Gayton is a small rural village and civil parish in Staffordshire, located approximately 1 mile from the A51 between Stone and Stafford.

The name Gayton is believed to mean either "a primitive enclosure approached from a gate or narrow way, from the Anglo-Saxon 'geat'" or "'Gaegas dwelling', derived from an Old English personal name"[2]).

Gayton (recorded as Gaitone[2]) was listed in the Domesday Book (1086 AD), together with nearby Amerton, in the Pirehill hundred, as having 8 households, with 10 villagers and 6 smallholders, and the Tenant-in-Chief was Earl Roger of Shrewsbury.

[2] In 1851, Gayton was a 'scattered village', with 291 residents, and with 'commanding views over of Sandon Column, the plantations of the Earl of Harrowby, and the picturesque ruins of Chartley Castle.'

The parish contained '1475 acres 2 roods 26 perches of fertile, loamy land, of which Earl Ferrers is the principal owner, and lord of the manor'.

During World War Two a Royal Observer Corps Monitoring Post was installed south of the village on Wadden Farm, and is still in good condition today.

The occupational structure of Gayton males aged 20 or over, as reported in the 1831 Census, shows that the majority of workers were either farmers or agricultural labourers, as was typical for a rural community in the 1830s.

The number of people who were in professional and governmental occupations was minimal due to Gayton's rural location, and many women were unaccounted for, these most likely being housewives.

[15] Gayton Village Hall is a multi-purpose facility, located just off Church Lane, which has a fully licensed bar, and is used for many local events including flower arranging, coffee mornings and twice monthly get together meets.

[From History, Gazetteer and Directory of Staffordshire, William White, Sheffield, 1851][18] Gayton is also the documented site of a Holy Well used in medieval and post-medieval times, although this is believed to have dried out.