Stafford
Encyclopedia
Stafford is the county town
of Staffordshire
, in the West Midlands region
of England
. It lies approximately 16 miles (25.7 km) north of Wolverhampton
and 18 miles (29 km) south of Stoke-on-Trent
, adjacent to the M6 motorway
Junction 13 to Junction 14. The population of Stafford was given in the 2001 census
as 63,681, with that of the wider borough of Stafford
as 122,000, making Stafford the fourth largest settlement in the Ceremonial county, after Stoke on Trent, Tamworth
and Newcastle under Lyme.
' by a 'staithe' (landing place). The original settlement was on dry sand and gravel peninsula that provided a strategic crossing point in the marshy valley of the River Sow
, a tributary of the River Trent
. There is still a large area of marshland
northwest of the town, which has always been subject to flooding, such as in 1947, 2000 and 2007.
It's thought Stafford was founded in about 700 AD by Mercia
n prince called Bertelin who, according to legend, established a hermitage on the peninsular named Betheney or Bethnei. Until recently it was thought that the remains of a wooden preaching cross from this time had been found under the remains of St Bertelin's chapel, next to the later collegiate Church
of St Mary in the centre of the town. Recent re-examination of the evidence shows this was a misinterpretation – it was a tree trunk coffin placed centrally in the first, timber, chapel at around the time Æthelflæd founded the burh
, in 913 AD. The tree trunk coffin may have been placed there as an object of commemoration or veneration of St Bertelin.
Already a centre for the delivery of grain tribute during the Dark Ages, Stafford was commandeered in July 913 AD by Æthelflæd, Lady of Mercia and daughter of King Alfred the Great
, after the death of her father and of her husband, Æthelred, then ealdorman
of Mercia
in 911, in order to construct a burh
there. This new burh was fortified
and provided with an industrial area for the centralised production of Roman-style pottery ("Stafford Ware") which was supplied to the chain of west midlands burh
s.
She and her younger brother King Edward the Elder
of Wessex, both children of King Alfred the Great
and Ealhswith
, wife of Æthelred, ealdorman
of the Angles
of Mercia, were attempting to complete their father King Alfred the Great
's programme of unifying England into a single kingdom. Æthelflæd was a formidable military leader and tactician, and she sought to protect and extend the northern and western frontiers of her overlordship of Mercia
against the Danish Vikings, by fortifying burh
s, including Tamworth
and Stafford in 913, and Runcorn
on the River Mersey in 915 among others, while King Edward the Elder
concentrated on the east, wresting East Anglia and Essex from the Danes. Anglo-Saxon women could play powerful roles in society. Her death effectively ended the relative independence of Mercia
. Edward the Elder
of Wessex took over her fortress at Tamworth
and accepted the submission of all who were living in Mercia
, both Danish and English. In late 918, Aelfwynn
, Æthelflæd's daughter, was deprived of her authority over Mercia and taken to Wessex. The project for the unification of England took another step forward.
Stafford was one of Æthelflæd's military campaign bases and extensive archaeological investigations, and recent re-examination and interpretation of that evidence now shows her new burh
was producing, in addition to the Stafford Ware pottery, food for her army (butchery, grain processing, baking), coinage and weaponry, but apparently no other crafts and there were few imports.
The Lady of Mercia, Æthelflæd, ruled Mercia for five years after the death of her father and husband, dying in Tamworth
in 918.
At around this time the county of Staffordshire
was formed. Stafford lay within the Pirehill hundred.
In 1069, a rebellion by Eadric the Wild
against the Norman conquest culminated in the Battle of Stafford. Two years later, another rebellion, this time led by Edwin, Earl of Mercia
, culminated in Edwin's assassination. This meant his lands were distributed amongst the followers of William the Conqueror. Robert de Tonei was granted the manor of Bradley and one third of the king's rents in Stafford. The Norman Conquest in Stafford was therefore particularly brutal, and resulted not only in the imposition of a castle, but in the destruction and suppression of every other activity except the intermittent minting of coins for about a hundred years.
Redevelopment began in the late 12th century, and while the church, the main north to south street (Greengate) and routes through the late Saxon industrial quarter to the east remained, in other ways the town plan changed. A motte
was constructed on the western side of the peninsula, overlooking a ford, and facing the site of the main castle of Stafford, on the hill at Castle Church, west of the town. Tenements were laid out over the whole peninsula and trade and crafts flourished until the early 14th century, when there was another upset probably associated with the plague of Black Death
, which was followed in the mid 16th century by another revival.
Stafford Castle
was built by the Normans
on the nearby hilltop to the west in about 1090. It was first made of wood, and later rebuilt of stone. It has been rebuilt twice since, and the ruins of the 19th century gothic revival castle on the earthworks
incorporate much of the original stonework.
In 1206, King John
granted a Royal Charter
which created the Borough of Stafford. In the Middle Ages
, Stafford was a market town mainly dealing in cloth and wool. In spite of being the shire town, from Æthelflæd to Queen Elizabeth I
, Stafford required successive surges of external investment. King Richard II
was paraded through the town's streets as a prisoner in 1399, by troops loyal to Henry Bolingbroke (the future Henry IV
). When James I
visited Stafford, when he was said to be so impressed by the town's Shire Hall and other buildings that he called it 'Little London'. Charles I
visited Stafford shortly after the out-break of the English Civil War
. He stayed for three days at the Ancient High House
. The town was later captured by the Parliamentarians, while a small-scale battle was fought at nearby Hopton Heath
. Stafford later fell to the Parliamentarians, as did Stafford Castle, following a six-week siege. The town's most famous son is Izaak Walton
, author of The Compleat Angler. He was a staunch Royalist
.
In 1658, Stafford elected John Bradshaw
, the man who judged the trial of King Charles I
, to represent the town in Parliament. During the reign of Charles II
, William Howard, 1st Viscount Stafford
became implicated in the Popish Plot
, in which Titus Oates
whipped up anti-Catholic feelings with his claims that there was a plot to have the king killed. Viscount William Howard was among those accused and he was unfortunate to be the first to be tried and was beheaded in 1680. The charge was false and over five years later, on 4 June 1685, the bill of attainder against Viscount Stafford was reversed.
The town was represented in Parliament by the famous playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan
in the eighteenth century. During the same era, the town's mechanised shoe industry was founded, the most well-known factory owner being William Horton. The industry gradually died out, with the last factory being redeveloped in 2008.
In 1837 the Grand Junction Railway
built the first railway line (Birmingham
to Warrington
) and station in the town, and at Warrington this linked, via another line, with the Liverpool
to Manchester
railway. Birmingham provided the first connection to London. Other lines followed, Stafford became a significant junction and this helped attract a number of industries to the town.
On 31 March 2006 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II visited the town to join in the 800th anniversary civic celebrations.
In 2013 Stafford will celebrate its 1,100 th anniversary year with a number of history-based exhibitions, while local historian Nick Thomas and writer Roger Butters are set to produce a two volume 'A Compleat History of Stafford'(sic).
.
The Elizabethan Ancient High House
in the town centre is the largest timber-framed town house in England. It is now a museum, with changing exhibitions.
Stafford Castle
was built by the Normans
on the nearby hilltop to the west in about 1090, replacing the post-Conquest fort in the town. It was first made of wood, and later rebuilt of stone. It has been rebuilt twice since, and the ruins of the 19th century gothic revival castle crowning the earthworks
incorporate much of the original stonework. The castle has a visitor centre, with audio visual displays and hands-on items. There's also a recreated medieval herb garden and Shakespeare productions take place in the castle grounds each Summer. The castle forms a landmark for drivers, as it is highly visible from the M6 motorway.
The oldest building now in Stafford is St Chad's Church, dating back into the twelfth century. The main part of the church is richly decorated. Carvings in the church's archways and pillars may have been made by a group of stonemasons from the Middle East who came to England during the Crusades. A great deal of the stonework was covered up during the 17th and 18th centuries, and the church took on a neo-classical style. In the early 19th century restoration
, work was carried out on the church and the Norman decoration was rediscovered. The Church hosts "Timewalk", a computer generated display which relates the journey of history and mystery within the walls of the church.
St Mary's, the collegiate church
formerly linked to St Bertelin's chapel, was completely rebuilt in the early 13th century in a cruciform
layout with an aisle
d nave
and chancel
typical of the period. It has an impressive octagonal tower, once topped by a tall steeple, which can be picked out in Gough's plan shown above. The church was effectively two churches in one, divided by a screen, with the parish using the nave and the collegiate canons using the chancel
. St Mary's was restored in 1842 by Giles Gilbert Scott
.
The Shire Hall Gallery was built in 1798 as a court house and office of the Mayor and Clerk of Stafford. It houses the Art Gallery, which shows changing exhibitions. It also contains a café and the town's library. The Shire Hall used to be the town's court house, and is a Grade II listed building. It still retains two courtrooms. One of them is open to the general public and has a permanent exhibition showing the history of the building and details of some high profile cases that were heard there. An old 'holding cell' is also open to public viewing.
The Shugborough Hall
country estate is 4 miles (6.4 km) outside town. It previously belonged to the Earls of Lichfield, and is now owned by the National Trust
and maintained by the leaseholder, Staffordshire County Council. The 19th century Sandon Hall
is 5 miles (8 km) northeast of Stafford. It is set in 400 acres (1.6 km²) of parkland, and is the seat of the Earl of Harrowby
. Weston Hall
stands 5 miles (8 km) east of Stafford, in the Trent valley, with a large park and it was once part of the Chartley
estate. It is believed that the main part of the Hall was built around 1550 as a small dower house, however the architectural evidence suggests that it is Jacobean
. Weston Hall was extended in 1660 into a three-gable structure with high-pitched roofs.
