Wootton, Staffordshire

The name Wootton is thought to come from the Old English wudu meaning wood and tūn meaning an enclosure; farmstead; village or estate. This translates to Wood Farm/Settlement.

{{cite book |title=Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-names |last=Watts |year= 2004|publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=669 |isbn=9780521168557 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ng9DRgAACAAJ |accessdate=24 April 2012}}{{cite web |url=http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Staffordshire/Wootton |title=Key to English Place-names |author=University of Nottingham |accessdate=24 April 2012}}

In 1870-72 John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer described Wootton as {{Quotation|text=WOOTTON, a township in Ellastone parish, Stafford; 4½ miles W by S of Ashborne. Real property, £2,061. Pop., 185. Houses, 40. W. Hall was built by Inigo Jones; was the residence of Rousseau in 1766; and belongs now to the Bromleys.{{cite web |url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/place_page.jsp?p_id=8634&st=WOOTTON |title= History of Wootton in East Staffordshire |author= University of Portsmouth |accessdate= 3 May 2012}}{{cite book |title=Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales |author= John Marius Wilson |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ydHLHwAACAAJ |year=1872 |accessdate= 3 May 2012}} |author=John Marius Wilson|source=Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales, A. Fullarton, 1872}}

In early reports Wootton was predominantly a farming village, with over 60% of males engaged in agriculture.{{cite web |url= http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/census/table_page.jsp?tab_id=EW1881AGE_M10&u_id=10297795&show=DB |title= Vision of Britain 1881 Census Reports |author= University of Portsmouth |accessdate= 27 April 2012}}{{cite book |title= 1881 Census of England and Wales |year= 1883 |location=Tables: Ages, Condition as to Marriage, Occupations and Birthplaces of people, Table 10: " Occupations of Males and Females in the Division and its Registration Counties". |url= http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/census/report_page.jsp?rpt_id=EW1881AGE&show=DB |accessdate=27 April 2012}} Even to this day there remains a large farming culture, with still around 25% of the working population engaged in agriculture.{{cite web |url= http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=799425&c=wootton&d=16&e=15&g=485158&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1335535873174&enc=1&dsFamilyId=783 |title= 2001 Census: Key Statistics - Parish Profile - Work and Qualifications |author= Neighbourhood Statistics |accessdate= 27 April 2007}} The rest of the population are spread out between working in service industries or in managerial/professional occupations.

• Wootton Hall, the house where Rousseau stayed, was demolished in the 1930s.{{Cite web |url=http://www.lostheritage.org.uk/houses/lh_staffordshire_woottonhall_info_gallery.html |title=Wootton Hall |access-date=2018-03-27}}
• Wootton Lodge, the privately owned 17th century house, is a grade I listed building in the parish owned by the Bamford family. During the English Civil War the house was held for the Crown and was badly damaged during a Parliamentary siege. It was restored in about 1700 when a flight of balustraded entrance steps was added.{{NHLE |num=1278308 |desc=Wootton Lodge |accessdate=12 April 2011}}
• Alton Towers Resort is a popular holiday amusement park with hotels and an indoor water park, located 4 miles (6.5 km) away from Wootton. The resort attracts 2.7 million visitors annually.{{cite journal

| author = Themed Entertainment Association

|author2=Economics Research Associates

| title = Attraction Attendance Report

| publisher = Park World

| year = 2011

| url = http://www.teaconnect.org/sites/default/files/misc/files/2009report.pdf

| accessdate = 2 May 2012}} The resort encloses an area known as "Slain Hollow", reputed to be the site of a battle between King Ceolred of Mercia and King Ina of Wessex in 716 AD.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-13105212|title=Anglo-Saxon Mercia: some facts and some legends|publisher=BBC|date=16 April 2011|accessdate= 2 May 2012}}

A rich poetic description of the area around Wootton is The vales of Wever, a loco-descriptive poem (1797) by John Gisborne, written as a present to his host after staying at Wootton Hall. It shows the influence of Erasmus Darwin, who also wrote similar topographic poetry on the district, and it was admired by many poets including Wordsworth.

Wootton is located about 1.5 miles off the B5032 Uttoxeter to Ashbourne road, and is served by the 409 bus service between those two towns, which stops at Ellastone village.{{cite web|url= http://www.arrivabus.co.uk/uploadedfiles/services/midlands/MDBN409_050910_050810.pdf |title= Arrive Bus timetable - service 409 |author= Arriva |accessdate= 13 January 2013}} The nearest railway station is in Uttoxeter around 8 miles (12.5 km) away which has regular trains to Crewe and Derby.{{cite web|url= http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/ldbboard/dep/UTT |title= Departure Boards at Uttoxeter Station |author= National Rail Enquiries |accessdate= 13 January 2013}}

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{{Civil Parishes of East Stafford}}

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Category:Villages in Staffordshire

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