Wootton, Staffordshire


Wootton is a village and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. The village is situated approximately 20 miles east from Stoke-on-Trent and 20 miles northwest from Derby.

History

Toponymy

The name Wootton is thought to come from the Old English wudu meaning wood and tūn meaning an enclosure; farmstead; village or estate. This translates to Wood Farm/Settlement.

In Victorian times

In 1870-72 John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer described Wootton as

Industry

In early reports Wootton was predominately a farming village, with over 60% of males engaged in agriculture. Even to this day there remains a large farming culture, with still around 25% of the working population engaged in agriculture. The rest of the population are spread out between working in service industries or in managerial/professional occupations.

Notable Establishments

A rich poetic description of the area around Wootton is The vales of Wever, a loco-descriptive poem by John Gisborne, written as a present to his host after staying at Wootton Hall. It shows the influence of Erasmus Darwin, who also wrote similar topographic poetry on the district, and it was admired by many poets including Wordsworth.

Transport

Wootton is located about 1.5 miles off the B5032 Uttoxeter to Ashbourne road, and is served by the 409 bus service between those two towns, which stops at Ellastone village. The nearest railway station is in Uttoxeter around 8 miles away which has regular trains to Crewe and Derby.