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1. St John the Baptist, Armitage, Staffordshire, England

Parish church
Armitage is in central south Staffordshire, to the E of Cannock Chase and 2 miles SE of Rugeley. The village is built along the A513 road from Rugeley to Handsacre, and the latter and Armitage now form a continuous conurbation. This road follows the line of the River Trent, and St John's is built on a sandstone outcrop overlooking the river.
2. St Mary and All Saints, Bradley, Staffordshire, England

Parish church
Bradley lies some 4 miles SW of Stafford in a gently undulating landscape of small dispersed farms, traditionally dairy. The church is of red sandstone and has a nave with a N aisle, chancel with a N chapel and a W tower. The chancel side windows indicate a late-13thc. date, although the E window with its flowing tracery is 14thc. The two-bay N chapel is of the late-13thc. In the nave, the three-bay arcade with its quatrefoil piers and sunk quadrant mouldings in the arch belongs to the early 14thc. There is no clerestory, but the S nave wall has been fitted with three tall 15thc. windows that light the interior admirably. To the same period belong the battlemented parapets of the nave and tower. The N nave aisle is linked to the N chapel by a simple, very plain arch, perhaps early-13thc., and an old roofline visible in the masonry above this demonstrates that the aisle has been widened and heightened, probablyc.1500 (see VIII Comments/Opinions), the date of the aisle windows. The nave has N and S doorways without porches; the N 19thc. and the S 16thc. The tower and its arch are 14thc. and later work. It had a W doorway that was blockedc.1907 using 12thc. and later carved stones on the interior. Other 12thc. carved stones are set in the S nave wall outside, and the church is also important for its chip-carved font. Antiquarian views in the William Salt Library are a view from the N by J. Curtes of 1798 (SV II 122c), one from the SE by Buckler of 1842 (SV II 29), and one of the tower from the W, also by Buckler, 1842 ((SV II 117). This last shows the W doorway before it was blocked. There is also an 1842 Buckler drawing of the font (SV II 121).
3. St Mary and All Saints, Checkley, Staffordshire, England

Parish church
St Mary's has a W tower, a very tall clerestoried nave with tall N and S aisles with four-bay arcades, and a square-ended chancel. The chancel is the only one of these elements that is straightforward. It has a five light E window and tall three-light side windows with intersecting Y-tracery, i.e. ofc.1300, and the continuous chancel arch with sunk quadrant mouldings is of the same date. The N arcade is 13thc., with moulded capitals, some decorated with nailhead, and alternating round and octagonal piers. The pier capitals of the S arcade are stylistically earlier, late 12thc., including flat leaves and volutes, but the respond capitals have very complex mouldings and are much later, as are the double-chamfered pointed arches. Furthermore the S arcade is considerably taller than the N, and must have been heightened. The clerestory windows are square-headed triple lights with ogees; a 14thc.-15thc. type convincingly attributed to the early 17thc. by Pevsner. The N aisle windows are 17thc., and the S doorway is ofc.1300. It is protected by a rib-vaulted porch. The lower storey of the W tower is 12thc. with a flat buttress and small round-headed lancets, all chamfered, plain and renewed. The upper storey is Perpendicular with mullioned and transomed bell-openings but a plain parapet with tiny crocketed pinnacles. The tower arch, confusingly, is 14thc. Decorated. In Pevsner's account, the church was practically rebuilt in the early 17thc. using the old elements and this seems the only way to account for the contradictions in the architecture. 19thc. views of the church, inside and out, and the font are available in the William Salt Library, Stafford (see IX Bibliography). The remodelled 12thc. S arcade is described below, as is the most important Romanesque feature in the church; the font.
4. St Editha, Church Eaton, Staffordshire, England

