# Pitchford > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Pitchford > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Pitchford.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitchford > Source revision: 1332880823 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Village in Shropshire, England}} {{other uses}} {{Use British English|date=October 2013}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}} {{Infobox UK place | static_image_name= Pitchford Church - geograph.org.uk - 351076.jpg | static_image_caption= St Michael and All Angels' Church | population = 110 | population_ref = | civil_parish = Pitchford | official_name = Pitchford | coordinates = {{coord|52.628|-2.695|display=inline,title}} | post_town = Shrewsbury | postcode_area = SY | postcode_district = SY5 | country = England | region = West Midlands | constituency_westminster = [Shrewsbury and Atcham](/source/Shrewsbury_and_Atcham_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) |unitary_england = [Shropshire](/source/Shropshire) |lieutenancy_england = [Shropshire](/source/Shropshire) |os_grid_reference = SJ529036 }} '''Pitchford''' is a small village in the English county of [Shropshire](/source/Shropshire). It is located between [Cantlop](/source/Cantlop) and [Acton Burnell](/source/Acton_Burnell) and stands on an affluent of the [River Severn](/source/River_Severn). Pitchford takes its name from a bituminous spring/pitch in the village,{{cite web|title=Pitchford, Shropshire|url=http://ukga.org/england/Shropshire/towns/Pitchford.html|work=UK Genealogy Archives|publisher=UK Genealogy Archives|accessdate=26 April 2012}} located near the Row Brook. It is home to [Pitchford Hall](/source/Pitchford_Hall), one of the most notable Elizabethan houses in Britain.{{cite web|title=Pitchford|url=http://www.shropshiretourism.co.uk/villages-and-suburbs/pitchford/|work=Shropshire Tourism|publisher=Shropshire Tourism|accessdate=26 April 2012}} The Church of St Michael and All Angels stands near to the house which contains a carved oak 13th century [effigy of Sir John de Pitchford](/source/Tomb_of_John_De_Pitchford).{{cite web|last=Pitchford|first=Dave|title=Why we have a little village in Shropshire named after us|url=http://www.pitchford.com/pitchford/|publisher=Dave Pitchford|accessdate=26 April 2012}} It is also the name for the [civil parish](/source/civil_parish). ==History== ===Population=== Census data during the years 1881– 1961 shows that Pitchford's population decreased while the total population of England and Wales increased conversely.{{cite web|last=Southall|first=Humphrey|title=Pitchford Current Rate: Population Density (Persons per Acre)|url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/data_rate_page.jsp?u_id=10364887&c_id=10001043&data_theme=T_POP&id=0|publisher=A Vision of Britain Through Time|accessdate=26 April 2012}} Housing information recorded through the years of 1831–1961 shows the number of houses in the area fluctuated between 35 and 43 houses during this time.{{cite web|last=Southall|first=Humphrey|title=Pitchford: Total Houses|url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/data_cube_page.jsp?data_theme=T_HOUS&data_cube=N_HOUSES&u_id=10364887&c_id=10001043&add=Y|publisher=A Vision of Britain Through Time|accessdate=26 April 2012}} Statistics from the 2001 census show that the number of households with residents was 44.{{cite web|title=Pitchford: Parish Profile – Accommodation and Tenure|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=798987&c=pitchford&d=16&e=15&g=482502&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1335355984514&enc=1&dsFamilyId=787|publisher=Office for National Statistics|accessdate=26 April 2012}} In 2001, its total population was 110.{{cite web|title=Pitchford: Parish Headcounts|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=798987&c=pitchford&d=16&e=15&g=482502&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1335355984514&enc=1&dsFamilyId=779|publisher=Office for Neighbourhood Statistics|accessdate=26 April 2012}} The population's social class was examined 1831 census, with the majority (over 55%) of the population described as "Labourers and Servants". The second largest social class was recorded as "muddling sorts".