Whittington, Staffordshire
Encyclopedia
Whittington is a village
and civil parish which lies approximately 3 miles south east of Lichfield
in the Lichfield
district of Staffordshire
, England
. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,591. The parish council is a joint one with Fisherwick
. The Coventry Canal
borders the village to the north and east.
Most famous for the military barracks there known locally as Whittington Barracks.
style using sandstone
quarried from Hopwas Hayes wood. The church contains memorial panelling for Samuel Lipscomb Seckham
(1827–1900), architect and High Sheriff of Staffordshire
, who lived at Whittington Old Hall
, a 16th century mansion.
One family produced three vicars of Whittington: the Levett
family. Rev. Richard Levett served as vicar from 1743 to 1751. His son, also Rev. Richard Levett, served as vicar of Whittington from 1795 to 1796. And Rev. Thomas Levett served for forty years, from 1796 to 1836. There are memorials to the Levetts in St. Giles Church. Large landowners, the family also established charitable gifts towards the Whittington Free School. A subsequent rector of Whittington was Hon. Rev. George Barrington Legge, son of William Legge, 4th Earl of Dartmouth
, who was married to the daughter of John Levett of Wychnor Park
.
The co-founder of Marks & Spencer
plc, Thomas Spencer d. 1905, is buried in St. Giles Church, Whittington.
To the west and south of the village lies Whittington Heath. The heath
was the originally the site of the Lichfield races which had moved from Fradley
in 1702. During the 18th century they were one of the largest and well attended meeting in the Midlands – in 1773 a grandstand was erected near the Lichfield
-Tamworth
Road. However during the course of the 19th century the popularity of the races dwindled, and military use of the heath grew. In 1875, the Marquess of Anglesey
was approached by the War Department and asked if he would sell Whittington Heath for the building of a barracks, to which he agreed. October 29, 1880 was the date recorded as the formal handing over of the newly built barrack to the military. In 1895 the last race meeting was held when the war office declared it was "undesirable to hold a race meeting at the gate of the barracks.". The Lichfield races are still remembered the name of a local pub in Freeford called the Horse & Jockey. In Lichfield, there is another pub called "The Scales" was where the race jockeys were "weighed in".
The old grandstand originally became a soldiers home, although it is now the base of the Whittington Heath Golf Course. Golf had been played in the area as the Whittington Barracks Golf Course since 1910 but the land was not brought out from the area until 1994.
The barracks has been a training centre for the Army since 1881 was home to Army Training Regiment Litchfield, which trained new recruits on their Phase 1 Common Military Training (ie. becoming soldiers) from The Royal Signals and The Royal Engineers
, from 2002 until 2008 when Major General Andrew Farquhar CBE, General Officer Commanding the Army's 5th Division, inspected the recruits and took the salute before the Army Training Regiment's flag was lowered for the very last time. Training for The Royal Engineers
moved to the Army Training Regiment in Bassingbourn
, while The Royal Signals moved to the Army Training Regiment in Pirbright
.
The Army Development and Training Centre, the new Regional Rehabilitation Unit (West Midlands) and the Lichfield Support Unit remain at Whittington Barracks.
The site is also home to The Staffordshire Regiment Museum
. As of 2007 Whittington Barracks became the home for Regimental Headquarters of the newly formed Mercian Regiment
.
In 2008 the Labour Government set in motion the centralisation of all planning and training of the Defence Medical Services
at Whittington Barracks. The relocation of the Headquarters of the Surgeon-General
(HQSG) and major components of the Joint Medical Command (JMC) is proceeding to plan in accordance with approvals given in July 2008.
The new HQ, named Coltman House, has been built and is now fully occupied. Alongside the HQSG, the elements of the JMC now at Whittington comprise the defence medical group and the JMC HQ previously at Fort Blockhouse
, Gosport
, Hampshire
, the Director of Healthcare previously based in Whitehall, the Defence Dental Service previously located at RAF Halton
, Buckinghamshire
, and the Defence Postgraduate Medical Dean, previously located in Birmingham
at the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine at Selly Oak Hospital. The single service medical heads, the Army Medical Services
, Royal Navy Medical Branch
and Royal Air Force Medical Branch
.
