Enville, Staffordshire

Enville
Enville  Enville shown within Staffordshire
Population	487 (2011)
OS grid reference	SO825867
District	South Staffordshire
Shire county	Staffordshire
Region	West Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	STOURBRIDGE
Postcode district	DY7
Dialling code	01384
Police	Staffordshire
Fire	Staffordshire
Ambulance	West Midlands
EU Parliament	West Midlands
UK Parliament	South Staffordshire
List of places UK England Staffordshire

Enville is a small village in rural Staffordshire, England, on the A458 road between Stourbridge and Bridgnorth. Enville is also the name of the parish in which it lies.

The earliest recorded name of the village was Efnefeld, and under that name it is entered in Domesday Book, the first part comes from the Welsh 'cefn' a Welsh word meaning "ridge" or "hillside". The nearby Kinver derives from the same word.

Enville is in the South Staffordshire district. The largest village nearby is Kinver, with the smaller villages of Bobbington and Six Ashes,"The Sheepwalks", a popular walking area, are nearby as is Kinver Edge. Enville Golf Course is just outside the village. The small hamlet of Six Ashes marks the old border of two counties: Staffordshire and Shropshire and was the center of the division of land as drawn up by the 1405 Tripartite Indenture between Owain Glyndŵr, Edmund Mortimer, and Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland.

The tiny village consists of The Cat public house, a post office, a general store, an antique shop and around 100 houses. St Mary's Church stands to the west of the village. The present ornate tower was built in 1871, when the original tower was taken down. Evidence of an earlier church on the site is to be found in a small stone figure of Saxon origin built into the arcading above the south aisle. The church has a Norman nave (about AD 1100) and a transitional chancel (built by Roger de Birmingham, AD 1272-1307) and despite extensive restorations in 1749 and 1871 the distinguishing features remain. The church also contains four, 15th century misericords, which are placed on either side of the choir stalls.

Enville is the nearest village to Highgate Common.

Enville Hall

The village is dominated by the large Enville Hall estate. The Earls of Stamford lived in Enville Hall which is still owned and lived in by the family though the title is extinct. The Hall, which once boasted its own private racecourse (now a mere forestry track), remains a private house, but it hosts occasional events each year.