Express & Star reporter Lauren Hill meets the people of Stonnall as they explain what makes the village special to them.
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00:00We're here in the wonderful village of Stonnell and I'm with Ruth Graham who is a resident,
00:05a celebrant and an artist and Ruth has lived in 46 places all over the world but Stonnell
00:11is where you've laid your, you've hung up your hat and it's the happiest place that
00:16you've ever lived, well you're the happiest here than you are anywhere else so what do
00:21you love so much about Stonnell?
00:22I think it was that sense of finding somewhere to be able to settle and I had a really strict
00:27criteria, I wanted a detached house, I wanted great views, I wanted a garage and I wanted
00:32nice neighbours and I've got them all and you don't find that everywhere so you know
00:37I settled in, it took about six months but everybody's really nice, I feel like I've
00:41been here forever, it's a fantastic place to live, really is and I lived, used to live
00:45about eight miles down the road and I never knew this place existed.
00:48Well that's kind of similar with me isn't it, I lived just down the road as well but
00:53I didn't know how lovely it was here in Stonnell, in fact I didn't know it existed until just
00:58a couple of years ago.
00:59Yeah it's amazing isn't it?
01:00Yeah it's a wonderful place and I can see why you live here and it's a very special
01:06feature today because Ruth is going to give us a little tour of her lovely village so
01:10let's go.
01:11Okay.
01:12We're with Mary in Stonnell and Mary is apparently Stonnell's longest standing resident at living
01:18here for over 50 years, have you Mary?
01:20Yes I have.
01:21So why have you stayed here then, in this very house, what do you like about Stonnell
01:24so much?
01:25Well it's so nice here, it's never changed, not to me anyway, not to me it hasn't changed,
01:36no.
01:37Compared to other places that have changed, what have you liked that has stayed consistent
01:42here in Stonnell?
01:44Well mainly it's the people, yes, the people and the general, oh god, community, that's
01:55the ticket.
01:56Oh dear, yes.
01:57So you like going into Lichfield?
02:00Well my daughter lives in Lichfield.
02:03And does she come and visit you here too?
02:05Yeah well I go down there every day, I'm not always here, you're lucky you've caught me.
02:10We have.
02:11Yeah you're lucky you've caught me.
02:13Busy popular woman I see.
02:16Thanks Mary.
02:17So as I've got mobility issues, I can't do much.
02:21Do you generally feel safe in your area though, is Stonnell as safe?
02:25Always has been round here, never had any trouble.
02:28If someone was thinking of moving here to Stonnell, what would you say are some of the
02:32best things about the area?
02:35Oh, that it's alright, it's nice.
02:41So I'm with Councillor Whitehouse here, how long Phil have you been a parish councillor
02:46here in Stonnell for?
02:48Okay, just coming to three years as a parish councillor, but also I am a councillor on
02:55Lichfield District Council and have been so for the last two years.
03:00And how long have you lived in Stonnell though, how long have you been a Stonnell resident
03:04for?
03:05Well I think we're fairly typical actually, we've lived here since these houses were built
03:09and that was in 1992 if I remember right, so been here a long time, 32 years.
03:17It's a beautiful village though, I mean what do you love so much about living here?
03:22I think the biggest thing, and everyone talks about this, it's the community spirit that
03:26you get.
03:29There's a lot of village groups, there's things like conservation society, history society,
03:35gardening guild, lots of entertainment type of groups as well, and I think it's quite
03:41special that people join in.
03:44And the other testimony to that is how long people have lived in Stonnell, if you talk
03:48to people, you know people have been here 40, 50, 60 years, it's almost like they love
03:54it and they don't want to go anywhere else.
03:56So it's the community atmosphere, people pull together to help each other, it's a nice sort
04:03of almost family type of community.
04:06In fact it's funny you say that, we spoke to one resident who's lived here for over
04:1050 years, she said not much has changed here but she likes it like that, you know it still
04:15has that village feel.
04:19Well there will be pressure to change over a period of time and that's the nature of
04:25a village I suppose, it has to evolve, but we've got great facilities here as well.
04:30We've got two pubs, which is good, one of them just there.
04:36We've got a school, a very good thriving school, a good supported church, and of course the
04:43general facilities around here, things like the open spaces, the playing fields and two
04:50village halls as well.
04:52So there's lots and lots of things to occupy residents and people don't therefore have
04:58to go very far to enjoy the facilities that we've got.
05:03That's lovely, thank you so much Phil.
05:06So Ruth, you kept saying we've got to see the pinfold, what the heck is this?
05:11Well Lauren, do you know what, I was on the chase a few years ago and somebody asked the
05:17question about what a pinfold was and somebody thought it was something to do with dress
05:22making, which was a bit of a rubbish answer.
05:24So a pinfold is, well it just goes to show how long authority has been making money out
05:29of the people, because this area is where stray cattle would be held, so your sheep
05:34and your cows, because obviously there was a lot more agriculture back then, and they
05:37would be rounded up, they'd be wandering around, they'd be rounded up and put in here and then
05:41the owners would be charged to get them back when they found out they'd gone missing.
