Place:Stowe-by-Chartley, Staffordshire, England

Watchers
NameStowe-by-Chartley
Alt namesStowesource: Ordnance Survey Maps
TypeParish
Coordinates52.8441°N 1.9969°W
Located inStaffordshire, England
See alsoStafford Rural, Staffordshire, Englandrural district of which it was part 1894-1974
South Pirehill Hundred, Staffordshire, Englandhundred of which the parish was a part
Stafford (district), Staffordshire, Englanddistrict municipality covering the area since 1974
source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
source: Family History Library Catalog

Stowe-by-Chartley is a village and civil parish in Staffordshire, England, situated to the northeast of Stafford and to the southwest of Uttoxeter. It is the location of Chartley Castle which lies in ruins to the north of the village. On this map of 1944 the parish is labelled simply as "Stowe".

For more information, see the EN Wikipedia article Chartley Castle. When Chartley Manor belonged to Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex it became one of the last places of imprisonment of Mary, Queen of Scots.

Stowe-by-Chartley absorbed the civil parish of Chartley Holme which neighboured it to the east in 1934.

The parish also contains the village of Hixon (redirected here) which has a history from the time of the Domesday Book of 1086 right up until World War II when it was the home of RAF Hixon. There is more information in Hixon, Staffordshire. Hixon had a population of more than 1,900 in 2001 (probably--date not given).

From 1894 until 1974 Stowe-by-Chartley was a parish in the Stafford Rural District. Since 1974 it has been part of the Borough of Stafford.

Staffordshire Research Tips

Reminder: Staffordshire today covers a much smaller area than formerly. The West Midlands now governs the southeastern corner of pre-1974 Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, although ceremonially still part of Staffordshire, is a unitary authority covering a large well-populated part of the north of the county.

  • The William Salt Library is the reference library in Stafford and is adjacent to the county archive offices. They have an online catalogue of their holdings.
  • GENUKI lists other large libraries in Staffordshire for Wolverhampton, Burton-upon-Trent, Dudley, Walsall, and Sandwell. The last three of these places are now in the West Midlands and may hold items of local interest which are no longer housed in Staffordshire libraries and archives. For example, The Walsall Archives Centre keeps local census records and local church records.
  • The Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy and Heraldry includes Staffordshire in its remit. It has branches in Stoke-on-Trent, Burton-on-Trent and Wolverhampton. Publications are available through the BMSGH shop. Payments accepted by debit and credit card and by Paypal. Other family history and local history societies situated around Staffordshire are listed by GENUKI.
  • The Midlands Historical Data project produces searchable facsimile copies of old local history books and directories of interest to genealogists. It specialises in the three counties of Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire, working closely with libraries, archives and family history societies in the area. Digital images are made freely available to participating organisations to improve public access. Free search index on its web-site to all its books. In many cases payment will be required to see the extract.
  • GENUKI makes a great many suggestions as to other websites with worthwhile information about Staffordshire as well as leading to a collection of 19th century descriptions of each of the ecclesiastical parishes.
  • The FamilySearch Wiki provides a similar information service to GENUKI which may be more up-to-date. An index of parishes leads to notes and references for each parish. The auxiliary website English Jurisdictions can also be helpful.
  • A Vision of Britain through Time has
  1. organization charts of the hierarchies of parishes within hundreds, registration districts (1837 onwards) and the rural and urban districts of the 20th century. They have just announced (August 2015) a future expansion to their data including 2011 census population data and links to post-1974 county organization.
  2. excerpts from a gazetteer of circa 1870 outlining individual towns and parishes
  3. reviews of population through the time period 1800-1960
  • Brett Langston's list of Staffordshire Registration Districts and parishes within each registration district from 1837 to the present can indicate where to find details of civil registration entries since the process began in England.
  • More local sources can often be found by referring to "What Links Here" in the column on the left.