Acton Trussell is a village in the English county of Staffordshire. It is known as Actone in the Domesday Book. Located around 4 miles southeast of Stafford, it is an affluent village, with many large homes but few local amenities (except for a post office which opens on Tuesdays and Thursdays). Residents in this village have excellent views of Staffordshire farmland and Stafford Castle in the distance. Its close proximity to the M6 motorway (Junction 13) makes it a very convenient location for commuters. The majority of commuting from the village takes place to the areas of southern Staffordshire, eastern Shropshire and the West Midlands conurbation.[2]
In shape a rough parallelogram, this parish is bounded on the west by the River Penk, and to the east it extends to the uncultivated upland of Cannock Chase. On the north lies Baswich, and the southern boundary abuts on the formerly extraparochial area of Teddesley Hay. The ground is very low lying but rises in the north-east at Acton Hill to 375 ft. and in the south-east to 600 ft.
The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal runs from south to north through the western edge of the parish. The parish is also crossed by the Cannock road in the north-east on which there was formerly a toll-gate and toll-house, 600 yds. northeast of Acton Hill. [3]
The name 'Acton' is derived from the Anglo-Saxon Āctūn meaning oak (āc) + town (tūn); the Trussells were a Norman family who were early lords of the manor.[4][5]
The village church dedicated to St James was originally built in 1212.[6] It was then enlarged and rebuilt in 1869 under the direction of G E Street, the architect being Andrew Capper.[7] The main additions were a combined vestry and organ chamber on the north side and a new south porch.[8] The church contains a monument to Richard Neville, of Rickerscote, 1728. The church was re-opened after restoration in 1870 having been closed for 44 years.
The village has one very large pub and hotel, The Moat House, not to be confused with The Moat House Group. The Moat House in Acton Trussell is owned independently by the Lewis family. The Lewis family also own two other venues including The Dog and Doublet in the village of Sandon and The Red Lion in the village of Bradley. The pub section of the hotel was the original farm house built on the property.[citation needed]
The oldest part of the present house is on the east side and probably dates from the early 16th century. It consists of a twostory timber-framed wing of four bays. The upper story, originally open to the roof, has had a floor inserted to form attics. The roof has curved windbraces and three original trusses. Two large external chimneys with stone bases and later brick stacks may be contemporary or additions of the early 17th century. Much of the exterior has been faced with brickwork, and there are low brick additions to the south. A brick wing at right angles to the original block was added at the west side c. 1700. This has two stories, attics, and cellars. It may have replaced an early timbered hall. Internally it has a contemporary staircase and panelling. Some earlier panelling may have been removed from the 16th-century wing. The moat, originally large and curved, was probably of early medieval date. The west side was destroyed by the construction of the canal and a depression in the ground indicates the eastern arm. Only part of the north side, fed from the canal, is now wet. The moat was formerly supplied by a small stream from the east which entered the Penk at this point. In 1752 Edward Dickenson was the plaintiff in an action against his neighbour whom he accused of diverting the stream, thus causing his moat, in which he kept fish, to become stagnant [10]
Roman villaEdit
In May 1985 the semi-hexagonal wing of a Roman villa was discovered in the churchyard.[11]
The wing of a Roman villa was discovered in 1985 outside the east boundary of the churchyard; excavations have been ongoing since then, carried out by Penk Valley Archaeological Group. The work has shown that occupation of the site dates back to at least the Neolithic period (late Stone Age), with finds from the Bronze Age and Iron Age proving continuing occupation up to and including the Romano-British period. The wing is a 2nd-century addition to a rectangular building in the churchyard; by the 4th century further additions had been made, and the now old 2nd-century villa, including the wing, was rebuilt.[citation needed]
There are extensive ditched enclosures of the 1st and late 2nd centuries, replaced with a walled enclosure in the 4th century when the villa was extended. The size of the final build stretches from the wing, just outside the east boundary, westward to the tower, and is at least 43 metres. This was proved by a watching brief carried out in 2010 during pipework installation for toilet and tea-making facilities in the church.[citation needed]
Notable peopleEdit
Acton Trussell was the birthplace of entertainer Patrick Fyffe, one half of the popular comedy duo Hinge and Bracket; the characters resided in a fictional village called Stackton Tressel, a name adapted from Fyffe's birthplace.[12][13]
^Duigan, W. H. (1902). Notes on Staffordshire Place Names. London: Henry Frowde, Oxford University Press. p. 2.
