"Ipsa ecclesia tenet Sudtone & tenuit Tempore Regis Edwardi. Ibi i. Hida geldabilis. Terra est V. carucatę. In dominio est dimida carucuta, & v. villain & ix. Bordarii, cum ii. Caruatis. Tempore Regis Edwardi velebat xi. Solidos Modo xxx solidos.".

This means: that in the name of the king, Edward. The Sutton manor house is rightfully belonging to the church for the present time and that it is lawful.

During the time of Richard II the manor house was granted to Sir Richard Cotton. After his death it was passed along a number of owners until a Mr White of London finally bought it, whose representative Joseph White was the proprietor. The Sutton Manor was later demolished and was formerly located at the site of what was the west turnpike road (the A41) near the centre of the village.

In 1811, 400 yards south west of the manor house, a discovery was made while digging for the foundations of the nearby farmhouse. It was a small cemetery containing many skulls and bones, in compartments supported by 36 pillars. Each of the 24 compartments was around 7 feet square with the bodies laid in rows. The pillars were supposed to have supported the floor above.

A Presbyterian chapel was built there in 1851.

Population

Little Suttons population increased steadily until a great increase in 1861. After 1861 the population continued to increase rapidly. Little Suttons population has always been larger than Great Sutton's.

This is the census for little Sutton:

Little Sutton is now part of Ellesmere Port, which is in Cheshire. Many farmers lived in Little Sutton because until the post war period nearly all of the land was agricultural.

Here is a record of the people and houses that were built in 1821:

Houses
Inhabited: 57
Houses occupied: 61
Building: 1
Un-inhabited: 0
Persons Males: 162
Females: 167
Total of persons: 329

Here is a record of the people and houses that were built in 1831:
Area English statute acres: 1140
Houses
Inhabited: 70
Families: 72
Building: 2
Uninhabited: 2
Persons Males: 190
Females: 197
Total of persons: 387

The top picture was taken from Ledsham Lane around the 1930's. As you can see, three houses near the left of the picture with pointed roofs are still there to this very day. A few things on this picture have changed but not a great deal. The road is certainly wider than it was the gaps between the buildings have been taken away as well. The houses where the car is in the earlier picture have been demolished and new ones made, with the flat roofs. Also a new lamppost has been added.

The most recent picture is of some offices and Hollywood car sales. The building used as offices was once a police station and was closed in 1947. Down station road you can see little Sutton railway station in the distance. If you go to this spot in little Sutton and look at the offices you can see the marks left where the beams of the front of the building have been taken off. Behind the police station there was a building called the little Sutton reading room. This is now the headquarters for the Ellesmere Port and district Red Cross. This picture is near enough the exact place where the old picture was taken. Also we can see how the roads have developed in this picture.

 

Rea Barker
Mia Alexander
Laura Tilston (Year 9 Dec 2003)

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