WARSLOW AND ELKSTONES
WARSLOW AND ELKSTONES 1994
Warslow, Lower Elkstone, and Upper Elkstone were formerly a township in Alstonefield
parish and later a civil parish called Warslow and
Elkstones 3,597 a. (1,456 ha.) in area. (fn. 32) The land
is mostly pasture. Warslow village on the east
side of the parish is the main centre of population, with a smaller village at Upper Elkstone
nearly 2 miles to the west. North of Warslow
village there is a small estate centred on Warslow
Hall. The river Manifold forms the eastern
boundary with Wetton and a tributary, Warslow
brook, part of the southern boundary with Butterton. The river Hamps forms the western
boundary with Onecote, in Leek parish. In 1934
183 a. centred on Herbage in Fawfieldhead were
transferred to Warslow and Elkstones. (fn. 33)
Warslow village lies at 984 ft. (300 m.). To the
east and south the land falls gently and lies at
662 ft. (202 m.) at the confluence of the Manifold
and Warslow brook. Heathland north-west of
the village rises to 1,312 ft. (400 m.) on the top
of Revidge. Upper Elkstone village stands on the
east side of a hill which rises to 1,376 ft. (419
m.). The underlying rock is sandstone of the
Millstone Grit series as far east as Warslow
village, where it becomes Carboniferous Limestone. On the sandstone the soil is clay or fine
loam over clay; on the limestone it is loam. (fn. 34)
Fourteen taxpayers were recorded in Warslow
in 1327 and 10 in 1332; a further 10 were
recorded separately at Elkstone in 1332. Fortythree people were assessed for hearth tax in 1666
in Warslow and Lower Elkstone and 19 in Upper
Elkstone. (fn. 35) The number of people owing suit at
the manor court in 1769 was 77 in Warslow and
18 in Lower Elkstone. (fn. 36) A population increase
noted in 1784 was chiefly the result of mining at
Ecton, in Wetton, (fn. 37) and the township's population was 731 in 1801, 828 in 1811, and 854 in
1821. Mining at Ecton declined in the 1820s,
and by 1831 Warslow's population had fallen to
696. Mining in Warslow itself presumably accounted for the rise to 772 by 1841. The
population was 715 in 1851 and 720 in 1871.
There was a decline to 574 in 1881, 494 in 1901,
464 in 1911, and 419 in 1921. The population
was 444 in 1931, 368 in 1951, 357 in 1961, 341
in 1971, 326 in 1981, and 313 in 1991. (fn. 38)
There is a Bronze Age barrow on the northeastern side of Warslow village, with two others
further east, and one at Brownlow to the southwest. Three Bronze Age barrows also stand on
top of the hill south-west of Upper Elkstone
village. (fn. 39) The position of Warslow village on a
site from which there are views down the Manifold valley as far as Thor's Cave in Wetton may
explain the first part of its name, which is
apparently derived from Old English weard,
guard, and setl, a habitation. (fn. 40)
There was a church at Warslow possibly by
the 13th century and certainly by the earlier 16th
century. (fn. 41) The present Greyhound hotel was
known as the Greyhound and Hare in 1789, (fn. 42)
and by the later 1820s there were two other inns,
the Crewe and Harpur Arms and the Red Lion,
respectively west and north-east of the church. (fn. 43)
They served a village enlarged by 1784 by
miners who worked the duke of Devonshire's
copper mines at Ecton. (fn. 44) As mining at Ecton
declined in the 1820s, some miners presumably
transferred to work in mines already opened in
Warslow, where mining continued until 1874. (fn. 45)
By 1860 the Crewe and Harpur Arms had been
reopened as the Grouse, which became a temperance hotel between 1900 and 1904; still open
in 1916, it had been closed by 1924, and the
Greyhound thereafter was the only village inn. (fn. 46)
The first telecottage in the United Kingdom
was opened at Warslow in 1989. Housed in
Manifold primary school, it provides access to
computers, fax machines, and other equipment
relating to information technology, the intention
being to enable people to work at a distance from
urban centres of employment. Community
groups also use the equipment, through funding
by Staffordshire county council. (fn. 47) In a further
effort to arrest the decline in population, land
behind the former Grouse inn was being developed in 1994 by Coventry Churches Housing
Association for 16 one-bedroomed flats and bungalows. (fn. 48)
A house in existence by 1515 at Brownhill to
the north-east of the village was rebuilt in 1830
