History of Penkridge

Penkridge ( PENG-krij) is a village and civil parish in South Staffordshire District in Staffordshire, England. It is to the south of Stafford, north of Wolverhampton, west of Cannock and east of Telford. The nearby town of Brewood is also not far away. The wealthiest establishment in Penkridge in the Middle Ages, its collegiate church building survived the abolition of the chantries and is the tallest structure in the village centre. The parish is crossed towards its eastern border by the M6 motorway and a separate junction north of the M6 toll between the West Midlands and Stoke-on-Trent. Penkridge has a railway station on the West Coast Main Line railway next to the Grade I listed medieval church. Penkridge Viaduct and the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal are to either side of Market Street and the Old Market Square and are among its landmarks.

Penkridge railway station is a station serving the village of Penkridge in Staffordshire, England. It is situated on the Birmingham branch of the West Coast Main Line. To the north, the line continues towards Stafford. To the south, the line continues towards the city of Wolverhampton. The station is operated by London Northwestern Railway, who run all of its train services.

Penkridge Viaduct is a railway viaduct on the West Coast Main Line where it crosses the River Penk and Levedale Road near the village of Penkridge, Staffordshire, England (grid reference SJ920144). It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.It was built in 1837 on the Grand Junction Railway. The engineer was Joseph Locke and the contractor was Thomas Brassey. It was Brassey's first successful bid for a contract and the cost of the viaduct was £6,000 (£490,000 as of 2015). The viaduct consists of seven arches built in red brick and engineering brick with ashlar quoins and dressings. The first train, on a trial run, crossed the viaduct on 1 June 1837. The official opening was on 4 July, when the viaduct was crossed by engine No. 8 Wild Fire pulling eight first class carriages.

Wolgarston High School is a coeducational upper school and sixth form located in Penkridge, Staffordshire, England. Wolgarston High School is an age 13 to 18 school, with Year 9 as the main year of entry. The school is smaller than most secondary schools, but with a relatively large sixth form. The great majority of students are from White British backgrounds. The proportions of students who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities or who are eligible for free school meals are both well below national averages. The proportion of students who have a statement of special educational needs is just below the national average. The proportion of students from minority ethnic backgrounds is much lower than the national average. The school has a Leading Parent Partnership award, an International School award and Healthy Schools status. It was redesignated as a Specialist Technology College in 2007. Since 2018 the school converted to academy status and is part of the Penk Valley Academy Trust.

Rodbaston is a village in Staffordshire, England. The population as taken at the 2011 census can be found under Penkridge. It is the location of a campus of South Staffordshire College.

The Rural Enterprise Academy is a coeducational high school and sixth form located in Penkridge, Staffordshire, UK. It was the first dedicated land-based free school in England, and its aim is to develop rural entrepreneurs and business leaders.Free schools were introduced in England in 2010 to pioneer innovative approaches to education, but analysis in 2018 by the National Foundation for Educational Research and the Sutton Trust found that only a third had achieved this; in their report, the Rural Enterprise Academy was highlighted as a particularly successful example of genuine novelty in their curriculum in catering for an area with a significant local farming community. The Academy was rated "Good" in full inspections by Ofsted in 2014 and 2018.The Rural Enterprise Academy is sponsored by South Staffordshire College, Veolia and the National Farmers Union.

Penkridge weather station is a weather station at Penkridge in Staffordshire, England, operated by the Met Office. It is situated on the site of Rodbaston College. The station is 101 m above mean sea level. Below are the 1981-2010 averages.

Cuttleston or Cuttlestone is a hundred in the county of Staffordshire, England, located in the centre of that county, south of Stafford. Cuttleston was the most thinly populated and the second smallest of the five Hundreds of Staffordshire. In 1871 it had an area of 106,340 acres (43,030 ha) and a population of 35,939. It was bounded on the west by Shropshire, on the south by Seisdon Hundred, on the east by Offlow Hundred, and on the north by Pirehill Hundred. It is about 20 mi (32 km) in length and 12 mi (19 km) in breadth. In the east is Cannock Chase, an extensive heath and former royal forest. The old Forest of Brewood formed the boundary of Seisdon and Cuttleston. The Hundred was separated into the East and West Divisions, under two chief constables. It contains three small market towns: Rugeley, Brewood and Penkridge. In the 19th century it comprised 17 parishes, 2 extra parochial places and 6 chapelries. These were subdivided into 36 townships.The name is derived from the combination of the Old English words Cūþwulf (a personal name) and stān (stone). The origin of the Hundred dates from the division of his kingdom by King Alfred the Great into counties, hundreds and tithings. From the beginning, Staffordshire was divided into the hundreds of Offlow, Pirehill, Totmonslow, Cuttleston and Seisdon.

Pillaton Hall was an historic house located in Pillaton, Staffordshire, near Penkridge, England. For more than two centuries it was the seat of the Littleton family, a family of local landowners and politicians. The 15th century gatehouse is the main surviving structure of medieval Pillaton Hall. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and a Grade II* listed building. Attached to the Gatehouse to the east is the chapel formerly dedicated to Saint Modwen.

Pillaton is a small village in Staffordshire, England, nearby to Penkridge and lying on the B5012 road between Cannock and Penkridge. It falls under the ST19 postcode district, associating it more with Penkridge and the county town Stafford. Pillaton serves more as a main commuting point between Cannock and Penkridge, although a few small business are based there, including Pillaton Hall Farm. Pillaton Hall, an earlier building, was the seat of the Littleton family, who became dominant landowners in the Penkridge and Cannock areas during the 16th and 17th centuries, before moving to Teddesley Hall in the mid-18th century.

Gailey is a small village in Staffordshire, England. It is at the junction of the A5 and A449 roads, and is on the boundary of the parishes of Brewood and Coven (formerly Brewood) and Penkridge, in South Staffordshire. The village was in existence at the time of the Domesday Book (1086) when it was referred to as Gragelie. In the 19th century, Gailey was also known as Spread Eagle, from the name of the pub adjacent to the road junction.In 1837, the Grand Junction Railway built a railway station in the village. The Rugby-Birmingham-Stafford Line still passes through the site, although the station at Gailey closed in 1951. Today the village is served by Select Bus service 877/878 which operates between Wolverhampton and Stafford.

Gailey railway station was a railway station built by the Grand Junction Railway in 1837.: 29  It served the small village of Gailey, Staffordshire, 7 miles north of Wolverhampton City Centre, and was located near to the junction of the A5 and A449 roads. The original name of the station was Spread Eagle railway station, and was named after a nearby pub. It was renamed Gailey in 1881. The station closed in 1951, although the Rugby-Birmingham-Stafford Line loop from the West Coast Main Line still runs through the site of the station today.