Description:The village of Rocester is situated between the two rivers of the Dove and the Churnet, about three miles north-east of the town of Uttoxeter. The name ‘Rocester’ means ‘Hrof’s castle’, Hrof being an Anglo-Saxon personal name.
There is much evidence in Rocester of early settlement. An Iron Age hill fort is believed to have stood on nearby Barrow Hill and there have been archaeological finds from the Bronze Age. However Rocester was also an important Roman site. The Roman road from Derby to Chesterton, near Newcastle – under - Lyme, passed through here and there were also a number of successive Roman settlements on the site of the church. There is also evidence of a Roman fort which housed a military barracks.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, Rocester is recorded as Rowecestre. The manor belonged to the King and was large enough to support nine ploughs. There were 18 villeins (tenants who held land in return for labour services) and 10 bordars (smallholders who had brought land into cultivation on the edges of the village). A mill was also recorded. The total value of the manor was £8.
There was an abbey here in the Middle Ages, which belonged to the Order of Augustinian Canons. Most Augustinian religious houses held the status of priories and so it is unusual that Rocester held the status of an abbey. It was founded in 1140 by Richard Bacon, who was the nephew of the Earl of Chester, and was located to the south-east of the present parish church. The abbey was suppressed by Henry VIII in 1538 and the site then sold to Richard Trentham.
By the time of the Hearth Tax assessment of 1666, a total of 37 households were assessed as liable for the payment of the tax, with a further 15 households in Combridge. The largest dwelling was Rocester Hall with 14 hearths and thought to be the house built to incorporate some of the old abbey buildings.
The 13th century parish church is dedicated to St Michael. There was extensive restoration in the 1870s and the spire was added in 1872. The east window was designed by William de Morgan, who later gave up stained glass production to concentrate on making ceramic lustre tiles for which he is famous. There were also chapels here for the Baptists, Wesleyan Methodists and Primitive Methodists.
Rocester is well known for the very large cotton mill, built by Richard Arkwright as a water powered mill in 1782 and known as Tutbury Mill. The building is extremely large consisting of four storeys and twenty four bays. In the mid 19th century, the factory was occupied by Thomas Houldsworth and Co who manufactured lace thread. The mill continued as a major employer in the village until it closed in 1985.
More recent industry is represented by the company of JC Bamford, manufacturers of excavators, whose factory is situated on the main road by-passing the village. It was opened originally by Joseph Cyril Bamford in 1950 in the buildings of a former cheese factory. The site has since been massively extended.
The village originally had its own railway station at Rocester Green on the Churnet Valley line, which opened in 1849. The Churnet Valley Line closed to Goods and Freight on 1st June 1964. The last passenger service was on 4th January 1965. The track was lifted shortly afterwards, the steel rails were sold to Japan. In 1852 a new branch line was built from Rocester up to Ashbourne. This was closed in 1st November 1954 but was used for Goods and Freight until 1965.
For more information about Rocester’s history, see The History of Rocester by lan Gibson (Churnet Valley Books).