Description:Forton is a small village situated to the west of Stafford above the River Meese and by the county boundary. It comprises the hamlets of Warton, Sutton, Forton and Meretown. The name, Forton, may mean ‘settlement or town of the ford’.
A Roman road from Chester to Watling Street ran through the parish and Roman remains are said to have been found at Anc’s Hill to the north-east of Aqualate Mere.
At the time of the Norman Conquest, Forton was part of the manor of Mere, which was held at the time of the Domesday Survey in 1086 by the king. The name ‘ Mere’ comes from the large pool there, the largest natural sheet of water in Staffordshire, about one mile in length by half a mile wide. In the Domesday Book, a fishery is recorded in the manor with 4,000 eels.
The manor of Mere was purchased by the Skymshers in 1547 and from them passed to the Baldwyns through marriage. It was sold to the Fletchers of Betley in 1797. Their heirs took the name of Boughey. Both Skrymsher and Boughey monuments can be found in the parish church. The tomb of Sir Thomas Skrymsher and his wife, Anne Sneyd, is particularly fine, depicting their nine children as well as their own effigies in alabaster
All Saints Church has a massive mediaeval tower, 45 feet high, and a Georgian south front built in 1723 as part of extensive alterations inspired by Acton Baldwyn, one of the Baldwyn lords of the manor of Mere. His arms appear on the south wall. There was later restoration work in the period, 1909-1910 when the 18th century box pews were also removed. An account in the Gentleman’s Magazine in 1801 refers to the burial of two much-respected, old maiden ladies, Jane Hewitt and Honor Danwell, in the same grave in Forton churchyard despite the fact that they were unrelated.
Aqualate Hall stands in parkland to the south of the Mere. The core of the house is early 17th century and it is this house which is illustrated in Robert Plot’s ‘Natural History of Staffordshire’ in 1686. In 1808 John Nash was commissioned to carry out a large addition to the house on the west side. The result was an excellent example of the extravagant Gothic style used by Nash. In 1910 this extension was destroyed by fire along with part of the original 17th century core. It was restored between 1927 and 1930 by W.D Caroe. The restoration was in the Jacobean style but the house was significantly smaller. Humphrey Repton landscaped the gardens. A mock castle in the grounds dates from the 18th century and it is thought that the lodges may be by Nash.
Forton Hall was built in 1665 by Gerard Skymsher at a cost of £100. It may have been a dower house. The builder was John Salt of Enville. Forton Monument is a conical shaped tower, originally a windmill. It was converted to an eye-catcher for Aqualate Hall by Charles Baldwyn in 1780.
The Hearth Tax returns of 1666 list 52 households in Mere and Forton as eligible to pay the tax and a further 27 an ineligble. The largest house clearly was Aqualate Hall with a total of 12 hearths. Whoever compiled the return for the Exchequer from the parish made a number of mistakes by returning the larger houses twice.
Education was provided in the parish by an endowment left by Richard Awnsham in 1732 for the schooling of poor children. This sum was later supplemented by Charles Baldwyn. A National school was built here in 1843, the forerunner of the 20th century voluntary primary school.
For more information about Forton, see the Victoria County History Staffordshire, Volume IV, pp103-111. Reprint available from Staffordshire Record Office,<body><a href="http://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/leisure/archives/services/publications/VCHReprints.htm" target="_blank">Victoria County History Reprints
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