Forton Staffordshire Family History Guide
Forton is an Ancient Parish in the county of Staffordshire.
Alternative names: Forton and Mere
Other places in the parish include: Sutton and Meertown.
Parish church: All Saints
Parish registers begin:
- Parish registers: 1755
- Bishop’s Transcripts: 1660
Nonconformists include: Baptist and Protestant Dissenters.
Table of Contents
Adjacent Parishes
- Norbury
- Woodcote Shropshire
- Chetwynd Shropshire
- Newport Shropshire
- Moreton
- Edgmond Shropshire
- Adbaston
Parish History
The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870
FORTON, or Forton and Mere, a parish in the district of Newport and county of Stafford; on a branch of the Birmingham and Liverpool canal, contiguous to Salop, and adjacent to the Shrewsbury and Stafford railway, 1½ mile NNE of Newport, Salop.
It includes the township of Sutton and the tything of Meertown; and its post town is Newport, Salop. Acres, 3,718. Real property, £5,432. Pop., 729. Houses, 137. The property is divided among a few.
The living is a rectory in the diocese of Lichfield. Value, £474. Patron, Sir T. F. Boughey, Bart. The church is good; and there are an endowed school with £12, and other charities with £61.
Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].
A Topographical Dictionary of England 1848
FORTON (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Newport, W. division of the hundred of Cuttlestone, S. division of the county of Stafford, 1¼ mile (N. E. by N.) from Newport; containing 762 inhabitants.
It is divided into the four hamlets of Forton, Meer, Sutton, and Warton; and comprises 3656a. 3r. 19p., whereof the meadow-land is peaty, and the arable partly clay, and partly light and sandy. The road from Newport to Eccleshall intersects the parish, the scenery of which is beautifully picturesque.
Aqualate Hall is a magnificent mansion, on the south side of a fine lake more than a mile in length, and half a mile in breadth, called Aqualate Meer; the house is surrounded by a spacious park and pleasure-grounds, adorned with plantations and some of the finest oak-trees in the county. This is the seat of Sir Thomas Fletcher Fenton Boughey, Bart., who is lord of the manor, and owner of nearly the whole parish.
The living is a rectory, valued in the king’s books at £20. 19. 2.; patron, the Baronet: the tithes have been commuted for £450, and the glebe comprises 46 acres, valued at £68 per annum. The church is an ancient stone edifice, with a nave, north aisle, and a square tower; it was repaired and modernised about 1700, and re-roofed in 1842.
A school, built in 1843, has a small endowment. Anc’s Hill, in the parish, an eminence planted with firs, is supposed to have had its name from the Romans.
Source: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis 1848
Parish Records
FamilySearch
Use for:
England, Staffordshire, Forton and Mere
Online School Records
School records are a primary source for genealogists. The two types of records that are commonly available are admission registers and log books.
The admission registers of schools may be available from the 1870s, but more frequently from 1902. Usually shown under the date of entry, is the child’s name and address and his or her date of birth. Some registers, but not all, may also show the name and occupation of the parent or guardian, the name of the previous school attended and the reason for leaving.
For immigrant children the name of the previous school may uniquely provide the pupil’s exact place of origin.
These admission registers may enable the brothers and sisters of a pupil to be identified in a way that, with frequent names, would be difficult if not impossible from the civil registration records.
The log book may contain comments on the attendance of pupils, behaviour, discipline, the curriculum, attendance of teachers and absence for sickness etc., and the effect of epidemics and seasonal work on attendance. The names of individual pupils only occasionally appear in log books. The names and status of the teachers were recorded at the annual inspection, with a summary of the inspector’s report.
The following school records are available from Findmypast
Forton Parochial School 1895 to 1914 Admissions
Maps
Vision of Britain historical maps
Administration
- County: Staffordshire
- Civil Registration District: Newport
- Probate Court: Court of the Bishop of Lichfield (Episcopal Consistory)
- Diocese: Lichfield
- Rural Deanery: Eccleshall
- Poor Law Union: Newport
- Hundred: West Cuttlestone
- Province: Canterbury