Church of St Michael and All Angels, Hamstall Ridware

The Church of St Michael and All Angels stands in the small village of Hamstall Ridware in Staffordshire. It sits on a gentle slope 160 metres west of the River Blithe, reached by a 250-metre path through pasture land. Founded between 1130 and 1150, the present building mostly dates from the 14th and 15th centuries. The church was built of ashlar sandstone and originally consisted of a nave and short chancel, with only parts of the west wall remaining from the Norman period. Small sections of Norman masonry survive outside the tower and a Norman window appears above the belfry arch inside. The church is worth visiting for its layered history and notable features. The Cotton Tomb dates from the reign of Henry VIII, while monuments to the Stronginthearm family mark the churchyard. The 16th-century south chapel screen has a Tudor arch, and the north chapel screen dates from 1520 to 1530. Choir seats from Lichfield Cathedral sit in the south aisle, and the stone font and wooden pulpit are 19th-century additions. Four bells hang in the cramped belfry, two over two, and painted panels of the Life of Christ adorn the reredos. Inside, visitors find 14th-century stained glass in the south chapel dedicated to Saint Cecilia. Three early 16th-century windows in the north aisle show nine apostles, including Saint John with a chalice and serpent. The east window glass was made by Ward and Hughes, and a window in the south aisle remembers Reverend Humberton Skipwith. Outside, the 18th-century rebuilt north chapel wall and the 19th-century gabled south porch frame the approach. The churchyard holds further memorials, and the path through the fields adds to the quiet, rural setting.