as Warslow Hall. (fn. 49) The nearby Upper Brownhill
Farm is partly of the 17th century. A cottage
which existed by 1600 at Cowlow on the Hartington road east of Warslow Hall was rebuilt as
the present farmhouse in 1860. (fn. 50) Ivy House
Farm, dated 1742, stands in School Lane, which
runs south from the village and formerly continued to Butterton. There was a cottage at Oils
Heath west of the village by 1665. (fn. 51) Brownlow
Farm south-west of the village was built in
1854. (fn. 52)
Elkstone was recorded c. 1215 as Elkesdon, the
name presumably referring to the dun, or hill,
south-west of Upper Elkstone village. By the
earlier 1440s the name had become Elkstone. (fn. 53)
The mention of Over Elkstone in 1272 suggests
that there was by then also a settlement at Lower
Elkstone; it existed as Nether Elkstone by
1290. (fn. 54) Upper Elkstone was in different ownership from Lower Elkstone, and it had its own
church by the 1530s. (fn. 55) Strung out on the hillside,
the village had an inn by 1816, called the Cock
in 1834; it was closed in 1976. (fn. 56) The site of Hill
House south of Upper Elkstone village was
occupied probably by 1521 and certainly by 1660. (fn. 57)
By 1444 there was a house called Black Brook
in the south-west corner of the township beside
a tributary of the river Hamps. (fn. 58) Hill Farm to
the east beside a tributary of Warslow brook
existed by the mid 17th century, (fn. 59) and the site
of Hole Farm further north was occupied probably by 1608 and certainly by 1738. (fn. 60) On the
edge of the common waste north of Lower
Elkstone there was a house at Averhill Side by
the earlier 16th century. (fn. 61)
A road to Ecton crosses the Manifold east of
Warslow village, where a bridge was recorded c.
1220. (fn. 62) The road between Cheadle and Buxton
(Derb.) via Longnor was turnpiked in 1770, and
by 1781 there was a tollgate where it entered the
township at Brownlow. A branch to Hartington
(Derb.) was also turnpiked in 1770. It ran
through Warslow village and then north-east
past Cowlow, and by 1781 there was a tollgate
east of the village at a place called Dale. (fn. 63) The
original line of the Buxton road ran some distance west of Warslow village. In the 1820s Sir
George Crewe began to lay out a new line to run
along the south and east sides of the village. The
new line was sanctioned by an Act of 1833, as
was a new line for the branch to Hartington
running south of Warslow Hall and replacing
the earlier line to Cowlow. (fn. 64) The road was
disturnpiked in 1878. (fn. 65)
A packhorse way through Warslow village
probably followed the road across Lum Edge
mentioned in 1662. (fn. 66)
The Leek & Manifold Valley light railway,
opened in 1904, ran through the east side of
the township, with a station where it crossed
Warslow brook. The line was closed in
1934. (fn. 67)
A horse post which operated between Longnor, Hartington (Derb.), and Leek three days a
week in 1829 passed through Warslow, and in
1834 a carrier to Ashbourne (Derb.) also handled
mail. (fn. 68) There was a village post office by 1861. (fn. 69)
There was a police constable in Warslow by
1844. (fn. 70) A cottage at Seven Chimneys on the west
side of the village was a police station by 1871,
and it retains part of the original cell with its
wooden bed. (fn. 71) A police station and two police
houses were built north of the former Grouse
inn in the early 1950s; one of the houses was sold
in 1993. (fn. 72)
A mains electricity supply was available in
Warslow by 1940, but not until 1962 in Upper
and Lower Elkstone. (fn. 73)
Love ales were held at Upper Elkstone in 1521
and at Warslow in 1556. (fn. 74) In the earlier 19th
century Warslow wake took place on the second
Sunday in August, near the feast of St. Lawrence
(10 August), the patron saint of the church. (fn. 75)
Elkstone had its own wake by 1903, when it was
held on the second Sunday in July. In 1947 the
date was changed to the Sunday nearest the feast
of St. John the Baptist (24 June), the patron saint
of the church. (fn. 76) After the closure of the Cock
inn in 1976 the Elkstone wake ceased. It was
revived by the Elkstonian Society, a group of
local people formed in 1978 to preserve Elkstone's heritage. (fn. 77)
A lodge of the Manchester Unity of Oddfellows was established at Warslow in 1842; it
was dissolved in 1983. (fn. 78) A Women's Institute
was formed at Warslow in 1928. (fn. 79)
There was a brass band at Warslow by 1873.
