Trent Valley Historic Graffiti Survey 2025
Happy new year, we hope you had a wonderful Christmas! We're kickstarting 2025 with news of an exciting survey to get involved with. In conjunction with Staffordshire Wildlife Trust, Staffordshire Archaeological and Historical Society will be conducting a pilot study in the Trent Valley area, methodically photographing and recording historic graffiti in some of our oldest buildings. Whilst most of these are our churches, we will also seek other historic buildings to investigate. The pilot study will run for six months from January 2025.
We will hold a series of training events in January to demonstrate what to look for, how to photograph and record our findings accurately, and how to interpret some of the more enigmatic examples. Our ancestors viewed graffiti in very different ways to us, and some of the seemingly innocuous patterns on buildings had meanings that were for spiritual protection or to avert spells cast by witches – others were to connect individuals with God, whilst others still were considered to strengthen prayers. Whatever their intent, they are a fascinating subject for study, and great fun to seek out. They appear in sometimes surprising places, and there are very few of our churches that are without any graffiti at all.
Training events will be held on the following dates:
Saturday 18th January at 2pm at King’s Bromley Church
Monday 20th January at 11am at Yoxall Church
Saturday 25th January at 2pm at Alrewas Church
Tuesday 28th January at 11am at Hamstall Ridware Church
A maximum of 10 people per training session, so please book early to avoid disappointment.
For further information and to book a place, please contact Dr Mark Knight: m.knight@staffs-wildlife.org.uk