Codsall

Coordinates: 52°37′36″N 2°11′33″W / 52.62671°N 2.19237°W / 52.62671; -2.19237

Codsall is a large village in the South Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England. It is situated north west of the city of Wolverhampton.

History

In 1086, the Domesday Book recorded six people in Codsall. They were probably the heads of households so the population would have been a little larger. Toponymists have the name Codsall coming from the old English 'Cod's Halh' – meaning a nook of land belonging to a man named Cod (Cod being an early English personal name, possibly in shortened form). The Church of St. Nicholas is the oldest building. It has a Norman doorway thought to date from the 11th century. Since medieval times, the area around the church, on the top of the hill, was the hub of the village with a windmill, village pond, forge, bakery and public house. The administration of the village would have been conducted from the church through the decisions of the vestry. Agriculture was the mainstay of the village and even now the strip-field system of cultivation can be seen to the west and north-east of St Nicholas' church.