It became a silver band in the early 1950s and
still existed in 1994. (fn. 80) Warslow had a reading
room by 1884. Still open in 1933, it was then in
financial difficulties and was closed probably
soon afterwards. (fn. 81) Warslow village hall, designed
by the Leek architect R. T. Longden, was
opened in 1935. (fn. 82)
MANORS.
The separate recording of WARSLOW in the Domesday Book entry for
Alstonefield manor may indicate that it had
been a separate estate before the Conquest. (fn. 83)
It was part of Alstonefield manor until 1516,
when it was bought by John Mundy (d.
1537). (fn. 84)
In 1563 John's younger son Vincent granted
what was then styled the manor of Warslow and
Longnor to his uncle, John Browne, who was
succeeded in 1570 by his son William. (fn. 85) In 1593
William's son John sold the manor to John
Harpur, the lord of Alstonefield, (fn. 86) and it again
descended with Alstonefield manor. By 1594 the
manor of Warslow and Longnor was called a
barony, a style already applied in 1592 to Longnor alone. The manor was still styled a barony
in 1612, but by 1614 the name was again used
only to describe Longnor. (fn. 87)
Warslow Hall, north of Warslow village, was
built by Sir George Crewe in 1830 principally
for the agent of his Alstonefield estate, Richard
Manclark, but also as a summer residence for
himself and his family. It stands on the site of
Brownhill Farm, evidently Manclark's home by
1826: his initials and that date are on the surviving outbuildings, which are extensive. The
Georgian-style house is a rectangular stone block
with a north wing, and the main entrance on the
east has a Tuscan porch. There is a drawing
room and a dining room on either side of the
front hall and an office for the agent at the rear.
After Manclark's death in 1850 Sir John Harpur
Crewe used the house as a shooting lodge, and
two service wings were added on the north side.
The kitchen wing was removed in 1973; the
other wing, containing the servants' hall, survives. (fn. 88) The grounds, 115 a. on either side of the
Longnor road, were landscaped and planted
with trees in the early 1830s, and there was a
grotto by 1835. (fn. 89) Two pools on either side of the
road feed a series of small cascades in the
steep-sided valley south of the house.
About 1215 Geoffrey Griffin gave to Trentham
priory land in Elkstone together with his body
for burial. (fn. 90) In 1253 the prior was sued for what
was called the manor of ELKSTONE by Adam
of Elkstone, and in 1272 Adam's three surviving
sisters and the heirs of two others sued the prior
for what was called the manor of Over Elkstone.
Judgement was given in the plaintiffs' favour in
1272, and the manor was divided into five
parts. (fn. 91) The manor covered only part of Upper
Elkstone, and in 1272 there was a separate estate
of four houses with land, possibly identifiable as
the estate in which Maud of Elkstone had successfully claimed dower against Geoffrey Griffin
and others in 1227. (fn. 92) In 1337 Maud Basset of
Nuneaton (Warws.) granted the houses to Trentham priory, (fn. 93) which later regained possession
of the manor: it was holding manor courts by
the late 15th century. (fn. 94) At the priory's dissolution in 1537 it had four tenants holding houses
at will, probably corresponding to the houses
acquired in 1337. The priory's estate evidently
comprised six other houses, which were included
in the Crown's grant of the priory's land at
Elkstone to Sir William Herbert in 1550. (fn. 95) Sir
William promptly granted his Elkstone estate to
Edward North. (fn. 96) The later descent is unknown
until 1605, when Henry Offley of Madeley settled the manor of Elkstone on his son John. It
was still confined to the Upper Elkstone area,
Lower Elkstone then being part of Sir John
Harpur's Alstonefield estate. (fn. 97) Elkstone manor
descended in Offley's family, which adopted the
surname Crewe in 1708. (fn. 98) In 1778 John Crewe
conveyed the manor to trustees, who in 1789
granted it to the duke of Devonshire. (fn. 99) The
dukes were still the lords in 1834. (fn. 1) Nothing
further is known about the manor.
ECONOMIC HISTORY.
Agriculture.