{{cite web|last=Southall|first=Humphrey|title=Pitchford: Social Status, based on 1831 occupational statistics|url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/data_cube_page.jsp?data_theme=T_SOC&data_cube=N_SOC1831&u_id=10364887&c_id=10001043&add=Y|publisher=A Vision of Britain Through Time|accessdate=26 April 2012}} ===Employment === In the Census of 1831 a detailed categorisation of employment was recorded, showing that Agricultural Labourers made up the largest sector (over 50%) of employment of Males aged 20 and over in 9 occupational categories. The second largest category consisted of those employed in the Retail and Handicrafts industry.{{cite web|last=Southall|first=Humphrey|title=Males aged 20 & over, in 9 occupational categories|url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/data_cube_page.jsp?data_theme=T_IND&data_cube=N_OCC_PAR1831&u_id=10364887&c_id=10001043&add=Y|publisher=A Vision of Britain Through Time|accessdate=26 April 2012}} Of the 76 Pitchford population aged between 16 and 74, 59 people were [economically](/source/economically) active/ employed whereas none were unemployed. The majority (39 people) of these were employed in Service Industries.{{cite web|title=Pitchford (CP) Parish, Parish Profile- Work and Qualifications|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do;jsessionid=FqVJPZjXpQC3TTswj5PP2mgWG3XKhrTwxTGC5nj1jtwWY7Qzhyrh!-1149657076!1335469047631?a=7&b=798987&c=pitchford&d=16&e=15&g=482502&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1335469047631&enc=1&dsFamilyId=783&nsjs=true&nsck=true&nssvg=false&nswid=1366|publisher=Office for National Statistics|accessdate=26 April 2012}} ==Pitchford Estate== [[File:Pitchford Hall - geograph.org.uk - 47650 (cropped).jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.2|[Pitchford Hall](/source/Pitchford_Hall)]] {{main|Pitchford Hall}} Pitchford Hall is Grade I listed building, and the estate is first referred to in historical records in the [Domesday Book](/source/Domesday_Book) of 1086 as follows: "Edric, and Leofric and Wulfric held it as three manors; they were free. 3 hides which pay tax. Land for 5 ploughs. In lordship 3; 3 slaves; 3 ploughmen; 1 village; 3 smallholders, a smith and rider with 2 ploughs. Woodland for fattening 100 pigs. Value before 1066, 8s later 16s; now 40s".{{cite web|title=Pitchford Estate: History|url=http://www.pitchfordestate.com/history.aspx|publisher=Pitchford Estate|accessdate=26 April 2012}} Records suggest a [medieval](/source/medieval) manor house existed somewhere on the site from at least 1284 to 1431. The 40-room mansion as it exists today however is said to have been built between 1560 and 1570 for Adam Ottley, a wool merchant from Shrewsbury.{{cite web|title=CASTLES AND HISTORIC BUILDINGS: A nice little place in the country|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/shropshire/content/articles/2005/04/08/history_pitchford_hall_feature.shtml|publisher=BBC|access-date=26 April 2012}} The half-timbered mansion stands next to the Church of St Michael and All Angels, and is widely considered to be one of the finest [Tudor](/source/Tudor_architecture) houses in Britain. The Pitchford estate remained in the Ottley family until the death of Adam Ottley in 1807, when it passed to [Hon. Charles C. C. Jenkinson](/source/Charles_Jenkinson%2C_3rd_Earl_of_Liverpool), second son of the [1st Earl of Liverpool](/source/Charles_Jenkinson%2C_1st_Earl_of_Liverpool) and later to his son-in-law [John Cotes](/source/John_Cotes_(died_1874)).{{cite web |url = https://archive.org/stream/shropshirehouses00leiguoft/shropshirehouses00leiguoft_djvu.txt|title = Shropshire Houses-Past and Present|accessdate = 5 November 2012}} thumb|Pitchford Hall c.1778 [Princess Victoria](/source/Queen_Victoria) visited the hall in 1832, five years before acceding to the throne, and wrote in her diary that the hall was "A curious looking but very comfortable house. It is striped black and white, and in the shape of a cottage".{{cite web|title=A Tribute of Caroline Colthurst of Pitchford Hall| url=http://shropshire.greatbritishlife.co.uk/article/a-tribute-to-caroline-colthurst-of-pitchford-hall-29497/|publisher=Shropshire Life|accessdate=26 April 2012}} [George VI](/source/George_VI) ([The Duke of York](/source/The_Duke_of_York) at the time) and [Duchess of York](/source/Queen_Elizabeth_The_Queen_Mother) (The Queen Mother post-1952) also stayed in the hall during 1935. In 1940, during the [Second World War](/source/Second_World_War), Pitchford Hall was one of the three houses selected for the King and Queen as a potential safe refuge away from London. The hall, unlike some similar properties in Britain has remained in private ownership for many generations. The hall was sold in 1993 however, ending a 500-year family link to the estate. The Pitchford Hall and estate were separately owned until 2016, when Rowena Colthurst and her husband James Nason purchased the Hall back into family ownership.