Victoria Park, opened in 1908, is a 13 acre (53,000 m2) Edwardian riverside park with a play park, bowling green, bird cages and greenhouses; Victoria Park has recently undergone a major re-development in places, incorporating a new children's play area, new sand and water jet area which has replaced the previous open-air paddling pool and also a brand new bmx / skateboard area.
The three screen Apollo Cinema, showing mainstream releases, is in the centre of town. Stafford Film Theatre is based at the Gatehouse Theatre, and shows independent and alternative films. There are £500 million plans to build a new multiplex cinema as part of a new retail and leisure complex on the site of the old Riverside Leisure Centre. There is also a tenpin bowling alley located at Greyfriars Place, Stafford which is provided by a national company "Tenpin Bowling"
Nightlife in the town consists of smaller bar and club venues such as Casa, The Grapes, The Litten Tree, The Picture House and nightclub Couture/ Noir et Blanc, most of which are in walking distance of each other. There is a big student patronage, with coaches bringing students from Stoke-on-Trent
, Cannock
and Wolverhampton
.
The new £15 million Stafford Leisure Centre opened on 12 April 2008 in Lammascote Road.
Stafford is also home to a 9 hole golf course Stafford Castle Golf Club which is located near to Stafford Town Centre.
Stafford experiences a maritime climate with cool summers and mild winters. The nearest Met Office weather station is at Penkridge, about 5 miles to the south.
. The shoe industry gradually died out in the town, with Lotus Shoes being the last manufacturers. The large red-brick Lotus Shoe factory on Sandon Road was demolished in 2001 to be replaced by modern housing.
Since 1903, a major activity in the town has been heavy electrical engineering
, particularly producing power station
transformer
s. The works have been successively owned by Siemens
, English Electric
, GEC
and GEC Alsthom. Alstom T&D was sold in 2004 to Areva
. At the end of 2009, Areva Ltd was split between former owner Alstom
and Schneider Electric
. Each transformer weighs several hundred tons and so a road train
is used for transportation. In the 1968 Hixon rail crash
, one such road train was struck by an express train when it was crossing the railway at a level crossing
.
Perkins Engines has a factory making diesel engines in Littleworth
. Adhesives manufacturer Bostik
has a large factory in the town. Stafford is also a major dormitory town for workers commuting to Stoke-on-Trent
and Birmingham
.
The public sector provides a lot of local employment, with Staffordshire County Council, Stafford Borough Council and Staffordshire Police all headquartered in the town. Stafford Prison, Stafford Hospital
and MoD Stafford
are other sources of local public sector employment.
The town is also home to the computer science
and IT
campus of Staffordshire University
. The Beaconside Campus houses the Faculty of Computing Engineering and Technology and part of the Business School, and the adjacent Blackheath Lane campus houses the School of Health, which teaches nursing
. The main campus in Stoke-on-Trent
is located about 18 miles (29 km) north.
The town centre Guildhall shopping centre is the town's main shopping venue, housing more than 40 retail outlets such as HMV
, Topman
Topshop
, River Island
and JJB. There are 3 major superstores that surround the main town centre, an Asda
superstore, a Tesco Extra
and a Sainsbury's store. They are open 24 hours with the exception of Sainsbury's.
was once a major hub on the railway network, but Beeching
's closure
of the Stafford and Uttoxeter Railway
, and the Shropshire Union Railway to Shrewsbury
and beyond completely halted east-west traffic via Stafford. The years up to 2008 saw cross-country trains stopping at Stafford less and less. Since the CrossCountry trains franchisee change, more CrossCountry trains are now stopping at Stafford Station, However if you require services to Carlisle, Preston or Glasgow
a change at Crewe railway station
is required; Stafford railway station
is still a stop for some Virgin Trains services on the West Coast Main Line
enabling easy commuting to the cities of Birmingham
, London
(via London Euston), Wolverhampton
and Liverpool
. If you require services to the cities of Stoke-on-trent
or Manchester
CrossCountry trains operate a regular service to Manchester Piccadilly normally every 30 Mins during the weekdays; Since December 2008 London Midland
have operated a service stopping at Stafford which also serves Tamworth
, Northampton
, Milton Keynes
and London
and also a Birmingham
- Liverpool
Lime Street service which departs Stafford Station normally every 30 mins during the weekdays. At least one train each way between Birmingham New Street and Crewe
is operated by Arriva Trains Wales
.
Junctions 13 (Stafford South & Central) and 14 (Stafford North) of the M6 motorway
provide access to the town, therefore the major cities of Birmingham
and Manchester
and beyond are easily reached. The A34 road
runs through the centre of the town, linking it to Stone
and Stoke-on-Trent
to the north and Cannock
and the West Midlands conurbation
to the south. The A518 road
connects Stafford with Telford
to the south west and Uttoxeter
to the north east, and therefore is the main route to the major theme park at Alton Towers
. The A449
runs south from the town centre and connects with the nearby town of Penkridge
and Wolverhampton
. Finally, the A513 runs east from Stafford to the local towns of Rugeley
and Lichfield
.
Local bus travel within the town is provided by Arriva Midlands
, Wardle Transport
and also some small bus companies who provide to mainly rural communites, while services to Stone and Stoke-on-Trent are handled by First PMT and Bakerbus
.
Stafford is served by four large taxi
companies: Aerobrights, Anthony's AJ's, Kaminski Hire and Westside. There are also a large number of independent operators who work from the ranks at the station
, Bridge Street, Broad Street and Salter Street.
The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal
runs close to the Baswich
and Wildwood areas, and was previously linked to the River Sow
by the River Sow Navigation.
The town's main hospital is Stafford Hospital
, previously known as Staffordshire General Hospital and also Stafford District General Hospital. The hospital is operated and managed by Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust
and provides a wide range of non-specialist medical and surgical services. Stafford Hospital's Accident and Emergency
unit is the only such facility in the town. Wards at Stafford Hospital are numbered, with the exception of the children's wards (known as the "Anson Suite"), which are named after local towns and landmarks (e.g. Shugborough Ward). This hospital was built on the site of Coton Hill private psychiatric hospital which opened in 1851 and closed 1975 and was demolished with only the old chapel and gatehouse still visible. The hospital made the national news
in March 2009, with the release of a Healthcare Commission
report detailing the facility's appalling shortcomings.
The St George's Hospital, part of the South Staffordshire and Shropshire Health Care Trust, is actually a combination of two historical hospitals—the Kingsmead Hospital (previously an elderly care facility) and the St George's psychiatric hospital. This hospital provides mental health services, including an intensive care unit
, secure units, an eating disorder
unit, an EMI unit for the elderly and mentally frail, drug and alcohol addiction services and open wards. There is a small outpatient facility, and this is the location of the town's AA
meeting. Wards at St George's Hospital are named after local villages and termed "houses" (e.g. Brocton House, Chebsey House).
in the town. It normally teaches specialised A-levels, some vocational qualifications and subjects taught by teachers with no school base. The centre has joined up with all the town's secondary schools, except the grammar school, to provide better resources for students.
Stafford College
is a large College
of Further Education
. Stafford College also provides some Higher Education
courses on behalf of Staffordshire University
and focuses heavily on computing and engineering.
South Staffordshire College
has a base in the village of Rodbaston
, on the edge of Stafford. It is an agricultural college and provides most of its training in this sector.
Staffordshire University
has a large campus in the east of the town and focuses heavily on computing, engineering and media technologies (Film, Music and Computer Games). It also runs teacher training courses. The University has 2 halls of residence opposite the campus, the smaller Yarlet with 51 rooms and the larger Stafford Court with 554 Rooms. Stafford Court is divided into 13 'houses' named after local villages.
, Brocton F.C.
,and Stafford Town F.C.
, none of which play at a fully professional level.
The town also has two Rugby Union
clubs though again they do not play at a high level.
There is also a local Hockey team with eight adult teams.
Stafford Cricket and Hockey Club was founded in 1864, which almost certainly makes it the oldest sports club in Stafford. The club appears to have originally played at The Lammascotes before being offered a field at The Hough (Lichfield Road/GEC site) in 1899 which belonged to the Grammar school (The new ground there was opened by the mayor, a Mr Mynors in May of that year). In 1984 the club negotiated a move to Riverway in 1984 as The Hough came under the ownership of GEC. They currently own 11 acres (4 ha) at Riverway and host numerous sports all year round - they have 2 cricket pitches in the summer and in the winter host football, mini football, rugby and hockey.
In 1999 they were awarded a £200K lottery grant towards a new pavilion completed in 2000. The pavilion has 6 changing rooms and a lounge/function room for members and guests. The clubroom may also be hired for all kinds of functions and celebrations, as well as business meetings and charity events.
The Cricket Section always welcome new players of all abilities
There are four senior sides that play on a Saturday. The 1st & 2nd XI's play in The North Staffs and South Cheshire Premier Cricket League. The 3rd and 4th XI's play in the Stone & District Cricket League. They also have a senior team on a Sunday that plays in the Lichfield Sunday League. They have five junior sides in the following age groups; Under 9, Under 11, Under 13, Under 15, & Under 17's. They are an ECB Clubmark Accredited Club and promote sport for all in the local community.
, where the accent is more Black Country
-influenced.
The accent of Stafford is more influenced by Stoke-on-Trent
, to varying extents, but less broad and perhaps more "watered-down." Those who live in Stafford tend to believe they have a more "neutral" accent, or perhaps no accent at all, but the influence of Stoke-on-Trent and nearby Stone
sets it apart and distinguishes itself from more southern Staffordshire
.
signals regiment and a RAF Regiment
contingent alongside Tactical Supply Wing.
, and the 18th century playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan
was once the local MP
. Also, the 1853 Lord Mayor
of London, Thomas Sidney, was born in the town.
