Talk:Stow Heath

Levesons and Sutherlands

The reference to this family probably needs clarifying. In fact, the Levesons owned a good deal of property in Stowheath much earlier than stated - in the late Middle Ages, as a result of political and marriage alliance with the Burnells. The two families were behind the founding of St Mary's Hospital (peper's Chapel, Piper's Row) around 1400, and a branch of the Levesons went on to take over Lilleshall Abbey and Trentham Priory at the Dissolution of the Monasteries. These Levesons later became the Leveson-Gowers and were important Whig magnates in the 18th century. The Duke of Sutherland reference fits in with this, as Leveson-Gower was (and is) the Dukes' surname. The first duke was notorious for his part in the Highland Clearances. Sjwells53 (talk) 13:18, 15 June 2013 (UTC)

I've checked the reference, which is to Keith Farley's local history. I think someone has misread it, skipping from the date 1859 near the beginning of the section (referring to a later archaeological discovery), and not noticing that Keith is actually dealing with 15th century events at this point. A more careful reading shows that this source too assumes the Levesons more or less dominant in Stowheath by the late medieval period. Family Search has a William Leveson, described as lord of Stowheath, born about 1370 - Person ID I242087. Sjwells53 (talk) 18:45, 15 June 2013 (UTC)

Manor house

"It is thought that the original manor house was built in Bilston in 1450, a John De Mollesley being the first incumbent." There may be some truth in this, but I'm fairly certain it does not relate to the manor of Stowheath. The site of Stowheath manor house for is generally considered to have been in the Chillington Fields area, close to the north-western edge of the modern East Park. A local history site on industry in the area gives a sketch map at [1]. It's more than likely that the residents in the mid-15th century were the Levesons, who had recently taken over the manor. Sjwells53 (talk) 20:19, 15 June 2013 (UTC)

The Staffordshire Newsletter citation now seems to have lapsed. [2] says it was known as Stowheath manor. This may be a confusion with it standing in Stowheath manor. It seems much more likely the manor house was at Stowheath itself. The Yates map of 1775 gives the name Manor Lane to the main Wolverhampton/Bilston road, which passed in front of the manor house at Stowheath (although it also met Bilston High Street just to the west of the Greyhound and Punchbowl). Sjwells53 (talk) 21:41, 15 June 2013 (UTC)