{{Short description|Village in Staffordshire, England}} {{For|Butterton near Newcastle-under Lyme|Whitmore, Staffordshire}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}} {{Use British English|date=March 2017}} {{Infobox UK place | static_image_name = Butterton Village Ford - geograph.org.uk - 139952.jpg | static_image_caption = The Ford, Butterton | official_name = Butterton | coordinates = {{coord|53.1073|-1.8924|type:city(500)_region:GB|display=inline,title}} | country = England | region = West Midlands | shire_district = Staffordshire Moorlands | shire_county = Staffordshire | metropolitan_borough = | metropolitan_county = | population = 213 | civil_parish = Butterton | post_town = LEEK | postcode_district = ST13 | postcode_area = ST | dial_code = | os_grid_reference = SK073566 | constituency_westminster = Staffordshire Moorlands }}
'''Butterton''' is a small village in the Staffordshire Moorlands in Staffordshire, England. It is close to the Peak District ({{gbmapping|SK075565}}). It overlooks the Manifold Valley and Ecton Hill, which rises 1,212 feet above sea level. Butterton lies 5 miles east of Leek and roughly 8 miles from Alton Towers theme park. The village is just west of the limestone area, and so is mainly built of local sandstone. It contains a Grade II listed church.<ref name="NHLE">{{National Heritage List for England| num=1374586 |desc=Church of St Bartholomew |grade=II |accessdate=23 April 2017}}</ref> In the centre of Butterton there is an unusual ford where the Hoo Brook runs along the village street.<ref name="pdo">{{cite web |last1=Cooper| first1=J. |last2=Dodson |first2=J. |last3=Stewak |first3=S. |last4=Wilson |first4=M. |date=2010 |title=Butterton |publisher=Peak District Online |url=http://www.peakdistrictonline.co.uk/butterton-c115.html |accessdate=22 April 2017}}</ref>
Butterton was served by a railway station which was opened by the Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railway on 27 June 1904. The line closed in 1934, and the route of the railway past the station is now designated the Manifold Way, a footpath and cycle route. Butterton is one of 17 doubly Thankful Villages that suffered no fatalities in both the Great War of 1914–1918 and in the Second World War.
== Demography ==
According to the 2001 census, the population of Butterton was 213, with a near equal number of males and females.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Office for National Statistics |date=2001 |title=Parish Headcounts |url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=799548&c=Butterton&d=16&e=15&g=486962&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1330434210031&enc=1&dsFamilyId=779 |accessdate=22 April 2017}}</ref> This was lower than in 1841, where the population was 388.<ref name="harbach">{{cite web |last=Harbach |first=Mike |date=2003 |title=Butterton |url=http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/STS/Butterton/index.html |accessdate=22 April 2017}}</ref> In modern times, most of the houses in Butterton are detached or semi-detached and owner-occupied,<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Office for National Statistics |date=2001 |title=Accommodation and Tenure |accessdate=22 April 2017 |url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=799548&c=Butterton&d=16&e=15&g=486962&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1330434210031&enc=1&dsFamilyId=787 |archive-date=24 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170424091224/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=799548&c=Butterton&d=16&e=15&g=486962&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1330434210031&enc=1&dsFamilyId=787 |url-status=dead }}</ref> with the largest age category being 45 to 64.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Office for National Statistics |date=2001| title=People |accessdate=22 April 2017 |url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=799548&c=Butterton&d=16&e=15&g=486962&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1330434210031&enc=1&dsFamilyId=781}}</ref>
== History ==
The name ‘Buterdon’ or ‘Butterton’ comes from ‘butere’, meaning butter, and ‘dun’ meaning hill, and was given this name as the area had good pasture.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mills |first=A. |date=2003 |title=Oxford Dictionary of British Place Names |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w_B0Ouj5VC0C&q=buterdon&pg=PT166 |isbn=0191578479 |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref> Butterton is also known as Butterton-in-the-Peak to differentiate it from Butterton in Trentham parish, near Newcastle-under-Lyme. In the 1850s, a small brook at the foot of the village was a sulphurous spring which was said to be beneficial in scorbutic cases.<ref name="harbach" /> Although Butterton was in Mayfield parish it was physically separated from the remainder of the parish by nine miles.<ref name="harbach" /> The parish was enlarged on 1 April 1934 by 205 acres to include part of Bradnop and Cawdry.<ref>University of Portsmouth et al. (2009). ''Staffordshire Place Guide: Butterton.'' Retrieved on 13.02.12 from http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/place_page.jsp?p_id=7976&st=BUTTERTON</ref> In 1966, however, the parish broke up into smaller segments, and so now Butterton is a parish of its own.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Staffordshire County Council |date=2011 |title=Butterton |accessdate=22 April 2017 |url=http://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/leisure/archives/history/placeguide/SPGButterton.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170425114037/https://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/leisure/archives/history/placeguide/SPGButterton.aspx |archive-date=25 April 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
