History of Ranton Village 

Ranton, or Ronton, is a small scattered village, five miles W of Stafford, comprising within its parish the scattered hamlet includes Long Compton and Park Nook, and including 320 inhabitants, and about 2670 acres of land, once belonging chiefly to the Earl of Lichfield, and Francis Eld, Esq, and the former is lord of the manor, which, at the time of the Norman Conquest, was held by Goderick, a Saxon nobleman, and afterwards by the Noels and Harcourts. Swynfen Jones, Esq, and a few smaller owners have estates in the parish.
About a mile W of the village is Ranton Abbey, an extra parochial liberty of 700 acres belonging to the Earl of Lichfield estate. The ancient abbey was founded by Robert Fitz-Noel, in the reign of Henry II, for regular canons of the order of St Augustine. Considerable remains of the abbey are still standing, including a lofty well-built tower, and the outer walls of the church. The abbey liberty contains 28 inhabitants and the Abbey House which is the seat of ED Moore, Esq."
[From History, Gazetteer and Directory of Staffordshire, William White, Sheffield, 1851]

All Staints church, Ranton.

Is a small ancient structure, dating from the 13th century.

The building was renovated in 1753, when the chancel was built. The east window was probably put in at this time. The bell turret was removed in 1889, but was re-erected in the 1940s in memory of Frank Russell and John Owen Timms, two local men who lost their lives in the Second World War. The new turret was not strong enough to support the bells, which had to be removed and put onto storage until the turret was rebuilt.[3] The church has a small bell-tower at the west end of the nave with two bells, and was repaired and a gallery erected in 1840. The restoration was supervised by Staffordshire ecclesiastical architect Andrew Capper.[4] The parish registers commence in 1655. The original registers for the period 1655-1993 (Baptisms), 1655-1984 (Marriages) & 1655-1993 (Burials) are deposited at Staffordshire Record Office. Bishops Transcripts, 1660-1868 (with gaps 1840-1854) are deposited at Lichfield Record office.[5]

The ruins of both Ranton Abbey and Abbey House stand nearby.

Ranton is listed under the Pirehill Hundred section of the Doomsday Book. There is debate as to how the name Ranton was spelt prior to the 18th Century, possibilities include 'Ronton', 'Rantone' (as named in the Doomsday Book in 1086[2]) and 'Rantun' (rarely used).