Shenstone

‘Seneste: Robert d’Oilly from Earl Roger. Mill’ [The Domesday Book, England’s Heritage Then and Now]

In 1086 known as ‘Seneste’’ (beautiful stone) [The Oxford Names Companion]

Shenstone (St. John the Baptist), a parish in the union of Lichfield, S. division of the hundred of Offlow, and of the county of Stafford, 3½ miles (S. by W.) from Lichfield; containing with the chapelry of Over Stonnall, 1962 inhabitants. It comprises of 8541a. 2r. 35., of which 30 acres are common or waste land; the soil is fertile, producing crops of wheat and barley, and there are extensive and luxuriant pastures. The surface is undulated, and watered by several rivulets that abound with trout. The scenery is enlivened with gentlemen’s seats and pleasant villas; the village is neatly built. The parish is intersected at one end by the Wyrley and Essington canal, by which the limestone is brought hither from Rushall to be burnt at Sandhills, by Messers. George and James Brawn, who have wharfs on the canal. A considerable fair for cattle is held on the last Monday in February. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king’s book at £435; the glebe comprises 38 acres. The church exhibits specimens of the various styles of English architecture, and has an enriched Norman arch at the south entrance; a gallery has been lately erected. There is a separate incumbency at Stonnall; and national schools are supported both at Shenstone and Stonnall. [Samuel Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England 1859]

Shenstone, a village and a parish in Lichfield district, Stafford. The village stands on an eminence 3½ miles S by W of Lichfield r. station; is a seat of petty-sessions; and has a post-office under Lichfield, and a fair on the last Monday of Feb. The parish contains also seven hamlets, and comprises 8,451 acres. Real property, £17,723. Pop. in 1851, 2,043; in 1861, 2,131. Houses, 436. The property is considerably divided. S. Hall, S. House, S. Moss, S. Lodge, Aston Hall, and Fotherley Hall are chief residences. An ancient castle stood on a spot now called Castle-Field. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Lichfield. Value, £488 Patron, the Rev. Dr. Peel. The church was rebuilt in 1853. The vicarage of Stonnall is a separate benefice. There are a Wesleyan chapel, a national school, and charities £136. [John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales 1870 - 1872]

Was your ancestor a coal miner living in Shenstone in 1881? You may find him on Hammerwich census 1881 as translated by Webster Genealogy

Statistics for the Shenstone 2001 Census provided by the Office for National Statistics

Find all the information you want about Shenstone at the library

The Church of England website for Saint John's Church

Staffordshire Records Office holds Saint John's Church Bishops Transcripts, 1653-1910 (with gaps 1674, 1679 (Baptisms), 1679-81 (Marriages) & 1759-61)

Staffordshire Record Office holds Saint John's Church original registers, Baptisms 1579 - 1975, Marriages 1579 - 1972, Burials 1579 - 1943 and Banns 1754 - 1806 with a gap from 1611 - 1654

The B F H G has photographed and transcribed all the names on the Shenstone War Memorial

Paupers in need of assistance from Shenstone would have been examined and assessed, and if they met the criteria, they would have been admitted to Lichfield Workhouse. Learn a little of the history of the Lichfield Workhouse.