In the early 1900s, the village of Little Haywood
near Stafford was home to the wife of famous The Lord of the Rings
author J. R. R. Tolkien
. He stayed with his wife, Edith, in her cottage in the village during the winter of 1916, and the surrounding areas were said to be an inspiration for some of his early works. The science fantasy
author Storm Constantine
is a long-time resident.
British poet, playwright and freelance writer Carol Ann Duffy
, although born in Glasgow
, Scotland
, grew up in Stafford and attended Stafford Girls' High School. She was awarded an OBE in 1995, and a CBE
in 2002. Many of her poems describe experiences and places in Stafford. She has been the Poet laureate
since 2009 and now lives in Manchester.
(3 October 1941—17 October 2003) was a prolific cartoonist and was born in and lived in Stafford all his life.
star Neil Morrissey
, Freya Copeland, who plays Angela 'Angie' Reynolds in the soap Emmerdale
, Travis
singer Fran Healy
(but he moved away to Scotland when very young), and comedian Dave Gorman
. 1970s hit duo Medicine Head
hailed from nearby Tixall
. Climax Blues Band
, initially, as their name suggests, was a popular Stafford blues band but later they achieved international record success. Rave acts Altern-8
and Bizarre Inc were also from the town.
Championship
footballer Anthony Gardner
, who plays for Hull City
, and Chris Birchall
, who plays for Major League Soccer
side Los Angeles Galaxy
, were both born in Stafford. Former Aston Villa, Derby County
and Watford
winger Nigel Callaghan
lives and DJs in the town. Former Aston Villa player and manager Brian Little
also lives in the town.
County town
A county town is a county's administrative centre in the United Kingdom or Ireland. County towns are usually the location of administrative or judicial functions, or established over time as the de facto main town of a county. The concept of a county town eventually became detached from its...
of Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, in the West Midlands region
West Midlands (region)
The West Midlands is an official region of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It contains the second most populous British city, Birmingham, and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which includes the city of Wolverhampton and large towns of Dudley,...
of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It lies approximately 16 miles (25.7 km) north of Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
and 18 miles (29 km) south of Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
, adjacent to the M6 motorway
M6 motorway
The M6 motorway runs from junction 19 of the M1 at the Catthorpe Interchange, near Rugby via Birmingham then heads north, passing Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester, Preston, Carlisle and terminating at the Gretna junction . Here, just short of the Scottish border it becomes the A74 which continues to...
Junction 13 to Junction 14. The population of Stafford was given in the 2001 census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
as 63,681, with that of the wider borough of Stafford
Stafford (borough)
Stafford is a local government district with borough status in Staffordshire in England. It is named after and includes the town of Stafford. It also includes the smaller town of Stone and numerous villages....
as 122,000, making Stafford the fourth largest settlement in the Ceremonial county, after Stoke on Trent, Tamworth
Tamworth
Tamworth is a town and local government district in Staffordshire, England, located north-east of Birmingham city centre and north-west of London. The town takes its name from the River Tame, which flows through the town, as does the River Anker...
and Newcastle under Lyme.
History
Stafford means 'fordFord (crossing)
A ford is a shallow place with good footing where a river or stream may be crossed by wading or in a vehicle. A ford is mostly a natural phenomenon, in contrast to a low water crossing, which is an artificial bridge that allows crossing a river or stream when water is low.The names of many towns...
' by a 'staithe' (landing place). The original settlement was on dry sand and gravel peninsula that provided a strategic crossing point in the marshy valley of the River Sow
River Sow
The River Sow is a tributary of the River Trent in Staffordshire, England.The river rises to the south of Newcastle-under-Lyme and flows south to become the major river through Stafford. It also flows near Bishop's Offley and Tixall. At Baswich it is joined by the River Penk, before meeting the...
, a tributary of the River Trent
River Trent
The River Trent is one of the major rivers of England. Its source is in Staffordshire on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through the Midlands until it joins the River Ouse at Trent Falls to form the Humber Estuary, which empties into the North Sea below Hull and Immingham.The Trent...
. There is still a large area of marshland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
northwest of the town, which has always been subject to flooding, such as in 1947, 2000 and 2007.
It's thought Stafford was founded in about 700 AD by Mercia
Mercia
Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
n prince called Bertelin who, according to legend, established a hermitage on the peninsular named Betheney or Bethnei. Until recently it was thought that the remains of a wooden preaching cross from this time had been found under the remains of St Bertelin's chapel, next to the later collegiate Church
Collegiate church
In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons; a non-monastic, or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by a dean or provost...
of St Mary in the centre of the town. Recent re-examination of the evidence shows this was a misinterpretation – it was a tree trunk coffin placed centrally in the first, timber, chapel at around the time Æthelflæd founded the burh
Burh
A Burh is an Old English name for a fortified town or other defended site, sometimes centred upon a hill fort though always intended as a place of permanent settlement, its origin was in military defence; "it represented only a stage, though a vitally important one, in the evolution of the...
, in 913 AD. The tree trunk coffin may have been placed there as an object of commemoration or veneration of St Bertelin.
Already a centre for the delivery of grain tribute during the Dark Ages, Stafford was commandeered in July 913 AD by Æthelflæd, Lady of Mercia and daughter of King Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great was King of Wessex from 871 to 899.Alfred is noted for his defence of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of southern England against the Vikings, becoming the only English monarch still to be accorded the epithet "the Great". Alfred was the first King of the West Saxons to style himself...
, after the death of her father and of her husband, Æthelred, then ealdorman
Ealdorman
An ealdorman is the term used for a high-ranking royal official and prior magistrate of an Anglo-Saxon shire or group of shires from about the ninth century to the time of King Cnut...
of Mercia
Mercia
Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
in 911, in order to construct a burh
Burh
A Burh is an Old English name for a fortified town or other defended site, sometimes centred upon a hill fort though always intended as a place of permanent settlement, its origin was in military defence; "it represented only a stage, though a vitally important one, in the evolution of the...
there. This new burh was fortified
Fortification
Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...
and provided with an industrial area for the centralised production of Roman-style pottery ("Stafford Ware") which was supplied to the chain of west midlands burh
Burh
A Burh is an Old English name for a fortified town or other defended site, sometimes centred upon a hill fort though always intended as a place of permanent settlement, its origin was in military defence; "it represented only a stage, though a vitally important one, in the evolution of the...
s.
She and her younger brother King Edward the Elder
Edward the Elder
Edward the Elder was an English king. He became king in 899 upon the death of his father, Alfred the Great. His court was at Winchester, previously the capital of Wessex...
of Wessex, both children of King Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great was King of Wessex from 871 to 899.Alfred is noted for his defence of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of southern England against the Vikings, becoming the only English monarch still to be accorded the epithet "the Great". Alfred was the first King of the West Saxons to style himself...
and Ealhswith
Ealhswith
Ealhswith or Ealswitha was the daughter of a Mercian nobleman, Æthelred Mucil, Ealdorman of the Gaini. She was married in 868 to Alfred the Great, before he became king of Wessex. In accordance with ninth century West Saxon custom, she was not given the title of queen. -Life:Ealswith was the...
, wife of Æthelred, ealdorman
Ealdorman
An ealdorman is the term used for a high-ranking royal official and prior magistrate of an Anglo-Saxon shire or group of shires from about the ninth century to the time of King Cnut...
of the Angles
Angles
The Angles is a modern English term for a Germanic people who took their name from the ancestral cultural region of Angeln, a district located in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany...
of Mercia, were attempting to complete their father King Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great was King of Wessex from 871 to 899.Alfred is noted for his defence of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of southern England against the Vikings, becoming the only English monarch still to be accorded the epithet "the Great". Alfred was the first King of the West Saxons to style himself...
's programme of unifying England into a single kingdom. Æthelflæd was a formidable military leader and tactician, and she sought to protect and extend the northern and western frontiers of her overlordship of Mercia
Mercia
Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
against the Danish Vikings, by fortifying burh
Burh
A Burh is an Old English name for a fortified town or other defended site, sometimes centred upon a hill fort though always intended as a place of permanent settlement, its origin was in military defence; "it represented only a stage, though a vitally important one, in the evolution of the...
s, including Tamworth
Tamworth
Tamworth is a town and local government district in Staffordshire, England, located north-east of Birmingham city centre and north-west of London. The town takes its name from the River Tame, which flows through the town, as does the River Anker...
and Stafford in 913, and Runcorn
Runcorn
Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port within the borough of Halton in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. In 2009, its population was estimated to be 61,500. The town is on the southern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form Runcorn Gap. Directly to the north...
on the River Mersey in 915 among others, while King Edward the Elder
Edward the Elder
Edward the Elder was an English king. He became king in 899 upon the death of his father, Alfred the Great. His court was at Winchester, previously the capital of Wessex...
concentrated on the east, wresting East Anglia and Essex from the Danes. Anglo-Saxon women could play powerful roles in society. Her death effectively ended the relative independence of Mercia
Mercia
Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
. Edward the Elder
Edward the Elder
Edward the Elder was an English king. He became king in 899 upon the death of his father, Alfred the Great. His court was at Winchester, previously the capital of Wessex...
of Wessex took over her fortress at Tamworth
Tamworth
Tamworth is a town and local government district in Staffordshire, England, located north-east of Birmingham city centre and north-west of London. The town takes its name from the River Tame, which flows through the town, as does the River Anker...
and accepted the submission of all who were living in Mercia
Mercia
Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
, both Danish and English. In late 918, Aelfwynn
Aelfwynn
Ælfwynn was the daughter of Æthelred, ruler of English Mercia, and Æthelflæd, daughter of King Alfred the Great and herself ruler of Mercia after her husband's death. Following the death of her mother on 12 June 918, Ælfwynn too was for a short time ruler of Mercia...
, Æthelflæd's daughter, was deprived of her authority over Mercia and taken to Wessex. The project for the unification of England took another step forward.
