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Chebsey is an ancient village and would have had a Saxon church as the Domesday entry states it had a resident priest. The manor of Chebsey was held by Humphrey from Henry de Ferrers in 1086; the holding consisting of five hides under plough, 20 acres of meadow and woodland pasture two furlongs by one. Humphrey left his holdings here and elsewhere to his son Atropos Hastang, and it remained in the same family until the death of Sir John de Hastang, the last of the male line, before 1332. John, Lord Hastings was given a royal licence to crenellate his manor house in 1309. Nothing remains of this house today but the location of a manor house is said to be in the fields opposite the church. On Sir John de Hastang’s death the manor then passed to his daughter, Katharine, and thence to her husband Sir Ralph de Stafford. It remained in the Stafford line until 1469 when Sir Humphrey Stafford, recently created Earl of Devon by Edward IV, was beheaded by the Earl of Warwick on behalf of Henry VI after the Battle of Edgecote, and the manor was forfeit to the crown. The church was acquired by the chapter of Lichfield Cathedral for its common fund in the 14thc. (before 1321), and as was usual in such cases the holding was farmed out to a vicar who was paid a salary in exchange for collecting the tithes and keeping the building in good repair.
All Saints Church dates from the 11 th century. The tower is more than 500 years old and is unusual in having an outside stair turret. It has one of the oldest bells in Staffordshire. The Chancel and the North wall of the nave are the oldest part of the present building. There are two Norman doorways, the smaller is now blocked up and used to display artefacts found in the churchyard.
These artefacts are: two carved impost stones of Norman date. A stone coffin without a lid was found beneath the Nave floor. A 13 th century carved coffin lid found in the South wall that fits the stone coffin.
There are two Norman lancet windows, one in the Nave and the other in the Chancel, both being only 7 inches wide. There are some excellent examples of mediaeval floor tiles.
The marks in the stone in the doorway were made by the mediaeval archers sharpening their arrows before archery practice on Sundays and Holy Days. There would have been archery butts very near to the church, nothing remains of these today.
In the graveyard there is the remains of a Saxon Cross, the top part of the cross unfortunately is missing. The Saxon Cross is supposed to be the memorial of a bishop slain nearby. The cross has a lower cylindrical section separated from the top square section by a single band of carved moulding. The top carries scrollwork and a possible depiction of intertwined serpents.
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