266 A TOPOGRAPHICAL 



cient seat of Sir William Wolseley. The park is a most roman- 

 tic succession of small hills, covered with plantations, and some 

 very ancient oaks, and is a most agreeable contrast to the fertile 

 meadows in the vale of Trent below. At this place is the ancient 

 inn of Wolseley Bridge, where the Rugeley road divides ; one 

 branching off' for Shugborough, Haywood, and Stone, and the 

 other for Radford and Stafford. 



, At Brindley^s-bank, above Rugeley, the Grand Trunk Canal 

 crosses the Trent upon an aqueduct of five arches. This place 

 takes its name from the eminent engineer who planned the canal, 

 and here carried it over the river ; and so perfect has been the 

 workmanship of this aqueduct, that it has withstood the floods of 

 the Trent for nearly half a century. 



At Brereton, near Rugeley, considerable quantities of coal are 

 raised from the mines, and sold in the neighbourhood, or sent by 

 railways to the Trent and Mersey canal. 



BASWICH is an extensive parish of Cuttlestone hundred, con- 

 taining the townships of Acton-Trussel, Bednal, Brockton, and 

 Walton and Milford. According to the population returns in 

 1811, the number of houses was 224, inhabited by 246 families, 

 consisting of 553 males, and 558 females: total 1,111 persons. 

 About three-fifths of the inhabitants were employed in agriculture. 



The Church of Baswich is dedicated to the Holy Trinity. The 

 body of this edifice has been re-built with brick, but its ancient 

 steeple of stone remains. It is situated in a solitary spot at the 

 extremity of Ce parish, near the Staffordshire and Worcestershire 

 Canal. The present curate is the Rev. Joseph Ellerton, master of 

 the Free Grammar-school at Stafford. 



Walton and Milford is an hamlet of Baswich. At Milford there 

 is a capital mansion belonging to the Rev. Richard Levett ; and a 

 good mansion and premises occupied by John Collins, Esq. of 

 Stafford. 



Weeping-cross is a small hamlet in this parish, with a good inn, 

 situated on the road to Cannock. The arable land here is a good 

 rich mild loam, with meadows on the banks of the Penk. 



Radjord is another small hamlet or village, with an excellent 

 stone bridge over the Penk, and a wharf on the canal, where much 

 business is done in the coal and lime trades, and other branches 

 of commerce. 



BROCKTON is a village belonging to the township of that name, 

 and situated iu the east of this parish. Brockton Hall is an ancient 





