Stanton Lacy

Stanton Lacyis a small village and geographically largecivil parishlocated in southShropshire,England, 3 miles (4.8 km) north ofLudlow.

Stanton Lacy
Stanton Lacy Bridge, crossing the River Corve, and St Peter's Church
Stanton Lacy Location withinShropshire
Population	345 (2011)
OS grid reference	SO496788
Civil parish	Stanton Lacy
Unitary authority	Shropshire
Ceremonial county	Shropshire
Region	West Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Ludlow
Postcode district	SY8
Dialling code	01584
Police	West Mercia
Fire	Shropshire
Ambulance	West Midlands
UK Parliament	Ludlow

TheRiver Corveflows through the parish, on its way south towards theRiver Teme,and passes immediately to the west of the village.

The ancientparish churchin the village is St Peter's. The building is Grade Ilistedand has pre-Normanparts dating to circa 1050.

Parish

The parish covers a wide rural area, encompassing a part of the flat and low-lying Corvedale but also an area of upland around Hayton's Bent (with the highest elevation being 265 metres (869 ft)). It contains a number of small settlements, including:

• Stanton Lacy (the village)
• Vernolds Common
• The Hope
• Lower Hayton
• Upper Hayton
• Hayton's Bent - location of Stanton Lacy Village Hall
• Downton
• Hoptongate

The 2011 census recorded a resident population of 345. The geographic area of the parish is 2,325 hectares (5,750 acres).

The northern part of the Old Field (now occupied byLudlow Racecourseand theLudlow Golf Club) is located in the parish, located about a mile (1.6 km) to the south of the village.

Much of the parish, as well as the neighbouring parish ofBromfield,remains part of theEarl of Plymouth's Oakly Park Estate.

History

Stanton Lacy has earlyAnglo-Saxonorigins and can trace its history to before theNorman conquestof 1066, after which the largemanorof Stanton was granted toRoger de Lacy.Previously simply known as Stanton, this ownership gave it the name of StantonLacy,which is in use to the present day and helps distinguish it from the many other places in England (and Shropshire) with the name 'Stanton'.

The manor features in theDomesday Bookof 1086 and this recorded a notably large population of the manor, indeed the greatest in the county measured by number of households, as well as the fourth-greatest monetary value. The Book also recorded the presence of a church and 2 priests.At the time Stanton came within the SaxonhundredofCulvestan,which was replaced during the reign ofHenry Iand the parish then came within the newMunslowhundred.

Theparishwas larger than now, with extensive boundaries as per the original manorial holding, and extended south to the parish ofLudfordand the River Teme at Dinham.Ludlow Castleand the town ofLudlowwere established within the parish's southern boundaries, by the manor's successive lords/tenants-in-chief, in the late 11th century/early 12th century. Ludlow Castle and an early neighbouring settlement (possiblyDinham) were just about in existence at the time of the Domesday Book survey and therefore may have contributed towards the high population count and taxable value for the manor of Stanton.

The now-separate parish ofHopton Cangefordand the former parish ofCold Weston,merged intoClee St. Margaretin 1967, were once part of Stanton Lacy.

Ludlow (with itschurch of St Laurence's) had become its own parish by 1200, carving out land largely from Stanton Lacy parish (otherwise from Ludford); Ludlow Castle also by this point constituted its own parish (with its chapel of St Mary Magdalene) - a situation that remained until 1901.What remained of Stanton Lacy's southern part was then unaffected until 1884; this southern part (south of the watercourse known as 'Hope Gutter') was entirely removed in that year with its transfer largely to Bromfield, but alsoBitterley(land to the east of theLedwyche Brook) and the newEast Hamletparish. The result of this was the ending of the historic border with Ludford. By 1879 a part in the west of the parish (the township of Wootton) had been removed to Onibury.

Decline

Whilst the parish used to be able to boast two schools, fourMethodistchapels, a post office, pubs and afootballteam, none of these now remain. The population of the parish has declined greatly since the late 19th century and it now serves as a popular retirement destination with a small farming community remaining too.

People

• MurdererRobert Foulkesserved as vicar of Stanton Lacy at the time of his crime, for which he was hanged in 1679.

• Rev. George William St John (4 May 1796 –?), Rector of Stanton Lacy, married Henrietta Frances Magrath in 1830. A son ofFrederick St John (British Army officer)andLady Diana Beauclerk

• Victorian writer Annie Molyneux, later MrsAnnie Webband then Annie Webb-Peploe (1806-1880), author ofNaomi; or, The last days of Jerusalem(1841), was born in Stanton Lacy in 1806.

• Rev.Hugh Henry Molesworth Bevan(1884-1970), previouslyArchdeacon of Ludlow,was Rector of Stanton Lacy from 1954 until retiring from full-time ministry in 1966.

• Stanton Lacy Parish (more precisely in Ludlow)was birthplace ofWorld War IVictoria Crossrecipient, Able SeamanWilliam Charles Williamsin 1880 (killed atGallipoli1915).

• JockeyEdward Hide(1937-2023) winner of sixclassicraces including theDerbywas born in the village.

• RugbyplayerJonny Hillwho made his debut for England against Italy in theSix Nations Championshipin 2020 hails from Stanton Lacy and went to school in Ludlow.

Further reading

• Wur bist 'ee gwa-in Siree: A History Of Stanton Lacy Parish, Clifford Smout (ISBN0-9533860-0-7)

External links

• Vision of BritainStanton Lacy