{{cite web |title=Inside a family's epic quest to recover the country pile they were forced to give up |website=The Daily Telegraph |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417221558/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/uk/inside-familys-epic-quest-recover-country-pile-forced-give/ |archive-date=2023-04-17 |url-status=live |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/uk/inside-familys-epic-quest-recover-country-pile-forced-give/}} ===St Michael's Church=== [[File:St Michael's church, Pitchford - oak effigy of Sir John de Pitchford - geograph.org.uk - 3423693.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The carved oak [tomb of Sir John de Pitchford](/source/Tomb_of_John_De_Pitchford), (d. 1285)]] The [Grade A listed](/source/Listed_building){{sfnp|Historic England|1177813|ps=none}} Church of St Michael and All Angels was founded and built by Ralph de Pitchford in 1220 AD; the estate's website describes the church as [Norman](/source/Norman_architecture).{{cite web|title=Pitchford Estate: Activities|url=http://www.pitchfordestate.com/activities.aspx|publisher=Pitchford Estate|accessdate=26 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121222025250/http://www.pitchfordestate.com/activities.aspx|archive-date=22 December 2012|url-status=dead}} The church was remodelled in the 13th century, the east wall of the [chancel](/source/chancel) was rebuilt in 1719, the [vestry](/source/vestry) was added in 1819, and the church was restored in 1910. The church consists of a [nave](/source/nave) and chancel in one cell, and a northeast vestry. It is built in red [sandstone](/source/sandstone), the roof of the [nave](/source/nave) is in stone-slate, and the chancel has a tile roof. At the west end is a [weatherboarded](/source/weatherboarding) [bellcote](/source/bellcote) with a pyramidal stone cap and a [finial](/source/finial) (a decorative ending).{{sfnp|Historic England|1177813|ps=none}}{{sfnp|Newman|Pevsner|2006|pp=468–469|ps=none}} Its [pulpit](/source/pulpit) and [pew](/source/pew)s are in the early 17th-century [Jacobean](/source/Jacobean_architecture) style. The church contains war memorial plaques, listing two men who died in [World War I](/source/World_War_I) and three in [World War II](/source/World_War_II), as well as nine men and six women of the parish who served in the latter war.{{cite book|last=Francis|first=Peter|title=Shropshire War Memorials, Sites of Remembrance|year=2013|publisher=YouCaxton|page=126|isbn=978-1-909644-11-3}} The church's best known feature is a carved [effigy and tomb chest of John De Pitchford](/source/Tomb_of_John_De_Pitchford) (d. 1285),Fryer (1921), p. 14 whose monument is positioned in the [chancel](/source/chancel) of the church,Fryer (1921), p. 54 and is made from solid [oak](/source/oak).Tummers (1980), p. 30 ==See also== *[Listed buildings in Pitchford](/source/Listed_buildings_in_Pitchford) ==References== {{reflist}} ==Sources== {{refbegin}} * Fryer, Alfred Cooper. ''Wooden Monumental Effigies in England And Wales''. London: ''Archaeologia'' or ''Miscellaneous Tracts relating to Antiquity'', 1909, republished 1924 * {{NHLE |num= 1177813|desc= Church of St Michael, Pitchford|accessdate= 3 November 2018|mode=cs2}} * {{citation | last =Newman| first =John| last2 = Pevsner | first2 = Nikolaus | author2-link = Nikolaus Pevsner | series= The Buildings of England| title =Shropshire | publisher =[Yale University Press](/source/Yale_University_Press) | year =2006 | location =New Haven and London | isbn =0-300-12083-4 }} * Tummers, H.A. ''[https://repository.ubn.ru.nl/bitstream/handle/2066/147982/mmubn000001_026718014.pdf Early Secular Effigies in England: The Thirteenth Century]''. Leiden: Brill Archive, 1980. {{isbn|978-9-0040-6255-9}} {{refend}} ==External links== {{Commons category-inline|Pitchford}} {{shropshire}} {{authority control}} Category:Villages in Shropshire Category:Civil parishes in Shropshire --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Pitchford](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitchford) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitchford?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.