In
1086 Warslow had 4 villani and 2 bordars with
1 ploughteam. (fn. 2) There were probably at least two
open fields in the Middle Ages: the names Smith
field and Town field survived in the later 1820s
for land respectively south-west and north-east
of Warslow village. (fn. 3) In the late 1460s a customary payment of 3d. was made to a man for
guarding a gate on the north side of the village,
probably to prevent cattle wandering into Town
field. (fn. 4) New field west of the village was created
in the earlier 1550s, following the inclosure of
240 a. of common waste at the request of
cottagers. (fn. 5) At least part of New field was managed as an open field and probably accounted for
the 135 a. of arable held by Sir John Harpur's
tenants in the Warslow part of the township in
the earlier 1630s. (fn. 6) The tenants also held 386 a.
of pasture. Freeholders at the same date held 190
a., but the balance between arable and pasture
is unknown. There were also 118 a. of common
pasture, lying mostly at Brownlow, where the
township's bull was kept in 1612, and at Lord's
Wood beside the Manifold south-east of the
village. (fn. 7) In 1839 open-field land and common
pasture totalling 78 a. were inclosed under an
Act of 1834 amended in 1836. (fn. 8)
At Lower Elkstone an open field called White
field was mentioned in 1595 and one called
Town field in 1599. (fn. 9) No open-field land was
recorded in the earlier 1630s. (fn. 10) It is not known
whether Upper Elkstone had any open-field land.
Rough pasture on Revidge, Swallow Moss, and
Lum Edge was inclosed in 1839 under the 1834
Act. Sir George Crewe was allotted 384 a. as
impropriator of Alstonefield rectory and 8 a. as
lord of the manor, and the vicar of Alstonefield
was allotted the remaining 128 a. (fn. 11) At Upper
Elkstone 275 a. of common waste were inclosed
in 1822 under an Act of 1813. The duke of
Devonshire as lord of the manor was allotted 14
a. and the curate of Upper Elkstone 9 a. (fn. 12)
Of the 908 ha. of farmland returned for the
civil parish in 1988, grassland covered 742.3 ha.
and there were 151.4 ha. of rough grazing. The
farming was dairy and sheep, with 1,244 head of
cattle and 2,721 sheep and lambs. Of the 38
farms returned, 32 were under 40 ha. in size, 5
were between 40 and 49 ha., and one was
between 50 and 99 ha. Woodland covered 8.3
ha. (fn. 13)
A tithe barn in Warslow township in the 17th
century probably stood in Warslow village: there
was a building called the tithe barn north-east
of the Greyhound in the later 1820s. (fn. 14)
Mills.
There was a mill in Warslow in 1396.
It probably stood on Warslow brook south-west
of the village, where there was a mill in 1592. (fn. 15)
A mill there was still worked in 1834 but seems
to have been abandoned soon afterwards. (fn. 16)
There was a mill at Upper Elkstone apparently
c. 1215 and certainly in 1272. (fn. 17) Nothing further
is known about it.
Trade and Industry.
Lead mining in Warslow, which became important in the earlier 19th
century, appears to have been first attempted in
1717 when Sir John Harpur licensed three Derbyshire men to dig in Warslow and at Fleetgreen,
in Fawfieldhead. The licence was for 11 years,
and Sir John was to take 1/7 of lead ore. (fn. 18) The
search was probably soon abandoned, and in
1723 Sir John licensed four other Derbyshire
men to dig for lead and copper in Alstonefield
parish for 18 years, paying him 1/9 of the ore. (fn. 19)
On the expiry of that licence in 1741 Sir Henry
Harpur made a new one on the same terms for
21 years to a partnership headed by John Wall
and Thomas Fisher, stewards of the Harpur
estates respectively in Staffordshire and Derbyshire; his son, also Sir Henry, renewed the lease
in 1762. What was believed to be a rich seam of
lead ore was discovered in Warslow in 1766. (fn. 20)
Productive by 1769, the mine lay east of Warslow village beside the Ecton road and was called
Dale mine by 1771. (fn. 21) In 1789 Sir Henry Harpur
renewed the lease in favour of Charles Greville. (fn. 22)
In 1800 a group of 25 men, mostly local and
headed by John and Peter Dakeyne of Gradbach
mill in Quarnford, took a 21-year lease of mines
in Warslow, Lower Elkstone, and part of Fawfieldhead. Sir Henry included himself in the
partnership, which by 1801 operated as the Dale
Mine Co. and apparently still existed in 1811. (fn. 23)
Dale mine and a mine at Hayesbrook Gate on
the Warslow-Fawfieldhead boundary were the
chief workings, and they were included in a lease
made by Sir George Crewe in 1823 to a successor
partnership, the Warslow Mineral Co. Work at
Dale mine at least had ceased by 1832. (fn. 24) With
the formation in 1836 of a public joint stock
company, the North Staffordshire Lead and
Copper Mining Co., the Warslow mines were
exploited on a larger scale. Dale mine was
reopened, and others were started at White
Roods, west of Cowlow, and at Lime Pits,
south-east of Warslow village. By 1842 the company employed 20 miners, the number rising to
50 by 1849. (fn. 25) In 1858 a partnership which had
