Goldstone, Shropshire
Encyclopedia
Goldstone is a small hamlet in eastern Shropshire
, England
, in the civil parish
of Cheswardine
. It lies in an isolated rural area north of Hinstock
and Ellerton
, around 5 miles south of the nearest town, Market Drayton
.
Its name, which in the mediaeval period was variously spelt Goldestan, Golston, and Goldston, is formed on the Old English -tun ("farm, settlement") while Gold- was a common element in Old English personal names. In 1278 Goldstone was recorded as forming, with Ellerton and Sambrook, one of the four townships of Cheswardine parish and it remains part of the parish to this day. In the 13th century Goldstone was recorded as an outlying member of the manor
of Little Ercall (Child's Ercall
), the change possibly dating from a period in which tenure of the two manors was nearly identical..
However, it is clear that at some point in time a subordinate lord was enfeoffed at Goldstone and that it became a sub-manor of Child's Ercall. In 1280, specific reference was made to a separate Lord of Golston in an extent of the manor of Cheswardine, then held by Roger le Strange, who was at that time also lord of Child's Ercall. Other members of Childs Ercall - Naggington and Dodicote - had also become separate manors. The lordship of Goldstone continued to be held separately from that of Child's Ercall by the Goldstone family of Goldstone, who are first mentioned in the 12th century as 'de Goldestan'.. The Goldstones appear to have added another property to Goldstone itself, since they are found living at their manor of Dunval in the 16th century, with a number of the family thereby appearing in the registers of Astley Abbotts
. Some information on Richard's father Humphrey Goldston is found in the History of Parliament Trust publication:- The House of Commons 1509-1558. It confirms that Humphrey was one of the members of Parliament for Bridgnorth, and that in 1541 he was receiving income of lands at Astley Abbotts, north of Bridgnorth, formerly belonging to Shrewsbury abbey.
The Goldstones appear to have relocated themselves to London, in the late 1600s/early 1700s, and lived off The Strand, at one time in Howard Street. This may explain why the lordship and manor of Goldstone was passed to the Goldstone's cousin Edward Pegg, who already had land nearby at Ellerton, in 1720 via the use of a legal method called The Common Recovery; he had married Jane Goldstone, daughter of Edward Goldstone of Goldstone. Pegg and his successors built and extended a newer Goldstone Hall next to the older manor house, bits of which he must have incorporated since some much older medieval wooden beams have been discovered within its structure. From Pegg, the estate and manor of Goldstone passed to other cousins of the Goldstones - the Haywards of Aston Cliffe, Staffordshire and Hulme Walfield
, in the Parish of Astbury (Newbold Astbury
), near Congleton, Cheshire. Thomas Hayward had his estate at Goldstone plotted on a map painted on vellum, entitled: Goldstone Lordship, and Estates in the Parish of Hinstock and County of Salop, Belonging to Thomas Hayward Esq, Surveyed 1771 by John Wedge.
On the death of the last of the Haywards, Goldstone, along with their estate at Hulme Walfield, was inherited by their cousin William Vardon, whose family also came from Cheshire. The Vardons are a branch of the de Verdon family from Normandy (ref: de Verdun of Alton, Staffordshire), whose name changed from Verdon to Vardon in the 17th century. William Vardon must have made some structural changes to the Hall since one wall has a feature which incorporates his crest of a stag's head with his initials "WV" underneath. The building that replaced the original old Manor House at Goldstone was finally incorporated into and connected to the newer Goldstone Hall by Henry G. E. ("Jack") Vardon, heir of Hugh E. Vardon of Goldstone (nephew of William Vardon), after the First World War. The more recent application of the name 'Goldstone Manor' to what is in fact the farmhouse of Goldstone Manor Farm, has created a little historical confusion.