A second phase at the barracks – now renamed Defence Medical Services Whittington – is also anticipated to begin in the summer of 2010. This will include new training facilities, a new learning centre, a new lecture theatre, new messes for officers, warrant officers and NCOs – and a new junior ranks dining and leisure facility.
All these moves from other parts of the country will clearly make Whittington and Lichfield
the national centre for military medical training and planning in the United Kingdom.
This, combined with the nearby Armed Forces Memorial
, is helping to put Lichfield
on the military map of Britain
and has is good news for the local economy.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
and civil parish which lies approximately 3 miles south east of Lichfield
Lichfield
Lichfield is a cathedral city, civil parish and district in Staffordshire, England. One of eight civil parishes with city status in England, Lichfield is situated roughly north of Birmingham...
in the Lichfield
Lichfield (district)
Lichfield is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. It is administered by Lichfield District Council, based in Lichfield.The dignity and privileges of the City of Lichfield are vested in the parish council of the 14 km² Lichfield civil parish...
district of Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked 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. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, 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...
. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,591. The parish council is a joint one with Fisherwick
Fisherwick
Fisherwick is a civil parish in Lichfield District, Staffordshire, England. Located about east of the City of Lichfield, the parish does not include a village, just a scattered collection of farms and houses. The ancient settlement, dating back to the 12th century, and the manor of Fisherwick Park...
. The Coventry Canal
Coventry Canal
The Coventry Canal is a navigable narrow canal in the Midlands of England.It starts in Coventry and ends 38 miles north at Fradley Junction, just north of Lichfield, where it joins the Trent and Mersey Canal...
borders the village to the north and east.
Most famous for the military barracks there known locally as Whittington Barracks.
Toponomy
The name Whittington is believed to come from Old English, and to mean farm associated with Hwita.Religious sites
The village has long had a church dedicated to St. Giles. However, the 13th century building was destroyed by fire in 1760, and was rebuilt in GeorgianGeorgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
style using sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
quarried from Hopwas Hayes wood. The church contains memorial panelling for Samuel Lipscomb Seckham
Samuel Lipscomb Seckham
Samuel Lipscomb Seckham was an English Victorian architect, developer, magistrate and brewer.Samuel Seckham was born in Oxford, England, and became the City Surveyor. He was the original architect employed by St John’s College, Oxford to develop parts of North Oxford. He developed Park Town, an...
(1827–1900), architect and High Sheriff of Staffordshire
High Sheriff of Staffordshire
This is a list of the High Sheriffs of Staffordshire.The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred...
, who lived at Whittington Old Hall
Whittington Old Hall
Whittington Old Hall is a 16th century mansion house at Whittington, Staffordshire, England, which has been subdivided into separate residential apartments. It is a Grade II* listed building....
, a 16th century mansion.
One family produced three vicars of Whittington: the Levett
Levett
Levett is an Anglo-Norman territorial surname deriving from the village of Livet-en-Ouche, now Jonquerets-de-Livet, in Eure, Normandy. Ancestors of the earliest Levett family in England, the de Livets were lords of the village of Livet, and undertenants of the de Ferrers, among the most powerful of...
family. Rev. Richard Levett served as vicar from 1743 to 1751. His son, also Rev. Richard Levett, served as vicar of Whittington from 1795 to 1796. And Rev. Thomas Levett served for forty years, from 1796 to 1836. There are memorials to the Levetts in St. Giles Church. Large landowners, the family also established charitable gifts towards the Whittington Free School. A subsequent rector of Whittington was Hon. Rev. George Barrington Legge, son of William Legge, 4th Earl of Dartmouth
William Legge, 4th Earl of Dartmouth
William Legge, 4th Earl of Dartmouth FRS, SA , styled The Honourable William Legge until 1801 and Viscount Lewisham between 1801 and 1810, was a British peer.-Background:...
, who was married to the daughter of John Levett of Wychnor Park
Wychnor Hall
Wychnor Hall is an early 18th century country house near Burton on Trent, Staffordshire. Formerly owned by the Levett family, descendants of Theophilus Levett, Steward of the city of Lichfield in the early eighteenth century, the hall has been converted to a Country Club. It is a Grade II listed...
