Handsacre

In 1086 Handsacre was known as ‘Hadesacre’ (arable plot of a man called Hand) [The Oxford Names Companion]

Handsacre (or Hansacre) a hamlet, in the parish of Armitage, union of Lichfield, S. division of the hundred of Offlow and the county of Stafford, 3 ½ miles (E.S. E.) from Rugeley; containing 967 inhabitants. Hubert de Handsacre was lord of the manor in the reign of Henry I., and it continued with his descendants till 1452, when it passed by marriage to other families. In the civil contentions which lead to the deposition of Richard II., Sir William Handscare espoused the cause of that of the usurper, afterwards Henry IV. Each assembled his vassals, and marched to join the armies then lying in view of each other near Shrewsbury; but meeting in their route, a skirmish ensued in which Sir William was slain. Sir Robert proceeded to the army of Henry and met a similar fate fighting against gallant Percy. After the death of these chiefs, Margaret, daughter and coheiress of Sir Robert Mavesyn, gave her hand and fortune to Sir William, son of the knight slain by her father. The hamlet comprises of about two-thirds of the parish; and has several malt-kilns, and brick and tile yards. The Uttoxeter Road here crosses the Trent by a beautiful iron bridge, 140 feet in span; it was commenced in 1829 and opened in 1832. The old stone bridge is still standing a few hundred yards below it, and has seven arches, but is very narrow and inconvenient. [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 Hansacre. 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]

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

The B F H G has photographed and transcribed all the names on the Armitage with Handsacre War Memorial