Betley – meaning the 'clearing in the woods' of Bette (a Saxon woman's name) – is an ancient settlement. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book. It is one of several villages – including Buddileigh, Audley, and Madeley – which seem to be named after women. It had a major market, the charter for which was granted in the thirteenth century. At Betley Hall, a now-demolished country house, Charles Darwin conducted some of his zoological observations and Florence Nightingale visited. At another country house in the village, Betley Court (which is still standing), lived the Romantic poet Elizabeth Tollet. The church, dedicated to St Margaret of Antioch, is a beautiful medieval building (reasonably well-restored by George Gilbert Scott), with oak beams and a cricket ground to the rear.
