Description:Rushton Spencer lies about five miles north - west of the town of Leek in the north west of Staffordshire, very close to the county’s boundary. It is separated from Cheshire by the River Dane.
Access over the river to the county of Cheshire was by the Hug Bridge and the liability for the repair of the bridge was split between the two counties. In 1620 the wooden bridge was destroyed in a flood. By 1622 Cheshire has rebuilt its half in stone. However Rushton Spencer was left to repair the Staffordshire section and in 1624 it was described as still consisting of ‘long, tottering and loose poles’. To rebuild the bridge the township of Rushton had to appeal for a grant from the county authorities to assist the repair.
The name Rushton is descriptive and originates from the Old English words, ‘rysc’ which means ‘rushy’ and ‘tun’ meaning ‘town’. Spencer is derived from the family of De Spencer who were once owners of part of the manor of Rushton. Rushton Spencer is a township in the chapelry of Rushton which also includes Heaton and Rushton James.
In the Domesday Survey of 1086, Rushton was called Risetone and consisted then of enough arable land for two ploughs. In 1532-33, 34 families are recorded in the chapelry of Rushton as a whole. By the time of the Hearth Tax assessment of 1666, 27 households were listed in Rushton Spencer and 28 in Rushton James. 42 households were recorded in Heaton of which the largest was Swythamley Hall.
In 1901 a population of 315 was recorded in the 1901 census for Rushton Spencer and of 229 for Rushton James.
Rushton Spencer’s parish church is dedicated to St Lawrence and is a rarity in Staffordshire, having a timber frame construction inside a later 17th century stone building. The date above the east window is 1690 and above the south doorway is 1713. The church is situated in an isolated position in fields and has a weather-boarded turret. Anciently the church was known as the Chapel in the Wilderness. The church was the subject of a water colour drawing by LJ Wood, now part of the Staffordshire Views series in the William Salt Library, Stafford. The grave of Thomas Meakin is in the churchyard. Meakin was thought to have been poisoned by his master, a Stone apothecary, for having fallen for his master’s daughter. After exhumation, Meakin’s body was brought back to his home village of Rushton for burial but it was set apart from others by the fact that it is the only grave to face west.
In the 19th century the village was a largely farming community with agriculturally – related trades such as blacksmiths and wheelwrights. Today it is still very rural with farming still the main occupation. Originally the Churnet Valley section of the North Staffordshire Railway ran through the village and so at one time Rushton Spencer was served by its own station and station master. The Gothic style station building still survives today as a private house.
For more information about Rushton Spencer, see the Victoria County History Staffordshire, Volume VII pp 223-229. 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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