Famed as the home of JCB's well-known yellow diggers, Rocester is a pleasant place close to the Staffordshire border with Derbyshire and is part of the area covered by East Staffordshire Borough Council.
Rocester has developed rapidly over the past 40 years, thanks to the presence of JCB's World Headquarters. JCB was founded by Joseph Cyril Bamford in a small garage in nearby Uttoxeter and has grown to become one of the UK's most prominent companies.
JCB dominates the local employment picture with several offices and factories in Staffordshire, as well as its Rocester headquarters, and the company has a total of 8,000 workers across the world.
The impressive 42-acre Rocester site has been carefully landscaped to blend in with the countryside, and its lakes attract many species of wildlife.
Prior to the arrival of the brightly coloured diggers, milling was the main trade in the village; fittingly, a prominent corn mill on the banks of the River Churnet has been attractively converted into the offices for JCB Finance Limited.
The company also announced plans in 2007 to build an academy school for 540 pupils wishing to pursue careers in engineering and manufacturing. It will be housed in the historic Tutbury Mill, close to the JCB World Headquarters.
Out and About
Rocester High Street has a good range of local stores and a pleasant Georgian hotel for visitors.
Indeed, the village is a great base whether you're doing business at JCB, taking in National Hunt Racing at nearby Uttoxeter racecourse or visiting the Peak District, the National Forest or the world-famous Alton Towers theme park.
Rocester is also the starting point for the Limestone Way, an 80km trail through the Dove Valley and Derbyshire Dales to Castleton, Derbyshire.
The towns of Uttoxeter, Burton, Stafford, Cheadle and Leek are within easy reach for non-JCB employment purposes, as are the cities of Derby and Stoke-on-Trent, and Alton Towers has many job opportunities, often on a seasonal basis.
Rocester has two local authority-run schools - Dove First School and Ryecroft Church of England Middle School. Older pupils generally travel the short distance to Uttoxeter to attend Thomas Alleyne's High School.
Rocester is also home to Abbotsholme School, a private school for around 270 boys and girls which was founded in 1889 and occupies a 140-acre estate.
Property in Rocester
pic: Terraced housing
Housing in Rocester ranges from former mill-workers' cottages to large country homes, with prices tending to be relatively high for Staffordshire.
Most of the terraced cottages built for mill-workers in the late 19th century are in Churnet Row, Dove Lane and West View, and these modernised homes are a popular property option.
There are several semi-detached houses on Church Lane, and an attractive development, Castrum Court, has recently been completed by Leek-based Amos Developments, providing individually designed barn-style homes in keeping with the rural area.
Uttoxeter, less than four miles away, has homes to suit most tastes and pockets.
Living Here
Transport:
Trains: The nearest station is in Uttoxeter, managed by East Midlands Trains, with direct services to Crewe.
Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent stations, on the West Coast Main Line, are in easy reach, as is Derby which has links to Sheffield and London St Pancras.
Bus: The 32A service run by the First Group stop in Rocester en-route from Stoke-on-Trent to Uttoxeter. This service also serves Werrington, Kingsley, Cheadle, Tean, Alton, Checkley and Denstone.
Road: Rocester is very close to the A50, which runs from Stoke-on-Trent to the M1 near Nottingham and provides links to the M6 and M1 motorways.
The village is just four miles from Uttoxeter and in easy reach of Burton, Stafford and Ashbourne.
Air: Manchester, East Midlands and Birmingham airports are all within a 90-minute drive.
Eating and drinking:
pic: The Red Lion pub
There are a couple of local pubs in the village and a fish and chip shop on the High Street.
Uttoxeter has several pubs and restaurants, and there are also some country pubs and restaurants in the surrounding area.
Surprisingly for a village, Rocester has a football team competing at a high standard in the non-league football pyramid – the club, known as The Romans, fields teams in the Midland Football Alliance and the Staffordshire FA County Senior League.
The Romans have a pleasant ground at Hillsfield in Mill Street, and their clubhouse is also used for social occasions and can be hired for private parties.
Uttoxeter has rugby, cricket and football clubs and a leisure centre run by East Staffordshire District Council.
Uttoxeter also has a well-respected race course which hosts several meetings each year, including the prestigious Midlands Grand National meeting.
Cheadle, around five miles from Rocester, has a cricket club in Tean Road which runs up to seven teams for adults and juniors. The club is also home to other activities including dancing, cribbage, darts and indoor bowls.
The South Moorlands Leisure Centre is also located in Cheadle. Facilities include a swimming pool, sports hall, health and fitness suites, outdoor tennis courts and an all-weather pitch.
Activities in the sports hall include indoor bowls, football, badminton, hockey and indoor cricket.
Leisure and Entertainment:
Alton Towers, one of the best-known theme parks in the world, is around four miles away. It has a range of rollercoaster rides and attractions, as well as hotel facilities including Splash Landings, which incorporates an indoor water park.
The A50 provides quick links to Derby and Stoke-on-Trent which both have good theatres, and nearby Stafford has the Gatehouse Theatre.
Burton's Brewhouse Arts Centre is very popular; this town is also the home of beer, and several brewery tours are available.
Other places of interest nearby include the National Arboretum at Alrewas, Sudbury Hall and Museum of Childhood, Uttoxeter Heritage Centre and Croxden Abbey.
Parks and open spaces:
pic: Some of the open space on offer in Rocester
Rocester is on the edge of the Peak District and close to the Staffordshire Moorlands. Much of East Staffordshire is covered by the National Forest, providing good opportunities for walking and horse riding.
Doveley's Garden Centre, situated in the neighbouring village of Denstone, is set in the 150-acre grounds of Doveley's Manor.
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