^"Key to English Place-names". kepn.nottingham.ac.uk. from the original on 7 August 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
^Acton Trussel, Bednall, Coppenhall and Dunston - Diocese of Lichfield 2008-08-07 at the Wayback Machine
^. Archived from the original on 23 August 2007. Retrieved 19 May 2008.
^"A History of the County of Stafford | British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk. from the original on 8 August 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
^[1] 14 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine CWGC cemetery report with casualty list.
^W.S.L., Hand Morgan Coll., Acton Trussell box, Dickenson v. Seavill.
^. Archived from the original on 18 September 2011.
^"Dear Ladies trivia". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
^"Dear Ladies". nostalgiacentral.com. Nostalgia Central. 5 April 2015. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
External linksEdit
Media related to Acton Trussell at Wikimedia Commons
acton, trussell, actone, redirects, here, confused, with, disambiguation, village, english, county, staffordshire, known, actone, domesday, book, located, around, miles, southeast, stafford, affluent, village, with, many, large, homes, local, amenities, except. Actone redirects here Not to be confused with Act One disambiguation Acton Trussell is a village in the English county of Staffordshire It is known as Actone in the Domesday Book Located around 4 miles southeast of Stafford it is an affluent village with many large homes but few local amenities except for a post office which opens on Tuesdays and Thursdays Residents in this village have excellent views of Staffordshire farmland and Stafford Castle in the distance Its close proximity to the M6 motorway Junction 13 makes it a very convenient location for commuters The majority of commuting from the village takes place to the areas of southern Staffordshire eastern Shropshire and the West Midlands conurbation 2 Acton TrussellActon TrussellLocation within StaffordshirePopulation1 248 2011 1 OS grid referenceSJ935182Civil parishActon Trussell and BednallDistrictSouth StaffordshireShire countyStaffordshireRegionWest MidlandsCountryEnglandSovereign stateUnited KingdomPost townStaffordPostcode districtST17PoliceStaffordshireFireStaffordshireAmbulanceWest MidlandsList of places UK England Staffordshire 52 45 43 N 2 05 49 W 52 76197 N 2 09696 W 52 76197 2 09696In shape a rough parallelogram this parish is bounded on the west by the River Penk and to the east it extends to the uncultivated upland of Cannock Chase On the north lies Baswich and the southern boundary abuts on the formerly extraparochial area of Teddesley Hay The ground is very low lying but rises in the north east at Acton Hill to 375 ft and in the south east to 600 ft The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal runs from south to north through the western edge of the parish The parish is also crossed by the Cannock road in the north east on which there was formerly a toll gate and toll house 600 yds northeast of Acton Hill 3 Contents 1 Etymology 2 St James Church 3 The Moat House 4 Roman villa 5 Notable people 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksEtymology EditThe name Acton is derived from the Anglo Saxon Actun meaning oak ac town tun the Trussells were a Norman family who were early lords of the manor 4 5 St James Church Edit St James Church Acton Trussell May 2008The village church dedicated to St James was originally built in 1212 6 It was then enlarged and rebuilt in 1869 under the direction of G E Street the architect being Andrew Capper 7 The main additions were a combined vestry and organ chamber on the north side and a new south porch 8 The church contains a monument to Richard Neville of Rickerscote 1728 The church was re opened after restoration in 1870 having been closed for 44 years The churchyard contains war graves of a Durham Light Infantry soldier of World War I and a Royal Engineers soldier of World War II 9 The Moat House Edit The Moat House Acton Trussell May 2008The village has one very large pub and hotel The Moat House not to be confused with The Moat House Group The Moat House in Acton Trussell is owned independently by the Lewis family The Lewis family also own two other venues including The Dog and Doublet in the village of Sandon and The Red Lion in the village of Bradley The pub section of the hotel was the