LEEK
The ancient parish of Leek extending north to the county boundary with Cheshireconsisted of the 12 townships of Leek and Lowe (including the town of Leek),Bradnop, Endon, Heaton, Leekfrith, Longsdon, Onecote, Rudyard, Rushton James,Rushton Spencer, Stanley, and Tittesworth. (fn. 1) The largest parish in Staffordshire, it was33,254 a. (13,458 ha.) in area. (fn. 2) It had also included the chapelries of Cheddleton, Horton,and Ipstones until the 16th century, when the three became separate parishes.
The area is part of the Staffordshire Moorlands, known as the Moorland as earlyas 1329. (fn. 3) The town of Leek is built on Sherwood Sandstone, which is also foundat Endon Bank. Elsewhere the underlying rock is sandstone of the Millstone Gritseries. It outcrops as the Cloud in Rushton Spencer, 1,126 ft. (343 m.), and as theRoaches and Hen Cloud in Leekfrith, respectively 1,658 ft. (505 m.) and 1,350 ft.(410 m.), the highest points in the ancient parish. The Cloud produces thephenomenon of a double sunset when viewed from St. Edward's churchyard inLeek at the summer solstice. (fn. 4) The east side of the area is dominated by Morridge,a long ridge of high moorland which reaches 1,604 ft. (489 m.) on the northernboundary of Onecote. The northern boundary of the parish, which is also theboundary with Cheshire, followed the valley of the river Dane. On the east theboundary followed tributaries of the Dane and of the river Churnet, crossedMorridge, and then followed the river Hamps. Much of the southern boundaryfollowed the Churnet and its tributaries. The western boundary was marked byridges, culminating in the Cloud.
The grandeur of the scenery caught the imagination of Robert Plot when hevisited the area c. 1680. He wrote enthusiastically of the rocks of the district, 'someof them kissing the clouds with their tops, and running along in mountainous ridgesfor some miles together'. At the sight of Hen Cloud and the Roaches 'my admirationwas still heighten'd to see such vast rocks and such really stupendous prospects, whichI had never seen before, or could have believed to be, anywhere but in picture'. (fn. 5) In1708 Thomas Loxdale, the antiquarian vicar of Seighford and later vicar of Leek,visited Leekfrith 'to view some of our Moorland wonders' and found the Roaches 'oneof the most romantick prospects in Nature, far beyond Dr. Plott's description'. (fn. 6) Suchfeelings were the exception before the end of the 18th century. Staffordshire's firstcounty historian, Sampson Erdeswick, writing at the end of the 16th century,considered the area between the source of the Churnet and Dieulacres 'one of thebarrenest countries I know'. (fn. 7) About the same time William Camden described theStaffordshire Moorlands as 'a tract so very rugged, foul, and cold that the snowscontinue long undissolved'. (fn. 8) A few years later Michael Drayton took a mixed view: (fn. 9)
But Muse, thou seem'st to leave the Morelands too too long:
Of whom report may speak (our mighty wastes among)
She from her chilly site, as from her barren feed,
For body, horn, and hair, as fair a beast doth breed
As scarcely this great Isle can equal.
In the mid 18th century the antiquaryRichard Wilkes enlarged on that description: Leek was 'seated on a hill in thenorthern and most barren part of thecounty, among large heaths and commons,whose soil is black with many loose nakedstones standing on the tops and sides of thehills. These make the road to Buxton unpleasant and dismal.' (fn. 10) A feeling of awe was returning by the end of the century.William Pitt, the agronomist, visited thearea in 1794 and considered the Roachesand Sharp Cliffe Rocks in Ipstones 'stupendous piles . . . a sublime lecture on humilityto the human mind'. (fn. 11) When Westwood Farmwest of Leek town was offered for sale in1804, its situation was described as commanding 'many beautiful, romantic, andextensive prospects'. (fn. 12) A view of Ball Hayenorth-east of the town published in 1813showed it with the Roaches as a 'stupendously grand' background. (fn. 13)
The evidence of place names in the areasuggests predominantly Anglo-Saxon settlement, with a Scandinavian element in the10th or early 11th century in the north partof the parish. (fn. 14) A derivation from eitherOld English or Old Norse has been suggested for the name Leek itself. The centreof the area in the 10th century may havebeen at Rudyard, but by the 11th centuryLeek was the centre, with a church builtperhaps c. 1000. Before the Conquest Leekbelonged to the earl of Mercia, whilethegns held Endon, Rudyard, andRushton. All were held by the Crown in1086, but by 1093 Leek had been grantedto Hugh, earl of Chester. The entry inDomesday Book for Leek 'with the appendages' probably covered the site of thelater town, Lowe to the south and west,Tittesworth, the area of the later townshipsof Bradnop and Onecote, and most ofLeekfrith. Bradnop and Onecote becameseparated from the rest apparently in the 12th century, and in 1218 manorial rightswithin that area were granted to Henry de Audley. The rest of the Domesdaymanor of Leek was enlarged to include part of Rudyard manor (the south-westpart of the later Leekfrith township and probably Heaton township), and thenorthern half of Rushton manor (the later Rushton Spencer). As a result Leekmanor comprised the tithings of Heaton, Leekfrith, Lowe, Rushton Spencer, andTittesworth. The core of Rudyard manor remained separate. The southern half ofRushton manor (later Rushton James) became part of the manor of Horton, createdby the Audley family and including Horton itself, Endon, Longsdon, and Stanleytogether with Bagnall, in the parish of Stoke-upon-Trent.
