Battle marker

This rather unprepossessing marker shows the spot where the only significant batle of the Civil War took place in Staffordshire - the Battle of Hopton Heath. It's also in a rather undistinguished spot, as much of the site is covered by ugly Ministry Of Defence buildings.
Still, it was down to the effort of a concerted local campaign that this marker was finally erected and unveiled in March 2003, on the exact 360th anniversary of the battle.

As for the battle itself, both sides claimed victory.

'Unseen' trough stirs thoughts

This stone trough on a road near Biddulph Grange goes largely 'unseen'. By that I mean that many people will pass it, and think nothing of it.
But one of the great things about having a camera with you is that because you are actively looking for photos, you will 'see' things and be drawn to them.

Then the questions come in.   For example: how old?, why was it put there?, who cares for it?, what identity does it have?, is it significant to somebody? what role does it have now? And so on... Interest is stirred.
And so a whole world of imagination and/or stories can open up before one.

Crumbling mausoleum

The old mausoleum housing the remains of the Parker-Jervis family is so completely overgrown and hidden that it's virtually impossible to get a photo of it.
It's sunk into a pit at the back of St Saviour's Church in Aston-by-Stone village, and even climbing down into the pit, to try to gain access to its door, is pretty difficult now (as you can see!).

Even though it's a listed building, now a 150 years old, it is showing signs of collapse too.

The whole churchyard at St Saviour's is littered with the graves of members of the Parker-Jervis line, which owned the adjacent Aston Hall too.

Link: Parker-Jervis Family Vault

This post has been featured on Taphophile Tragics (the cemetery-enthusiasts' website) 

A little bit of China

The so-called 'Pagoda Fountain' at Alton Towers is well away from the rollercoasters that the park is better known for.
Older folk (or people just tired of the hustle & bustle) can just take a left turn at Nemesis (which is a really terrifying ride), and find themselves in the tranquillity of the old landscaped gardens, which were created in the 1820s/30s.

The pagoda dates from the 1830s. To be honest, it is not so much authentic Chinese as a fantasy of China, but I like it.

Holy Grail... is in Stafford

The Shepherd’s Monument, in the grounds of Shugborough Hall (near Stafford), is one of the main attractions for the hundreds of tourists who go there, especially at this time of year. You might wonder why - because the carving is not that good.

The fact is: it’s very peculiar. The carving is an exact mirror image of a famous painting (by Poussin), in which shepherds appear to examine a tomb. Why the mirroring? No one knows, as the people of the time – it was made in 1748 – aren’t saying.

Then – this sounds crazy – a story grew up (probably fabricated of course) that the carving is a clue as to the site of a putative nearby resting-place of The Holy Grail (the ancient chalice that once contained the blood of Christ and which, the legend goes, ended up in Britain). The tomb in the carving suggests this idea, it is said.
Hmm.

Anyway, the last peculiarity is that there is an unexplained line of ten Roman letters carved into the plinth. You and I might think that it’s just a private inscription of abbreviations put there by the lord of the time; but lots of people have got very excited over it and insist it’s a secret code. In fact, a whole cyberspace buzz has grown up around it.
Hmm, again.

Anyway, if you want to know more, even Staffordshire County Council hasn’t been able to resist the ‘mystery’ and has a whole page devoted to it on the council's Past Track website.
See also: Staffordshire & the Holy Grail / Shepherd’s Monument (BBC)

Hundreds turn out to historic churches

The Staffordshire Historic Churches Trust is an organisation I respect and admire a great deal, but even I was surprised at the hundreds of people who turned out for its most recent 'church tour'.
On these tours, supporters and friends will follow a pre-araanged route to visit some of the county's finest churches, at each of which there will be talks (and even tea & biscuits...).

The first stop on the tour was at Statfold, a small and ancient family chapel usually closed to the general public. The place was full to capacity for the talk.

The final stop on this four-church tour was at St Peter's in Elford, a very large church. And it had to be - because by this time the members of the tour had swelled to something like 200 people...
It just shows (I hope) the desire in the county to preserve our most amazing churches.

Link:  Staffordshire Historic Churches Trust (And it's very cheap to join the SCHT!)

Daughters die of fever

If three children from one family died suddenly of fever today, it would be all over the national papers. But, 150 years ago, all it merited was the most basic of tomb inscriptions and a single grave.

Poor Henry and Caroline - three daughters taken at one stroke, and quickly buried, here at Holy Trinity Churchyard in Oakamoor.

We don't know how fortunate we are, do we?