Parish church
Church Eaton is an attractive village in the W of the county, 6 miles SW of Stafford and 4 miles from the Shropshire border. The village lies between the Church Eaton Brook, to the E, and the Shropshire Union Canal, to the W, in an undulating landscape mostly devoted to dairy farming. The church stands at the E end of the High Street, and is of local sandstone. It consists of nave, chancel and W tower with spire. N aisle has been added to the nave, and extended eastwards alongside the chancel to form a chapel. Beyond this, at the E end of the N chancel wall, is an unusual 17thc. vestry. On the S of the chancel is a 19thc. organ room. The two-storey tower is 12thc., with clasping buttresses to the lower storey, which also has two small round-headed lancets in the W wall. The upper storey has plain round-headed lancets on its N, S and W walls, and on the E wall a larger round-headed window into the nave. All the external lancets are chamfered, suggesting a late-12thc. date, and this is confirmed by the pointed tower arch and its capitals, and by the bell-openings, with twin pointed openings under a barely-pointed enclosing arch. The broach-spire, recessed behind a plain parapet with gargoyles at the angles, is dated by Pevsner to the 15thc. It has lucarnes at two levels. The nave has a S doorway ofc.1300, and tall 15thc. windows. On the N, the four-bay arcade is mid-13thc., with pointed, chamfered arches and nailhead decoration on the moulded capitals. The square-headed aisle windows are 14thc, however. The N chapel is 15thc., with tall, three-light square-headed windows, and a two-bay arcade with arches taller than the nave arcade and crudely cut octagonal capitals. In the present liturgical arrangement the chancel has been shortened, so that its screen and step are alongside the central pier of the chapel arcade. The seven-light E chancel window is a beautifully skeletal work of the 15thc. The 19thc. additions include the S porch and the organ room and vestry on the S side of the chancel. Romanesque work recorded here comprises the tower bell-openings and tower arch, a cushion capital set in the S porch, and the broken and repaired remains of an elaborate early-12thc. font, closely related to the font at Bradley.
5. All Saints, Grindon, Staffordshire, England

Parish church
Grindon is a remote village high in the Staffordshire Moorlands, situated in a loop of the River Hamps. It is surprising to find a church there that seems more suited to an urban setting, but All Saints is just that; a tall and solid ashlar building ofc.1845, built by F. and H. Francis in an early-14thc. style. Its wide nave has four-bay aisles with no clerestory, and it has a broad low chancel with a N vestry, and a tower with a tall broach spire with lucarnes at its foot. The old church was demolished in 1845, and a drawing by Buckler of 1847 shows the present building (William Salt Library SV IV 227). An undated watercolour entitled 'All Saints Church, Grindon' (William Salt Library SV IV 226b) shows a distant SW view of a church with a pinnacled tower without a spire, and a nave with a clerestory, i.e. not the present church, so presumably the old one. In the same collection is a Buckler drawing of 'One of the Capitals and remains of the Shaft of the Old Church at Grindon' (William Salt Library SV IV 228b). This shows a cylindrical pier carrying a low cushion capital with a square impost. The only Romanesque feature is a disused font bowl, at present under the tower.
6. St Michael and All Angels, Hamstall Ridware, Staffordshire, England

Parish church
Church and Hall originally formed a group, with the Hall to the W, and this is shown in two views by Stebbing Shaw (1798-1801) in the William Salt Library (SV VIII 62a, 62b). Nothing is known of the Hall before the early 16thc., and such remains as survive today are of that period or later. St Michael's has a W tower with an octagonal spire behind a plain parapet, and a long nave and chancel in one, with no chancel arch, a single roof and a continuous clerestory. J. C. Buckler a produced a SE view of the church (1839), now in the William Salt Library (SV VIII 61a), looking much as it does today. The separation between nave and chancel was once by means of a rood-loft reached by a spiral stair on the S side, which remains in part. The present position of the chancel is marked by a step, and there are three nave arcade bays to the W of this and one similar chancel arcade bay, plus a smaller bay to the E. On the N side of the chancel, both arches give onto a chapel, now containing the organ and a vestry. On the S the smaller E arch acts as the canopy of the Cotton tomb ofc.1500, and the chapel is still used for its proper purpose. There is another vestry to the E of the S chapel, so that overall the S chancel aisle extends to the E end of the church, while the N aisle stops one bay short. The nave is 12thc., and its upper W window survives in part, along with traces of another on the N side of the chancel, and masonry to either side of the tower at the W end. The tower and chancel are 14thc, and the arcades and clerestory Perpendicular. The church is of grey ashlar inside and out; the interior apparently recently cleaned and looking very bare. The church has three fonts, or at least three bowls, two 12thc., one inside and one out, and the third the 19thc. piece that is actually used. Curiously, Pevsner mentioned only the less interesting of the Romanesque fonts.
7. Holy Cross, Ilam, Staffordshire, England

