Sutton is a civil parish in Herefordshire, England, about north-east from the county town and city of Hereford. The major settlement is the village of Sutton St Nicholas which is conjoined with Sutton St Michael, formerly the village of a separate parish. The parish is sometimes referred to as Sutton St Nicholas. Within the parish is Sutton Walls, the supposed site of the palace of the kings of Mercia.
History Sutton derives from the Old English 'sūth' with 'tūn', meaning 'south farmstead or village'. In the Domesday Book, the manor is listed as Sutune, and in 1242 as Suttune.Mills, Anthony David (2003); A Dictionary of British Place Names, Oxford University Press, revised edition (2011), p.444 Ekwall, Eilert (1936); The Concise Oxfordshire Dictionary of English Place-names, Oxford University Press, 4th ed. (1960), p.454
In 1086, following the Norman Conquest, Sutton was in the Hundred of Tornelaus and county of Herefordshire, with 22 households, and two lands of Nigel the doctor (a clerk, probably one of William I's physicians), and one of Hugh de L'Asne (Hugh the ass), both being lords in Sutton, and Tenants-in-chief to king William. Lordship had been transferred from the 1066 owners Leoffled (the wife of Thorkil), and Spirtes the priest. Spirites was the sub-tenant predecessor of the lands of Nigel the doctor, but was exiled for undetermined crimes as the Conquest began. Nigel's first land at Sutton comprised a mill, four smallholders and two cottagers—those who owned about five acres of land—and a further three people, one a Frenchman, in an area of land (ploughlands) defined by what could be ploughed by Nigel's one plough team and his two men's plough teams. His second land comprised one smallholder, four slaves and mill within two ploughlands with two lord's plough teams. Hugh's land included one villager, six smallholders, a Frenchman, and four men's plough teams. A 'Frenchman' was a non-noble freeholder who had settled from abroad, but not necessarily from France."Herefordshire M-Z and Welsh entries", The Domesday Book Online. Retrieved 14 December 2020"Domesday Landowners 1066-1086 S-Y", Quick Gen. Retrieved 14 December 2020"Domesday Book Glossary", Britain Express, ed. David Ross. Retrieved 29 July 2021
19th century In 1842 The parliamentary gazetteer of England and Wales reported that Sutton St Michael contained a "daily school... [with] a house and garden", 15 houses, and hop cultivation of within a parish of . In 1801 population was 112; in 1831, 98. Sutton St Nicholas contained 54 houses, and had a population of 168 in 1801, and 234 in 1831, in a parish area of .The parliamentary gazetteer of England and Wales (1842), Sutton St Michael; Sutton St Nicholas, p.265
Until the 19th century, today's Sutton comprised two parishes: Sutton St Michael and Sutton St Nicholas. They were both in the Boxash hundred, and the Weston Deanery and Hereford archdeaconry of the Diocese of Hereford. The parishes were part of the Hereford Union—poor relief and joint parish workhouse provision set up under the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834. It was described as being east from the Hereford to Bromyard turnpike road. Sutton St Michael's population in 1851 was 98 in an area of , and that of Sutton St Nicholas 230, in . The soil of both parishes was of loam and gravel, on which were grown wheat beans, hops and apples. Mail for both parishes was processed through Hereford, where was also the nearest money order office, and from where the mail arrived by foot.Sutton St Michael and Sutton St Nicholas in Post Office Directory of Herefordshire 1856, p.93Cassey, Edward; History, Topography, and Directory of Herefordshire, 1858, pp309-11
St Michael's Church, "a small stone building", comprised a nave, a chancel, and a "small turret" with two bells. The ecclesiastical parish living was a perpetual curacy. St Nicholas' Church, with a "substantial tower containing four bells", comprised a north porch, a chancel a nave, and a south transept which was commonly called the Lady (or Ladye) Chapel and in which was the font. The living was a rectory, with a residence and of glebe, an area of land used to support the parish church and priest. The parish tithes—typically one-tenth of the produce or profits of the land given to the rector for his services— were commuted in 1841 under the 1836 Tithe Commutation Act, and substituted with a £200 yearly rent-charge payment. In Sutton St Nicholas was an Independent chapel and a mixed school.Jakeman & Carver's Directory of Herefordshire 1890, pp.688-90
The extant earthwork remains of a supposed Roman camp called 'Sutton Walls' was described as "very perfect", of oval form, with a single ditch, a rampart high, four entrances, and an area of . Although no walls remain, Giraldus Cambrensis (Gerald of Wales, 1146–1243), recorded seeing ruins of a castle, and the antiquary John Leland (1503–1552), the remains of "some ancient and great building". According to directories Sutton Walls was supposed the later site of the palace of the kings of Mercia, particularly king Offa, who married Quindreda, daughter to Charles the Great of France. Their daughter, Elfrida, was sought in marriage by king Ethelbert of the East Angles who, when visiting the palace, was murdered by Quindreda in the year 793. Ethelbert was buried at Marden, and later removed to Hereford Cathedral, where he was canonized and became its patron saint . Sutton Walls remained the residence of the Mercian kings until the overlordship of Egbert, who in 827 consolidated the Heptarchy of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.
Residents, trades and occupations in the 1850s were, at Sutton St Michael: seven farmers, one of whom was a "steam thrashing machine proprietor" at Busy Hill, and a wheelwright who was also a carpenter, and a shoemaker. At Sutton St Nicholas were the rector, the priest of the Independent chapel, the schoolmistress, four farmers, a blacksmith, a carpenter, and the licensee of the Golden Cross Inn who was also a shopkeeper. The parish was served by the Shrewsbury and Hereford joint railway at the railway station in Moreton on Lugg, one mile to the west.
