Arms of the Diocese of Lichfield in a plaque memorial to John Lonsdale DD, the then Bishop of Lichfield (d 1867) who consecrated the church in 1845.
The plaque reads:
In Memory of
John Lonsdale DD
Bishop of Lichfield
Deceased Oct 19 1867
He Consecrated this Church
June 18 1845
"On the site where this church now stands there use to he the ancient chapel of Saint Mary which fell into disuse after the reformation. In 1750 it was pulled down and much of the material was used to repair the chancel at St Oswald's, the mother-church in Ashbourne.
The present church, erected in 1845 is a building of stone in the Early English style. Victorian buildings fell temporarily into disfavour in the sixties and seventies and became victims of misplaced enthusiasm, being drastically reordered. Clifton Church escaped this and we are fortunate to find it mostly as the builders left it, a fine example of a village church of the period.
It consists of an apsidal chancel, a lofty nave with a south porch built in memory of the Revd. Spencer Cubit, who was Vicar of Clifton for over 20 years. There are two vestries to the north, one of which was intended to be the base of a bell tower but never used as such."
SOURCE - church pamphlet
"The Right Reverend John Lonsdale (17 January 1788 – 19 October 1867) was the third Principal of King's College, London, and later served as Bishop of Lichfield.
He was educated at Eton College and King's College, Cambridge, and went on to become Principal of King's College, London in 1838 following the death of Hugh James Rose."
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"The Diocese of Lichfield is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury, England. The bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Chad in the city of Lichfield. The diocese covers 4,516 km2 (1,744 sq mi) of several counties: all of Staffordshire, northern Shropshire, a significant portion of the West Midlands, and very small portions of Warwickshire and Powys (Wales).
The Diocese of Mercia was created by Diuma in around 656 and the see was settled in Lichfield in 669 by the then bishop, Ceadda (later Saint Chad), who built a monastery there. At the Council of Chelsea in 787, Bishop Higbert was raised to the rank of archbishop and given authority over the dioceses of Worcester, Leicester, Lincoln, Hereford, Elmham and Dunwich. This was due to the persuasion of King Offa of Mercia, who wanted an archbishop to rival Canterbury. On Offa's death in 796, however, the Pope removed the archiepiscopal rank and restored the dioceses to the authority of Canterbury. In 803 the Council of Clovesho accepted this decision.
During the 9th century, the diocese was devastated by the Vikings. Lichfield itself was unwalled and had become rather poor, so Bishop Peter moved the see to the fortified and wealthier Chester in 1075. His successor, Robert de Limesey, transferred it to Coventry and the diocese was renamed the Diocese of Coventry and Lichfield. At this stage it also covered Derbyshire and most of Warwickshire. In 1539 the see was transferred back to Lichfield and the name was reversed to become the Diocese of Lichfield and Coventry.
A map of the English dioceses during the reign of Henry VIII, from Phillips' new historical atlas (1920)
The diocese was one of the largest in medieval England and was divided into five archdeaconries roughly coinciding with the constituent counties or parts of counties: Chester (covering Cheshire and south Lancashire), Coventry, Derby, Salop and Stafford. In 1541 the diocese of Chester was created and parishes in south Lancashire, Cheshire, Denbighshire and Flintshire were transferred to the new diocese. On 24 January 1837, the archdeaconry of Coventry was transferred to the diocese of Diocese of Worcester and the Bishop, see and diocese of Lichfield and Coventry all accordingly renamed Lichfield. In 1884 the archdeaconry of Derby was transferred to the new diocese of Southwell. In 1877 part of the archdeaconry of Stafford became the archdeaconry of Stoke-upon-Trent (now generally called merely Stoke) and in 1981 the remainder was renamed the archdeaconry of Lichfield. In 1997 another part of the archdeaconry (of Lichfield) was removed to form the new archdeaconry of Walsall, covering Trysull, Walsall, Wednesbury, West Bromwich and Wolverhampton."
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