In 1207 the Crown confirmed to Ranulph, earl of Chester, a weekly market anda seven-day annual fair at Leek, and about the same time Ranulph established aborough there. The town has remained a market centre and also a centre ofcommunications, with several medieval roads converging on it. By the early 13thcentury it was the centre of a fee which comprised the earl of Chester's estates innorth-east Staffordshire. (fn. 15)
In 1214 Earl Ranulph founded a Cistercian abbey beside the Churnet a milenorth of the town in Leekfrith, naming it Dieulacres. He granted Leek church tothe monks in the early 1220s, and in 1232 he gave them the manor of Leek. Themonks established granges in Leek and Lowe, Heaton, Leekfrith, and Tittesworth.The Cistercians of Hulton were granted Bradnop and Mixon in Onecote by theirfounder, Henry de Audley, in 1223, and they too established granges. TheCistercians of Croxden also had a grange at Onecote apparently by 1223. In thesouth-west part of the parish the Augustinian canons of Trentham had an estateby the early 13th century at Wall in Longsdon, where they established a grange.Leekfrith and Rushton Spencer lay in the earls' 'forest' of Leek, and the earls alsohad a hunting ground at Hollinhay in Longsdon.
Stock farming, which seems to have been important in Leek manor in the 1180s,flourished in the area in the 13th century, with Morridge and the Churnet valleyproviding pasture. In 1490 Dieulacres had a herd of just over 200 cattle atSwythamley in Heaton. Sheep farming too was important, and in the later 13thcentury Dieulacres was producing wool for export.
In 1552 the Crown granted what were described as the manors of Leek andFrith to Sir Ralph Bagnall. He asserted his rights against those of the burgessesof Leek, and the town lost its borough status. Otherwise there was a general absenceof strong manorial control after the Dissolution, and the only part of the parishwhere the manorial lords pursued a policy of economic improvement was in theeast. Successive Lords Aston attempted the inclosure of Morridge in the 17th andearlier 18th century as lords of Bradnop. Attempts were also made to exploit thelimestone and mineral deposits at Mixon between the 17th and 19th centuries. Inthe late 20th century pasture still predominated, the farming being mainly dairyand sheep.
The usual building material from the 17th century onwards was stone. Most ofthe farmhouses were built of coursed rubble with ashlar dressings, though someof the wealthier builders made greater use of ashlar. Earlier buildings had oftenbeen of timber, and timber framing was used for internal walls well into the 18thcentury. Brick, which became widespread in the town in the 18th century, madean occasional appearance in the rural area, but stone continued as the main materialthroughout the 19th century. The parish contained some larger houses, notablySwythamley in Heaton, evidently rebuilt in the 17th century and enlarged in the18th century, Ashenhurst in Bradnop, rebuilt in the mid 1740s and demolished in1954, Ball Haye in Tittesworth, rebuilt about the end of the 18th century anddemolished in 1972, and Westwood Hall, remodelled c. 1820 and further enlargedin 1851.
Protestant nonconformity was widespread in the later 17th century, withPresbyterians and Quakers particularly numerous. A Quaker meeting house wasopened in Leek in the later 1690s, and in the earlier 18th century the Leek meetingappears to have been the largest in Staffordshire. The Presbyterians had a meetinghouse in the town by 1715. There was a Baptist centre in Rushton Spencer fromthe later 17th century.
By the 1670s silk working was established in Leek, and by the end of the 18thcentury the silk industry employed c. 2,000 people in the town and 1,000 in theneighbourhood. It was then still a domestic industry but became increasinglyconcentrated in factories in the town during the 19th century. A landscape of millsand streets of terraced houses appeared as the industry and the town expanded.
All the main roads through the parish were turnpiked in the early 1760s. TheCaldon canal was opened through the south-west part probably in 1778, and abranch serving the town of Leek was opened in 1801. At the same time a reservoirfor the canal was built on the boundary of Rudyard township and Horton parish,with a feeder running into the Leek branch. The railway arrived in 1849, whenthe Churnet Valley line was opened from Macclesfield to Uttoxeter with stationsat Rushton Spencer, Rudyard, and Leek. A line was opened from Stoke-uponTrent to the Churnet Valley line at Leekbrook in 1867. There was a station atEndon, and a residential area for commuters to the Potteries began to developnearby. The opening in 1896 of a station at Stockton Brook to the south-west wasfollowed by a similar development, which continued in Endon during the 20thcentury.
A body of improvement commissioners was set up in 1825 with responsibilityfor the town of Leek and an area outside within a radius of 1,200 yd. from themarket place, increased to 1,500 yd. in 1855. The area covered included much ofLeek and Lowe township and parts of Leekfrith and Tittesworth. In 1894 it becamean urban district, which was enlarged in 1934. In 1974 the urban district becamea parish in the new Staffordshire Moorlands district, which has its headquartersin Leek. The rest of the ancient parish, having been included in Leek rural districtin 1894, likewise became part of Staffordshire Moorlands district in 1974.
