Armitage

In 1520 Armitage was known as Armytage, meaning 'place by the hermitage' [The Oxford Name Companion]

Armitage (St. John), with Handsacre, a parish in the union of Lichfield, S. division of the hundred of Offlow and of the county of Stafford, 3 miles (E.S.E) from Rugeley; containing 967 inhabitants. This place was formally called Hermitage, from a tradition that a hermit anciently resided in a sequestered spot between the church and the river Trent. The parish is intersected by the Grand Trunk canal, is skirted by the Trent, and lies on the main road from Lichfield to Uttoxeter, in a beautiful and fertile part of the county exceedingly well wooded; it comprises 1921a. 2r 24p., whereof 821 acres are arable, 829 pasture, 10 wood, and 70 acres gardens. Bricks and tiles are made to some extent. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Bishop of Lichfield; net income £100, with a small glebe. The tithes formally belonged to a canonry in Lichfield Cathedral, which being suppressed, they have fallen to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners; they have been commuted for £336. The body of the Church was rebuilt, and a south aisle added, in the Norman style, in 1845, at a cost of £1500; the old porch; also; was restored: the font is curious, and very ancient. There is a place of worship for Independents; also a national school for boys and girls, established in 1839. [Samuel Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England 1859]

Armitage, a parish and a village in Staffordshire, on the Trent Valley branch of the L. & N.W.R., and the Grand Trunk Canal, 5 1/2 miles NW of Lichfield. The parish has a station on the railway, and a post office under Rugeley, which is the telegraph office. It includes the hamlet of Handsacre. Acreage, 1948; population, 1290. Hawkesyard is a fine mansion. Armitage Lodge and The Tower are other principal residences. The Grand Trunk Canal, in its course within the parish, passes through a large tunnel. The Armitage Sanitary Earthenware Works are situated here, and there is also a large brick and drain-pipe manufactory. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Lichfield; net value, £262. Patron, the Bishop of Lichfield. The church stands on a rocky eminence, has a Norman doorway, and an interior handsome arch; it was rebuilt, with the exception of the tower, in 1884. There are chapels for Congregationalists and Wesleyans. [The Comprehensive Gazetteer of England and Wales, 1894-5]

Armitage parish in Lichfield district, Stafford; on the Northwestern railway and the Grand Trunk canal, 5½ miles NW of Lichfield. It has a station on the railway, and a post office under Rugeley; and it includes the hamlet of Handsacre and part of the village of Brereton. Acres, 1,921. Rated property, £4,943. Pop., 937. Houses, 206. The property is divided among a few. Armitage Park is a fine mansion. The Grand Trunk canal, in its course within the parish, passes through a large tunnel. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Lichfield. Value, £300. Patron, the Bishop of Lichfield. The church stands on a rocky eminence; has a Norman doorway, and an interior hand some arch. A church stood formerly at Handsacre, but is now a ruin. There are chapels for Independents and Wesleyans. Charities, £9. (John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales 1870 -1872)

Walsall Council provides details of microfiche information for the 1841 Census of Armitage

Staffordshire Records Office holds Baptism Registers of Armitage Independent Churches 1821-1837

Armitage on Google map

The Church of England website for Saint John the Baptist Church

Burntwood Family History Group has transcribed the parish records for Saint John the Baptist Church and are available to purchase

Staffordshire Records Office holds the Bishops Transcripts for Saint John the Baptist Church 1623-1861 (with many gaps)

A voluntary 'Look-up' exchange is available for Saint John the Baptist Church Parish Registers Baptisms, Marriages and Burials 1623 - 1812

Is your ancestor buried in Saint John the Baptist Church Cemetery? Check through this list of some of the memorial Inscriptions provided by Wishful Thinking

Staffordshire Records Office holds the original Registers of Saint John the Baptist Church Baptisms 1673 - 1967, Banns 1854 - 1955, Marriages 1673 - 1989 and Burials 1673 - 1992

Information on the Grade II listed building of Saint Thomas Roman Catholic Church

Burntwood Family History Group has photographed and transcribed all the names on the Armitage with Handsacre War Memorial

The Staffordshire Record Office holds the Wesleyan Methodist Church Baptisms Registers 1809-1921

Paupers in need of assistance from Armitage would have been examined and assessed, and if they met the criteria, they would have been admitted to Lichfield Workhouse