Stafford was one of Æthelflæd's military campaign bases and extensive archaeological investigations, and recent re-examination and interpretation of that evidence now shows her new burh
Burh
A Burh is an Old English name for a fortified town or other defended site, sometimes centred upon a hill fort though always intended as a place of permanent settlement, its origin was in military defence; "it represented only a stage, though a vitally important one, in the evolution of the...
was producing, in addition to the Stafford Ware pottery, food for her army (butchery, grain processing, baking), coinage and weaponry, but apparently no other crafts and there were few imports.
The Lady of Mercia, Æthelflæd, ruled Mercia for five years after the death of her father and husband, dying in Tamworth
Tamworth
Tamworth is a town and local government district in Staffordshire, England, located north-east of Birmingham city centre and north-west of London. The town takes its name from the River Tame, which flows through the town, as does the River Anker...
in 918.
At around this time the county of Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
was formed. Stafford lay within the Pirehill hundred.
In 1069, a rebellion by Eadric the Wild
Eadric the Wild
Eadric the Wild , also known as Eadric Cild, was an Anglo-Saxon magnate of the West Midlands who led English resistance to the Norman Conquest, active in 1068-70.-Background:...
against the Norman conquest culminated in the Battle of Stafford. Two years later, another rebellion, this time led by Edwin, Earl of Mercia
Edwin, Earl of Mercia
Edwin was the elder brother of Morcar, Earl of Northumbria, son of Ælfgār, Earl of Mercia and grandson of Leofric, Earl of Mercia. He succeeded to his father's title and responsibilities on Ælfgār's death in 1062...
, culminated in Edwin's assassination. This meant his lands were distributed amongst the followers of William the Conqueror. Robert de Tonei was granted the manor of Bradley and one third of the king's rents in Stafford. The Norman Conquest in Stafford was therefore particularly brutal, and resulted not only in the imposition of a castle, but in the destruction and suppression of every other activity except the intermittent minting of coins for about a hundred years.
Redevelopment began in the late 12th century, and while the church, the main north to south street (Greengate) and routes through the late Saxon industrial quarter to the east remained, in other ways the town plan changed. A motte
Motte
Motte may be:*Motte-and-bailey, a type of construction used in castles*Isaac Motte, an 18th century American statesman*La Motte , various places with this name-See also:* Mote * Mott...
was constructed on the western side of the peninsula, overlooking a ford, and facing the site of the main castle of Stafford, on the hill at Castle Church, west of the town. Tenements were laid out over the whole peninsula and trade and crafts flourished until the early 14th century, when there was another upset probably associated with the plague of Black Death
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
, which was followed in the mid 16th century by another revival.
Stafford Castle
Stafford Castle
Stafford Castle lies two miles to the west of Stafford, just off the A518 Stafford-to-Newport Road, and can be seen from the M6 motorway. The stone building is an important early example of a 19th century Gothic Revival Keep. The structure was built on the foundations of its medieval predecessor...
was built by the Normans
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
on the nearby hilltop to the west in about 1090. It was first made of wood, and later rebuilt of stone. It has been rebuilt twice since, and the ruins of the 19th century gothic revival castle on the earthworks
Earthworks (engineering)
Earthworks are engineering works created through the moving or processing of quantities of soil or unformed rock.- Civil engineering use :Typical earthworks include roads, railway beds, causeways, dams, levees, canals, and berms...
incorporate much of the original stonework.
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
granted a Royal Charter
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
which created the Borough of Stafford. In the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, Stafford was a market town mainly dealing in cloth and wool. In spite of being the shire town, from Æthelflæd to Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
, Stafford required successive surges of external investment. King Richard II
Richard II of England
Richard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...
was paraded through the town's streets as a prisoner in 1399, by troops loyal to Henry Bolingbroke (the future Henry IV
Henry IV of England
Henry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . He was the ninth King of England of the House of Plantagenet and also asserted his grandfather's claim to the title King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence his other name, Henry Bolingbroke...
). When James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
visited Stafford, when he was said to be so impressed by the town's Shire Hall and other buildings that he called it 'Little London'. Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
visited Stafford shortly after the out-break of the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
. He stayed for three days at the Ancient High House
Ancient High House
The Ancient High House is an Elizabethan town house located on the main street in Stafford. The house was constructed in 1594 by the Dorrington family, from local oak, which anecdotally came from the nearby Doxey Wood, and is the largest timber framed town house in England.Many of the original...
. The town was later captured by the Parliamentarians, while a small-scale battle was fought at nearby Hopton Heath
Hopton Heath
Hopton Heath, or Hoptonheath, is a hamlet in Shropshire, England. The border with Herefordshire is close by. It lies on the border of the civil parishes of Clungunford and Hopton Castle....
. Stafford later fell to the Parliamentarians, as did Stafford Castle, following a six-week siege. The town's most famous son is Izaak Walton
Izaak Walton
Izaak Walton was an English writer. Best known as the author of The Compleat Angler, he also wrote a number of short biographies which have been collected under the title of Walton's Lives.-Biography:...
, author of The Compleat Angler. He was a staunch Royalist
Cavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
.
In 1658, Stafford elected John Bradshaw
John Bradshaw (judge)
John Bradshaw was an English judge. He is most notable for his role as President of the High Court of Justice for the trial of King Charles I and as the first Lord President of the Council of State of the English Commonwealth....
, the man who judged the trial of King Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
, to represent the town in Parliament. During the reign of Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
, William Howard, 1st Viscount Stafford
William Howard, 1st Viscount Stafford
Blessed William Howard, 1st Viscount Stafford was the youngest son of Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel, and his wife, the former Alethea Talbot. He was a supporter of the Royalist cause before being implicated in the Popish Plot and executed for treason...
became implicated in the Popish Plot
Popish Plot
The Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy concocted by Titus Oates that gripped England, Wales and Scotland in Anti-Catholic hysteria between 1678 and 1681. Oates alleged that there existed an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinate Charles II, accusations that led to the execution of at...
, in which Titus Oates
Titus Oates
Titus Oates was an English perjurer who fabricated the "Popish Plot", a supposed Catholic conspiracy to kill King Charles II.-Early life:...
whipped up anti-Catholic feelings with his claims that there was a plot to have the king killed. Viscount William Howard was among those accused and he was unfortunate to be the first to be tried and was beheaded in 1680. The charge was false and over five years later, on 4 June 1685, the bill of attainder against Viscount Stafford was reversed.
The town was represented in Parliament by the famous playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan was an Irish-born playwright and poet and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. For thirty-two years he was also a Whig Member of the British House of Commons for Stafford , Westminster and Ilchester...
in the eighteenth century. During the same era, the town's mechanised shoe industry was founded, the most well-known factory owner being William Horton. The industry gradually died out, with the last factory being redeveloped in 2008.
In 1837 the Grand Junction Railway
Grand Junction Railway
The Grand Junction Railway was an early railway company in the United Kingdom, which existed between 1833 and 1846 when it was merged into the London and North Western Railway...
built the first railway line (Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
to Warrington
Warrington
Warrington is a town, borough and unitary authority area of Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley. It lies 16 miles east of Liverpool, 19 miles west of Manchester and 8 miles south of St Helens...
) and station in the town, and at Warrington this linked, via another line, with the Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
to Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
railway. Birmingham provided the first connection to London. Other lines followed, Stafford became a significant junction and this helped attract a number of industries to the town.
On 31 March 2006 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II visited the town to join in the 800th anniversary civic celebrations.
In 2013 Stafford will celebrate its 1,100 th anniversary year with a number of history-based exhibitions, while local historian Nick Thomas and writer Roger Butters are set to produce a two volume 'A Compleat History of Stafford'(sic).
Governance
The top-tier Staffordshire County Council, and Stafford Borough Council, are both based in the town. Stafford has its own parliamentary constituencyStafford (UK Parliament constituency)
Stafford is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election. The sitting MP is the Conservative Jeremy Lefroy....
.
Landmarks
Ancient High House
The Ancient High House is an Elizabethan town house located on the main street in Stafford. The house was constructed in 1594 by the Dorrington family, from local oak, which anecdotally came from the nearby Doxey Wood, and is the largest timber framed town house in England.Many of the original...
in the town centre is the largest timber-framed town house in England. It is now a museum, with changing exhibitions.
Stafford Castle
Stafford Castle
Stafford Castle lies two miles to the west of Stafford, just off the A518 Stafford-to-Newport Road, and can be seen from the M6 motorway. The stone building is an important early example of a 19th century Gothic Revival Keep. The structure was built on the foundations of its medieval predecessor...
was built by the Normans
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
on the nearby hilltop to the west in about 1090, replacing the post-Conquest fort in the town. It was first made of wood, and later rebuilt of stone. It has been rebuilt twice since, and the ruins of the 19th century gothic revival castle crowning the earthworks
Earthworks (engineering)
Earthworks are engineering works created through the moving or processing of quantities of soil or unformed rock.- Civil engineering use :Typical earthworks include roads, railway beds, causeways, dams, levees, canals, and berms...
incorporate much of the original stonework. The castle has a visitor centre, with audio visual displays and hands-on items. There's also a recreated medieval herb garden and Shakespeare productions take place in the castle grounds each Summer. The castle forms a landmark for drivers, as it is highly visible from the M6 motorway.
The oldest building now in Stafford is St Chad's Church, dating back into the twelfth century. The main part of the church is richly decorated. Carvings in the church's archways and pillars may have been made by a group of stonemasons from the Middle East who came to England during the Crusades. A great deal of the stonework was covered up during the 17th and 18th centuries, and the church took on a neo-classical style. In the early 19th century restoration
Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
, work was carried out on the church and the Norman decoration was rediscovered. The Church hosts "Timewalk", a computer generated display which relates the journey of history and mystery within the walls of the church.
