Colton Church Dedicated to St. Mary, the Virgin

Amongst the people listed at Colton in the Domesday Survey is a priest.  It can therefore be assumed that there was a church building here before the Norman Conquest.

The earliest church sites were always near to water to enable baptisms to be conducted.  The present church is close to the  Moreton Brook and when Bellamour Lodge was being built in the mid 19th Century an ancient burial ground was discovered.  A carved stone head, now in the possession of the church, was also found there.  This carved stone has never been dated but it is similar in design to those found on Easter Island.  Nor do we know the date of this burial site -- it is possible that it could be pre-Christian but we can be certain that it is the original ground used for burials before the surroundings of the church were so used.

The field names around Bellamour Lodge include "Chapel Hill" and "Chapel Yard" which gives us clues that the first place of worship was close by.

The present Church Tower and South-East are of the building date from the late 12th Century.  The main part of the edifice was rebuilt in similar Early English style in 1850 - 1851. G.E. Street was the architect and the majority of the funds were provided by the Rector and his wife, Revd. Abdiel and Mrs Seaton, and Miss Ellen Oldham of Bellamour Lodge.   Many of the features of the church were also designed by Street, including a fine set of Communion Vessels.

When the 1850 rebuilding commenced, plaster was removed from the then Chancel wall (the present day Vestry)   and a set of 14th Century Frescoes was revealed, depicting St. Nicholas, the Salutation of Elizabeth and the expulsion of Adam and Eve. They were in poor condition but, before removal, a Rugeley lady was commissioned by Revd. Seaton to draw them.

The organ incorporates the 1851 instrument and in 1851 another bell was given by Miss Oldham to make a ring of three.  In 1950 a metal bell frame was installed and the 3 bells recast by Taylors of Loughborough.  A fourth bell was added in 1985 and a further 2 in August 2001 (The Millennium Bells).  All 6 bells were re-tuned and now ring out joyfully each Sunday and on other occasions - often by visiting teams eager to add to their experiences.

The Altar frontals include a refurbished frontal incorporating two panels designed by William Morris and the brasses are all by Hardman of Birmingham.  Many of the candleholders were converted to Electricity in 1959 although electric power came to the church in 1930.

In the churchyard can be found the base of an ancient Preaching Cross and the ground surrounding the church had been used for burials for Centuries until the opening of the cemetery across the road near the school in 1870.  In 1959 the mounds surrounding the church were levelled and a pavement created with the removed stones to the West of the church.

 On the South Chancel wall is a 'Squint' opening in the wall, thought to be used by those outside the church to witness the elevation of the Host at Mass.  In the South of the Chancel are a set of three mediaeval misericords at the time of the rebuilding; two depict wyvers when the seats are upturned and the third, rather uniquely, has a carving of a Janus head.

The Parish Registers date from 1647 and the majority of these are now in the County Record Office in Stafford.

Dorothy Bradbury