Whitmore

The Mainwaring Arms PubThe central area of the parish is Whitmore, through which passes the A53, which was an improved access to Whitmore Railway Station. The original coach road passed through Butterton, Acton and Whitmore. The coach line passing to the side of the Mainwaring Arms to a row of cottages dated 1877 and on to a small stone building over the Meece Brook: there is a beautiful bluebell wood beyond the bridge to the right. On the original coach road is the former village school and also the old Parsonage and Rectory.

Drive up to Whitmore HallWhitmore Hall seen from the churchyard is surrounded by green lawns and parkland and also a lake from which the Meece Brook flows. The hall was a half timbered construction in 1676 with two gable end wings adjoining a rectangular hall. In 1676, the hall was encased with stone dressing in Flemish bond. There are four storeys and at the front only two storeys and nine bay windows. The hall is open to visitors at specified times.

The Mainwaring Coat of ArmsWhitmore Church depicts the coat of arms on the west window of the families who held Whitmore since the Norman Conquest; de Whitmore, de Verdon, de Boughey, Mainwaring and Cavenagh, with the hall being passed from generation to generation and changing when there was only an heiress.

The Church of St Mary and All Saints may have stood from Saxon times, but the earliest structure visible is from the Norman period. It became a Rectory in its own right in 1807 and remains the benefice of Whitmore. The interior was restored in 1880. Several memorials exist of the Mainwaring family.

Whitmore ChurchWhitmore Heath was formerly Whitmore Common and is in an elevated position overlooking the river Lea Valley which runs to Madeley. Formerly covered in mixed brackens, heather, common birch and oak. Developed in the 1950′s with residential plots of up to almost two acres and protected by Tree Preservation Orders.