Clifton Campville and one of England's finest church spires

Rising above the gentle valley of the River Mease in eastern Staffordshire, the slender spire of Clifton Campville can be seen for miles across the flat farmland where the county meets Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Warwickshire. This quiet village of around 900 people takes the second part of its name from the de Camville family, who held the manor in the 13th century.

The church of St Andrew

The village's glory is the church of St Andrew, a Grade I listed building of the 13th and 14th centuries whose tall, graceful spire has long been admired as one of the finest in the country. Inside are medieval treasures: 14th-century carved oak screens, a 15th-century rood screen, old stained glass and monuments to the Vernon family, while parts of the south wall and traces of wall paintings survive from around the year 1200.

A quiet corner of Staffordshire

Around the church stand handsome old buildings, among them the historic Green Man pub, Clifton Hall and Manor Farm, in a peaceful farming landscape close to the village of Haunton.

Visiting

Clifton Campville is about 16 kilometres east of Lichfield and 11 kilometres north of Tamworth, reached by country roads off the main routes through the Midlands.