EARLY PERTON

Earliest records of Perton indicate that the manor was owned by Edward the Confessor (who died in 1066) and in 1086 by the Abbot of Westminster. The Domesday "census" which was undertaken in 1086 and 1087 was an attempt to record some details of every settlement of any size in the country. The Abbot held one sixth of the manor and the remaining five sixths were held by 2 bordarers 13 villeins and 1 free manThe old site of Perton lay on the south facing slopes from Perton Ridge to the Bridgnorth Road and it was here that a particular type of pear was grown. The name Perton is a contraction of Peartown.

The manor of Perton was held by the Abbey until 1162 when it was lost to the Crown who passed it to Lord William Perton. In 1260 the manor was held by John de Perton, heir to Lord William, in return for eight days knightly service to the king in his wars in Wales. In 1273 the king granted John de Perton and his heirs free warren in all his demesnes at Perton. A warren was an area specially set aside for the raising of rabbits. In these days rabbits were regarded not as pests but as a useful product of farming and the granting of free warren to John de Perton meant that he had hunting rights for small game.

The manor passed among many prominent king's courtiers: Sir Humphrey Stafford, Lord Willoughby de Broke and Sir William Compton until 1523 when it was sold to James Leveson a Wolverhampton merchant. It was then passed to his grandson Sir Walter Leveson. His son and heir was Richard Leveson a sailor aboard the Ark Royal in the Royal Navy and fought against the Spanish Armada. He became a Commander and Sir Richard was knighted in 1596 after playing a leading role in the Navy's attack on Cadiz. He achieved many successful attacks against the Spanish and was appointed Vice Admiral of England in 1604. Vice Admiral Sir Richard had married in 1587 but his wife Margaret had become insane and was confined to one of Sir Richard's houses, Oxley Hall, near Wolverhampton. Sir Richard courted a Mary Fitton who was a maid of honour to Queen Elizabeth I and who later became his mistress. They lived together at Perton Hall. Mary had two children by Sir Richard -Anne and William - the latter died in infancy. As both were illegitimate they bore their mother's surname.

Perton Hall was located just south of Perton Court at the top of Jenny Walkers Lane. It was inhabited until the early 19th Century and lay in ruins until 1939 when it demolished as a safety precaution when the RAF Airfield was built. Half of the rectangular moat which surrounded Perton Hall is still there as a small lake in a landscaped garden.

There is a life size bronze statue of Vice Admiral Sir Richard Leveson in St Peter's church Wolverhampton. He died August 1605 when only 36 years old. A panel at the foot of the figure gives details of his spectacular career. On Sir Richard's death the manor passed on to another Richard Leveson who was a distant cousin and whom he also hoped would marry his daughter Anne. She was left £4000 ( a massive sum in these days) provided she married Richard Leveson, then 24 years old, and £1000 if she did not. Richard offered marriage but she was reluctant and eventually received £1000 after marrying someone else. Mary Fitton continued to live at Perton Hall on a comfortable income of £100 per year.

Perton Manor came into the Wrottesley family in 1662 when Sir Walter Wrottesley purchased it from Richard, Earl of Dorset.

Until the 1960's Perton and many of the farms in the area were part of  the estate of Lord Wrottesley whose seat was at Wrottesley Hall.  Then one of the  Lord Wrottesley successors sold off the land and went to South Africa.

Until the early part of the twentieth century the area was mainly mixed farming with cattle, sheep and wheat, oats, barley and root crops grown. It is currently mainly agricultural

Page compiled by Brian

Reviewed August 2003