St Mary's, the collegiate church
Collegiate church
In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons; a non-monastic, or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by a dean or provost...
formerly linked to St Bertelin's chapel, was completely rebuilt in the early 13th century in a cruciform
Cruciform
Cruciform means having the shape of a cross or Christian cross.- Cruciform architectural plan :This is a common description of Christian churches. In Early Christian, Byzantine and other Eastern Orthodox forms of church architecture this is more likely to mean a tetraconch plan, a Greek cross,...
layout with an aisle
Aisle
An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of seats on both sides or with rows of seats on one side and a wall on the other...
d nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
and chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
typical of the period. It has an impressive octagonal tower, once topped by a tall steeple, which can be picked out in Gough's plan shown above. The church was effectively two churches in one, divided by a screen, with the parish using the nave and the collegiate canons using the chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
. St Mary's was restored in 1842 by Giles Gilbert Scott
Giles Gilbert Scott
Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, OM, FRIBA was an English architect known for his work on such buildings as Liverpool Cathedral and Battersea Power Station and designing the iconic red telephone box....
.
The Shugborough Hall
Shugborough Hall
Shugborough is a country estate in Great Haywood, Staffordshire, England, 4 miles from Stafford on the edge of Cannock Chase. It comprises a country house, kitchen garden, and model farm...
country estate is 4 miles (6.4 km) outside town. It previously belonged to the Earls of Lichfield, and is now owned by the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
and maintained by the leaseholder, Staffordshire County Council. The 19th century Sandon Hall
Sandon Hall
Sandon Hall is a 19th century country mansion, the seat of the Earl of Harrowby, at Sandon, Staffordshire, northeast of Stafford. It is a Grade II* listed building set in of parkland....
is 5 miles (8 km) northeast of Stafford. It is set in 400 acres (1.6 km²) of parkland, and is the seat of the Earl of Harrowby
Earl of Harrowby
Earl of Harrowby, in the County of Lincoln, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1809 for the prominent politician and former Foreign Secretary, Dudley Ryder, 2nd Baron Harrowby. He was made Viscount Sandon, of Sandon in the County of Stafford, at the same time, which...
. Weston Hall
Weston Hall
Weston Hall is the Sitwell family house in Northamptonshire.It is in the village of Weston in the south of the county. It was the home of Sir Sacheverell Sitwell and his wife, the Canadian beauty Georgia Doble, from 1927 until his death in 1988. It was there that he wrote many of his 130 books on...
stands 5 miles (8 km) east of Stafford, in the Trent valley, with a large park and it was once part of the Chartley
Chartley Castle
Chartley Castle lies in ruins to the north of the village of Stowe-by-Chartley in Staffordshire, between Stafford and Uttoxeter . It is a Grade II* listed building...
estate. It is believed that the main part of the Hall was built around 1550 as a small dower house, however the architectural evidence suggests that it is Jacobean
Jacobean architecture
The Jacobean style is the second phase of Renaissance architecture in England, following the Elizabethan style. It is named after King James I of England, with whose reign it is associated.-Characteristics:...
. Weston Hall was extended in 1660 into a three-gable structure with high-pitched roofs.
Culture
Stafford Gatehouse Theatre is the town's main entertainment and cultural venue. The Met Studio within the Gatehouse is a dedicated venue for stand-up comedy and alternative live music. There is an art gallery in the Shire Hall. Staffordshire County Showground, just outside the town, is the venue for many national and local events.Victoria Park, opened in 1908, is a 13 acre (53,000 m2) Edwardian riverside park with a play park, bowling green, bird cages and greenhouses; Victoria Park has recently undergone a major re-development in places, incorporating a new children's play area, new sand and water jet area which has replaced the previous open-air paddling pool and also a brand new bmx / skateboard area.
The three screen Apollo Cinema, showing mainstream releases, is in the centre of town. Stafford Film Theatre is based at the Gatehouse Theatre, and shows independent and alternative films. There are £500 million plans to build a new multiplex cinema as part of a new retail and leisure complex on the site of the old Riverside Leisure Centre. There is also a tenpin bowling alley located at Greyfriars Place, Stafford which is provided by a national company "Tenpin Bowling"
Nightlife in the town consists of smaller bar and club venues such as Casa, The Grapes, The Litten Tree, The Picture House and nightclub Couture/ Noir et Blanc, most of which are in walking distance of each other. There is a big student patronage, with coaches bringing students from Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
, Cannock
Cannock
Cannock is the most populous of three towns in the district of Cannock Chase in the central southern part of the county of Staffordshire in the West Midlands region of England....
and Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
.
The new £15 million Stafford Leisure Centre opened on 12 April 2008 in Lammascote Road.
Stafford is also home to a 9 hole golf course Stafford Castle Golf Club which is located near to Stafford Town Centre.
Climate
As with the rest of the British IslesBritish Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
Stafford experiences a maritime climate with cool summers and mild winters. The nearest Met Office weather station is at Penkridge, about 5 miles to the south.
Economy
Stafford has a long history of shoe making. It is recorded as far back as 1476, when it was a cottage industry, but the manufacturing process was introduced in the 1700s. William Horton founded his business in 1767, which progressed to become the largest shoe company in Stafford, selling worldwide. He had a number of contracts with the government, through his connections with the town's MP, the famous playwright Richard Brinsley SheridanRichard Brinsley Sheridan
Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan was an Irish-born playwright and poet and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. For thirty-two years he was also a Whig Member of the British House of Commons for Stafford , Westminster and Ilchester...
. The shoe industry gradually died out in the town, with Lotus Shoes being the last manufacturers. The large red-brick Lotus Shoe factory on Sandon Road was demolished in 2001 to be replaced by modern housing.
Since 1903, a major activity in the town has been heavy electrical engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
, particularly producing power station
Power station
A power station is an industrial facility for the generation of electric energy....
transformer
Transformer
A transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another through inductively coupled conductors—the transformer's coils. A varying current in the first or primary winding creates a varying magnetic flux in the transformer's core and thus a varying magnetic field...
s. The works have been successively owned by Siemens
Siemens AG
Siemens AG is a German multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Munich, Germany. It is the largest Europe-based electronics and electrical engineering company....
, English Electric
English Electric
English Electric was a British industrial manufacturer. Founded in 1918, it initially specialised in industrial electric motors and transformers...
, GEC
The General Electric Company plc
The General Electric Company or GEC was a major British-based industrial conglomerate, involved in consumer and defence electronics, communications and engineering. The company was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It was renamed Marconi Corporation plc in 1999 after its defence arm,...
and GEC Alsthom. Alstom T&D was sold in 2004 to Areva
Areva
AREVA is a French public multinational industrial conglomerate headquartered in the Tour Areva in Courbevoie, Paris. AREVA is mainly known for nuclear power; it also has interests in other energy projects. It was created on 3 September 2001, by the merger of Framatome , Cogema and...
. At the end of 2009, Areva Ltd was split between former owner Alstom
Alstom
Alstom is a large multinational conglomerate which holds interests in the power generation and transport markets. According to the company website, in the years 2010-2011 Alstom had annual sales of over €20.9 billion, and employed more than 85,000 people in 70 countries. Alstom's headquarters are...
and Schneider Electric
Schneider Electric
Schneider Electric is a French global company. It was founded in 1836 by two brothers, Eugène and Adolphe Schneider.In the first part of the 20th century, Schneider et Cie associated itself with Westinghouse Systems, a major international electrical group at the time. The group began manufacturing...
. Each transformer weighs several hundred tons and so a road train
Road train
A road train or roadtrain is a trucking concept used in remote areas of Argentina, Australia, Mexico, the United States and Canada to move freight efficiently. The term "road train" is most often used in Australia. In the U.S. and Canada the terms "triples," "turnpike doubles" and "Rocky Mountain...
is used for transportation. In the 1968 Hixon rail crash
Hixon rail crash
The Hixon rail crash occurred on 6 January 1968 when a low-loader transporter carrying a 120-ton electrical transformer was struck by an express train on a recently installed automatic level crossing at Hixon, Staffordshire in England.-Background:...
, one such road train was struck by an express train when it was crossing the railway at a level crossing
Level crossing
A level crossing occurs where a railway line is intersected by a road or path onone level, without recourse to a bridge or tunnel. It is a type of at-grade intersection. The term also applies when a light rail line with separate right-of-way or reserved track crosses a road in the same fashion...
.
Perkins Engines has a factory making diesel engines in Littleworth
Littleworth, Staffordshire
Littleworth is a former village now forming part of the eastern end of the county town of Stafford in the English county of Staffordshire.Littleworth is a relatively diverse area of Stafford, ranging from terraced former council-owned estates on its western side to more up-market housing on the...
. Adhesives manufacturer Bostik
Bostik
Bostik is an international adhesives company, a subsidiary of the French oil and gas company Total S.A., head-quartered at Paris. The company was created as Bostik Findley in 2001 after the merger of Bostik and Ato Findley, following the merger of their parent companies, Total Fina and Elf...
has a large factory in the town. Stafford is also a major dormitory town for workers commuting to Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
and Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
.
The public sector provides a lot of local employment, with Staffordshire County Council, Stafford Borough Council and Staffordshire Police all headquartered in the town. Stafford Prison, Stafford Hospital
Stafford Hospital
Stafford Hospital is an acute hospital with approximately 350 inpatient beds, opened in 1983. It is the main hospital in Stafford, England.The hospital is operated and managed by Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust and provides a wide range of non-specialist medical and surgical services....
and MoD Stafford
MoD Stafford
MOD Stafford is a Ministry of Defence and ex Royal Air Force base situated in Stafford, in England.The following units are currently based at MOD Stafford:HQ 12 Signal Group & Stafford Station22nd Signal RegimentTactical Supply WingMOD Police...
are other sources of local public sector employment.