The original border between Shropshire and Staffordshire was Goldstone Brook, which formed the boundary between the manors of Cheswardine and Goldstone, Cheswardine originally being in Staffordshire. Edward Hayward of Goldstone made an interesting reference to some old manorial marker stones that demarcated Goldstone from Cheswardine, in an entry in his Journal dated 21st May 1805, as follows: This day Mr Pierpoint of Ellerton told me that the proper old course of the Goldstone Brook is by the Gate going into Sowdley Lane which is also the Boundary of Goldstone Manor. This he heard the late Mr E. Pegg of Goldstone declare when he refused to give one of the large stones there to [---?] Jones the Miller. It is perhaps possible that these marker stones may have more than significance as a part of Goldstone and Cheswardine's manorial history, but also that of the counties of Shropshire and Staffordshire, since they could also have been boundary stones marking the original border between Shropshire and Cheshire.
As in many rural areas of Britain, the rural depopulation of the 19th and 20th centuries has left Goldstone with only a few dwellings clustering around Goldstone Hall, a Georgian brick house (now a hotel) with an earlier core. In its garden is a well reputed to be the deepest in Shropshire.
The hamlet gives its name to the Goldstone Brook, which rises nearby, while the surnames Goldstone, Gulson and Goulson similarly or first appeared either here or in Goldstone in Kent.
Bertram III de Verdun - Bertram III de Verdun and his family
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, in the civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
of Cheswardine
Cheswardine
Cheswardine is a rural village and civil parish in north east Shropshire, England. The village lies close to the border with Staffordshire and is about 8 miles north of Newport and 5 miles south east of Market Drayton...
. It lies in an isolated rural area north of Hinstock
Hinstock
Hinstock is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England.It appeared in the Domesday book survey as "Stoche" ; the present version of its name was created in the mediaeval period by prefixing Middle English hine .Hinstock is approximately halfway between the market towns of Newport and Market...
and Ellerton
Ellerton, Shropshire
Ellerton is a small hamlet in Shropshire. It lies in a rather isolated rural area several miles north of the town of Newport, close to the village of Sambrook, and is part of the civil parish of Cheswardine...
, around 5 miles south of the nearest town, Market Drayton
Market Drayton
Market Drayton is a small market town in north Shropshire, England. It is on the River Tern, between Shrewsbury and Stoke-on-Trent, and was formerly known as "Drayton in Hales" and earlier simply as "Drayton" ....
.
Its name, which in the mediaeval period was variously spelt Goldestan, Golston, and Goldston, is formed on the Old English -tun ("farm, settlement") while Gold- was a common element in Old English personal names. In 1278 Goldstone was recorded as forming, with Ellerton and Sambrook, one of the four townships of Cheswardine parish and it remains part of the parish to this day. In the 13th century Goldstone was recorded as an outlying member of the manor
Manorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
of Little Ercall (Child's Ercall
Child's Ercall
Child's Ercall is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is located in a rather remote rural area between the small towns of Market Drayton and Newport: the civil parish had a total population of 599 at the 2001 census...
), the change possibly dating from a period in which tenure of the two manors was nearly identical..
However, it is clear that at some point in time a subordinate lord was enfeoffed at Goldstone and that it became a sub-manor of Child's Ercall. In 1280, specific reference was made to a separate Lord of Golston in an extent of the manor of Cheswardine, then held by Roger le Strange, who was at that time also lord of Child's Ercall. Other members of Childs Ercall - Naggington and Dodicote - had also become separate manors. The lordship of Goldstone continued to be held separately from that of Child's Ercall by the Goldstone family of Goldstone, who are first mentioned in the 12th century as 'de Goldestan'.. The Goldstones appear to have added another property to Goldstone itself, since they are found living at their manor of Dunval in the 16th century, with a number of the family thereby appearing in the registers of Astley Abbotts
Astley Abbotts
Astley Abbotts is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 396.It is famous for its lavender fields in the centre of the village near the church....
