SST1486_HECA_Staffordshire_Moorlands_Appendix_5_HECZs_Cheddleton_Wetley_Werrington
Original Date/Time
August 2010
Title
SST1486_HECA_Staffordshire_Moorlands_Appendix_5_HECZs_Cheddleton_Wetley_Werrington
Description
Executive Summary
The Staffordshire Moorlands is defined by its historic landscape character whose integrity survives particularly well across the District and comprises well preserved ancient field systems and a predominantly dispersed settlement pattern of small farmsteads and cottages. The 11 project areas for the HEA are based around the hinterlands of three historic towns and 12 historic villages. The historic towns comprise Cheadle and Leek, but also Alton, which was established as a town during the medieval period, but is currently classed as a village by Staffordshire Moorlands District Council.
The historic villages are of various sizes, but the largest Biddulph, which has expanded considerably during the 20th century, is now classed as a town by the District Council. The HEA aims to establish the potential for the historic environment of these 11 project areas to absorb new development and housing in particular. This has been carried out by dividing each of the project areas into ‘Historic Environment Character Zones’ (HECZs) and assessing the significance of the heritage assets of each zone. The assessment utilised the guidance provided by English Heritage in their
document ‘Conservation principles: policies and guidance for the sustainable management of the historic environment’. The assessment was followed by recommendations for each zone (these form Appendices 1 to 8 of the HEA; summaries can be found within the main report).
Summary of Assessment and Recommendations
The HEA found that within each of the project areas the historic character had been retained and that beyond the present extent of the built areas a dispersed settlement pattern was still predominant as were the survival of historic farmsteads and cottages. The Staffordshire Moorlands retains a strong local vernacular which predominantly comprises buildings constructed of local stone. Recent housing carried out during the late 20th and early 21st centuries in some areas has reflected the local character in the use of stone and the scale of the buildings.
The dispersed settlement pattern is complimented by the generally well preserved field patterns whose antiquity is often reflected in the maturity of the hedgerows and the presence of in-hedge trees. In the upland areas stone walls form the majority of the field boundaries and these are particularly characteristic of these landscapes.
In two of the project areas, around Brown Edge and Ipstones, the early field systems are associated with historic farmsteads which retain buildings of 16th and 17th century origin. This survival is rare across Staffordshire as a whole. Consequently the integrity of these landscapes and the legibility of their associations within Staffordshire Moorlands are of particular importance and their vulnerability to change has been acknowledged within the historic environment assessments (cf. Appendices 3 and 6 for detail and below for the summaries).
Another rare historic landscape type in Staffordshire, but one which survives particularly well within the Staffordshire Moorlands District is the squatter enclosures and their associated scattered farmsteads and cottages. There are numerous examples within the project areas, although some are more complete than others.
Of particular importance are the squatter enclosures to the north of Biddulph Moor, to the south of Cheadle and at Wetley Moor (cf. Appendices 2, 4 and 5 respectively for detail and below for the summaries). The intensification of development within these areas would fundamentally alter the historic landscape character of these vulnerable areas.
Whilst the other zones within the project areas have greater or lesser sensitivities to change the overarching conclusion of this project has been that there is likely to be little capacity for the historic landscapes to absorb medium to large scale development without fundamentally altering their character. However, within each of the project areas there is some capacity for low density development which could reflect and strengthen the prevailing local character of each individual zone.
Furthermore, whilst the document focused upon 11 specific project areas, its methodology can be adapted to assess the significance of heritage assets across the whole of the District.
The HEA looks at the hinterland of the following towns and villages:
Alton
Biddulph and Biddulph Moor
Blythe Bridge, Forsbrook, Brown Edge and Endon
Cheadle
Cheddleton, Wetley and Werrington
Ipstones and Kingsley
Leek and Ladderidge
Upper Tean and Waterhouses
Creator
Debbie Taylor (Staffordshire County Council)
Keywords
Historic Environment Character Assessment, Staffordshire Moorlands, SST1486, Alton, Biddulph, Biddulph Moor, Blythe Bridge, Forsbrook, Brown Edge, Endon, Cheadle Cheddleton, Wetley, Werrington, Ipstones,, Kingsley, Leek, Ladderedge, Upper Tean, Waterhouses
Date
August 10
Folder Tree
SCCData, SCCData/LibraryLinkFiles, SCCData/LibraryLinkFiles/Designations, SCCData/LibraryLinkFiles/Designations/HEA
Credit
PScript5.dll Version 5.2.2
Copyright
Staffordshire County Council
Caption
Historic Environment Character Assessment: Staffordshire Moorlands August 2010