The town is also home to the computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
and IT
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
campus of Staffordshire University
Staffordshire University
Staffordshire University is a university with its main campus based in the city of Stoke-on-Trent, and with other campuses in Stafford, Lichfield and Shrewsbury.- History :...
. The Beaconside Campus houses the Faculty of Computing Engineering and Technology and part of the Business School, and the adjacent Blackheath Lane campus houses the School of Health, which teaches nursing
Nursing
Nursing is a healthcare profession focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life from conception to death....
. The main campus in Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
is located about 18 miles (29 km) north.
The town centre Guildhall shopping centre is the town's main shopping venue, housing more than 40 retail outlets such as HMV
HMV
His Master's Voice is a trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone...
, Topman
Topman
TOPMAN is the stand-alone fashion business counterpart of Topshop that caters exclusively to men’s clothing. A part of the Arcadia Group, which also owns Burton, Miss Selfridge, Wallis, Evans, British Home Stores and Dorothy Perkins, Topman has a chain of high-street men's clothing stores located...
Topshop
Topshop
Topshop is a British clothes retailer with shops in over 20 countries and online operations in a number of its markets. Its sales come primarily from women's clothing and fashion accessories...
, River Island
River Island
River Island is one of Britain's best known high street fashion brands and can be found in most cities across the UK. The brand also has stores in Singapore, Turkey, Poland, Ireland, the Netherlands, and the Middle East.-History:...
and JJB. There are 3 major superstores that surround the main town centre, an Asda
Asda
Asda Stores Ltd is a British supermarket chain which retails food, clothing, general merchandise, toys and financial services. It also has a mobile telephone network, , Asda Mobile...
superstore, a Tesco Extra
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
and a Sainsbury's store. They are open 24 hours with the exception of Sainsbury's.
Transport
Stafford railway stationStafford railway station
Stafford railway station is an important main line interchange station in the United Kingdom. It serves the county town of Stafford.The present station built in 1962 is a good example of the Brutalist style of architecture - the beauty of the building was perceived to be its very functionality and...
was once a major hub on the railway network, but Beeching
Richard Beeching
Richard Beeching, Baron Beeching , commonly known as Doctor Beeching, was chairman of British Railways and a physicist and engineer...
's closure
Beeching Axe
The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...
of the Stafford and Uttoxeter Railway
Stafford and Uttoxeter Railway
The Stafford and Uttoxeter Railway was created by Act of Parliament in 1862, to run between Stafford and Uttoxeter in Staffordshire, England.It opened for traffic in 1867. It was nicknamed the Clog and Knocker....
, and the Shropshire Union Railway to Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
and beyond completely halted east-west traffic via Stafford. The years up to 2008 saw cross-country trains stopping at Stafford less and less. Since the CrossCountry trains franchisee change, more CrossCountry trains are now stopping at Stafford Station, However if you require services to Carlisle, Preston or Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
a change at Crewe railway station
Crewe railway station
Crewe railway station was completed in 1837 and is one of the most historic railway stations in the world. Built in fields near to Crewe Hall, it originally served the village of Crewe with a population of just 70 residents...
is required; Stafford railway station
Stafford railway station
Stafford railway station is an important main line interchange station in the United Kingdom. It serves the county town of Stafford.The present station built in 1962 is a good example of the Brutalist style of architecture - the beauty of the building was perceived to be its very functionality and...
is still a stop for some Virgin Trains services on the West Coast Main Line
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...
enabling easy commuting to the cities of Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
(via London Euston), Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
and Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
. If you require services to the cities of Stoke-on-trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
or Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
CrossCountry trains operate a regular service to Manchester Piccadilly normally every 30 Mins during the weekdays; Since December 2008 London Midland
London Midland
London Midland is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. Legally named London and Birmingham Railway Ltd, it is a subsidiary of Govia, and has operated the West Midlands franchise since 11 November 2007....
have operated a service stopping at Stafford which also serves Tamworth
Tamworth
Tamworth is a town and local government district in Staffordshire, England, located north-east of Birmingham city centre and north-west of London. The town takes its name from the River Tame, which flows through the town, as does the River Anker...
, Northampton
Northampton
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...
, Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes , sometimes abbreviated MK, is a large town in Buckinghamshire, in the south east of England, about north-west of London. It is the administrative centre of the Borough of Milton Keynes...
and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and also a Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
- Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
Lime Street service which departs Stafford Station normally every 30 mins during the weekdays. At least one train each way between Birmingham New Street and Crewe
Crewe
Crewe is a railway town within the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census the urban area had a population of 67,683...
is operated by Arriva Trains Wales
Arriva Trains Wales
Arriva Trains Wales is a train operating company, owned by Arriva, that operates urban and inter urban passenger services in Wales and the Welsh Marches...
.
Junctions 13 (Stafford South & Central) and 14 (Stafford North) of the M6 motorway
M6 motorway
The M6 motorway runs from junction 19 of the M1 at the Catthorpe Interchange, near Rugby via Birmingham then heads north, passing Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester, Preston, Carlisle and terminating at the Gretna junction . Here, just short of the Scottish border it becomes the A74 which continues to...
provide access to the town, therefore the major cities of Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
and Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
and beyond are easily reached. The A34 road
A34 road
The A34 is a major road in England. It runs from the A6042 in Salford to Winchester in Hampshire. It forms a large part of the major trunk route from Southampton, via Oxford, to Birmingham, The Potteries and Manchester...
runs through the centre of the town, linking it to Stone
Stone, Staffordshire
Stone is an old market town in Staffordshire, England, situated about seven miles north of Stafford, and around seven miles south of the city of Stoke-on-Trent. It is the second town, after Stafford itself, in the Borough of Stafford, and has long been of importance from the point of view of...
and Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
to the north and Cannock
Cannock
Cannock is the most populous of three towns in the district of Cannock Chase in the central southern part of the county of Staffordshire in the West Midlands region of England....
and the West Midlands conurbation
West Midlands conurbation
The West Midlands conurbation is the name given to the large conurbation that includes the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton and the large towns of Dudley, Walsall, West Bromwich, Solihull, Stourbridge, Halesowen in the English West Midlands....
to the south. The A518 road
A518 road
The A518 is a road in the United Kingdom which runs from Uttoxeter, Staffordshire to Telford, Shropshire via Stafford and Newport. Between Uttoxeter and Stafford it is a single carriageway, with a staggered junction with the dual carriageway A51...
connects Stafford with Telford
Telford
Telford is a large new town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, approximately east of Shrewsbury, and west of Birmingham...
to the south west and Uttoxeter
Uttoxeter
Uttoxeter is a historic market town in Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. The current population is approximately 13,711, though new developments in the town will increase this figure. Uttoxeter lies close to the River Dove and is near the cities of Stoke-on-Trent, Derby and...
to the north east, and therefore is the main route to the major theme park at Alton Towers
Alton Towers
Alton Towers is a theme park and resort located in Staffordshire, England. It attracts around 2.7 million visitors per year making it the most visited theme park in the United Kingdom. Alton Towers is also the 9th most visited theme park in Europe...
. The A449
A449 road
The A449 is a major road in the United Kingdom. It runs north from junction 24 of the M4 motorway at Newport in South Wales to Stafford in Staffordshire....
runs south from the town centre and connects with the nearby town of Penkridge
Penkridge
Penkridge is a market town and ancient parish in Staffordshire, England with a population of 7,836 . Many locals refer to it as a village, although it has a long history as an ecclesiastical and commercial centre. Its main distinction in the Middle Ages was as the site of an important collegiate...
and Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
. Finally, the A513 runs east from Stafford to the local towns of Rugeley
Rugeley
Rugeley is a historic market town in the county of Staffordshire, England. It lies on the northern edge of Cannock Chase, and is situated roughly midway between the towns of Stafford, Cannock, Lichfield and Uttoxeter...
and Lichfield
Lichfield
Lichfield is a cathedral city, civil parish and district in Staffordshire, England. One of eight civil parishes with city status in England, Lichfield is situated roughly north of Birmingham...
.
Local bus travel within the town is provided by Arriva Midlands
Arriva Midlands
Arriva Midlands is a division of Arriva. It operates bus services around the Midlands area of England and is made up of various previous bus operators.-Arriva Midlands North:...
, Wardle Transport
Wardle Transport
Wardle Transport is a bus operating company based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. Formed in 1963 as Jack's of Norton, it expanded from 2001 to operate a network of 18 local bus routes using over 60 vehicles...
and also some small bus companies who provide to mainly rural communites, while services to Stone and Stoke-on-Trent are handled by First PMT and Bakerbus
BakerBus
BakerBus is the trading name used by the bus fleet of Bakers Coaches, a bus and coach operator based in Biddulph, Staffordshire, England. They operate a fleet of around 50 vehicles on local bus services and coach hire work.-History:...
.
Stafford is served by four large taxi
Taxicab
A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...
companies: Aerobrights, Anthony's AJ's, Kaminski Hire and Westside. There are also a large number of independent operators who work from the ranks at the station
Stafford railway station
Stafford railway station is an important main line interchange station in the United Kingdom. It serves the county town of Stafford.The present station built in 1962 is a good example of the Brutalist style of architecture - the beauty of the building was perceived to be its very functionality and...
, Bridge Street, Broad Street and Salter Street.
The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal
Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal
The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal is a narrow navigable canal in the English Midlands, passing through the counties of Staffordshire and Worcestershire....
runs close to the Baswich
Baswich
Baswich is an estate in the south eastern side of Stafford in the parish of Berkswich. It is situated next to Weeping Cross but should not be confused with Weeping Cross....
and Wildwood areas, and was previously linked to the River Sow
River Sow
The River Sow is a tributary of the River Trent in Staffordshire, England.The river rises to the south of Newcastle-under-Lyme and flows south to become the major river through Stafford. It also flows near Bishop's Offley and Tixall. At Baswich it is joined by the River Penk, before meeting the...
by the River Sow Navigation.
