Traveling to Cheddleton

Cheddleton, April 22, 2011- About an hour's ride northwest from Appleby Magna and Packington is our ancestral village of Cheddleton, not far from the famous potteries of Stoke-on-Trent.  Most of the drive to Cheddleton was via highway, so we made very good time. We passed through the congested suburbs of Derby and Burton, at rush hour, before entering an area of slower paced, pastoral country villages. The roads got very busy once again as we neared Stoke-on -Trent, before turning onto a road that led us to our weekend in the country. 

Map showing route from Packington to Cheddleton by Car

Cheddleton is located in the North Staffordshire Moorlands near the peak district. It is a lovely rural village that exhibits the sights, sounds and, sometimes, country smells one would expect from an agricultural area. Lush green fields blanket rolling hills in all directions, occupied by grazing cattle and sheep. The put-put of ancient farm tractors can be heard as they work behind the hedgerows. Occasionally a sudden breeze wafts the strong smells of whatever they are spreading in the fields, overwhelming an unprepared nose. But Cheddleton is also a suburban bedroom community for nearby Leek and Stoke. The pubs are full of chic visitors and residents who, like us, seek the quaintness of the rural landscape as an escape from the pressures of the modern world they occupy from 9 to 5.

Rolling farmland around Cheddleton

As we journeyed toward Cheddleton, I wondered how and why our ancestors traveled here from their home village over 50 miles away. The "what", I would guess, was economics. John Walton was "in service" and probably got a job in Cheddleton, possibly through a sibling who was already working up there.

Cheddleton Station

The how, is more difficult to ponder. Cheddleton's railroad station dates from 1849 as part of North Staffordshire Railway's Churnet Valley line. While there is no direct rail connection to Appleby Magna, there is a station about six miles away at Ashby-de-la-Zouch that also opened in 1849. This connects to Burton-on-Trent, which in turn connects to the North Stafforshire line that has a route to Cheddleton. I don't claim to be an expert on mid-19th century English rail travel, but it appears that all these lines were connected by the time the Walton's migrated. It also appears that third class tickets were relatively cheap. I would think it was still a rather large expense to move an entire family and their belongs that distance by rail. Especially for a man moving to find work, if that is indeed the case. More study is required to answer this. (Do any readers have any evidential or oral family history that addresses this move that they can share?)

Perhaps his new employer sent a wagon for them. Even this would be a long journey of more than a day. But more than likely, they simply walked. Only an hour or so by car today, in the mid 19th century that is at least a two or more likely three day journey on foot. This ancient practice, one we seem to have forgotten about in the US, is still widely practiced in the small villages of England and Ireland. It is common to see people walking or biking along rural roads with their daily shopping bag from the village grocery. How the Walton family got to Cheddleton may never be known, but it is certain they didn't hop into a car and drive, like we did that sunny April day.

19th Century Prospect House, Cheddleton

We stayed at a B&B called the Prospect House. Our host, Rolf, checked us in then led us across the courtyard, at the rear of the main house, to a coach-house that has been converted to cozy guestrooms. Here I was, in Cheddleton, staying in an old coach-house, dating from the same period when my ancestors lived in a similar coach-house less than 5 miles away.  Would you think me silly if I told you my stomach fluttered a little to be so close, yet separated by a gulf of 150 years.

Carriage house guest rooms at Prospect House

 Prospect house dates to 1838 and was the country estate of the Fox family, local gentry that owned large land holdings, a brewery and a pub in the village. It is likely that the Foxes and the Sneyds, of Belmont Hall, were acquainted and perhaps John or George Walton drove them to a social event at this house. At any rate, this house was standing on the main Leek road through Cheddleton at the same time the Walton's lived in the village.

Prospect House Courtyard

After unpacking, we sat at a picnic table in the courtyard enjoying the setting rays of the warm April sun, sipping a glass of wine and reflecting on everything we'd seen that day in Appleby Magna and Packington. My head was spinning from information overload. I was dissappointed in not finding any Walton gravestones. For as many things as I saw this day, I wondered what important things did I miss. For as much planning as I had done, I began to feel unprepared for the coming day exploring Cheddleton. So much to see, so little time to discover it all...

Next: Discovering the Walton's of Cheddleton