.
The co-founder of Marks & Spencer
Marks & Spencer
Marks and Spencer plc is a British retailer headquartered in the City of Westminster, London, with over 700 stores in the United Kingdom and over 300 stores spread across more than 40 countries. It specialises in the selling of clothing and luxury food products...
plc, Thomas Spencer d. 1905, is buried in St. Giles Church, Whittington.
Whittington Barracks
The military barracks were known as the Lichfield Army Training Regiment. Construction of the Barracks for the Depots of the two Regiments and for a Militia Battalion (of which there were four in the county) started in 1877. During the Second World War, Whittington Barracks was essentially handed over to the US Army to serve as their 10th Replacement Depot.To the west and south of the village lies Whittington Heath. The heath
Heath (habitat)
A heath or heathland is a dwarf-shrub habitat found on mainly low quality acidic soils, characterised by open, low growing woody vegetation, often dominated by plants of the Ericaceae. There are some clear differences between heath and moorland...
was the originally the site of the Lichfield races which had moved from Fradley
Fradley
Fradley is a village and civil parish in Lichfield District, Staffordshire, England, about north-east of the City of Lichfield and 1 mile south-west of Alrewas. Until 1 April 2009 it had been part of the larger parish of Alrewas and Fradley. The parish council is a joint one with Streethay...
in 1702. During the 18th century they were one of the largest and well attended meeting in the Midlands – in 1773 a grandstand was erected near the Lichfield
Lichfield
Lichfield is a cathedral city, civil parish and district in Staffordshire, England. One of eight civil parishes with city status in England, Lichfield is situated roughly north of Birmingham...
-Tamworth
Tamworth
Tamworth is a town and local government district in Staffordshire, England, located north-east of Birmingham city centre and north-west of London. The town takes its name from the River Tame, which flows through the town, as does the River Anker...
Road. However during the course of the 19th century the popularity of the races dwindled, and military use of the heath grew. In 1875, the Marquess of Anglesey
Marquess of Anglesey
Marquess of Anglesey is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1815 for Henry Paget, 2nd Earl of Uxbridge, a hero of the Battle of Waterloo...
was approached by the War Department and asked if he would sell Whittington Heath for the building of a barracks, to which he agreed. October 29, 1880 was the date recorded as the formal handing over of the newly built barrack to the military. In 1895 the last race meeting was held when the war office declared it was "undesirable to hold a race meeting at the gate of the barracks.". The Lichfield races are still remembered the name of a local pub in Freeford called the Horse & Jockey. In Lichfield, there is another pub called "The Scales" was where the race jockeys were "weighed in".
The old grandstand originally became a soldiers home, although it is now the base of the Whittington Heath Golf Course. Golf had been played in the area as the Whittington Barracks Golf Course since 1910 but the land was not brought out from the area until 1994.
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
, from 2002 until 2008 when Major General Andrew Farquhar CBE, General Officer Commanding the Army's 5th Division, inspected the recruits and took the salute before the Army Training Regiment's flag was lowered for the very last time. Training for The Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
moved to the Army Training Regiment in Bassingbourn
Bassingbourn
Bassingbourn can refer to:* Bassingbourn cum Kneesworth, a civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England* RAF Bassingbourn or Bassingbourn Barracks, a former military airbase located in Cambridgeshire...
, while The Royal Signals moved to the Army Training Regiment in Pirbright
Pirbright
Pirbright is a village in Surrey, England. Neighbouring villages include Worplesdon, Deepcut, Brookwood and Normandy. Pirbright parish has an area of some falling into two distinct communities with the military area to the north of the railway and the village to the south...
.
The Army Development and Training Centre, the new Regional Rehabilitation Unit (West Midlands) and the Lichfield Support Unit remain at Whittington Barracks.
The site is also home to The Staffordshire Regiment Museum
The Staffordshire Regiment Museum
The Staffordshire Regiment Museum is a military museum in Staffordshire, England, dedicated to preserving the honour and history of The Staffordshire Regiment , its antecedent regiments and its successor regiment, The Mercian Regiment, from 1705 to the present day...