Healthcare
The town is supplied with primary care by the South Staffordshire Primary Care Trust.The town's main hospital is Stafford Hospital
Stafford Hospital
Stafford Hospital is an acute hospital with approximately 350 inpatient beds, opened in 1983. It is the main hospital in Stafford, England.The hospital is operated and managed by Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust and provides a wide range of non-specialist medical and surgical services....
, previously known as Staffordshire General Hospital and also Stafford District General Hospital. The hospital is operated and managed by Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust
Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust
The Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust is a NHS foundation trust which manages two hospitals:* Stafford Hospital - acute hospital with approximately 350 inpatient beds, opened in 1983...
and provides a wide range of non-specialist medical and surgical services. Stafford Hospital's Accident and Emergency
Emergency department
An emergency department , also known as accident & emergency , emergency room , emergency ward , or casualty department is a medical treatment facility specialising in acute care of patients who present without prior appointment, either by their own means or by ambulance...
unit is the only such facility in the town. Wards at Stafford Hospital are numbered, with the exception of the children's wards (known as the "Anson Suite"), which are named after local towns and landmarks (e.g. Shugborough Ward). This hospital was built on the site of Coton Hill private psychiatric hospital which opened in 1851 and closed 1975 and was demolished with only the old chapel and gatehouse still visible. The hospital made the national news
Stafford Hospital scandal
The Stafford Hospital scandal came to light because of an investigation by the Healthcare Commission into the operation of Stafford Hospital in Stafford, England. The commission was first alerted by the "apparently high mortality rates in patients admitted as emergencies"...
in March 2009, with the release of a Healthcare Commission
Healthcare Commission
The Healthcare Commission was a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department of Health of the United Kingdom. It was set up to promote and drive improvement in the quality of health care and public health in England and Wales...
report detailing the facility's appalling shortcomings.
The St George's Hospital, part of the South Staffordshire and Shropshire Health Care Trust, is actually a combination of two historical hospitals—the Kingsmead Hospital (previously an elderly care facility) and the St George's psychiatric hospital. This hospital provides mental health services, including an intensive care unit
Intensive Care Unit
thumb|220px|ICU roomAn intensive-care unit , critical-care unit , intensive-therapy unit/intensive-treatment unit is a specialized department in a hospital that provides intensive-care medicine...
, secure units, an eating disorder
Eating disorder
Eating disorders refer to a group of conditions defined by abnormal eating habits that may involve either insufficient or excessive food intake to the detriment of an individual's physical and mental health. Bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa, and binge eating disorder are the most common specific...
unit, an EMI unit for the elderly and mentally frail, drug and alcohol addiction services and open wards. There is a small outpatient facility, and this is the location of the town's AA
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
meeting. Wards at St George's Hospital are named after local villages and termed "houses" (e.g. Brocton House, Chebsey House).
Primary schools
- Anson CE (A) Primary School
- Barnfields Primary School
- Berkswich CE Primary School
- Blessed Mother Teresa RC Primary School (Formerly Bower Norris)
- Brooklands Preparatory School (Independent)
- Burton Manor Primary School
- Castlechurch Primary School
- Cooper Perry Primary SchoolCooper Perry Primary SchoolCooper Perry Primary School in Seighford, Stafford, England was founded in 1874 and provides an education based on traditional village school values within a stimulating yet safe environment. The school was re-furbished and extended in 2001 as part of Staffordshire's first Private Finance Initiative...
- Flash Ley Community Primary School
- John Wheeldon Primary School
- Leasowes Primary School (formed by the merger of Leasowes Infant School and Leasowes Junior School in 2006)
- Oakridge Primary School (plus nursery)
- Parkside Primary School
- Silkmore Primary School
- Stafford Preparatory School
- St Anne's RC Primary School
- St Austin's RC Primary School
- St Bede's Preparatory School (Independent)
- St Johns CE Primary School
- St Leonard's Primary School
- St Patrick's RC Primary School
- St Paul's Primary School
- Tillington Manor Primary School - formerly Holmcroft Primary School
- The Grove Primary School
Secondary schools
- Stafford Sports College (formerly Rising Brook High School)
- Walton High SchoolWalton High School (Stafford)Walton High School is a large comprehensive school serving a community in the southern part of Stafford. It is awarded "specialist science" status...
- Blessed William Howard RC High School and Performing Arts College
- King Edward VI High SchoolKing Edward VI High School, StaffordKing Edward VI High School, is a High school located in the Highfields area of Stafford, England. The school has a sixth form, which has links with the Stafford Collegiate...
(Highfields) - Sir Graham Balfour SchoolSir Graham Balfour SchoolSir Graham Balfour School is a secondary school in Stafford, England. It is named after Sir Graham Balfour, the Victorian statistician and member Florence Nightingale's inner circle....
- Weston Road High SchoolWeston Road High SchoolWeston Road High School is a comprehensive school providing secondary and further education for pupils aged 11– 18 of the community in the east side of the market town Stafford and surrounding villages; Great Haywood, Little Haywood, Weston and Hixon...
- Stafford Grammar SchoolStafford Grammar SchoolStafford Grammar School is a mixed, independent day school located on the outskirts of Stafford, the county town of Staffordshire. Founded in 1982, the school inhabits a building built by the famous Victorian architect Augustus Pugin.-History:...
. Selective, independent school, Founded 1982.
Tertiary education
The Chetwynd Centre also provides Higher EducationHigher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
in the town. It normally teaches specialised A-levels, some vocational qualifications and subjects taught by teachers with no school base. The centre has joined up with all the town's secondary schools, except the grammar school, to provide better resources for students.
Stafford College
Stafford College
Stafford College is a large provider of further and higher education based in Stafford, England.The college campus is on Earl Street in Stafford Town Centre. Qualifications taught include a wide range of A-levels, with additional choice offered through the Stafford Collegiate, which is a...
is a large College
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
of Further Education
Further education
Further education is a term mainly used in connection with education in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is post-compulsory education , that is distinct from the education offered in universities...
. Stafford College also provides some Higher Education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
courses on behalf of Staffordshire University
Staffordshire University
Staffordshire University is a university with its main campus based in the city of Stoke-on-Trent, and with other campuses in Stafford, Lichfield and Shrewsbury.- History :...
and focuses heavily on computing and engineering.
South Staffordshire College
South Staffordshire College
South Staffordshire College is a further education college located over four sites in Staffordshire, England.The college was created in 2009 as a result of a merger of Cannock Chase Technical College, Rodbaston College and Tamworth and Lichfield College...
has a base in the village of Rodbaston
Rodbaston
Rodbaston is a village in Staffordshire, England. It is the location of a campus of South Staffordshire College.-References:...
, on the edge of Stafford. It is an agricultural college and provides most of its training in this sector.
Staffordshire University
Staffordshire University
Staffordshire University is a university with its main campus based in the city of Stoke-on-Trent, and with other campuses in Stafford, Lichfield and Shrewsbury.- History :...
has a large campus in the east of the town and focuses heavily on computing, engineering and media technologies (Film, Music and Computer Games). It also runs teacher training courses. The University has 2 halls of residence opposite the campus, the smaller Yarlet with 51 rooms and the larger Stafford Court with 554 Rooms. Stafford Court is divided into 13 'houses' named after local villages.
Sport
Stafford is home to three association football clubs; Stafford Rangers F.C.Stafford Rangers F.C.
Stafford Rangers Football Club is a semi-professional English football team from Stafford which plays in the Northern Premier League Premier Division.The team wear black and white stripes with black shorts...
, Brocton F.C.
Brocton F.C.
Brocton F.C. are a football club founded in Brocton, near Stafford, England, but currently playing in Stafford itself. Currently they are members of the Midland Combination Premier Division.-History:...
,and Stafford Town F.C.
Stafford Town F.C.
Stafford Town Football Club is an English football club founded in the mid 1970s and based in Stafford. The club's senior men's team play in the West Midlands League...
, none of which play at a fully professional level.
The town also has two Rugby Union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
clubs though again they do not play at a high level.
There is also a local Hockey team with eight adult teams.
Stafford Cricket and Hockey Club was founded in 1864, which almost certainly makes it the oldest sports club in Stafford. The club appears to have originally played at The Lammascotes before being offered a field at The Hough (Lichfield Road/GEC site) in 1899 which belonged to the Grammar school (The new ground there was opened by the mayor, a Mr Mynors in May of that year). In 1984 the club negotiated a move to Riverway in 1984 as The Hough came under the ownership of GEC. They currently own 11 acres (4 ha) at Riverway and host numerous sports all year round - they have 2 cricket pitches in the summer and in the winter host football, mini football, rugby and hockey.
In 1999 they were awarded a £200K lottery grant towards a new pavilion completed in 2000. The pavilion has 6 changing rooms and a lounge/function room for members and guests. The clubroom may also be hired for all kinds of functions and celebrations, as well as business meetings and charity events.
The Cricket Section always welcome new players of all abilities
There are four senior sides that play on a Saturday. The 1st & 2nd XI's play in The North Staffs and South Cheshire Premier Cricket League. The 3rd and 4th XI's play in the Stone & District Cricket League. They also have a senior team on a Sunday that plays in the Lichfield Sunday League. They have five junior sides in the following age groups; Under 9, Under 11, Under 13, Under 15, & Under 17's. They are an ECB Clubmark Accredited Club and promote sport for all in the local community.
Language
The Stafford accent may be distinguished from that of the more southern parts of Staffordshire heading towards the West MidlandsWest Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
, where the accent is more Black Country
Black Country
The Black Country is a loosely defined area of the English West Midlands conurbation, to the north and west of Birmingham, and to the south and east of Wolverhampton. During the industrial revolution in the 19th century this area had become one of the most intensely industrialised in the nation...
-influenced.
