Gnosall Parish Council           

Stepping into Gnosall’s history, we have a new project about to start; though only small in comparison to other recent schemes, we hope this too will take your interest. The project is the restoration of “Hen and Chicken Lane”.

For many Parishioners this will be an unfamiliar area of Gnosall until I mention its location. The “lane” is situated within the burial ground between the hedging and the rear of the houses built in Lowfield Lane. Fascinatingly, our archives suggest it could have been an old boundary between medieval and Saxon estates.

Here is an interesting extract from our Parish Heritage Group:

Hen and Chickens on the 1837 Tithe Map

By the turn of the 20th century, the council was discussing the need for a new burial ground.  A field at Audmore was considered, “but many people disapproved of this piece of ground” and the field called Well Leasow (on the west side of Lowfield Lane) was chosen by the councillors. However the current site opposite Selman Street, gifted to the church by a farmer, was actually selected as the extension to the churchyard. On the 1837 map it was one of the fields named “Hen and Chickens”.  It was consecrated by the Bishop of Lichfield on the 16th March 1905 and the first burial was 5th May 1905.  It was enlarged in 2013.

A sunken pathway or holloway runs along the western edge of the burial ground. On the 1837 map, this is shown as a path continuing the original line of Selman Street southwards to a barn, rickyard and garden belonging to Richard Fowell, but it is likely to have medieval or even Saxon origins and perhaps originally ran from the church to Apeton or Church Eaton. It now stops at the new housing estate. These sunken pathways are sometimes the result of foot traffic, but according to W G Hoskins can represent old boundaries between medieval, Saxon estates or even Celtic estates.

Staffordshire Advertiser, 27 June 1903

Field-name expert John Field thinks this may be after a plant called this growing in the fields, perhaps birds’ foot trefoil.

Jim McGregor.

W G Hoskins, The Making of the English Landscape, ch. 1.

Over many years, as access and use was no longer required, the area has become overgrown. Unfortunately, it has also become a place of discarded litter and refuse from the burial ground. So initially phase 1 of the project is to clear the overgrowth and rubbish; in addition, the hedging and some of the trees will be cut back encouraging re-growth in a controlled manner. Once the restoration project is complete, the site will be open as a place of historical interest for generations to enjoy.

As a contribution to a community project we have approached the Community Payback Service (formally known as Community Service) to support phase 1 of the project in clearing the site. Community Payback has been designed as a method to punish and rehabilitate offenders, who  repay their debt to society by taking an active, unpaid, part in the improvement of their community. It provides you, as a local resident, with the chance to see offenders face punishment for crimes that may have affected you or someone you know.

A representative of the organisation visited the site, which was recognised as a suitable scheme and our application has been accepted. However, it is important that safety comes first. Residents can be assured that all offenders will need to meet certain criteria before they are assigned to specific tasks. An offender’s criminal and personal history is taken into account and all will work under close supervision.