St. Chad's Church, Stafford,

Description:St. Chad's dates from the Norman period and is one of Stafford's oldest churches. The church was originally built in an open square, but since the seventeenth century it was surrounded by shops and housing, shut away from Greengate Street.

St. Chad's was poor and the building neglected. The old Norman tower had collapsed many years before, replaced by the present tower some time before 1500. In the 1740s the west end also collapsed, so the church was encased in plaster and brickwork, covering the Norman features. The church bells were sold to cover some of the repair costs.

By the mid-nineteenth century St. Chad's was in more regular use. Restoration work carried out in the 1850s revealed much of the original Norman church, and the chancel was restored in the memory of Izaak Walton, who was a benefactor of St. Chad's. The surrounding buildings were removed to provide a view of the restored building.