Elford & Ilam in Staffordshire, east of Lichfield and north of Tamworth. It is situated on the east bank of the River Tame. The village is said to have derived its name from the great number of eels with which the river here formerly abounded. Before the Norman conquest this manor belonged to Ælfgar, Earl of Mercia. In the reign of Henry III, it was held by William de Arderne, whose descendants continued to enjoy it till the marriage of Maud, sole heiress of Sir John Arderne, with Thomas, second son of Sir John Stanley, of Latham, carried it into that family. Sir Thomas de Arderne, companion in arms of Edward the Black Prince, was the Lord of Elford in the second half of the 14th century. He restored and altered the Church in the style of that period.
A century later Sir John Stanley added the South Aisle and Chantry dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The ancient roses and portcullis surmounted by crowns in a window of the South Aisle signify the connection of the Stanleys with Henry VII, who is supposed to have met secretly with Lord Stanley at Elford the night before the Battle of Bosworth and then persuaded Stanley to desert Richard III and come over to his side. The Manor of Aston devolved unto Mary Moyle through the Stanley family. It had been bought into the family by Dame Ellen Leigh, daughter of Sir James Leigh and wife of Sir Humphrey Stanley.
The Elford Church Monumental Effigies are amongst the finest in the country. The oldest being that of Sir Thomas de Arderne and his wife Matilda de Stafford. The next in time comes the effigy of Sir John Stanley, builder of the Chantry who died about 1474. The other monumental effigy is that of Sir William Smythe and his two wives Anne Staunton and Lady Isabella Neville.
Stone Age tumuli have been identified at Elford Lowe and at Elford Park, which could have been the burial grounds of people who settled along the river banks and on the fringes of the forests of Lichfield and Needwood. The Romans built the great arterial roads, Watling Street and Ryknield Street, which intersected at nearby Wall. From this time the area became an important farming region supplying wool, leather and food to the garrisons and marching legions. Remains of Roman farms have been found at Whittington. Christianity was brought to Lichfield in the 7th century by Chad. He established his Church there and it was from Lichfield that itinerant monks travelled to outlying settlements to preach the Gospel; often at a fixed site such as beneath an erected cross of wood or stone. Offa, the king of Mercia, declared Tamworth its capital but it was later destroyed by the Danes, who established Danelaw north of Watling Street . By the turn of the millennium the Danes were defeated and Tamworth had been restored by Ethelfleda, daughter of Alfred the Great. In 1004AD Wulfric Spot, Earl of Mercia, founded Burton Abbey and bequeathed Elleford as part of the Abbey estate to his daughter. After the Conquest in 1066, the Manor of Elleford was forfeited to the Crown and is mentioned in the Domesday Book.
 | At the end of the 12th century the Lordship of the Manor of Elleford passed to the Arderne family. They were a Cheshire family who were Lords of Aldford and Alvaney. They held Elford until 1408 when John Arderne died without a male heir. The most famous Arderne was Sir Thomas who fought with the Black Prince at Crécy and Poitiers and who is reputed to have distinguised himself with "noble deeds and feates (sic)of armes". Matilda Arderne married Thomas Stanley Esq. and founded the Stanley line at Elford which lasted until 1508. These two families lived at Elford Park in a moated house on the site of the present farm. The first Hall, adjacent to the church, was not built until the beginning of the 16th century. On 21st August 1484 John Stanley, then Lord of the Manor, is said to have entertained amongst others the Lord Stanley and Henry, Duke of Bosworth. It was Lord Stanley's intervention at the Battle of Bosworth the next day that changed the course of English history. Richard III was killed and Henry VII became the first of the Tudor monarchs. |
In 1485 the forces of Richard and Henry fought the decisive Battle of Bosworth Field, the last major encounter of the war. After Richard's death in battle, Henry (representing Lancaster) and Elizabeth Plantagenet were married. This marriage united the two families, and Henry VII became the first Tudor King of England. The chief result of the conflict was an increase in the power of the Crown. Battle and execution all but destroyed the old nobility, and the financial resources of the monarchy were strengthened by the confiscation of estates.