Description:Forebridge Lock-up pictured during maintenance and repair work in August 2026.
The lock-up on Lichfield Road dates from the early eighteenth century. It was built from stone taken from the medieval St. John's Hospital and Chapel which once stood on this site.
Lock-ups were used to temporarily detain local drunks and vagrants and were usually a feature of rural life. At Forebridge in Stafford the lock-up and pinfold (for holding stray cattle) were built side by side. The stocks were conveniently situated nearby.
In the 1930s the lock-up was used by a butcher for curing hams, smouldering sawdust being piled on the floor for this purpose. His shop was next door. The lock-up was demolished and re-erected near to its original site in 1976, to make way for the Queensway Ring Road which may be seen on the left of the Lock-up. The building in the background is Drakeford Court (retirement apartments).