Description:The small and scattered village of Ranton is situated due west of Stafford by Clanford Brook and close to the boundary between Pirehill and Cuttlestone Hundreds. The name derives from the Old English ‘rand’ meaning edge and ‘tun’ meaning settlement so probably refers to its situation on the hundred border. The name has often appeared in the past as Ronton.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, the manor of Rantone is recorded as belonging to Robert de Stafford, an important tenant-in-chief of the King. There was land under cultivation, three acres of meadow and a substantial amount of woodland. The recorded population was six villeins (tenants who held land in return for labour services) and 3 bordars (smallholders who had brought land into cultivation on the edges of the village). The manor was worth 20 shillings annually.
A priory for Augustinian Canons was founded at Ranton before the middle of the 12th century. The founder was Robert fitz Noel of Ellenhall and the new priory was colonised from Haugmond Abbey in Shropshire. This meant that, in theory, Ranton was subject to Haugmond Abbey during its existence. At its foundation, the priory was referred to as St Mary des Essarz and this suggests that it was founded on land which had been cleared from the woodland. The priory was reasonably endowed by its founder who, among other property, gave the canons the mill at nearby Coton Clanford. Life at Ranton was not necessarily the peaceful existence which we might expect and there were many recorded problems with discipline and financial mismanagement, particularly in the 14th century.
In 1537 the priory was dissolved, classed as a lesser monastery. There were only five canons remaining. Their names are listed in 1532 as Thomas Alton, the prior, Richard alton, John Barbris, Robert parker and Humphrey Hewett. Following the Dissolution, there was much local competition between local landowners to acquire the buildings and lands, which were eventually leased to the Harcourt family. Later they purchased the site. The tower of the monastic church still remains. The probate inventory of Jonathan Cope, who was living at owned Ranton Abbey by the mid 17th century, shows what a sizeable house had been made from the former priory buildings. His will and inventory can be viewed in the Ranton section of this web site.
The house was re-modelled for the Copes in the mid-8th century by the architect, William Baker, and it continued to be known as Ranton Abbey. The Earl of Lichfield bought the Ranton Estate from the Copes in 1815 and the house was remodelled again but this time as a hunting lodge. During the Second World War, the Dutch troops, who formed the bodyguard for Queen Wilhemina of the Netherlands, in England during the war, were stationed at Ranton Abbey. During their occupation of the house, it was badly damaged by fire and remained as a shell. Until recently the Lichfield Estate Office was based at Ranton. The estate was sold following the death of Patrick, Earl of Lichfield, in 2005 and the site of the house and abbey remains is now on the market.
In 1532 in addition to the canons at the priory, there were approximately 14 households in Ranton, the largest being that of the Harcourts. In 1666 by the time of the Hearth Tax assessment, a total of 27 households were assessed as liable for the payment of the tax in the constablewick of Ranton. A further six households were recorded at Coton Clanford and 10 in the vicinity of Ranton Abbey. Ranton Abbey itself, occupied by then by Jonathan Cope, had thirteen hearths. 21 household were considered too poor to pay.
The small 13th century parish church is dedicated to All Saints. It was substantially renovated in 1753. Vicarage Farm, once the glebe farm, is a timber-framed building. There does not appear to have been any provision in the village for non-conformist worship. In 1842 a National School was built. This later became the village hall when a new infants’ school was built in Stocking Lane. The chief employment has always been agriculture.
For a small village Ranton has had its share of dramatic events. It was the scene of a murder in 1833 when a young man, Richard Tomlinson, killed his girlfriend, Mary Evans, while walking back to the village from Knightley. Tomlinson was hanged in 1834. Investigations carried out following Mary’s murder revealed that Tomlinson’s mother had murdered her husband in 1822. During the Second World War, two Wellington bombers crashed in the parish of Ranton while returning to their base at the nearby Seighford airfield.