Drayton Manor, one of Britain's lost houses, was a British stately home at Drayton Bassett, since its formation in the District of Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. In modern administrative areas, it was first put into Tamworth Poor Law Union and similar Rural Sanitary District, 1894 to 1934 saw its inclusion in Tamworth Rural District, and in the next forty years it lay in the 1974-abolished Lichfield Rural District. [1]
The manor was owned from the time of the Norman conquest by the Bassett family until in the 13th century. [2] The male line failed and Margaret Bassett, heiress to the estate, married Edmund Lord Stafford. [2] The estate remained in the ownership of the Earl of Stafford until the attainder and execution of the Duke of Buckingham (the 7th Earl) in 1483, when it passed to the Crown. [2] Thereafter several owners included the Earl of Leicester and, from about 1600, the Earl of Essex. [2] The latter's descendants sold the estate in about 1790 to Robert Peel (1750–1830) a Lancashire textile manufacturer, who was Member of Parliament for Tamworth 1790–1820. [2] Following his death in 1830, his son Robert Peel (1788–1850), who followed his father into the Tamworth seat and later became Prime Minister, demolished the old manor house and its three storey banqueting house, and replaced it with a grand mansion (incorporating a three storey tower) designed in the Elizabethan style by architect Robert Smirke. [2]
In 1843 Drayton Manor received a royal visit from Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. [2] In farms of the estate the first Tamworth pigs were bred, their place of market being Tamworth.
The house ceased to be the principal residence of the Peel family and in 1926 it was demolished. Only the clock tower now remains. The site was sold in 1949 to the Bryan family for the creation of leisure gardens which were later developed to become the Drayton Manor Resort. The nearest large town is Tamworth.
In 1946 greyhound racing was held at the Tamworth Greyhound Stadium built on the existing cricket ground. Also known as the Drayton Manor Deer Park Racing Track because it used to be the large deer park belonging to the manor. Speedway also took place from 1947 to 1950 and greyhound racing ceased in the early sixties after the site became housing in the area immediately above Bourne Brook (Dama Road today). [3] [4] [5]
Staffordshire is a landlocked ceremonial county in the West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands county and Worcestershire to the south, as well as Shropshire to the west. The largest settlement is the city of Stoke-on-Trent; the county town is Stafford.
Tamworth is a market town and borough in Staffordshire, England, 14 miles (23 km) north-east of Birmingham. The town borders North Warwickshire to the east and north, Lichfield to the north, south-west and west. The town takes its name from the River Tame, which flows through it. The population of Tamworth borough (2021) was 78,838. The wider urban area had a population of 81,964.
Shugborough Hall is a stately home near Great Haywood, Staffordshire, England.
Earl Peel is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The Peel family descends from Robert Peel, eldest son of a wealthy cotton merchant. The family lands, known as Drayton Manor, in the County of Stafford would become more commonly known in modern-day as an amusement park. The family seat is Elmire House, near Ripon, North Yorkshire.
Lichfield District is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. The district is named after its largest settlement, the city of Lichfield, which is where the district council is based. The district also contains the towns of Burntwood and Fazeley, along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas.
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands of England. It adjoins Cheshire to the north west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the south east, West Midlands and Worcestershire to the south, and Shropshire to the west. The historic county of Staffordshire includes Wolverhampton, Walsall, and West Bromwich, these three being removed for administrative purposes in 1974 to the new West Midlands authority. The resulting administrative area of Staffordshire has a narrow southwards protrusion that runs west of West Midlands to the border of Worcestershire. The city of Stoke-on-Trent was removed from the admin area in the 1990s to form a unitary authority, but is still part of Staffordshire for ceremonial and traditional purposes.
Fazeley is an industrial town and civil parish in the Lichfield District in Staffordshire, England. Fazeley is located on the outskirts of Tamworth and the civil parish of Fazeley also includes Mile Oak and Bonehill. Fazeley forms part of the Tamworth Built-up area.
Drayton Manor Resort is a family theme park, zoo and accommodation in the grounds of the former Drayton Manor, in Drayton Bassett, Staffordshire, England, UK. It covers 180 acres, of which about 113 acres are in use, and hosts about 1.5 million people each year. It is the fourth-largest amusement park in the UK by land area at 280 acres. The park is also home to Thomas Land and Drayton Manor Zoo, home to over 500 animals, including Red pandas, Eurasian lynx, Sumatran tigers and a variety of monkeys and gibbons.
Tamworth is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament, based on the town of Tamworth in Staffordshire, England. The seat is currently represented by Sarah Edwards of the Labour Party, following a by-election in October 2023. It was previously held by Chris Pincher of the Conservative Party, who held the seat from 2010 to 2023, when he resigned. He had been suspended from the party since July 2022.
Statfold is a former village and civil parish, now in the parish of Thorpe Constantine, in the Lichfield district, in Staffordshire, England. It is about 3 miles (5 km) north-east of Tamworth. These days little remains of the village itself, but the Norman parish church, and the Tudor manor house of Statfold Hall still exist, as do a few scattered farms and houses. In 1931 the parish had a population of 55.
Sir Robert Peel, 1st Baronet, was a British politician and industrialist and one of early textile manufacturers of the Industrial Revolution. He is one of ten known British millionaires in 1799.
Drayton Bassett is a village and civil parish since 1974 in Lichfield District in Staffordshire, England. The village is on the Heart of England Way, a footpath. Much of the housing is clustered together but more than half is 20th century in the parish as a whole. In the parish is Drayton Manor Theme Park, occupying a large minority of its land.
Colwich is a civil parish and village in Staffordshire, England. It is situated off the A51 road, about 3 miles (5 km) north-west of Rugeley and 7 miles (11 km) south-east of Stafford. It lies principally on the north-east bank of the River Trent, near Wolseley Bridge and just north of The Chase. The parish comprises about 2,862 hectares (28.62 km2) of land in the villages and hamlets of Colwich, Great Haywood, Little Haywood, Moreton, Bishton and Wolseley Bridge.
Maple Hayes is late 18th century manor house, now occupied by a special needs school, near Lichfield, Staffordshire. It is a Grade II listed building.
Clifton Campville is a village, former manor and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. It lies on the River Mease, about 10 miles (16 km) east of the City of Lichfield, 6 miles (10 km) west of Measham and 7 miles (11 km) north of Tamworth. The village lies close to Staffordshire's borders with Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Warwickshire. The parish, which includes Haunton village, had a population of 912 at the 2011 census. There is a fine gothic church, dedicated to St Andrew, and listed Grade I. The village pub, The Green Man, is also a historic building.
Thorpe Constantine is a small village and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. It lies about 6 miles (10 km) north-east of Tamworth and 6 miles south-west of Measham. The nucleus of the parish is the Thorpe estate.
Elmhurst Hall was a country house in the village of Elmhurst, Staffordshire. The house was located approximately 1.5 miles north of the city of Lichfield.
Tamworth Greyhound Stadium was a greyhound racing and speedway stadium in Fazeley near Tamworth, Staffordshire.
Tamhorn is a former civil parish, now in the parish of Fisherwick, in the Lichfield district, in the county of Staffordshire, England, 2+1⁄2 miles north-west of Tamworth. It was an extra-parochial area in Offlow hundred until 1858, when it became a civil parish. It was annexed to Fisherwick parish on 1 April 1934. It had an area 770 acres. The population was 5 in 1841 and 19 in 1931, the last census before its annexation.