Back Brook, English Midlands

Aqualate Hall, a 20th-century country house, is located in Forton, Staffordshire, England, some 2 miles (3.2 km) east of the market town of Newport, Shropshire and 10 miles (16 km) west of the county town of Stafford. It is a Grade II* listed building.

Aqualate Mere, in Staffordshire, is the largest natural lake in the English Midlands and is managed as a national nature reserve (NNR) by Natural England. The Mere lies within the borough of Stafford in Staffordshire, England, some 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) east of the market town of Newport, Shropshire. It is within the grounds of Aqualate Hall, a country house, with a landscaped deer park. Although large in extent (1.5 km long and 0.5 km wide), the Mere is remarkably shallow and is nowhere much more than one metre (3.3 ft) deep. Aqualate Mere is an example of an esker system (rare in the Midlands) formed by glacial meltwaters during the late Devensian glaciation. The depression in which the Mere lies, thought to be a kettle hole, and the surrounding higher ground which comprises glacial sand and gravel deposits were all formed at the same time. It is fed by streams coming from the north, south and east (including Back Brook), and its outflow to the west forms the River Meese which joins the River Tern, a tributary of the River Severn. The Mere supports diverse fish and bird populations, including large numbers of wintering and breeding wildfowl and breeding Eurasian curlew and common snipe. Together with the surrounding land, it is also important for its botanical and invertebrate communities. Mammals found on the NNR include polecat, water vole and harvest mouse, together with bats such as pipistrelle, Daubenton's, Natterer's, Brandt's and whiskered. Its name came from Anglo-Saxon Āc-gelād, meaning "oak grove", influenced by Latin "aqua" = water, "lata" = wide.

Outwoods is a hamlet in the English county of Staffordshire. Outwoods is located in the extreme west of the county near to the town of Newport, Shropshire. It forms part of the civil parish of Gnosall and the borough of Stafford.

Gnosall was a rural district in Staffordshire, England from 1894 to 1934. It was formed under the Local Government Act 1894 from that part of the Newport Rural Sanitary District which was in Staffordshire (the rest forming Newport Rural District in Shropshire). It consisted of the parishes of Adbaston, Church Eaton, Forton, Gnosall, High Offley, Norbury and Weston Jones. The district was abolished in 1934 under a County Review Order. Most of it became part of the Stafford Rural District, with part going to Cannock Rural District. In 1940, there was a statue erected to commemorate the district.

Norbury is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Stafford, in west Staffordshire, England. The population as taken at the 2011 census was 371. It is situated close to the Shropshire border, approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) north-east of Newport, just south of the A519 Newport to Newcastle-under-Lyme road, and two miles south-east of Woodseaves.

Norbury Junction (grid reference SJ793228) is a hamlet and former canal junction which lies about 1 mile (1.6 km) to the south east of Norbury, in Staffordshire, England. The junction is where the Shrewsbury Canal meets the main line of the Shropshire Union Canal. Both canals opened in 1835 but the Shrewsbury Canal closed in 1944. The main line still runs through the former junction.

Moreton is a small rural village in the borough of Stafford in Staffordshire, England, near the border with Shropshire. It is 3.5 miles (5.6 km) south-west from Gnosall, 4 miles (6.4 km) south-east from Newport, and 11.8 miles (19.0 km) South-West-West from Stafford. Population details as taken at the 2011 Census can be found under Gnosall.

Forton Hall is a 17th-century country house situated in the village of Forton, Staffordshire, close to the Shropshire border at Newport. It is a Grade II* listed building. It was built by Edwin Skrymsher of Norbury Manor, Eccleshall, in the mid-17th century. The porch carries a datestone bearing the date 1665. Skrymsher also re-built Aqualate Hall nearby later in the 17th century. The Hall is positioned next to the then Roman road that headed to Eccleshall called the Via Devana and adjacent to Forton church, which has a Saxon font. The monument outside the Hall is the alabaster tomb of Sir Thomas Skrymsher Kt. of Aqualate ( d 1633) and his wife, Anne (d 1656) (ancestors of Edwin) who lived at Aqualate Hall.

Beffcote is a village in Staffordshire, England. For the population taken at the United Kingdom Census 2011 see Gnosall.

Forton is a small village and civil parish in Staffordshire, England, situated east of the market town of Newport, Shropshire. The civil Parish population at the 2011 census was 308. It is situated around Forton Hall and the 14th century All Saints church, and is sited on the Roman road Via Devana and the modern A519 road between Newport and Newcastle-under-Lyme. Forton Hall was built by Edwin Skrymsher of Norbury Manor, Eccleshall, at the end of the 17th century and is situated adjacent to the church of All Saints. In 1729 five new bells were given to the church. The most prominent monument is the alabaster tomb of Thomas Skrymsher (died 1633), knight of Aqualate and his family. There is a pub called The Swan.

Loynton is a hamlet on the A519 near the villages of Norbury, and Woodseaves in Staffordshire, England. It lies in the civil parish of Norbury. Loynton Hall is believed to have been built around 1671 by the Higgins Burne family. Whilst there are very few houses and farms, the main feature of the hamlet is a nature reserve, Loynton Moss, which attracts ramblers regularly. Through the nature reserve runs the Shropshire Union Canal. In 1947 still owned and lived in by SAMBROOKE ARTHUR HIGGINS BURNE. There is a road bridge over the canal, carrying the A519, under which is reportedly the smallest telegraph pole with the most wires anywhere.

Pave Lane is a hamlet in Shropshire, England, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south of Newport, just outside the small village of Chetwynd Aston. It is an affluent area, with numerous large houses, many of which have been built in a Duke of Sutherland-inspired architectural style. Residents have excellent views of the Shropshire countryside and are in close proximity to Lilleshall Hall. There is a large public house in Pave Lane; 'The Fox'.