Population 1,037 (2011) Civil parish Drayton Bassett Country England Shire county Staffordshire Dialling code 01827 | OS grid reference SK192001 Region West Midlands Sovereign state United Kingdom District Lichfield District UK parliament constituency Tamworth | |
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The eclectic drayton bassett club 28 05 161
Drayton Bassett is a village and civil parish in the District of Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. Nearby are the town of Tamworth and Middleton Lakes RSPB reserve, formerly a gravel quarry known in part as Drayton Bassett Pits.
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Map of Drayton Bassett, Tamworth, UK
After the Norman Conquest the manor belonged to the Basset (of Drayton) family until 1483 followed by the Earls of Leicester and then from about 1600 the Earls of Essex who sold it to Robert Peel.
Robert Peel (1788 – 1850), prime minister and creator of the Metropolitan Police Force for London, lived in Drayton Manor (now demolished and replaced by Drayton Manor Theme Park) and is buried in the vault of the parish church, St Peter.
The Birmingham and Fazeley Canal runs nearby and is crossed by an unusual folly-like footbridge. The River Tame runs close to the canal. It also lies on the Heart of England Way.
The rock/pop star Julian Cope lived in the village from the mid-1980s to the early-1990s.