Pigeons defy Bethesda 'hawk'

This hawk is a pretty poor deterrent to these pigeons, who seem quite content to share a perch with it.
The hawk (which is made in stone of course) was placed on the historic Bethesda Chapel in Hanley to frighten away the pesky pigeons - who nearly ruined the chapel during the time it lay derelict. (It's been much restored and saved, over the last few years).

I think the chapel's supporters may need to use another system.

700 years of old smithy for sale

The chance to buy a 700-year old house is still fairly rare, even in in Brewood, which is about as Merrie Old England as you can get nowadays.
Yet, look here - the town's Old Smithy - parts of which go back to 1350 - is up for sale.
Ghosts are an extra.

Link: Old Smithy - Listed Building

Alton Towers gets green

The National Garden Scheme (NGS) is a great idea.
Lots of gardens - from ones at stately homes right through to your local suburban homes - are made open to the general public for one afternoon a year.
Nosy people (like myself) pay a couple of quid to wander round them – and the money all goes to charity.

This year Alton Towers took part in the scheme – for the first time in eighty or so years. About two hundred of us took the opportunity to check out the historic gardens, which were created some 150 years ago, not to mention all its eccentric features.

Some of us walked round them; and some of us just took tea on the terrace above the gardens' mini-valley and enjoyed the view.

Link:  NGS in Staffordshire

Sir Thomas Guy's leopards

Sir Thomas Guy's coat of arms stare down at you in the entry way to the group of buildings in Tanmworth known as Guy's Almshouses.
Nothing odd there, as Sir Thomas piad for and endowed the site for the poor of the town in 1678.

What is odd is that when the caretaker kindly showed it to me, I recognised the design straightaway - as being the same on the shield that surmounts the gates into the famous Guy's Hospital in London.
(Who could forget these crowned leopards with their very very handsome sets of whiskers?!!)

I don't know why, but I hadn't made the connection before. That is: the Sir Thomas Guy who is such a big name in the history of Tamworth is the same Guy who founded one of London's old hospitals.
Ah.


Link: Guy's coat of arms at Guy's Hospital

A windmill home

The old windmill at Croxton no longer turns out ground cereals, but has been converted to what must be a rather special private home. It must be fun to live there.

High on a hill, it was used during the Second World War as a look-out site for enemy planes. It’s kinda amusing to think that if planning rules had existed all those years ago, this windmill might never have been allowed...

Charles Darwin at Maer

This large sign commemorating Charles Darwin stands proudly at the entrance to the village of Maer.

At first, its presence is a mystery. Darwin was born in Shropshire, and spent his working years in Kent. What’s the Staffordshire connection?

Cherchez la femme, as they say. Look for the love interest!
Yes, Darwin fell in love with his cousin – who lived at Maer Hall. He spent many days here, and eventually married in the village's small church.
The strange thing is that he is depicted as an old man in the sign, whereas when he stayed here, he was a young man. But then - who would recognise Darwin without his white beard?!!

The village are very proud of the connection, and had a whole series of Darwin events in 2009, the bicentenary of Darwin’s birth.

Link: Darwin in Staffordshire

The green of Fenton Tip

‘Fenton Tip’ does not refer to a rubbish dump. The word ‘tip’ in Stoke-on-Trent is more likely to mean a coal tip, i.e. where all the spoil from coal-mining extraction would be piled. Some of these coal-tips go as high as hundreds of feet.

Nowadays, with all the mines closed, the tips are almost all greened over – returned to nature - though some still smoulder even now. Youngsters think they are strange, sudden hills, not knowing their real origin.

Fenton Tip is where the old Glebe Colliery stood, and this mining tub marks the spot.

Human sacrifice on hill

The Druids, so the local legend has it, used this little hill-mound by the River Sow (at the village of Fairoak, near Eccleshall) for human sacrifice thousands of years ago.
The legend might have some truth, as there are clearly archaeological signs of some human activity up there in the shape of a sandstone ‘wall ring’. But only some careful excavations will get to the full truth of it.

The locals keep away from it though.

Throwley Old Hall slumbers

Throwley Old Hall is now just a ruin, but is easily accessible, lying just off the narrow road to Grindon in the Staffordshire Peak District. The ground is all overgrown, and, despite being listed, it still lies amid a lot of its own collapsed rubble.
It's in a beautiful spot, but very few people seem to know about it - which maybe is a good thing.

I love it because of its elegant Tudor shape and a couple of old stonework mouldings which weren't spoilt when it was refurbished in the 19th Century. Now, it just lies in the sun, slumbering.
Because it is next to a farm, it has not been vandalised. For which we should be thankful.

Link: Throwley Old Hall