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Alrewas (awl-ree-was) is a village and civil parish in the Lichfield District of Staffordshire, England with a particularly rich history.
Orgreave Hall is a brick-built country house in Alrewas parish about 1 1⁄4 miles (2 km) northwest of the village. It was built in 1668 and extended in the early 18th century.
The Trent and Mersey Canal, built between 1766 and 1777, passes through Alrewas, and Wychnor where northeast of the village it has a junction with the River Trent.
The South Staffordshire Line of the South Staffordshire Railway was built through the parish in the 1840s and Alrewas railway station was opened in 1849. British Railways closed the station in 1965, but this part of the line remains open. East of Alrewas is the National Memorial Arboretum, dedicated to remembering those lost due to warfare since the Second World War.
Wychnor (or Wichnor) is a civil parish in Staffordshire, England, adjoining Alrewas. It is situated on the A38, formerly the Roman road Ryknild Street, and contains the hamlet of Wychnor Bridges where the A38 crosses the River Trent. The Trent and Mersey Canal passes through the parish. There is a railway junction nearby; Wychnor Junction where the South Staffordshire Line joins the Cross Country Route.
The earliest spelling of the name was H.wiccenofre. Ofre was the Anglo-Saxon word for "edge or bank". Hwicce was a province comprising Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and a part of Warwickshire and the people were called Hwiccas or Hwicii. It is thought that some of these people came to settle in Wychnor and so gave their name to the place they settled in. In the Doomsday Book, it is referred to as "Wicenore". St Leonard's Church, a Grade II listed building, sits proudly on the top the hill overlooking the hamlet, was built mainly in the 14th with parts 12th and 17th. The church and graveyard feature several marble plaques to the Levett family to south aisle.
The Church of England parish church is All Saints in Church Lane. The oldest parts of the building are 12th-century. Some Norman work remains but much of the present building is Gothic from the 13th, 14th and 16th centuries. The font is 15th-century. The pulpit is Jacobean, made in 1639. There is a monument by Thomas White to John Turton, who died in 1707. The church was restored in 1997. All Saints' is a Grade I listed building.
The Methodist Church in Post Office Road is a Gothic Revival brick building completed in 1928. In 1989 due to rot the roof was renewed. At the same time, a new floor was laid, involving the removal of pews and organ.
Recorded in Domesday as having 28 households (quite large). Total tax assessed: 3 geld units (medium) with a value of £10 to the lord in 1066 £10 and in 1086 £11. 20 villagers. 6 smallholders. 1 slave. 1 priest. 8 ploughlands (land for). 2 lord's plough teams. 6 men's plough teams. Other resources: Meadow 24 acres. Woodland 1 * 0.5 leagues. 1 fishery. Lord in 1066: Earl Algar, Lord in 1086: King William. Tenant-in-chief in 1086: King William.