Introduction
The ancient parish of Burton-upon-Trent, covering
7,730 a., (fn. 1) comprised the townships of Burton, Burton
Extra, Branston, Horninglow, Stretton, and Winshill.
A borough was established in Burton township in the
Middle Ages, and Burton Extra is so called because it
was that part of the original settlement which lay
outside the borough. The medieval parish church was
also the church of a Benedictine abbey, with the laity
being confined to part of the nave, and it was not
until the 19th century that new Anglican parishes
were created in the town and outlying villages. (fn. 2)
The place-name Burton, meaning a 'settlement at a
fortified place', was coined probably in the 8th century, possibly replacing an earlier, unknown name. (fn. 3)
The form Burton-upon-Trent (Burton super Trentam)
was adopted from the early 14th century (fn. 4) and
remains in use, although Burton-on-Trent (sometimes unhyphenated) has gained currency in the
20th century. (fn. 5)
In 1853 the borough was extended to include much of
Burton Extra and part of Horninglow, and a further
extension in 1878 took in the rest of Burton Extra, a
further part of Horninglow, and most of Winshill. The
1878 extension also included part of Stapenhill, originally a township in the Derbyshire ancient parish of the
same name. Branston, Stretton, and the rest of Horninglow remained outside the borough as their own civil
parishes. Burton became a county borough in 1901, but
lost that status in 1974 when county responsibilities
were returned to Staffordshire county council. (fn. 6)
This article concentrates on the urban area, starting
with a general overview of Burton's history by chronological period, followed by sections on particular
topics. The outlying villages are treated separately, as
is Stapenhill township.
PHYSIQUE
Burton lies at the narrowest point in the valley through
which the river Trent flows north between the Needwood plateau on the west and the South Derbyshire
plateau on the east; the town centre lies on a terrace on
the west side of the river at c. 152 ft. (46m.), only a few
feet above the flood plain. (fn. 1) Further west, beyond the
line of the Trent and Mersey canal, the land rises gently
to c. 170 ft. at Shobnall Grange and c. 165 ft. at the site
of Queen's hospital and then more sharply, up to an
escarpment marking the 200 ft. (61 m.) contour line.
The high ground covered by Sinai park, in Branston,
and the former Outwood common, in Horninglow,
reaches over 300 ft. (91.5 m.), the highest point being
356 ft. (108.5 m.) at Rough Hay, in Branston, on the
western edge of the ancient parish. To the east of the
river the land rises steadily to 414 ft. (122 m.) near the
point where Ashby Road passes into Bretby (Derb.).
Figure 4:
Burton from the east in the late 1860s
Figure 5:
Burton-upon-Trent and Stapenhill
The river terrace is covered with alluvium and glacial
drift, and the gravels contain pockets of water, hard and
rich in inorganic deposits as a result of percolating
through gypsum-bearing rocks embedded in the
Keuper Marls of the Needwood plateau west of the
town. It is that hard, rich water which enabled Burton
brewers to produce their distinctive product. Beneath
the marl is mudstone, and further down Bunter Pebble
Beds. Sandstone outcrops on the east side of the river,
especially in Winshill where it has been quarried. The soil
on the river terrace is mostly a permeable loamy soil.
Streams flow into the river from both east and west,
notably Brizlincote brook in Stapenhill, Dale brook in
Winshill, and Tatenhill brook on Branston's southern
boundary. Shobnall brook rises in the south-west
corner of Horninglow township (modern Outwoods
civil parish) and runs along the south side of Shobnall
Road. Before being culverted it turned northwards near
the end of Moor Street and flowed along the west side
of the town, joining the west arm of the river Trent at
Wetmore. (fn. 1) It is met near Moor Street by a stream
which flows north from Branston and whose stretch in
Burton Extra was known as Kimer sitch in the 18th
century; it is possibly what was called Balk brook in the
later 14th century. (fn. 2) Another stream rising in the southeast part of Branston and also flowing northwards into
Burton forks around an area formerly known as Fleet
green, where marshland called the Black pool in the
13th century gave its name to a modern street. (fn. 3)