Tutbury 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
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. It is north of
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 south of 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 ...
. The village has a population of about 3,076 residents. It adjoins
Hatton to the north on the Staffordshire–Derbyshire border.
History
Tutbury is surrounded by the agricultural countryside of both Staffordshire and
Derbyshire. The site has been inhabited for over 3,000 years, with Iron Age defensive ditches encircling the main defensive hill, upon which now stand the ruins of the Norman castle. These ditches can be seen most clearly at the Park Pale and at the top of the steep hills behind Park Lane.
The name Tutbury probably derives from a
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...
n settler and subsequent chief of the hill-fort, Totta, ''bury'' being a corruption of ''burh'' the Anglo-Saxon name for 'fortified place'.
Tutbury Castle became the headquarters of
Henry de Ferrers and was the centre of the
wapentake of Appletree, which included
Duffield Frith. With his wife Bertha, he endowed
Tutbury Priory with two manors in about 1080. It would seem that Tutbury at that time was a dependency of the
Norman abbey of St Pierre‑sur‑Dives.
St Mary's Church, Tutbury was used by the local population as well as the priory, and it possibly predates the priory itself. Quarries near Tutbury once produced
Nottingham alabaster, used for monumental carvings, and the priory church has a door with an
alabaster arch (circa 1160) that is the only such arch known in the country.
One of the Royal Studs was established in the area round the castle by
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. ...
but had to be abandoned after the
Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
.
Mary, Queen of Scots
Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567.
The only surviving legit ...
, was imprisoned in Tutbury Castle in 1569.
Until the 18th century, Tutbury was the site of an annual
Court of Minstrels. There was even a "King of the Minstrels" and an annual
Tutbury bull run.
There are some fine
Georgian and
Regency buildings and the half-timbered Dog and Partridge Hotel. There are antique and craft shops in the village, some of which have been run by the same families for many years.
Tutbury and Hatton railway station was opened by the
North Staffordshire Railway on 11 September 1848. It then closed during the 1960s but was reopened in 1989. It is on the
Crewe to Derby Line.
Until 2006, Tutbury Crystal, a manufacturer of high-quality cut glass products, was based in the village. However, production was transferred to
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...
as the existing factory was very old and was thought to be too small for the modern company's requirements. The old factory was demolished and flats were built on the site, but a factory shop still operates in the village. Despite this, the tourism trade survives thanks to the long history of the church and castle.
Gallery
File:High Street, Tutbury - geograph.org.uk - 1339861.jpg, Tutbury High Street
File:West front of Tutbury Parish Church - geograph.org.uk - 1046109.jpg, West front of St Mary's Church (circa 1160)
File:Tutbury Castle. - panoramio.jpg, Tutbury Castle
File:Burton Street, Tutbury - geograph.org.uk - 3863775.jpg, Burton Street, Tutbury
Media
Local news and television programmes are provided by
BBC West Midlands and
ITV Central. Television signals are received from the
Sutton Coldfield
Sutton Coldfield or the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield ( ), is a town and civil parish in the city of Birmingham, West Midlands County, West Midlands, England. The town lies around 8 miles northeast of Birmingham city centre, 9 miles south of L ...
TV transmitter.
Local radio stations are
BBC Radio Derby and
Capital Mid-Counties (formerly
Touch FM).
The town's local newspaper is the ''
Burton Mail''.
''The Natural History of Tutbury'', describing the fauna and flora of the district surrounding Tutbury and Burton on Trent, by
Sir Oswald Mosley and Edwin Brown, was published in 1863.
Tutbury was featured in the ''
Most Haunted'' spin-off series ''
Most Haunted: Midsummer Murders'', in which the team investigated a murder over hidden treasure.
Notable people
*
Henry de Ferrers (fl. 1086), Norman magnate and land owner; founded
Tutbury Priory where he was buried.
*
William de Ferrers, 3rd Earl of Derby (died 1190), an English earl, lived in
Tutbury Castle, and
Robert de Ferrers, 6th Earl of Derby (1239–1279), one of his descendants, was born there.
*
Ann Moore (1761–1813), the notorious ''"fasting-woman of Tutbury"'', claimed to have eaten nothing at all from 1807 to 1813, but her claims were eventually shown to be a hoax; died locally.
*
Benjamin Brook (1776–1848), nonconformist minister and religious historian, the first local pastor from 1801.
* Air Vice Marshal
William Staton, CB, DSO & Bar, MC, DFC & Bar (1898–1983), airman in WWI and later Japanese
PoW in WWII and senior RAF officer, was born in Tutbury.
Sport
*
Walter Lyon (1841–1918), first-class cricketer, moved to Tutbury in 1865 with his younger brother Charles to take over the cotton mill; died in Tutbury.
*
John Henry Davies (c. 1864 in Tutbury – 1927), a wealthy British brewery owner who took over
Manchester United F.C., then called
Newton Heath, in 1902
*
Thomas Richardson (1865–1923), a cricketer who played first-class cricket for Derbyshire in 1895, was born and died in Tutbury.
*
George Harris (born 1877), footballer who played 71 games, became a pub landlord in Tutbury on retirement.
*
Joseph Nelis (1917–1994), Belgian footballer, was born in Tutbury.
See also
*
Listed buildings in Tutbury
References
External links
Information from UpMyStreet*
Map from StreetMapTutbury Community ForumHauntings of TutburyLove Burton Tutbury Page
{{authority control
Villages in Staffordshire
Borough of East Staffordshire