Whittington formed part of the Bishop of Lichfield’s great manorial estate, which covered much of south-east Staffordshire. Known as the Manor of Longdon, it had been created for the bishop of Lichfield from the time of the Saxons, they remained the lord of the manor until 1546 when the bishop was forced to surrender it to Sir William Paget, one of Henry VIII's principal Secretaries of State, who was given vast tracts of land in Staffordshire as a reward for his service.