In the late 20th century the area has been promoted for its tourist attractions,notably its scenery and outdoor activities such as walking, rock climbing, andsailing. Leek itself has been styled Queen of the Moorlands. Tourism was firstpromoted with the development of Rudyard canal reservoir as an attraction afterthe opening of the Churnet Valley railway in 1849. In 1850 the owners, the NorthStaffordshire Railway Co., landscaped the ground on the west side of the reservoirand in 1851 organized regattas on what was then called Rudyard Lake. The eventsattracted thousands of visitors until they were stopped by a local landowner laterthe same year. The Rudyard area, however, remained popular with visitors andwas even promoted as 'the Switzerland of England' at the end of the century. (fn. 16) Inthe 1870s the owner of the Roaches, Philip Brocklehurst of Swythamley, acquiredHen Cloud and started to encourage visitors to the Roaches area by cuttingfootpaths and erecting bridges across streams. It became part of the Peak NationalPark created in 1951. Swythamley and Onecote were also included in the Park.
Parish government.
The parish was divided into the quarters of Leek and Lowe(including the town of Leek), Bradnop (consisting of the townships of Bradnopand Onecote), Endon (consisting of Endon, Longsdon, and Stanley), and Leekfrith(consisting of Heaton, Leekfrith, Rudyard, Rushton James, Rushton Spencer, andTittesworth). The division had been made by 1609, (fn. 17) and probably by 1553 whenthere were four churchwardens. (fn. 18) In the 1660s each quarter had its own localmeeting place for the passing of its warden's accounts. In 1698, however, thoseaccounts were passed at a general meeting of parishioners in the chancel of Leekparish church. (fn. 19) In 1654 the inhabitants of Rushton chapelry (covering thetownships of Heaton, Rushton James, and Rushton Spencer) claimed exemptionfrom serving the office of churchwarden for Leekfrith quarter on the ground thatthey already served as chapelwardens. (fn. 20) By 1725 the churchwardens were appointedby the vicar from lists of three names submitted in writing at Easter by theinhabitants of each quarter. (fn. 21) Only the Leek warden survived the creation of newparishes in the 19th century, with the office filled by the vicar from three namessubmitted by the St. Edward's vestry at its Easter meeting. The office of wardenof Leek survived the appointment of district wardens following the creation of ateam ministry for Leek in 1979. (fn. 22)
Each quarter had its own overseer of the poor by the 1660s. (fn. 23) By 1711 themovement of population into the town of Leek from the Leekfrith, Bradnop, andEndon quarters had created a burden on the Leek and Lowe quarter. That yearthe parishioners agreed that for a period of five years each quarter should beregarded as a separate parish for settlement purposes, an arrangement confirmedby the justices for Totmonslow hundred in 1712. Under the agreement the quartersoutside the town were responsible for poor persons living in the town but havingsettlement in those quarters. In 1717 the overseers and several parishionerspetitioned to have the arrangement made permanent. (fn. 24) Meanwhile in 1713Leekfrith quarter was divided for purposes of poor relief into its constituenttownships, each with its own overseer. (fn. 25) By 1743 Bradnop and Onecote townshipstoo each had its own overseer. (fn. 26) Around 1700 money was collected for the poorand sick at celebrations of holy communion and distributed by the churchwardens;any such money not distributed was put in the poor's box. (fn. 27) There was a poorhousein the parish by the 1740s. (fn. 28) It may have been in Derby Street in Leek, where bythe late 1750s the vestry was renting a house from Lord Macclesfield for use as apoorhouse. In 1759 the vestry decided to end the lease. (fn. 29) A poorhouse on the eastside of Ladderedge common in Longsdon in the mid 1770s was presumably forEndon quarter. (fn. 30) In 1768 a workhouse was built in Leek for Leek and Lowetownship. All the townships were included in Leek poor-law union on its formationin 1837, (fn. 31) and a union workhouse was opened in Leek in 1839.
A few officers were appointed for the parish as a whole. There was a parish clerkby 1443. (fn. 32) By the late 1690s the clerk and the sexton were appointed by the vicar. (fn. 33) Besides fees the clerk then received seed oats, or money in lieu, from theparishioners at Easter. (fn. 34) In 1754 the vestry agreed to pay him a salary of £5 insteadof oats, a figure raised to £10 in 1774. (fn. 35) By the late 1690s the sexton not onlyreceived burial dues but was paid £3 a year for looking after the bells and clock atSt. Edward's and for cleaning the church every week. (fn. 36) He received 5s. for ringingthe curfew bell at Leek. By the 1730s he was paid 4d. an hour for tolling the bellat Leek, Meerbrook, and Endon. (fn. 37) By 1725 the churchwardens were providingclothes for a dog whipper; by 1799 he was paid a salary. (fn. 38) In the late 18th centurya mole catcher was paid 1s. a year by the churchwardens. (fn. 39)