taken over from the company in the early 1850s
was itself replaced by Dale Mining Co. Ltd.,
formed in the previous year. (fn. 26) Under the management of Richard Niness, also the manager of
mines at Upper Elkstone, the Warslow mines
prospered, and in 1863 New Dale mine was
opened north of the original Dale mine. The
company was replaced in 1868 by New Dale
Mining Co. Ltd., which survived until 1874
when all lead mining in the area ceased. (fn. 27)
Copper ore had been discovered at Upper
Elkstone by c. 1680. (fn. 28) It was worked, possibly
for the first time, from 1730 when mining rights
at Royledge by the river Hamps were leased. In
1736 land elsewhere in Upper Elkstone was
leased to a prospector for seven years. (fn. 29) Trial
digging was still taking place in the late 18th
century, (fn. 30) and not until 1849 is there evidence
that mines were worked commercially, and then
only on a small scale. There were two mines
adjacent to each other, New York and Royledge;
the former was closed in 1859 and the latter in
1862. (fn. 31)
Two lime pits mentioned in 1679 possibly lay
south-east of Warslow village, where there was
land called Upper and Near Lime Pit in the later
1820s. (fn. 32) The Warslow Lime Kiln Co. mentioned
in 1833 was possibly established to work a lime
kiln built that year by Sir George Crewe. (fn. 33) Lime
working in Warslow apparently continued until
the earlier 1860s. (fn. 34)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT.
Warslow and
Lower Elkstone formed a tithing in Alstonefield
manor. (fn. 35) By the late 1390s it sent two frank
pledges to the twice-yearly view. (fn. 36) In 1499 a
12-man jury for Warslow was empanelled separately from a similar jury for the rest of
Alstonefield manor, and in 1500 a separate great
court was held for Warslow. It met at Alstonefield, apparently on the same day as the
Alstonefield view of frankpledge. In April 1505
the Warslow court met on the day after the
Alstonefield view and possibly at Warslow. (fn. 37)
Two 12-man juries were empanelled at that
court, one for Warslow and the other for Longnor.
A separate view of frankpledge for Warslow and
Longnor was held by 1525, but it apparently
ceased after 1535. (fn. 38) A Warslow great court,
however, met in the late 1540s and earlier
1550s. (fn. 39) In April 1594 a view of frankpledge was
held for Alstonefield, Warslow, and Longnor,
but from October that year a separate view for
Warslow and Longnor was held either on the
day after or the day before a view for the rest of
Alstonefield manor. From 1611 there was a
further division, a separate view being held for
Longnor on the same day as one for Warslow.
That remained the pattern in 1629. (fn. 40) Separate
views for Warslow and Longnor were still held
in October 1674, but on different days. From
1675 a joint view was held, two frankpledges (by
then styled headboroughs) representing Warslow with Lower Elkstone, and one representing
Longnor. (fn. 41) In 1697, apparently for the first time,
the spring view was held at Longnor. From 1708
it was normal to hold only an autumn view, for
which Warslow was the usual venue, although
spring views were occasionally held at Longnor.
From 1775 there were again spring and autumn
views, and Longnor had replaced Warslow as
the meeting place for both. The Harpur Arms
in Longnor market place was mentioned as the
venue in 1790. (fn. 42) The court still met at Longnor
when last recorded in 1853. (fn. 43)
It was stated in 1674 that there had never been
a pillory in Warslow, but stocks and a whipping
post were mentioned in 1686. (fn. 44) An order to set
up stocks was made in 1713. (fn. 45) The remains of
what may be 19th-century stocks survived in
1994 at the corner of the Longnor road and
School Lane. There was a pinfold in Warslow
in 1532, and a pinner was mentioned in 1596. (fn. 46)
A pinfold whose construction, on the site of a
ruined pinfold, was ordered in 1715 probably
stood in School Lane: one certainly stood there
north-east of Ivy House Farm in the later
1820s. (fn. 47) In the late 1870s a pinfold stood on the
north-west side of the village near the former
workhouse; it had been removed by the late
1890s. (fn. 48)
Warslow apparently had a surveyor of the
highways in 1594. By 1601 two surveyors were
appointed at the manor court, one of them
probably for Lower Elkstone, as was the case in
the later 17th century. (fn. 49)
The prior of Trentham held courts at Upper
Elkstone infrequently in the late 15th century
but apparently annually in the earlier 16th century. (fn. 50) A court was held by the duke of
Devonshire in the earlier 1830s. (fn. 51) The manor
apparently formed a constablewick in 1377, and
a constable for Upper Elkstone was mentioned
in 1728. (fn. 52)
The poor of Warslow, Lower Elkstone, and
Upper Elkstone were maintained jointly probably by the later 17th century and certainly by
1750. (fn. 53) There was a workhouse north-west of
Warslow village by the later 1820s. The township became part of Leek poor-law union in
1837. (fn. 54)
CHURCHES.