. Some information on Richard's father Humphrey Goldston is found in the History of Parliament Trust publication:- The House of Commons 1509-1558. It confirms that Humphrey was one of the members of Parliament for Bridgnorth, and that in 1541 he was receiving income of lands at Astley Abbotts, north of Bridgnorth, formerly belonging to Shrewsbury abbey.
The Goldstones appear to have relocated themselves to London, in the late 1600s/early 1700s, and lived off The Strand, at one time in Howard Street. This may explain why the lordship and manor of Goldstone was passed to the Goldstone's cousin Edward Pegg, who already had land nearby at Ellerton, in 1720 via the use of a legal method called The Common Recovery; he had married Jane Goldstone, daughter of Edward Goldstone of Goldstone. Pegg and his successors built and extended a newer Goldstone Hall next to the older manor house, bits of which he must have incorporated since some much older medieval wooden beams have been discovered within its structure. From Pegg, the estate and manor of Goldstone passed to other cousins of the Goldstones - the Haywards of Aston Cliffe, Staffordshire and Hulme Walfield
Hulme Walfield
Hulme Walfield is a small village and civil parish, just north of Congleton, in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire. It is home to most of Westlow Mere...
, in the Parish of Astbury (Newbold Astbury
Newbold Astbury
thumb|AstburyNewbold Astbury is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, in the north-west of England. It is situated to the south of Congleton on the A34 road to Scholar Green; the A34 forms one side of the triangular village green...
), near Congleton, Cheshire. Thomas Hayward had his estate at Goldstone plotted on a map painted on vellum, entitled: Goldstone Lordship, and Estates in the Parish of Hinstock and County of Salop, Belonging to Thomas Hayward Esq, Surveyed 1771 by John Wedge.
On the death of the last of the Haywards, Goldstone, along with their estate at Hulme Walfield, was inherited by their cousin William Vardon, whose family also came from Cheshire. The Vardons are a branch of the de Verdon family from Normandy (ref: de Verdun of Alton, Staffordshire), whose name changed from Verdon to Vardon in the 17th century. William Vardon must have made some structural changes to the Hall since one wall has a feature which incorporates his crest of a stag's head with his initials "WV" underneath. The building that replaced the original old Manor House at Goldstone was finally incorporated into and connected to the newer Goldstone Hall by Henry G. E. ("Jack") Vardon, heir of Hugh E. Vardon of Goldstone (nephew of William Vardon), after the First World War. The more recent application of the name 'Goldstone Manor' to what is in fact the farmhouse of Goldstone Manor Farm, has created a little historical confusion.
The original border between Shropshire and Staffordshire was Goldstone Brook, which formed the boundary between the manors of Cheswardine and Goldstone, Cheswardine originally being in Staffordshire. Edward Hayward of Goldstone made an interesting reference to some old manorial marker stones that demarcated Goldstone from Cheswardine, in an entry in his Journal dated 21st May 1805, as follows: This day Mr Pierpoint of Ellerton told me that the proper old course of the Goldstone Brook is by the Gate going into Sowdley Lane which is also the Boundary of Goldstone Manor. This he heard the late Mr E. Pegg of Goldstone declare when he refused to give one of the large stones there to [---?] Jones the Miller. It is perhaps possible that these marker stones may have more than significance as a part of Goldstone and Cheswardine's manorial history, but also that of the counties of Shropshire and Staffordshire, since they could also have been boundary stones marking the original border between Shropshire and Cheshire.
As in many rural areas of Britain, the rural depopulation of the 19th and 20th centuries has left Goldstone with only a few dwellings clustering around Goldstone Hall, a Georgian brick house (now a hotel) with an earlier core. In its garden is a well reputed to be the deepest in Shropshire.
The hamlet gives its name to the Goldstone Brook, which rises nearby, while the surnames Goldstone, Gulson and Goulson similarly or first appeared either here or in Goldstone in Kent.
Links
Goldstone and the Manor of Goldstone - www.goldstoneshropshire.comBertram III de Verdun - Bertram III de Verdun and his family