| Notes about the Church |
"The Parish Church, St Matthew, stands on a bold and commanding eminence, and is approached from the head of High Street by a long flight of steps, the summit of which commands an extensive view of the town, as the streets descend from the churchyard very abruptly on every side, except the south. It is a large and handsome structure, which was nearly all rebuilt, except the tower and lofty spire, in 1821. The building is in the transition style of the 14th and 15th centuries, and the interior has a light appearance, the pillars, mullions of the windows, etc, being of cast iron. At the south west angle rises the massive tower, surmounted by a handsome spire, which was erected about 1775, when a set of eight bells were put up, the tenor weighing 23 cwt. The original church was a very ancient fabric, though it exhibited no trace of Saxon architecture. Many of its antique ornaments are still preserved in the new erection, and among them are seven stalls on each side of the chancel, the seats of which are ornamented with a great variety of grotesque figures, carved in basso-relievo. Under this part of the church is a remarkable cript of massy Gothic workmanship, forming a common passage through the eastern division of the churchyard. The nave is spacious, lofty, and neatly pewed, and the galleries are supported by very slender clustered iron columns, terminated by fine pointed arches. The large window at the west end was embellished by a beautiful stained glass figure of St Matthew, but it was blown out by an explosion of gas which had escaped under one of the pews, and killed the beadle, who accidently ignited it just after the congregation had left on October 10th, 1847. The churchyard having become much too small for the increased wants of the parish, the corporation in 1756 gave two acres of land on the south side of the town, and in the same year it was enclosed and consecrated as a new burial ground. The vicarage is in the patronage of the Earl of Bradford, and incumbency of the Rev JH Sharwood, M.A."
[From History, Gazetteer and Directory of Staffordshire, William White, Sheffield, 1851]
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Those periods with zero data may span several decades. The first may include pre 1530 records.