history and present day
| www.covenheath.org.uk | index |
|
Introduction to Coven
Heath: history and present day |
| part of the Brewood and Coven Parish Community Web Site | |
Coven Heath is depicted on William Yates’ 1775 map of Staffordshire as
heathland, much more extensive in
those days than it is today. An Indenture relating to
the estate of James Hordern, dated 1801, refers to a windmill being enclosed
out of the common known as Coven Heath. Today only the remnants of the
heathland survive and the windmill has been long since gone. However, there
still remains a landmark to the past era in the form of the tiny chapel which
is now named “The Church on the Common”. The chapel first appeared in
the Diocesan Lists of Mission Churches in 1873 and thereafter is listed as
Coven Heath Chapel or Coven Heath School. The 1848 Bushbury Tithe map states
Theodosia Hinckes as the owner of the land upon which it stands and the
building is attributed to her. She was a noted benefactress who, during her
lifetime, 1792-1874, donated money and lands for the building of schools for
the children of the Bushbury parish and also the building of St. Mary’s
Church. Much of Coven Heath was in the Manor of Bushbury and remained in the
parish of Bushbury up until 1934, when it was transferred to Brewood under the
Local Government re-organisation. “The Church on the Common”,
however, has continued to be administered by the clergy of St. Mary’s,
Bushbury until recently but has now been declared closed.
Coven Heath, as we know it today, straddles the A 449, close to its junction with the M 54. There is a mixed development of old and new property and several mobile home parks. Keen gardeners are well catered for, having a choice of several well-stocked nurseries in the vicinity and an opportunity to rent one of the Council’s allotments in Ball Lane.