. As of 2007 Whittington Barracks became the home for Regimental Headquarters of the newly formed Mercian Regiment
Mercian Regiment
The Mercian Regiment is an infantry regiment of the British Army, formed by the amalgamation of three existing regiments on 1 September 2007.The regiment has three regular army battalion's and one Territorial Army or reserve battalion...
.
In 2008 the Labour Government set in motion the centralisation of all planning and training of the Defence Medical Services
Defence Medical Services
The Defence Medical Services are an umbrella organisation within the Ministry of Defence in the United Kingdom, which organises all medical, dental and nursing services within the British Armed Forces.-Structure:...
at Whittington Barracks. The relocation of the Headquarters of the Surgeon-General
Surgeon-General (United Kingdom)
The Surgeon-General is the senior medical officer of the British Armed Forces; the post is held by the senior of the three individual service medical directors....
(HQSG) and major components of the Joint Medical Command (JMC) is proceeding to plan in accordance with approvals given in July 2008.
The new HQ, named Coltman House, has been built and is now fully occupied. Alongside the HQSG, the elements of the JMC now at Whittington comprise the defence medical group and the JMC HQ previously at Fort Blockhouse
Fort Blockhouse
Fort Blockhouse is a military establishment in Gosport, Hampshire, England, and the final version of a complicated site. It is surrounded on 3 sides by water and provides the best view of the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour. It is unique in two respects - firstly, it was built over a number of...
, Gosport
Gosport
Gosport is a town, district and borough situated on the south coast of England, within the county of Hampshire. It has approximately 80,000 permanent residents with a further 5,000-10,000 during the summer months...
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, the Director of Healthcare previously based in Whitehall, the Defence Dental Service previously located at RAF Halton
RAF Halton
RAF Halton is one of the largest Royal Air Force stations in the United Kingdom, located near the village of Halton near Wendover, Buckinghamshire.HRH The Duchess of Cornwall is the Honorary Air Commodore of RAF Halton.-History:...
, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, and the Defence Postgraduate Medical Dean, previously located in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
at the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine at Selly Oak Hospital. The single service medical heads, the Army Medical Services
Army Medical Services
The Army Medical Services is the organisation responsible for administering the four separate corps that deliver medical, veterinary, dental and nursing services in the British Army...
, Royal Navy Medical Branch
Royal Navy Medical Service
The Royal Navy Medical Service is the branch of the Royal Navy responsible for medical care. It works closely with Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service.-History:...
and Royal Air Force Medical Branch
RAF Medical Branch
The Royal Air Force Medical Services is the branch of the Royal Air Force that provides health care at home and on deployed operations to RAF service personnel. Medical officers are the doctors of the RAF and have specialist expertise in aviation medicine to support aircrew and their protective...
.
A second phase at the barracks – now renamed Defence Medical Services Whittington – is also anticipated to begin in the summer of 2010. This will include new training facilities, a new learning centre, a new lecture theatre, new messes for officers, warrant officers and NCOs – and a new junior ranks dining and leisure facility.
All these moves from other parts of the country will clearly make Whittington and Lichfield
Lichfield
Lichfield is a cathedral city, civil parish and district in Staffordshire, England. One of eight civil parishes with city status in England, Lichfield is situated roughly north of Birmingham...
the national centre for military medical training and planning in the United Kingdom.
This, combined with the nearby Armed Forces Memorial
Armed Forces Memorial
The Armed Forces Memorial is a national memorial in the United Kingdom, dedicated to the 16,000 servicemen and women of the British Armed Forces killed on duty or through terrorist action since the Second World War.-History:...
, is helping to put Lichfield
Lichfield
Lichfield is a cathedral city, civil parish and district in Staffordshire, England. One of eight civil parishes with city status in England, Lichfield is situated roughly north of Birmingham...
on the military map of Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and has is good news for the local economy.
External links
- Whittington & Fisherwick Parish Council Website
- Whittington & District History Society
- Whittington Barracks Website
- Wood's Whittington Web Site
- The Mercian Regiment
- Staffordshire Regiment Museum
- Defence Medical Services
- Joint Medical Command
- Defence Dental Service
- Defence Postgraduate Medical Dean
- Army Medical Services
- Royal Navy Medical Branch