Fazeley
Encyclopedia
Fazeley is a small town and civil parish in the District of Lichfield
, Staffordshire
, England
. Fazeley is located on the outskirts of Tamworth
and the civil parish of Fazeley also includes Mile Oak and Bonehill.
It sits astride the junction of the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal
and Coventry Canal
; at Fazeley Junction
are a couple of multi storey mills. Fazeley is also adjacent to Drayton Manor
, formerly the home of Robert Peel
and now a theme park and zoo
.
Fazeley also sits astride the old Roman
road of Watling Street
, which is now much quieter following the move of the A5 road to run on a new course between Fazeley and Tamworth.
Fazeley has two primary schools, Millfield County Primary School and Longwood Primary School, in Mile Oak. Millfield was built in Victorian times and part of the original building still remains.
The First Annual Fazeley Festival and Mile Oak Mile Charity hop took place on 15 September 2007.
Sitting in the centre of Fazeley, the Town Hall opened in 1898 and was named the Victoria Memorial Hall, commemorating the diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria, and James Eadie
paid for both the cost of its construction, £3,000, and the land on which it stands, having signalled his intentions in this respect in 1896.
James Eadie
intended that the Hall should benefit the inhabitants of Fazeley and help to promote their welfare. His vision was that the Hall would be used for public meetings, lectures and concerts and contain reading rooms. He even speculated that technical classes might some day be held “for the better training of workmen in their several crafts and industries.”
This vision became a reality, meetings of all descriptions took place and winter entertainments were regularly well attended. There was a library and a reading room, classes were held in gymnastics and cookery, and an Evening Continuation School in horticulture attracted over 40 youngsters. In later years, silent movies were presented here, too.
Today, the Town Hall is used for both public and private events including, bingo, dancing, parties and carpet sales and Fazeley Town Council holds its meetings in the building.
The name Fazeley in its various spellings is found in documents dating back to 1135. All suggestions concerning its derivation propose that it comes from early Saxon language most take its meaning to be pasture land or pleasant pasture but another authority suggests it is a corruption of the Anglo-Saxon faresleia which meant bulls pasture. The various spellings support this latter suggestion and certainly the land alongside the River Tame, being very flat, may well have been used for this purpose.
Lichfield (district)
Lichfield is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. It is administered by Lichfield District Council, based in Lichfield.The dignity and privileges of the City of Lichfield are vested in the parish council of the 14 km² Lichfield civil parish...
, Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Fazeley is located on the outskirts of Tamworth
Tamworth
Tamworth is a town and local government district in Staffordshire, England, located north-east of Birmingham city centre and north-west of London. The town takes its name from the River Tame, which flows through the town, as does the River Anker...
and the civil parish of Fazeley also includes Mile Oak and Bonehill.
It sits astride the junction of the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal
Birmingham and Fazeley Canal
The Birmingham and Fazeley Canal is a canal of the Birmingham Canal Navigations in the West Midlands of England. Its purpose was to provide a link between the Coventry Canal and Birmingham and thereby connect Birmingham to London via the Oxford Canal....
and Coventry Canal
Coventry Canal
The Coventry Canal is a navigable narrow canal in the Midlands of England.It starts in Coventry and ends 38 miles north at Fradley Junction, just north of Lichfield, where it joins the Trent and Mersey Canal...
; at Fazeley Junction
Fazeley Junction
Fazeley Junction is the name of the canal junction where the authorised Birmingham and Fazeley Canal terminates and meets the Coventry Canal at Fazeley, near Tamworth, Staffordshire, England....
are a couple of multi storey mills. Fazeley is also adjacent to Drayton Manor
Drayton Manor
Drayton Manor, one of Britain's lost houses, was a British stately home at Drayton Bassett, in the District of Lichfield, Staffordshire, England....
, formerly the home of Robert Peel
Robert Peel
Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet was a British Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 December 1834 to 8 April 1835, and again from 30 August 1841 to 29 June 1846...
and now a theme park and zoo
Drayton Manor Theme Park
Drayton Manor Theme Park is a theme park, resort & zoo in the grounds of the former Drayton Manor, near Tamworth in Staffordshire, England.Drayton Manor is best known because it is a theme park and zoo which attracts around 1.4 million people a year. The attraction has a wide selection of rides set...
.
Fazeley also sits astride the old Roman
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
road of Watling Street
Watling Street
Watling Street is the name given to an ancient trackway in England and Wales that was first used by the Britons mainly between the modern cities of Canterbury and St Albans. The Romans later paved the route, part of which is identified on the Antonine Itinerary as Iter III: "Item a Londinio ad...
, which is now much quieter following the move of the A5 road to run on a new course between Fazeley and Tamworth.
Fazeley has two primary schools, Millfield County Primary School and Longwood Primary School, in Mile Oak. Millfield was built in Victorian times and part of the original building still remains.
The First Annual Fazeley Festival and Mile Oak Mile Charity hop took place on 15 September 2007.
Sitting in the centre of Fazeley, the Town Hall opened in 1898 and was named the Victoria Memorial Hall, commemorating the diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria, and James Eadie
James Eadie
James Eadie was a Scottish brewer who founded an eponymous brewery in Burton on Trent which operated for 90 years.Eadie was born at Blackford, Perthshire one of the 14 children of William Eadie and his wife Mary Stewart and was baptised on 12 Jan 1827...
paid for both the cost of its construction, £3,000, and the land on which it stands, having signalled his intentions in this respect in 1896.
James Eadie
James Eadie
James Eadie was a Scottish brewer who founded an eponymous brewery in Burton on Trent which operated for 90 years.Eadie was born at Blackford, Perthshire one of the 14 children of William Eadie and his wife Mary Stewart and was baptised on 12 Jan 1827...
intended that the Hall should benefit the inhabitants of Fazeley and help to promote their welfare. His vision was that the Hall would be used for public meetings, lectures and concerts and contain reading rooms. He even speculated that technical classes might some day be held “for the better training of workmen in their several crafts and industries.”
This vision became a reality, meetings of all descriptions took place and winter entertainments were regularly well attended. There was a library and a reading room, classes were held in gymnastics and cookery, and an Evening Continuation School in horticulture attracted over 40 youngsters. In later years, silent movies were presented here, too.
Today, the Town Hall is used for both public and private events including, bingo, dancing, parties and carpet sales and Fazeley Town Council holds its meetings in the building.
The name Fazeley in its various spellings is found in documents dating back to 1135. All suggestions concerning its derivation propose that it comes from early Saxon language most take its meaning to be pasture land or pleasant pasture but another authority suggests it is a corruption of the Anglo-Saxon faresleia which meant bulls pasture. The various spellings support this latter suggestion and certainly the land alongside the River Tame, being very flat, may well have been used for this purpose.