05:45So it's kind of like an ancient equivalent of parking fines I guess.
05:48It is, yeah.
05:49I mean brilliant, I think it's, how long does this go back then?
05:53Well, I think the actual structure, the red brick, suggests that it was about the 18th
05:58century, but the earliest historic records are 1811 and it was in a pretty bad state
06:03until it received some European funding, so when we were in Europe at the time, we got
06:08some money and it was rebuilt and this is what you see today and obviously this is set
06:13against a historic map as well, of Stonnell and how it used to be, fantastic little piece
06:18of history.
06:19It's quite small isn't it?
06:20So you'd fit about 20 cows in here?
06:23Yeah, as long as they weren't pregnant.
06:24As long as they weren't pregnant, oh yeah, because then you'd need double the space.
06:28Yeah, exactly.
06:29You could probably get, literally, yeah, well done, yeah, about 20 cows.
06:32You'd fit about 20 cows in here.
06:33Can you imagine the noise with them moving?
06:34Yeah, there's no houses around.
06:36And then they all file out of this tiny little cave.
06:39Exactly, when they've been paid for.
06:41When they've been paid for, otherwise I guess someone's lucky and they've got milk for the
06:45rest of their life.
06:46Yeah, well done, yeah, absolutely.
06:47So that's the pinfold.
06:48That's the pinfold.
06:49Pinfold.
06:51All right, let's go in here.
06:52This is the Stonnell Fish Bar.
06:53Yes.
06:54And this is the first place I visited on the first day that I moved in six years ago.
06:58That's a tradition, isn't it?
06:59Getting fish and chips on moving days.
07:00Absolutely.
07:01So you go in there and I'll lead you to it.
07:02Thanks, Ruth.
07:03So we're with Harj, and he's the owner of the Fish Bar in Stonnell.
07:07And how long have you had this business for, Harj?
07:09I've had this business for 15 years now.
07:1115?
07:1215 years, yeah.
07:13Wow.
07:14Successful then, clearly.
07:15Yeah, it's a well-known, established business when I took over, and I've been here 15 years.
07:20Perfect.
07:21And so what, you know, you've been here for 15 years.
07:23Have you seen it change much around the area?
07:25I have seen a lot of change the past few years.
07:29A lot of people are moving out and new faces coming in.
07:32But it's a nice village overall.
07:34I've seen the children, like, when they're three or four years old, and they've grown
07:38up to teenagers now.
07:40Yeah.
07:41And they still come here, yeah.
07:42And they still come into the shop here to get their chips?
07:43Yeah, they still come here.
07:44They still come, yeah.
07:45Yeah.
07:46What do you like as the business owner?
07:47What do you like about having your business here on this little kind of plot with the
07:51shops?
07:52What do you like about being here in Stonnell?
07:54Oh, it's just a nice, yeah, village altogether.
07:56Nice residence, nice customers, everything's really, really good.
08:01We get a lot of customers travel, like, from Shenston and Walser Woods and all that, but...
08:06They come here?
08:07Yeah, they come here.
08:08Because Stonnell itself is really nice.
08:10You get to know all the faces, all the regulars.
08:12And what they have as well.
08:14Yeah.
08:15What they eat, what they order every week.
08:17And that makes them feel special, though, then, doesn't it?
08:19Yeah.
08:20Really, because...
08:21Yeah, you get to know all the names, and it's really nice.
08:23Yeah, and I'm sure you're, like, also, everyone loves a chippy, so I think you're quite a
08:27pinnacle of this community with your lovely chippy here as well.
08:30Yeah, like I said, like, we're the only one in the village.
08:33Yeah, so...
08:35There's no competition either.
08:37No competition.
08:38Thank you, Haj.
08:40Yeah.
08:41So, we've just had a beautiful morning in Stonnell, and we just had to stop, actually,
08:46because Ruth has mentioned this historic Stonnell tree to me before, if you can just see it
08:50in the distance there.
08:51Can you tell me a bit about the tree?
08:53Well, it's just...
08:54It's a landmark, really.
08:55You know, you're driving up Chester Road, and you're coming from, like, Four Oaks onto
08:58Brown Hills or Lichfield, and it's standing proud on the hill, and it's been there for
09:02hundreds of years, and I think people have proposed under it.
09:06Somebody's even died on it, which is rather tragic, but it's got a lot of history, and
09:11I used to make my way up there when I was a bit more hippie, and I used to meditate
09:14under it, and I got it once, and there were ribbons round it for remembrance.
09:19So, people use it as a landmark for the village.
09:21It's fantastic, and when I see that tree, I know I'm home.
09:25Yeah.
09:26Oh, what a beautiful end to our tour.
09:27Thank you, Ruth.
09:28Absolute pleasure, sweetheart.
09:30Thanks.