37. The Miners Arms


This two-storey and double-fronted building was made in local brick. A modern lower front extension leaves most architectural interest in the upper storey where windows have segmented and splayed heads, and a central blank window suggests the building pre-dates the 1851 ending of window tax - an 1815 parish map shows a building then on the site. The earliest known reference to the Miners Arms name is in the 1861 census. It is now a reminder of when mining was a mainstay of the local economy. The pub lived up to its name by always having an open coal fire in the bar until prevented from doing so by smoke controls of the 1990s.
 

38. Milepost alongside A513 Armitage Road, midway between Thorn Close and Wheelhouse Road.




This is late 19th-century, cast-iron of triangular cross-section with raised lettering: on
a sloping top, Brereton; on its sides: Armitage 2, Handsacre 21/2, Kings Bromley
5, Lichfield 71/2, Alrewas 81/4; and Rugeley 1, Stafford 10. It suffers from traffic spray,
and is rusty and vulnerable.”

39. Briar Hill House


This 28-bed nursing home provides high quality care and was officially opened in 1992 by Sir Charles Wolseley. The elaborately inscribed and informative commemorative stone of the old Rugeley Hospital, which had occupied the same site for 120 years until 1991, is incorporated into brickwork at the entrance. The name Briar Hill was chosen because Brereton is derived from that name.
 

40. Ancient Milestone (opposite Briar Hill House) Grade 2 listed

This dates from the early 19th-century. Its front reads London 126, Lichfield 7, Stone 15 miles. It is
of particular importance being a rare survivor of its type along the A51 (not to be confused with the
much later triangular shaped mileposts common throughout Staffordshire). It is possibly unique
in the county by having retained its cast-iron inscription plate; other similar known stones at
Bishton, Little Haywood and Stone High Street have all lost theirs. It was dug up in two pieces
during road widening in the 1960s  after being buried, possibly since the 1939-45 war when
many direction signs were removed or covered  up to prevent them helping any invading army.
 

41. Kelly`s Bar and Restaurant (formerly the Britannia Inn)

    Built in 1937 of dark red brick with dressings in white around all
    openings and corners in the good solid public house style of the
    time, it provides a landmark building at a prominent road junction.
    The symmetrical concave frontage and hipped tiled roof add to
    its architectural value. It replaced an earlier Britannia Inn, which
    had a frontage facing Brereton Road.



 

16 - Oxford Dictionary of Place Names.