Chapter 12 - Saverley Green

On 20th November 1849, when the tithe map of Saverley Green was signed, there were just 13 habitable properties in the hamlet, and by the end of the 1800’s this number had grown to about 30.

The Saverley Green properties shown on the Fulford tithe map are:-

This tithe map of Saverley Green was produced by the author and is based on the original Fulford tithe map dated 20th November in Staffordshire Record Office.

There were two public houses in Saverley Green, the ‘Hare and Hounds’ now known as the ‘Greyhound’, and the ‘New Inn’ now known as ‘The Hunter’, both of which had been in existence since at least the early 1800’s, and both had the same customs of a ‘round of beef’ and ‘fig pie’ as the ‘Shoulder of Mutton’ in Fulford, though fig pies disappeared during the Second World War due to the shortage of figs.

In the ‘Greyhound’, even up to the 1950’s, it was still the custom for a barrel of beer to be ordered and consumed when a well-known villager was getting married, and anyone could call in and drink the health of the bride and groom free of charge.

By 1998 it had become a tradition for a spectacular bonfire based on a theme for the November 5th celebrations in the grounds of the ‘Greyhound’. Amongst the landlords and landladies of the Greyhound and the Hunter were:-

The New Inn (now ‘The Hunter’):-

The Hare and Hounds (now ‘The Greyhound’):-
(The Hare & Hounds was not recorded in 1860)

At the time of the 1881 census 24 habitable buildings were recorded housing 98 residents and there were 20 different surnames recorded, three of which were also recorded in Fulford, Bagnall, Bradley and Shaw:-

Being a very small hamlet one would expect to find similar 'country' occupations represented amongst the inhabitants of Saverley Green as were to be found in Fulford, and indeed the 1881 census did record some of those occupations such as agricultural labourer, general labourer, farm servant, farm bailiff, farmer, shoemaker, and innkeeper. However it was a bit surprising to also find occupations in Saverley Green such as earthenware manufacturer, nail maker, rope maker, railway porter, plate layer.

Saverley Green was once famous for it’s cock fighting and in about 1850 the police made a raid but the participants managed to escape to a neighbouring house and so evaded capture. Both mains water and electricity reached Saverley Green in the 1930’s, about ten years before they reached Fulford.

Today, mystics Terry and Patricia Shotton live in Saverley Green. Patricia is convinced that a remote pond some miles across the fields to the west of the hamlet is of some mystical importance. Meanwhile, in the ‘Old Orchard’ is a well that is known as ‘the well of sacred blood’.

SUMMARY OF THE 1881 CENSUS RETURNS FOR SAVERLEY GREEN:-

... Coming into Saverley Green from Stallington and Lea Croft Hall ...

Note- Property number 24 is still the home of the Colclough’s, with a Mr.& Mrs. H.J.Colclough living there now

	HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD	AGE	BORN	HEAD'S OCCUPATION	WIFE	IN HOUSE
1	William Shaw	65	Rownall	farm bailiff	-	6
2	John Ellis	24	Barlaston	china painter/potter	-	2
3	William Docksey	40	Stoke	farmer	Esther	6
4	uninhabited
5	William Robonson	50	Longton	earthenware manufacturer	Charlotte	6
6	George Stannier	64	Stone	general labourer	Ann	5
7	Thomas Hill	49	Leek	general labourer	Emma	3
8	James Buckley	55	Worcester	farmer	Mary	8
9	uninhabited
10	Samuel Cheatham	45	Cheshire	farm bailiff	Mary	5
11	Samuel Jackson Jnr.	30	Stone	general labourer	Sarah	3
12	Samuel Jackson	66	Cheadle	farmer	-	5
13	John Kent	82	Stone	gardener	-	2
14	Thomas Brassington	62	Cheadle	agricultural labourer	Harriet	2
15	Edward Kent	40	Stone	innkeeper (Hare & Hounds)	Margaret	9
16	Thomas Bradley	26	Leek	railway porter	Lilian	4
17	Thomas Stanier	60	Stone	plate layer (shop run by wife)	Catherine	6
18	Philip Stanier	54	Stone	shoemaker	Martha	2
19	Joseph Stanier	55	Stone	nail maker	-	3
20	James Bailey	30	Seighford	coachman	Lucy	5
21	Charles Fernyhough	26	Longton	gardener	Ellen	2
22	Thomas Blackhurst	30	Tunstall	earthenware manuf./farmer	Mary	8
23	Thomas Bagnall	50	Leek	innkeeper (New Inn)	Hannah	7
24	John Colclough	44	Stone	retired farmer	Mary	9
25	William Jones	46	Burslem	rope maker	Anne	6
26	John Hitchen	39	Eccleshall	general labourer	Ann	4

... and then going to part of Fulford and then Rush Lade...

One of the better known buildings in Saverley Green is Saverley House Farm which is just to the north of Saverley Green, down a small lane which leads off from the sharp bend in the centre of the village. It is still a working farm. Among the past owners of Saverley House Farm were:-

On the road into Saverley Green from Fulford is a field in which a small area appears to be cut into terraces surrounded by a circle of trees. This area was known locally as ‘The Bear Holes’ and it is said that bears were once baited here and that dogfights were also held.