Loggerheads, Staffordshire

Loggerheads is a small village in north Staffordshire, England, on the A53 between Market Drayton and Newcastle-under-Lyme.

History

The village and local pub (The Loggerheads Hotel) has what many regard as an unusual name, the origins of which are unclear. Some claim that it is derived from the logging activities which used to take place in the nearby wood (The Burntwood), while a less likely explanation states that it is derived from the Battle of Blore Heath (ie two sides at loggerheads). However, the most likely explanation comes from the pub itself, until recent years, the pub had an old sign on its NE wall depicting three fools or "log 'eds", from which the pub took its name. It later led to the village's name. The pub is referred to as "The Three Loggerheads" by a 19th century writer in a discussion of the Battle of Blore Heath, which is now hanging in Mucklestone church. Unfortunately, the sign itself was removed from the pub in the mid 1990s.

Loggerheads was home to the Cheshire Joint Sanatorium which is a Tuberculosis Sanitorium. It stood in 250 acres of woodland in the Burntwoods. It was opened in 1923 and the last two patients were discharged in October 1969. It was believed at the time that the fresh air was an effective treatment for the disease, and patients were sometimes put outside in their beds and encouraged to breathe in the air. The site stood closed for a few years while plans for its future were discussed, then in 1977 the Newcastle-Under-Lyme Borough Council puchased the site for redevelopment.

The Burntwood was once a large oak wood, now very much coniferous. It was part of the Blore Forest. The oak trees were fiercely removed to make way for the quicker growing softwood - of more commercial value.

The village is close to the border of Shropshire and Cheshire. This village is adjacent to Ashley, Staffordshire.

External links

• The Loggerheads Sanitorium
• Loggerheads and Ashley Community website