Parish church
The church stands in the grounds of Ilam Hall; a building of 1821 erected by Jesse Watts-Russell. The present hall replaced a hall built for John Port in 1546, and it was Port's successor, also John Port, who sold up to Russell in 1809. This John Port's son, also John, became vicar of Ilam. Watts-Russell died in 1875 and the house passed to the Hanbury family, who sold it in 1927 to a restaurateur. When he went bankrupt, the house passed to a building contractor, who promptly demolished two-thirds of it. A view before the demolition may be seen in the William Salt Library (SV V 12). What was left was purchased in 1934 by Sir Robert McDougal, who gave it to the National Trust. It now houses a Youth Hostel, and a National Trust shop, and serves as a focus for walkers. Jesse Watts-Russell was also responsible for the curious appearance of Ilam village, which he rebuilt in a Swiss style on a slightly different (and steeper) site, because the surrounding countryside reminded him of the Alps. In the centre of the village is a small-scale copy of an Eleanor Cross that Watts-Russell erected in 1840 in memory of his wife.
8. St James, Longdon, Staffordshire, England

Parish church
The nave has no aisles but broad transepts at its E end. The N transept is of 1870 by A. Hartshorne; 13thc. in its details, but with a single opening to the nave consisting of shafted piers carrying a heavy joist. The S transept is of two pointed bays, and was built by John Stoneywall, later Abbot of Pershore, around 1500. The nave roof is modern and fitted with skylights. The nave E wall has the remains of wallpainting at the top. There are N and S nave doorways; the S under a porch and the N now giving access to a vestry. The chancel arch is 12thc. work, and the chancel is 13th-14thc., with simple lancets at the W end and Y-traceried window further E. The E window has reticulated tracery of the early 14thc. The W tower is 14thc., with diagonal buttresses at the W end and reticulated bell-openings. The parapet, with battlements and crocketed pinnacles at the angles, may be a later addition. Construction is of red sandstone ashlar throughout. The S transept has battlements. There are drawings of the church in the William Salt Library, dating from 1769 to 1841 (SV VII 35a, 35b, 36, 37a) and one of the S doorway of 1843 (SV VII 38). All show the church much as it is today. In the same collection are drawings of the font, of 1842 (A. E. Everitt - SV VII 42) and 1843 (J. C. Buckler - SV VII 41). Romanesque features are the chancel arch, the bowl of the font, and the two nave doorways. The N doorway was not accessible when the church was recorded.
9. St Bartholomew, Longnor, Staffordshire, England

Parish church
Longnor is a small town, little bigger than a village but with its own market square and market hall. It is in NE Staffordshire, half a mile from the river Dove that forms the border with Derbyshire and built on a ridge between the valleys of the Dove and the Manifold. As early as 1300 the open fields along the Dove valley and the steeper land running down to the Manifold were in use as pasture land. The present church is a rebuilding in grey stone of 1780-81 and consists of nave and a W tower. The nave is a broad and rectangular with an altar at the E and no separate chancel. In 1812 the walls were raised to allow the insertion of galleries at the W and S. Gallery-level windows were added at the same time - round-headed like those below them. A false ceiling was installed in 1948-49 as part of a general post-war restoration, so the upper windows are visible only on the exterior. The W gallery was converted into a meeting room in 1996. The tower is contemporary with the nave, and has projecting quoins and an embattled parapet with pinnacles at the angles. This is apparently the third church on the site. The previous two were Chapels of Ease to Alstonefield; the first of unknown date, probably 12thc., and the second a 16thc. new build. The Tudor church had become unsafe by 1730 and was derelict by the 1770s. The only Romanesque feature is the font.
10. St Nicholas, Mavesyn Ridware, Staffordshire, England

Parish church
The church and the manor house alongside it were foundedc.1140 by Hugo Malvoisin, also founder of Blithbury Priory. All that remains of the medieval manor house is the timber-framed gatehouse ofc.1400. By the end of the middle ages, the church had a nave with N and S aisles and a S porch, a chancel and a W tower. In 1782 it was described as 'very damp and ruinous', and was taken down and rebuilt except for the N aisle and the tower. The present eccentric confection is the result. The church as it stands today has a broad, brick nave with a W doorway, a coved plaster ceiling, and small polygonal apse at its east, both dating from 1782. On the N side of the nave, and at a slightly lower level, is the Trinity aisle, or Cawarden Chapel, separated from the nave by a 14thc. arcade of three bays. The aisle is older than this, retaining 13thc. lancets in its E, W and N walls. In the chapel are collected a large number of memorials of the Mavesyn, Cawarden and Chadwick families, including two 13thc. effigies of knights. There are also contains hatchments and reliefs, largely retrospective and dating from around the time of the 18thc. rebuilding. The Perpendicular W tower (actually NW of the nave) is the only other medieval fabric, and both this and the N aisle are of grey ashlar. Romanesque interest centres on the foliage-ornamented font.
11. All Saints, Milwich, Staffordshire, England