There may have been a chapel at
Warslow by the 13th century, on the evidence
of the font in the present church, and part of the
shaft and base of a late medieval cross survives
in the churchyard on the south side of the
church. A chapel at Warslow was mentioned in
1524, and its dedication to St. Katharine was
recorded in 1533. A chapel at Elkstone, also
mentioned in 1524, probably stood at Upper
Elkstone, where there was a church in 1682. (fn. 55)
A grant from Queen Anne's Bounty shortly
before 1766 was lost because neither Warslow
nor Elkstone chapel had a nominated curate.
The chapels were then served by the vicar of
Alstonefield's curate, Luke Story, who visited
the area frequently 'for a very small subscription', recorded in 1784 as £1 6s. 8d. (fn. 56) The two
chapels were served jointly by a perpetual curate
from 1785, the patron being the vicar of
Alstonefield. (fn. 57) There was a separate benefice for
each, and each was styled a vicarage from 1868. (fn. 58)
The parish of Warslow with Elkstone was created in 1902, and the benefices were united in
1908. (fn. 59) In 1985 the benefice of Warslow with
Elkstone was united with those of Alstonefield,
Butterton, and Wetton, although all four parishes remained separate. Alstonefield was made
the vicar's place of residence. (fn. 60)
In 1785 Warslow and Elkstone were each
assigned a grant of £200 from Queen Anne's
Bounty. Warslow received further grants of
£200 in 1786, 1790, 1808, and 1813, and Elkstone received similar grants in 1786, 1789, and
1792 and one of £400 in 1824. The money was
used in 1826 to buy 31 a. in Longnor as an
endowment for both Warslow and Elkstone. (fn. 61) In
1824 Warslow was awarded £1,400 by Queen
Anne's Bounty on account of its increased population. In 1825 Elkstone received another £200
grant, and in 1829 a grant of £200 was made to
Warslow to meet a benefaction of £600. (fn. 62) By
1832 the endowments comprised the land in
Longnor, a 40-a. farm in Ipstones, and 12 a. in
Upper Elkstone. The curate's income was then
£105 for Warslow and £74 for Elkstone. (fn. 63) There
were 104 a. of glebe in 1887, with an estimated
rental of £143 3s. (fn. 64) By will of 1897 George
Sutton left Black Brook farm to augment the
living; it was sold for £1,024 8s. (fn. 65)
In 1590 the curate of Warslow was the tenant
of a house in Warslow churchyard. (fn. 66) A house
south-west of Warslow village was built in 1829
for the newly appointed curate, Richard Pidcocke. It is a large, stone house with a central
porch and Gothick windows. (fn. 67) It was sold in
1982. (fn. 68)
In 1604 Sunday services at Elkstone were taken
by Richard Bullock, a reader who was not
licensed to preach and who was described as 'a
young scholar, going to a grammar school all the
week'; his stipend was £1 a year together with
'holiday board'. Henry Smith, also an unlicensed
reader, served Warslow at the same date. (fn. 69) Both
chapels were still served by readers in the later
17th century. (fn. 70) It is not known whether the
perpetual curate appointed in 1785 resided, and
when Warslow church was rebuilt in 1820 it was
being served by an assistant, William Richardson. (fn. 71) The curate appointed in 1828 (fn. 72) took
Sunday services alternately at Warslow and Elkstone in 1830; Communion was celebrated four
times a year at each church. There were psalm
singers at Warslow in 1820 and at Elkstone in
1830. (fn. 73) They possibly survived at Warslow until
an organ was acquired in the mid 1860s. (fn. 74) On
Census Sunday 1851 there was a morning service
at Elkstone attended by 18 adults and one in the
afternoon at Warslow attended by 200, besides
Sunday school children. (fn. 75) High Church practices introduced at Warslow by William Hill,
vicar 1908-34, were continued by his successor
Albert Oliver (1934-60). (fn. 76)
Elkstone chapel had two wardens in 1553. (fn. 77)
One of the four churchwardens of Alstonefield
parish recorded in 1569 may have been for
Warslow and Elkstone, the arrangement in the
early 18th century. From the late 1780s Warslow
and Elkstone each had its own churchwarden.
