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Elford is a village in Staffordshire, east of Lichfield and north of Tamworth. It is situated on the east bank of the River Tame.
The village is said to have derived its name from the great number of eels with which the river here formerly abounded. Before the Norman conquest this manor belonged to Ælfgar, Earl of Mercia. In the reign of Henry III, it was held by William de Arderne, whose descendants continued to enjoy it till the marriage of Maud, sole heiress of Sir John Arderne, with Thomas, second son of Sir John Stanley, of Latham, carried it into that family. Elford Hall is a handsome mansion, erected about 1758.
Elford Hall and much of the surrounding land was bequeathed, unexpectedly and much to the chagrin of his family, by the current owner Mr Paget to 'the People of Birmingham'. It was intended to be used as leisure facilities or for day trips for the unwashed masses of Brummies, who perhaps predictably, never arrived.
By the 1960s, the once beautiful, Elford Hall was so neglected by the 'People of Brimingham' that sadly it had to be torn down. Few reminders of that past splendour remain today, but those which do, including a walled garden, are currently the subject of demands for a return to 'the People of Elford', who may be better relied upon to look after it.
Elford House, a charming Victorian property remains and hints at past glories. Elford House was built by the 'Webb' family in the late 1800s. The initials of some family members can still be seen engraved into the wall near the rear patio. In front of Elford House there is a large gravelled courtyard. The rear of Elford House offers splendid views of the River Tame and the surrounding countryside and this alone makes it a pleasure and an honour to live there.
Elford Lowe, on the summit of a hill, about one mile east of the village, is distinguished by a large oak tree and opposite it, at the distance of a mile, is a smaller lowe. These lowes have been known as 'Robin Hood's Shooting Butts', from a belief, that he sometimes practised here, and was able to shoot an arrow between them.
Robert Bage (1730-1801) owned a paper mill, and lived in The Mill House,built 1760. He wrote six novels including Man as he is (1792) and Hermsprong or Man as he is not (1796) which were much admired by Sir Walter Scott.
Elford experienced its largest and most damaging floods in living memory on Fathers Day 2007. The Police, Fire Service,the District Council, Environmental Agencies and even the Army were all present to lend a hand. Nevertheless many houses were severely damaged, including the paper mill,(Recently converted to a dwelling), referred to above. The Mill house, did not suffer as it is considerably elevated in relation to the Mill. The Elford website [1] has extensive detail on the village, its history and it present including the recent and maybe future floods.
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Coordinates: 52°41'N, 1°43'W
(Source: Wikipedia) |