original farm house built on the property citation needed The oldest part of the present house is on the east side and probably dates from the early 16th century It consists of a twostory timber framed wing of four bays The upper story originally open to the roof has had a floor inserted to form attics The roof has curved windbraces and three original trusses Two large external chimneys with stone bases and later brick stacks may be contemporary or additions of the early 17th century Much of the exterior has been faced with brickwork and there are low brick additions to the south A brick wing at right angles to the original block was added at the west side c 1700 This has two stories attics and cellars It may have replaced an early timbered hall Internally it has a contemporary staircase and panelling Some earlier panelling may have been removed from the 16th century wing The moat originally large and curved was probably of early medieval date The west side was destroyed by the construction of the canal and a depression in the ground indicates the eastern arm Only part of the north side fed from the canal is now wet The moat was formerly supplied by a small stream from the east which entered the Penk at this point In 1752 Edward Dickenson was the plaintiff in an action against his neighbour whom he accused of diverting the stream thus causing his moat in which he kept fish to become stagnant 10 Roman villa EditIn May 1985 the semi hexagonal wing of a Roman villa was discovered in the churchyard 11 The wing of a Roman villa was discovered in 1985 outside the east boundary of the churchyard excavations have been ongoing since then carried out by Penk Valley Archaeological Group The work has shown that occupation of the site dates back to at least the Neolithic period late Stone Age with finds from the Bronze Age and Iron Age proving continuing occupation up to and including the Romano British period The wing is a 2nd century addition to a rectangular building in the churchyard by the 4th century further additions had been made and the now old 2nd century villa including the wing was rebuilt citation needed There are extensive ditched enclosures of the 1st and late 2nd centuries replaced with a walled enclosure in the 4th century when the villa was extended The size of the final build stretches from the wing just outside the east boundary westward to the tower and is at least 43 metres This was proved by a watching brief carried out in 2010 during pipework installation for toilet and tea making facilities in the church citation needed Notable people EditActon Trussell was the birthplace of entertainer Patrick Fyffe one half of the popular comedy duo Hinge and Bracket the characters resided in a fictional village called Stackton Tressel a name adapted from Fyffe s birthplace 12 13 See also EditListed buildings in Acton Trussell Bednall and Teddesley HayReferences Edit Civil Parish population 2015 Archived from the original on 9 December 2015 Retrieved 1 December 2015 Travel to Work Areas from the 2001 Census Archived 2008 10 01 at the Wayback Machine Tithe Maps and Appt Baswich copy in W S L Duigan W H 1902 Notes on Staffordshire Place Names London Henry Frowde Oxford University Press p 2 Key to English Place names kepn nottingham ac uk Archived from the original on 7 August 2021 Retrieved 7 August 2021 Acton Trussel Bednall Coppenhall and Dunston Diocese of Lichfield Archived 2008 08 07 at the Wayback Machine Acton Trussell Acton Trussell S James Church Staffordshire Diocese of Lichfield Archived from the original on 23 August 2007 Retrieved 19 May 2008 A History of the County of Stafford British History Online www british history ac uk Archived from the original on 8 August 2020 Retrieved 7 August 2021 1 Archived 14 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine CWGC cemetery report with casualty list W S L Hand Morgan Coll Acton Trussell box Dickenson v Seavill Acton Trussell Roman Villa Archived from the original on 18 September 2011 Dear Ladies trivia British Comedy Guide Retrieved 23 May 2022 Dear Ladies nostalgiacentral com Nostalgia Central 5 April 2015 Retrieved 23 May 2022 External links Edit Media related to Acton Trussell at Wikimedia Commons Pictures of the church Acton Trussell in the Domesday Book Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Acton Trussell amp oldid 1156334246, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
