As we have seen on the previous page prior to 1759 all of the road and lanes in the parish were maintained at the expense of the parish. In 1759 the road from Uttoxeter to Blythe Marsh (Blythe Bridge) was turnpiked but it still used the old lane between Deadman’s Green and Checkley. This relieved the parish of the expense of repairing the roads but it meant that as well as the longer distance travellers the local people would also have to pay to use the road. For example to travel to Uttoxeter they would have to pay fees at two toll gates.

Can you imagine all of the traffic now using the modern A50 bypass trying to use Old Lane?
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In 1822 a new stretch of turnpiked road was constructed from the top of Church Lane to Deadman’s Green thus avoiding the need to travel through the village and down the narrow and winding Old Lane. In the 1840s a beerhouse (initially called the Cock Inn but now known as The New Broom) was constructed on this new road.

In about 1883 it was decided that it was necessary to extend the churchyard and the lane that ran from the steps by Glebe Cottage to the newly turnpiked stretch of road (at a point almost opposite where the school now stands) was closed and another road, New Road, was constructed about 50 metres further east. This allowed a new section of the churchyard to be constructed and in 1887 a memorial to mark the 50th anniversary of Queen Victoria’s reign was constructed in this new part of the church yard.

The village then remained largely unchanged until the 1960s. However over this period travel became much easier and the village shops closed as people chose to travel to Uttoxeter or Cheadle for their shopping. In the early 1960s the need for extra housing brought about the construction of Cranberry Avenue to the west of the village centre. About 30 properties were constructed marking the start of the expansion of the village.

In the mid-1970s houses were constructed in a new development, St Mary's Close to the east of the village and more houses were constructed to the east of the village along Church Lane to the point where it becomes Old Lane.

In the 1990s the Badgers Hollow development was built to the west of the village on the site of the former Barker & Shenton garage and ten houses were constructed at Green Park on the site of a former transport cafe near Deadman’s Green. As well as this there have been various infill building projects around the village and the building of five bungalows at Deadman’s Green.

It should also be mentioned that between 1983 and 1985 a multi-million pound bypass was constructed (the A50) between Uttoxeter and Blythe Bridge which took most of the through traffic and unclogged the congestion along the original road (now the A522).