The best running trails around Armitage With Handsacre

The site of the ‘Bloody’ steps, just visible behind the large tree on the opposite side of the towpath. The site of the 'Bloody Steps', is on the Trent & Mersey canal, just past Brindley Bank aqueduct. In 1839, Christina Collins, a local dressmaker, was murdered nearby. Her body was found in the canal and carried up the steps to the Talbot Inn. James Owen and George Thomas were later hanged for her murder

The headstone to Christina Collins' grave. She was murdered on the Trent and Mersey Canal by boatmen. The site of the 'Bloody Steps', is on the Trent & Mersey canal, just past Brindley Bank aqueduct. In 1839, Christina Collins, a local dressmaker, was murdered nearby. Her body was found in the canal and carried up the steps to the Talbot Inn. James Owen and George Thomas were later hanged for her murder.

This is St Augustine's church, which was opened in 1823 by the Bishop of Chester. It was built as a replacement for the original parish church, which had become too small for the town's growing congregation and was in a poor state of repair. The remains of the original church stand on the other side of the road. The land on which the new St Augustine's church was erected was provided by the second Viscount Anson of Shugborough Hall, who later became the First Earl of Lichfield. The building cost £6,501 17s 2d, which was partly met through the sale of materials from the original church. The new building was of simple design. We can see from the pointed windows and other features that it copied the mediaeval Gothic style of church building. Yew trees can be found in churchyards throughout the country. Many different explanations of the historical connection between the two have been offered, but the truth is likely to be a combination of these. The yew tree is poisonous and poses a particular danger to cattle and horses, so could not be grown where animals grazed. However, since mediaeval churchyards were often enclosed, yew could be grown within their grounds without endangering livestock. Some have suggested that yew trees were planted in churchyards to encourage farmers to keep better control of livestock. The famous English longbow was often made from yew, so it was important for mediaeval villages to have a supply of the timber.

The grave of John Parsons Cook, for whose murder Dr William Palmer, 'the Rugeley Poisoner', was hanged. Apparently, though, no amount of building to the glory of God could deliver one local character from a life of infamy. Doctor William Palmer, the son of a timber merchant, married Ann Brooks in 1847. She subsequently bore him five children, but four died mysteriously in infancy. Ann's father also died under suspicious circumstances and, when her grieving mother came to stay, she too was dead within the space of a week. Later, when William owed money to a bookmaker, the bookie suddenly became very ill and died before he had a chance to collect his cash. In the meantime, William took out insurance policies for his wife and brother, but they both died soon after the first payments had been made. The insurance company refused to pay out, so - heavily in debt - William went to the races with a friend by the name of John Parsons Cook. As luck would have it, Cook won, but unfortunately died before picking up his winnings. So who do you suppose showed up to collect them? Why, Dr William Palmer of course! By this stage, it wasn't just the insurance company who were crying foul, and Palmer was arrested for Cook's murder. The newspapers of the time called it the 'Trial of the Century' and for weeks it was headline news. After over a month in court Palmer was eventually found guilty and was publicly executed in Stafford at 8am on Saturday 14 June, 1856, in front of a crowd of 10,000. But that wasn't the end of William Palmer. So notorious were his crimes, and so voracious was the press in reporting them, that he endured for more than 100 years as a waxwork model in Madam Tussaud's Chamber of Horrors. Remarkably, it stayed there until 1979. One story tells how the people of Rugeley were so horrified by the scandal surrounding the trial that they petitioned Parliament to change the name of the town. The Prime Minister considered the petition and agreed the town name could be changed, but only if they named it after him; the problem was, his name was Palmerston.

The remains of a late 14th-century cross. Before the Reformation in the 16th century it would have served as a single memorial to everyone buried here. Much of the stepped base is now below ground level but you can see the deep recess at its top. This is where a pentient (a person who repents their sins) would have knelt. The graveyard was landscaped in 1974 and the displaced gravestones now pave the area where the nave and north aisle once stood.

Good towpath

A beautiful circular walk at the end of the Chase Heritage Trail. The horseshoe shaped lake has a variety of wildlife and there are plenty of benches to stop and have a picnic.