquarters for the company. There are a number of sculptures around the JCB site and landscaped parkland nearby. Most significant of these is The Fossor, which takes its name from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''fossor'' i.e. digger. The steel sculpture, created by Walenty Pytel, is made entirely of digger parts and is a powerful representation of JCB.''Public Sculpture of Staffordshire and the Black Country'', George T. Noszlopy and Fiona Waterhouse, 2005, It weighs 36 tonnes, stands high and was the largest steel sculpture in Europe at the time of its creation in 1979. It can be seen from the B5030 road that passes it. The village has several businesses, a school, a pre-school and a church. Rocester is home to the football team Rocester F.C. Rocester lies on the Staffordshire Way, and is the southern terminus of the Limestone Way, a footpath which runs north to Castleton in the

Peak District The Peak District is an Highland, upland area in central-northern England, at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It is subdivi ...

Notable people

* Elizabeth Trentham, Countess of Oxford (born in Rocester, died 1612), the second wife of the Elizabethan courtier and poet Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford * Winifred, Lady Strickland (1645–1725), a member of the Jacobite court in exile, baptised at Rocester * M. J. B. Baddeley (1843–1906), a distinguished English guidebook writer, his guide to the Lake District was first published in 1880 and remained in print to least 1978. * Brigadier-General Charles Lyon, CB CMG DSO (1878 at The Lodge, Rocester – 1959), soldier who also played first-class cricket for Derbyshire in 1902. * Graeme Edge (1941–2021), musician, songwriter, poet, drummer and one of the songwriters for the Moody Blues * John Hall (born 1941), Vicar of Rocester 1988–1998, Archdeacon of Salop 1998-2011

Sport

* George Harris (born 1877), footballer, played 23 games for Stoke City. * Peter Swanwick (born 1945), a former cricketer, played one game for Staffordshire * Ryan Boot (born 1994), footballer, played 23 pro games for Port Vale F.C. and 193 for Solihull Moors F.C.

References

External links

Rocester Photography
A Rocester photo site * The community website

{{authority control Villages in Staffordshire Borough of East Staffordshire