IntroductionIn this section I have tried to address only a small section of the local history of Brocton. I have not gone into any great depth of detail in this review. If anyone living locally would like to write a more comprehensive historical piece, or merely make additions to my article I would love to hear from you. Development of the nameThe Doomsday Book, a statistical survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, refers to Brocton as Broctone. Within the next 290 years after the Doomsday Book, the village came to be referred to by its current name. The Mission Room & The ChurchLocalised Christian services began in Brocton in 1889 with the appointment of Brother Booth, a lay evangelist, who regularly conducted services. Subsequently he collected funds to open a permanent place of worship within the village. He had previously been conducting services in one of the cottages on the green, and then in Brocton Hall. On Friday 12th January 1891 the Bishop of Shrewsbury finally opened the Mission Room.
1916 - Mission Room licensed for holding of Divine Service.
To this day the church is not licensed for the solemnisation of marriages. Between the dedication service in 1951 and the present day the church has been extended several times. For example, the addition of a new south aisle in 1955. Brocton's two SchoolsIn 1671 Dame Dorothy Bridgeman left £40 in her will for the establishment of a school for the poor children of Brocton. By 1871 seven girls and five boys attended the school. The location of the school appears to have been on a piece of land known as 'Birches Leys' just before 'Brocton Leys' and Old Coach Lane. In 1904 the School was closed and the land was subsequently sold. A Mr Joseph Hawkins ran the second school that was situated in Brocton from 1850. The school was for boys only who were taught at No 6 Pool Lane. Brocton Village GatesOriginally 5 sets of gates enclosed the village. It has been suggested that these gates were either used for preventing the wildlife from the chase entering the village, or as a boundary marker. A postcard dated 1907 portrays one of the gates on Pool Lane in virtual ruin. Brocton Military CampDuring the Great War, 1914-1919, Cannock Chase hosted two military camps - Rugeley and Brocton. The Brocton camp, being the larger of the two, could accommodate in excess of 20,000 soldiers. However it is debatable as to whether it was used to its maximum capacity. From about 1915 German prisoners of war were kept at Brocton Camp while the camp railway ensured that supplies could be transported quickly and efficiently to and from the vicinity. Although nowadays the only traces of the railway are the embankments, cuttings, and the occasional marks of a sleeper. During the Second World War the chase hosted a RAF base, whilst Old Acre Valley was used extensively for tank testing. In 1959 the camp huts were sold off and the Chase has been recovering ever since. BibliographyThe Haywoods, Colwich, Milford and Brocton - Roy Lewis A Town for Four Winters - C.J. and G.P. Whitehouse The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place Names - Eilert Ekwall The Ancient Parish of Berkswich - Desmond B Saint The Story of the Ancient Parish of Berkswich - Alfred Middlefell |