Under a provisional order of 21 April 1875, St Michael and St Nicholas were combined as the new civil parish of Sutton. On 25 March 1884 parts of the civil parishes of Felton, Ullingswick, Marden and Preston Wynne were amalgamated with Sutton, as were parts of Amberley township and Ocle Pychard on 25 March 1887. By the 1880s the new parish of Sutton, under the Divided Parishes Act passed in 1876, was in the southern division of Herefordshire. St Michael's church had been restored in 1865 (some sources state 1867) with "the seats... all free and open", and was now a vicarage, with a glebe increased to . St Michael's vicar was also the curate for the "Norman style" St Nicholas' church . Recorded were registers at St Michael dating to 1678, and St Nicholas to 1598. Three charities, dating from 1708, 1712 and 1828, provided £7 9s. 11p. yearly, "distributed in money and coals". A Congregational chapel was built in 1873 which sat 100 people. Parish population in 1881 was 334 in 67 inhabited houses in an area of at St Michaels with at St Nicholas. In 1871 population in the two parishes had been 391. For 1880's directory purpose St Michael lists six farmers, a shoemaker, and a machine owner; St Nicholas lists seven farmers, a wheelwright, a machine owner, a blacksmith at Mill pool, the licensee of the Golden Cross Inn who was also a shopkeeper, and a shopkeeper who also ran the parish post office.Kelly's Directory of Herefordshire 1885, p.12345Kelly's Directory of Herefordshire 1913, pp.190,91
The parish' mixed board school had been built in 1874, and was enlarged in 1891. A school board of five members has been established in 1883. The school accommodated 78 children with an average attendance of 52 in 1890, and 100 with 73 attendees in 1895, and had an attached schoolmaster's house. There was a Congregationalist chapel. The parish post office was also a money order and savings bank, and was granting Inland Revenue licenses. The nearest telegraph offices were at Moreton and Withington railway stations. Population in 1891 was 379. Residents and occupations listed in 1890 included the vicar of St Michael's who was also curate of St Nicholas', the vicar of Preston Wynne, the parish school master of the National School, two parish clerks, the licensee of the Golden Cross Inn who was also a shopkeeper, the sub-postmaster who was also a shopkeeper, a beer retailer & shopkeeper, a wheelwright, a blacksmith, two carpenters, two gardeners, and a coachman. There were twenty-one farmers, three of whom were also hop growers, nine were cottage farmers, and one the proprietor of a farming company which also provided threshing machines.Kelly's Directory of Herefordshire & Shropshire 1895 (Part 1: Herefordshire), pp.166,67The Comprehensive Gazetteer of England & Wales, 1894-5
By 1911 parish population was 394, including the village of St Michael with 82, and St Nicholas, 268. The school was now a Public Elementary School of infants and juniors, which was enlarged in 1891 for 111 pupils and had an average attendance of 99. Joining the schoolmaster was an infants' mistress. Listed residents and occupations included twenty-two farmers, two of whom were also fruit growers, one a hop grower, and one a poultry farmer. There still existed the licensee of the Golden Cross public house, a cider merchant, a threshing machine proprietor, a wheelwright, a blacksmith, a beer retailer, and a shopkeeper who also ran the post office.
Governance The parish is represented in the lowest tier of UK governance by six elected members of Sutton Parish Council.Sutton Parish Council, Herefordshire County Council. Retrieved 1 August 2021 As Herefordshire is a unitary authority—no district council between parish and county councils—the parish is represented in the Sutton Walls ward, which also includes Marden and Moreton on Lugg parishes with a 2019 combined estimated population of 3,652, to Herefordshire County Council."Sutton", Citypopulation.de. Retrieved 1 August 2021 Sutton is represented in the UK parliament as part of the North Herefordshire constituency.
From 1837 until 1974 Sutton was part of Herefordshire. In 1974 it became part of the now defunct Hereford district of the county of Hereford and Worcester, instituted under the Local Government Act 1972, reverting to Herefordshire in 1998.Hereford Registration District (1974-1998), Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 1 August 2021 In 2002 the parish, with the parishes of Marden and Moreton on Lugg, was reassessed as part of Sutton Walls Ward which elected one councillor to Herefordshire district council."The County of Herefordshire District Council (Electoral Changes) Order 2002", Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 1 August 2021
Geography
Sutton, a civil parish at the centre of Herefordshire, is entirely rural, of farms, fields, woods, watercourses, dispersed businesses and residential properties, the only nucleated settlement being Sutton St Nicholas which includes the former parish village of Sutton St Michael; village entry road signs only refer to 'St Nicholas', and fingerpost road signs refer to 'Sutton'. At the north is the historical landmark of Sutton Walls, and in the south-east, the sparsely populated area of Sutton Marsh. The parish at its widest is east to west, and 2 miles north to south, with an area of 8.259 km2. Sutton borders the parish of Marden at the north and north-west, Moreton on Lugg and Pipe and Lyde at the west, Holmer and Shelwick at the south, Withington at the south-east and east, and Preston Wynne at the north-east.Extracted from "Sutton", Grid Reference Finder. Retrieved 1 August 2021Extracted from "Sutton", GetOutside, Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 1 August 2021Extracted from "Sutton", civil parish boundary, Google Maps. Retrieved 1 August 2021