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Hixon
Parish Council Website |
Local
History |
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HIXON, Staffordshire- A Short History of the village to 2007 Hixon is said to be a pleasantly situated village on the north side of the Trent valley, approximately equidistant between Stafford, Rugeley and Uttoxeter. Its neighbours are the villages of Stowe by Chartley, Weston and the Haywoods. The Doomsday book of 1068 gives mention of “Hustedone” and it must have been quite small being valued at just 10 shillings and 9 pence. In the Middle Ages its name was given as Huscedon and divided between the ecclesiastic parishes of Colwich and Chartley. Mary Queen of Scots is said to have passed through Hixon with her entourage en route to Cannock Chase during the time she was imprisoned at Chartley. By the Enclosure Act of 1788 nearly 50% of Hixon’s 2,280 acres were already enclosed and manorial rites were exercised by the Ferrers, who were The Lords of Chartley. In 1848 the Parish of Hixon was created and the fine St. Peter’s Church was built. It was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott. A major benefactor was the kind Earl Talbot from Ingestre and the builder was Evans of Stafford who used local stone from Tixall. The village still has several old buildings including a timber framed house at Mount Pleasant at Puddle Hill and some Georgian farmhouses; and two pubs, The Green Man and The Bank House. One of Hixon’s celebrities is Wilmot Martin. He was born at Worston Mill but became a farmer at Hixon in the early 1900s and with his wife and family lived at Grange Farm. His concern for underprivileged children and his awareness of the needs of others encouraged the formation of a local entertainment troupe. His talent for singing and mimicry led to him being known as Staffordshire’s Harry Lauder who became his friend. Wilmot’s group of entertainers were very popular in the Midlands and as much as £25,000 was raised towards comforts for soldiers in training and on the front during the First World War, and also other good causes after the war. In memory of the fallen heroes the Village Hall was built in 1927 by public subscription. A major change occurred at Hixon with the construction of the Airfield in 1941and 1942. RAF Hixon became an operation training unit (30 OTU ) and provided facilities for the training of Wellington bomber air crews for the Second World War. At its busiest the site and locality gave accommodation and training to 3000 young men and women. A number of young men came from Canada and New Zealand for their training. Unfortunately several aircraft and their crews were lost in the training exercises. In February 1945 the last of the Wellingtons flew out of Hixon. At the end of the war the airfield was used by RAF 16MU from Stafford for equipment storage. The airfield was sold off in August 1962. There are many stories of intrigue, dedication and even romance from this period of village history. The land of the former base has since been largely developed for industrial purposes but the runways are in tact. The automatic unmanned level crossing at Hixon on the newly electrified West Coast Main Line from London Euston to Manchester was the scene of a horrific rail disaster on January 6th 1968. A passenger express travelling south at around 70mph collided with a Wynne’s transporter lorry carrying a large transformer to the English Electric Depot at Hixon, which had become stuck on the crossing. 11 people died and 45 injured as result of the impact. The accident hit the national headlines and many local people were involved in the heroic rescue of victims. The events of that day are still vivid in the minds of many people. The subsequent Public Enquiry blamed human error as the main cause. The level crossing has now been replaced by a bridge after much pressure applied by the Parish Council. In the last 30 years the village has seen a major expansion in its housing stock. The population is now 1713 and it is struggling to retain the feel of a village. Due to the efforts of the Parish Council and a special Millennium Green Committee there is the new Millennium Green adjacent to the Village Hall. Hixon Local History Society 2008 programme Meetings are held on the first Tuesday in each month at 8.00pm in Hixon Memorial Hall (Opposite the Bank House)
Hixon Local History Society 2008 Programme
Meetings are held on the first Tuesday in each month at 8.00pm in Hixon Memorial Hall (Opposite the Bank House) Officers
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