The wardens presented at the Easter vestry for
Alstonefield parish until 1827. (fn. 78) Both chapelries,
however, continued to contribute to the maintenance of Alstonefield church. (fn. 79) In 1830 Warslow
and Elkstone shared a clerk, who was paid £2
12s. (fn. 80) Warslow church had a dog whipper by the
earlier 1720s. He was paid 5s. a year, still his
salary in 1827. (fn. 81)
The present church of ST. LAWRENCE at
Warslow, so called by 1850, (fn. 82) dates from 1820.
Its predecessor was a narrow building, 44 ft. long
and 20 ft. wide, which dated at least in part from
the earlier 17th century: a stone dated 1631 is
on the east wall of the present church. Permission was given in 1784 to insert a west gallery
and to repew the nave; the pulpit then stood on
the north side of the nave. (fn. 83) The church was
rebuilt in Georgian style in 1820, 2 ft. shorter
than the earlier building but 7 ft. wider. Of
coursed ashlar, it consisted of an aisleless nave
with a west gallery, a south door, and a west
tower. The communion table stood at the east
end of the nave and a combined pulpit and
reading desk on its north side; there were pews
for the clerk and for the churching of women at
the north-east end of the nave. (fn. 84) A chancel, north
vestry, and south organ chamber were added in
1908, at the expense of Sir Thomas Wardle of
Leek, whose country seat was at Swainsley, in
Butterton. The architect was Charles Lynam of
Stoke-upon-Trent. The box pews in the nave
were replaced with open benches, and a pew for
the Harpur Crewe family was provided at the
east end of the nave on the south side. Lady
Harpur Crewe gave altar furnishings. (fn. 85) Glass by
Morris & Co. was inserted in 1909 in the side
windows of the chancel in memory of Thomas
and Mary Lloyd of the Greyhound and their
children. In 1910 the east window was filled with
glass also probably by Morris & Co., in memory
of Sir Thomas Wardle and his wife. Further
Morris & Co. glass was inserted in the centre
window on the north side of the nave as a war
memorial in 1920. (fn. 86) The present pulpit is dated
1935. A south porch was added in 1970. (fn. 87)
The font dates from the 13th century. Removed from the church at an unknown date, it
was reinstated in 1937. (fn. 88) There was a single bell
in 1553, besides what was probably a hand bell. (fn. 89)
The church of 1820 originally had one bell. It
had three by 1850, two of which were destroyed
by fire in 1887. The loss was made good in 1906
with the gift of two bells by Mary Lloyd of the
Greyhound. (fn. 90)
The plate in 1553 consisted of a silver chalice
and paten. (fn. 91) The present plate includes a silver
paten of 1751 and a silver chalice of 1784. (fn. 92) A
clock made by Francis Abbott of Manchester
was installed in the tower in 1837. (fn. 93) Four boards
with the text of the Commandments, the Lord's
Prayer, and the Creed date from 1820.
The registers date from 1785 for baptisms and
1791 for burials. (fn. 94)
A churchyard seems to have been no longer in
use in 1552. (fn. 95) The later churchyard was enlarged
in 1963. (fn. 96)
The church of ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST
at Upper Elkstone dates from the late 1780s.
Built of coursed ashlar, it is a rectangular-shaped
building with a south door and a west bellcot. It
was built 'under the care and inspection' of
William Grindon at a cost of £200, of which
£140 was raised by a brief and the rest by a levy
from the township. (fn. 97) The church has 18thcentury fittings consisting of a pulpit with a
sounding board and a clerk's desk, box pews
with name plates, and a west gallery originally
entered through the west gable. (fn. 98) An internal
staircase and a vestry were later added in place
of pews at the west end. Royal arms of George
III hang over the Venetian east window, and
there are boards with the Commandments,
Lord's Prayer, and Creed.
No plate was mentioned at Elkstone in 1553,
although there were altar furnishings. From the
19th century, and possibly earlier, the church
used the same plate as Warslow. (fn. 99) There is a
single bell.
The Warslow register contains entries for Elkstone from 1791 to 1812. (fn. 1) Thereafter there are
separate registers for Elkstone. (fn. 2)
The churchyard was enlarged in 1905. (fn. 3)
NONCONFORMITY.