== Economy ==
Ecton Hill, near Butterton, is embedded with the remains of copper and lead mining. It was first used extensively in the mid 17th century; however, there is evidence that mining of the area took place centuries earlier.<ref name="harbach" /> As a result of the history of mining, there are numerous packhorse routes around Butterton and Ecton Hill which were used to transport copper and lead ore from Ecton to smelting works.<ref name="pdo" /> In 1881, the main employment was agriculture, with 51 out of 124 inhabitants in this sector (all males). The main employment for women was domestic service.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=University of Portsmouth et al. |date=2009 |title=Staffordshire Place Guide: Butterton |accessdate=22 April 2017 |url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/data_cube_page.jsp?data_theme=T_IND&data_cube=N_OCC_ORDER1881&u_id=10275714&c_id=10001043&add=Y}}</ref>
Although Butterton is a commuter village,<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Office for National Statistics |date=2001 |title=Work and Qualifications |accessdate=22 April 2017 |url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=799548&c=Butterton&d=16&e=15&g=486962&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1330434210031&enc=1&dsFamilyId=783}}</ref> in 1986 there were a few shops, such as a butcher's, a general store and a small shop and tea room.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=BBC |date=1986 |title=Shops in Butterton |accessdate=23 April 2017 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/domesday/dblock/GB-404000-354000/page/7 |archive-date=12 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170512200451/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/domesday/dblock/GB-404000-354000/page/7 |url-status=dead }}</ref> There is also an old traditional pub in the centre of the village, The Black Lion Inn, which offers food and accommodation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.blacklioninn.co.uk/ |publisher=The Black Lion Inn |title=The Black Lion Inn |accessdate=23 April 2017}}</ref>
The first mention of a post office in the village is in 1892, when a rubber datestamp was issued.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mackay |first=James A. |date=1986 |title=Sub Office Rubber Datestamps of England & Wales |page=87 |publisher=James A. Mackay |isbn=0906440394}}</ref>
== Landmarks ==
=== The Hillocks ===
On Ecton hillside is the unusual copper-topped house known as ''The Hillocks'' which was built in 1933 by Arthur Ratcliffe, the MP for Leek. When first constructed the property had two storeys with a flat roof, but this leaked water badly and so another storey was added.<ref name="pdo" />
=== St Bartholomew's Church ===
{{main|St Bartholomew's Church, Butterton}}
== Education ==
The small village primary school closed in 1979, as there were too few pupils to attend. The nearest primary school today is in Warslow (3 miles away); public transport is funded by the county education committee. There is a secondary school in nearby Leek, to which transport is also provided.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=BBC |date=1986 |title=Closure of Buildings |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/domesday/dblock/GB-404000-354000/page/2 |accessdate=23 April 2017 |archive-date=12 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170512200449/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/domesday/dblock/GB-404000-354000/page/2 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The former primary school building has now become the village hall.
== Culture and community ==
The Butterton Wakes takes place every August bank holiday weekend to celebrate the birth of St Bartholomew. It has been running for over 100 years and is organised by the Butterton Wakes Committee. It takes place in St Bartholomew's Church and the Village Hall, and all the money raised goes towards upkeep of the village hall and church.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=BBC |date=1986 |title=Butterton Wakes |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/domesday/dblock/GB-404000-354000/page/15 |accessdate=23 April 2017 |archive-date=12 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170512200447/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/domesday/dblock/GB-404000-354000/page/15 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The village also has regular events such as the Christmas Silver Band concerts, the Harvest Supper and afternoon teas in the church.<ref>{{cite web |last=Mursell |first=G. |date=2008 |title=St Bartholomew's Church, Butterton |url=http://www.lichfield.anglican.org/DynamicContent/Documents/pp_alstonefield.pdf |accessdate=28 February 2012}}{{dead link|date=April 2017}}</ref>
==See also== *Listed buildings in Butterton
==References== {{reflist}}
{{commons category|Butterton-in-the-Peak}} {{Staffordshire}} {{Civil Parishes of Staffordshire Moorlands}} Category:Towns and villages of the Peak District Category:Staffordshire Moorlands