Winshill

Winshill is an area to the east of the town of Burton upon Trent, in the borough of East Staffordshire, England. Flanked to the north and east by the South Derbyshire border, historically the parish of Winshill had always been part of Derbyshire until it was transferred to Staffordshire, in part in 1878, and wholly in 1894. Along its southern flank runs the A511, known locally as the Ashby Road, from Bretby Lane and Moat Bank (Burton upon Trent's highest point) to the eastern end of the Trent Bridge and the junction with the A444. Along its western flank are the River Trent and the B5008 Newton Road, which runs to Newton Solney and Repton in South Derbyshire. The parish church in Winshill is St Mark's, part of the Diocese of Derby.

The name Winshill has its origin in Old English and means Wine's hill. There was a settlement here in the late 11th century when William I installed privileged tenants at Winshill. By the end of the 18th century the village was grouped around a green on the east side of the hill. The medieval Burton bridge crossed into Winshill at its east end, and the road to Ashby de la Zouch then followed a line along Bearwood Hill Road and High Bank Road. A tollgate was placed near the foot of Bearwood Hill Road when it became a turnpike road in 1753. The Ashby Road was put onto a more direct line in the later 1830s and the tollgate was placed near Moat Bank. Burton Flour Mill on the Winshill bank of the River Trent is a listed building. It dates back to the medieval corn mill of Burton Abbey. In the 14th century a fulling mill – which became a cotton mill in the late 18th century was built on an island nearby. Burton Mill was rebuilt after a fire in 1745, and again in the 19th century. Winshill was popular in the 19th century with prosperous citizens of Burton who built large houses like Bladon House, The Woodlands, Highfield House and Moat Bank on the higher ground overlooking the town. At the same time rows of houses were being built for brewery workers on Bearwood Hill, Ashby Road and Alexandra Road. A school was opened at the north end of the village in 1846, and a Methodist chapel opened in 1845. The church of St Mark's was built in 1868, on a prominent site on the top of the hill overlooking the developing village. Almshouses were built in Hawfield Lane in 1887, endowed by William Wardle, and another almshouse built on Wheatley Lane in 1925, endowed by Harriet Walton Jefford. In 1921 the Board of Education purchased "The Woodlands" property to provide a new campus for Burton Girls High School. This became incorporated into the comprehensive Abbot Beyne School in 1975.