Thorpe Constantine

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Thorpe Constantine is a small village and civil parish in Staffordshire, England, about 6 miles northeast of Tamworth and 6 miles southwest of Measham. The heart of the parish is the Thorpe estate.

- Name and origins: The name combines the Old Norse word thorp, meaning an outlying farm, with the Inge family who owned land here in the 13th century.
- The estate and Hall: Thorpe Hall is a private Georgian country mansion and a Grade II listed building. It was built in 1651 by William Ives and enlarged around 1790 by the Inge family. The Inges were prominent local landowners and produced several High Sheriffs of Staffordshire.
- The church: The parish church is St Constantine, a Grade II listed building in the Hall grounds. It has been an estate church for centuries and is now used only occasionally. Parts may date from the 14th century, with major rebuilding in 1883.
- Early population: In 1848 the estate parish had 42 people living on 953 acres; in 1870 it had 54 people in 5 houses.
- local government: The parish joined Tamworth Poor Law Union in 1836, then Tamworth Rural District in 1894. In 1934 it expanded to include Statfold and Syerscote, and later became part of Lichfield Rural District. Today it is in the non-metropolitan district of Lichfield, in the Mease and Tame ward, and the Tamworth parliamentary constituency. The parish council meets with Clifton Campville.
- Other estate features: The estate includes buildings such as Constaine House, The Old Kennels, The Old Parsonage, The Orchard, Gorse Farm and Gorse Fields, along with various stables and outbuildings.
- Statfold and Syerscote: In 1934 these former settlements were added to Thorpe Constantine. Statfold is an almost abandoned village with a listed manor house and church. Syerscote, about 3 miles northeast of Tamworth, was a former township and had 46 people in 1848; Syerscote Manor is listed, and today the area is part of the Church of England parish of St Leonard, Wigginton.