In 1766 Luke Story,
the stipendiary curate, reported that before he
began to visit the Warslow area Methodists had
made gains there and that he had been very hard
on them since. (fn. 4) In 1790 there was a Methodist
society with 42 members at the home of Richard
Gould of Brownhill. (fn. 5) It still existed in 1811,
when a Sunday service was held fortnightly, but
no longer in 1829. (fn. 6) A Wesleyan Methodist
chapel was built in Warslow village in 1848, and
on Census Sunday 1851 it had a morning congregation of 65. (fn. 7) Primitive Methodists registered
a house in Warslow in 1814, (fn. 8) and in 1848 they
built a chapel north-west of the village. On
Census Sunday 1851 there were attendances of
12 in the morning and 67 in the evening. (fn. 9) The
Wesleyan chapel remained in use until 1938,
when the combined Wesleyan and Primitive
Methodist congregations moved into the former
Primitive Methodist chapel. (fn. 10) That chapel was
closed in 1992. (fn. 11) In 1994 the derelict Wesleyan
chapel was being converted into a house, and the
Primitive Methodist chapel stood unused.
There was a Primitive Methodist society at
Elkstone in 1857, and a chapel was opened
north-west of Upper Elkstone village in 1872.
Services continued until c. 1930, and the chapel
was demolished in 1955. (fn. 12)
EDUCATION.
A schoolmaster recorded at
Warslow in 1640 was probably also responsible
for reading prayers in church: he was described
as the curate of Warslow at his death in 1656. (fn. 13)
A master who subscribed in 1663 was licensed
to read prayers. (fn. 14) Thomas Smith (d. 1730),
apparently the curate of Warslow, left £200 to
Warslow school, and his trustees nominated the
master who subscribed in 1744. (fn. 15) By will proved
1734 Thomas Gould left £2 10s. a year for
teaching six poor children, and by will proved
1804 Thomas Grindon left an annuity of £1 10s.
also for teaching poor children; about 1807
c. 9 a. were inclosed from the waste to provide
funds for the same purpose. (fn. 16) In or shortly
before 1819 Jesse Watts Russell of Ilam Hall
gave £20 to provide free teaching for poor
children. He gave a further £20 in 1820. (fn. 17) In the
earlier 1830s the master taught 15 children free
in respect of £12 15s. received as rent from the
inclosed waste and five children in respect of the
legacies of Gould and Grindon. A further 40
children were taught at their parents' expense. (fn. 18)
In 1784 the school was held at the west end
of Warslow church. A building for it was
erected by subscription south of the church in
1788; it was enlarged in 1834 by Sir George
Crewe and in 1856 by Sir John Harpur
Crewe. (fn. 19) In 1871 there were 72 children on
the books. (fn. 20)
The school became a board school after a board
had been compulsorily formed for Warslow and
Elkstones in 1875. (fn. 21) The school became Warslow
council school in 1903 and was called Manifold
primary school by 1969. It became Manifold
first school in 1980, after the opening in 1979 of
a middle school in Warslow. The schools shared
premises in a building north-west of the village
previously occupied by Warslow secondary
school. The first school served Warslow and
Elkstones, Butterton, Sheen, and from 1982
Alstonefield; the middle school served Warslow
and Elkstones, Hollinsclough, Longnor, Quarnford, and Onecote, in Leek parish. The middle
school was closed in 1988, and the first school
became Manifold Church of England (C.) primary school. (fn. 22)
A secondary school was opened in 1959 with
210 children on its books, nearly a quarter of
whom came from Derbyshire. It was closed in
1979. (fn. 23)
A board school was built at Upper Elkstone in
1880. (fn. 24) It became Upper Elkstone council school
in 1903 and was called Cloughside county primary
school by 1960. It was closed in 1970 and the
children were transferred to Manifold primary
school. (fn. 25) The building later became a house.
There was a Church of England Sunday school
at Warslow by 1830, and in the earlier 1830s it
had 40 boys and 50 girls. A Wesleyan Methodist
Sunday school was established in 1833 with 20
boys and 20 girls. (fn. 26) On Census Sunday 1851
there was an attendance of 122 at the Church of
England Sunday school; no Sunday school was
recorded that day at the Wesleyan Methodist
chapel. (fn. 27) A Church of England Sunday school
was started at Elkstone in 1865. (fn. 28)
CHARITY FOR THE POOR.
By 1786 William Mellor had left £40 for the poor, but the
charity no longer existed in the earlier 1820s. (fn. 29)
Also by 1786 John Greensmith had left 20s. a
year for four poor widows in Warslow. A distribution was still made in 1883, but nothing
further is known about the charity. (fn. 30)