Parish church
In 1791 the S wall of the medieval church collapsed, bringing part of the roof down with it, and fabric surveys concluded that the entire church apart from the W tower would have to be rebuilt. The present nave and chancel thus date from 1791-94, and they are built of bricks from Milwich Heath. The nave is long and broad, and separated from the short, low square-ended chancel by a square-headed arch with rounded interior angles. It has a full-width gallery at the W end. In 1888 the interior walls were lined with pitch pine by two local carpenters, giving the church an unusual sauna-like appearance, and the interior was extensively remodelled in 1906, including the laying of a mosaic floor in the chancel. The 15thc. W tower is decorated with a row of shields and a stringcourse with gargoyles below the battlemented parapet. The William Salt Library, Stafford, has exterior views of the church by T. P. Wood of 1835-45 (SV VIII.145b) and by Buckler of 1841 (SV VII.77), both also showing the parsonage at the W end (now destroyed), but no view dating from before the collapse of the medieval nave is known. The only 12thc. feature is the arcaded font.
12. Statfold Chapel, Staffordshire, England

Chapel, formerly Parish church
Statfold is in the extreme SE of the county, 3 miles NE of Tamworth. Statfold chapel stands in the grounds of Statfold Hall, to the N of the hall itself, and is not marked on the OS Landranger map. The present hall is a brick building of 1571 and later. The hall, the chapel, Statfold Farm and a few scattered houses are all that remain of Statfold, although the topography of a field immediately to the N of the chapel suggests that the village was here. It is likely to have been deserted in the early Tudor period following enclosure by the landlord. The chapel serves as a mortuary chapel for the Wolferstan family. It was restored and refitted for use as a parish church in 1906, although the parish has never been populous enough to support its own minister. It is now attached to the benefice of Clifton Campville. The chapel is a single-cell gabled box with steps to an altar at the E. The 12thc. W doorway is the oldest part of the fabric, while the priest's doorway dates from the 13thc. A good deal of work was carried out in the first half of the 14thc; the chancel windows and the sedilia and piscina being of that period. It contains two wall tombs with female effigies; both of the later 14thc. Drawings by Buckler show the exterior (1838) and the interior (1848) (William Salt Library SV X 8, SV X 9a) looking much as they do today structurally, but with the roof covered in ivy. A small steeple at the W end was pulled down as unsafec.1680. Construction is of sandstone quarried nearby. The stonework is of regular ashlar blocks except at the W end, where it is rubbly and irregular. The western gable has been rebuilt incorporating a millstone as a decorative feature. This appears in Buckler's engraving. The only 12thc. features are the W doorway and the font. The author is grateful to Mr Francis Wolferstan for allowing access to the chapel.
13. St Mary, Stafford, Staffordshire, England

Parish church (formerly collegiate church)
Although St Mary's is in the centre of Stafford it stands in its own large close, reached through a narrow passage from Greengate Street, the main shopping thoroughfare on which St Chad's stands. The church is a large one, cruciform with transepts and an octagonal crossing tower that had a spire until 1594. The chancel has five-bay aisles, the N largely given oven to organ and vestry use, and the S a Lady Chapel. The nave is aisled too, with five-bay arcades and a clerestorey. The earliest fabric here is 13thc., and there is also Decorated and Perpendicular work, and the church was thoroughly restored by George Gilbert Scot in 1841-44. According to Pevsner's analysis, the nave and its arcades are early 13thc. work, although the crocket capitals are Scott’s. The W doorway and a plain N aisle doorway are also early 13thc., while the W window belongs to the later 13thc. The S aisle windows are 14thc. and the N aisle windows and clerestorey are Perpendicular. The S doorway and its porch are Scott's. As we move into the transept and chancel, Scott's work becomes more apparent, doubtless because when the spire fell in 1594, it fell eastwards. The N transept was not restored, and retains an early 14thc. N doorway and window, and a Perpendicular clerestory. Scott removed the clerestories in the chancel and S transept. Some 13thc. windows survive in these parts of the church, but most of the windows are Scott's. The only 12thc. feature is the Italianate font.