The accent of Stafford is more influenced by Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
, to varying extents, but less broad and perhaps more "watered-down." Those who live in Stafford tend to believe they have a more "neutral" accent, or perhaps no accent at all, but the influence of Stoke-on-Trent and nearby Stone
Stone, Staffordshire
Stone is an old market town in Staffordshire, England, situated about seven miles north of Stafford, and around seven miles south of the city of Stoke-on-Trent. It is the second town, after Stafford itself, in the Borough of Stafford, and has long been of importance from the point of view of...
sets it apart and distinguishes itself from more southern Staffordshire
South Staffordshire
South Staffordshire is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. The district lies to the north and west of Wolverhampton and the West Midlands, bordering Shropshire to the west and Worcestershire to the south...
.
RAF/MOD Stafford
RAF Stafford was a non-flying Royal Air Force station. In March 2006, RAF Stafford was redesignated as MOD Stafford. The event was marked by a fly past and a flag lowering ceremony. For many years the site provided employment for civilians and military personnel. However, RAF Stafford was handed over by the RAF in accordance with the current policy of defence strategy and streamlining. A small element of the Tactical Supply Wing (TSW) still operates from MOD Stafford. It is now home to a GurkhaGurkha
Gurkha are people from Nepal who take their name from the Gorkha District. Gurkhas are best known for their history in the Indian Army's Gorkha regiments, the British Army's Brigade of Gurkhas and the Nepalese Army. Gurkha units are closely associated with the kukri, a forward-curving Nepalese knife...
signals regiment and a RAF Regiment
RAF Regiment
The Royal Air Force Regiment is a specialist airfield defence corps founded by Royal Warrant in 1942. After a 32 week trainee gunner course, its members are trained and equipped to prevent a successful enemy attack in the first instance; minimise the damage caused by a successful attack; and...
contingent alongside Tactical Supply Wing.
Politics and literature
Notable people from Stafford include the 17th century author of The Compleat Angler, Izaak WaltonIzaak Walton
Izaak Walton was an English writer. Best known as the author of The Compleat Angler, he also wrote a number of short biographies which have been collected under the title of Walton's Lives.-Biography:...
, and the 18th century playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan was an Irish-born playwright and poet and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. For thirty-two years he was also a Whig Member of the British House of Commons for Stafford , Westminster and Ilchester...
was once the local MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
. Also, the 1853 Lord Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of London, Thomas Sidney, was born in the town.
In the early 1900s, the village of Little Haywood
Little Haywood
Little Haywood is a village in Staffordshire, England. It lies beside a main arterial highway, the A51 but traffic through the village is mainly light, owing to this bypass. Nearby also is the West Coast Main Line railway, the Trent and Mersey Canal and beside it, the river Trent...
near Stafford was home to the wife of famous The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
author J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
. He stayed with his wife, Edith, in her cottage in the village during the winter of 1916, and the surrounding areas were said to be an inspiration for some of his early works. The science fantasy
Science fantasy
Science fantasy is a mixed genre within speculative fiction drawing elements from both science fiction and fantasy. Although in some terms of its portrayal in recent media products it can be defined as instead of being a mixed genre of science fiction and fantasy it is instead a mixing of the...
author Storm Constantine
Storm Constantine
Storm Constantine is a British science fiction and fantasy author, primarily known for her Wraeththu series.- Life and work :Since the late 1980s Constantine has written more than 20 novels, plus several non-fiction books...
is a long-time resident.
British poet, playwright and freelance writer Carol Ann Duffy
Carol Ann Duffy
Carol Ann Duffy, CBE, FRSL is a Scottish poet and playwright. She is Professor of Contemporary Poetry at the Manchester Metropolitan University, and was appointed Britain's poet laureate in May 2009...
, although born in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, grew up in Stafford and attended Stafford Girls' High School. She was awarded an OBE in 1995, and a CBE
CBE
CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...
in 2002. Many of her poems describe experiences and places in Stafford. She has been the Poet laureate
Poet Laureate
A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...
since 2009 and now lives in Manchester.
Visual arts
Dave FollowsDave Follows
Dave Follows was a British cartoonist. Follows' cartoons appear in newspapers, comics, and magazines all over the world. The Creature Feature is one of Follows' biggest successes....
(3 October 1941—17 October 2003) was a prolific cartoonist and was born in and lived in Stafford all his life.
Performing arts and sport
Stafford was the birthplace of Men Behaving BadlyMen Behaving Badly
Men Behaving Badly is a British comedy that was created and written by Simon Nye. It follows the lives of Gary Strang and his flatmates, Dermot Povey and Tony Smart It was first broadcast on ITV in 1992...
star Neil Morrissey
Neil Morrissey
Neil Anthony Morrissey is an English actor, media personality and businessman. He is best known for his role as Tony in Men Behaving Badly....
, Freya Copeland, who plays Angela 'Angie' Reynolds in the soap Emmerdale
Emmerdale
Emmerdale, is a long-running British soap opera set in Emmerdale , a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale was first broadcast on 16 October 1972...
, Travis
Travis (band)
Travis are a post-Britpop band from Glasgow, Scotland, comprising Fran Healy , Dougie Payne , Andy Dunlop and Neil Primrose...
singer Fran Healy
Francis Healy
Francis "Fran" Healy is a Scottish musician. He is currently the lead singer and main songwriter of the Scottish band Travis, having written nearly all of the songs on their six studio albums. He is based in Berlin, Germany...
(but he moved away to Scotland when very young), and comedian Dave Gorman
Dave Gorman
David James Gorman is an English author, stand-up comedian and presenter. He has performed comedy shows on stage in which he tells stories of extreme adventures and presents the evidence to the audience in order to prove to them that they are true stories...
. 1970s hit duo Medicine Head
Medicine Head
Medicine Head were a British blues rock band, active in the 1970s. Their biggest single success was in 1973, with "One and One is One", a Number 3 hit in the UK Singles Chart.-Main personnel:The group worked as a duo for most of its career, consisting of...
hailed from nearby Tixall
Tixall
Tixall is a small village and former civil parish in the English county of Staffordshire lying on the western side of the Trent valley between Rugeley and Stone, Staffordshire and roughly 4 miles east of Stafford...
. Climax Blues Band
Climax Blues Band
Climax Blues Band was formed in Stafford, England in 1968. The original members were guitarists Peter Haycock and Derek Holt; keyboardist Arthur Wood; bassist Richard Jones; drummer George Newsome; and vocalist and harmonica player, Colin Cooper.In 1970, the group shortened its name to the Climax...
, initially, as their name suggests, was a popular Stafford blues band but later they achieved international record success. Rave acts Altern-8
Altern-8
Altern-8 is a British rave duo, featuring Mark Archer and Chris Peat. Best known in the early 1990s, their trademark was loud electronic tracks with a heavy bass line. On stage, Altern-8's members wore facemasks and chemical warfare suits...
and Bizarre Inc were also from the town.
Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
footballer Anthony Gardner
Anthony Gardner
Anthony Gardner is an England international football defender, who plays for Crystal Palace. A tall centre-back, he has represented England and been bought and sold for millions in the domestic transfer market...
, who plays for Hull City
Hull City A.F.C.
Hull City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, founded in 1904. The club participates in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football...
, and Chris Birchall
Chris Birchall
Christopher "Chris" Birchall CM is an English-born Trinidadian footballer who currently plays in midfield for Major League Soccer side Los Angeles Galaxy....
, who plays for Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
side Los Angeles Galaxy
Los Angeles Galaxy
The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional soccer team, based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California, which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, and the league's second...
, were both born in Stafford. Former Aston Villa, Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...
and Watford
Watford
Watford is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, situated northwest of central London and within the bounds of the M25 motorway. The borough is separated from Greater London to the south by the urbanised parish of Watford Rural in the Three Rivers District.Watford was created as an urban...
winger Nigel Callaghan
Nigel Callaghan
Nigel Ian Callaghan is a former professional footballer.-Playing career:Callaghan played on the right-wing for a number of clubs including Watford, Derby County and Aston Villa...
lives and DJs in the town. Former Aston Villa player and manager Brian Little
Brian Little (footballer)
Brian Little is an English former football player and manager who is currently without a job after being relieved of his duties as manager of Gainsborough Trinity on 22 August 2011. Little has previously managed Darlington, Leicester City, Aston Villa, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion, Hull City,...
also lives in the town.
Areas
- BaswichBaswichBaswich is an estate in the south eastern side of Stafford in the parish of Berkswich. It is situated next to Weeping Cross but should not be confused with Weeping Cross....
- An estate which is next to Weeping Cross, and many people get confused between these two estates. It is found by heading towards Rugeley and Cannock from Stafford Town Centre, or from Uttoxeter past Weston Road High School and through Baswich lanes. It has a Co-Op as a convenience store, and a hairdresser. It also has a church with a graveyard.
- BeaconsideBeaconsideBeaconside is an area in Stafford, Staffordshire, England. The district is home to the Stafford branch of Staffordshire University along with the Ministry of Defence site MOD Stafford . It is also the name of a major road in the area, part of the A513 road....
- Burton Manor
- Castle House Gardens
- Castle House Drive
- Castlefields
- Beaconside
- An estate built on the wetlands off Newport Road in the early 1990s, to the displeasure of many protesters. The roads are named after famous athletes of the time (Gunnell Close, Christie Drive etc).
- Castletown
- An estate of terraced cottages, built in the 1830s and 1840s for the influx of railway workers into the town. The estate used to have a church, St Thomas's, but this was demolished in the 1970s and replaced by the new church in Doxey. The offices of Staffordshire Newsletter now occupy the site. Castletown is changing rapidly, with the demolition of Stafford Arms and the building of new executive apartments heralding a new era on the estate.
- The Crossings
- A new estate built on the former site of Stychfields, in the grounds of the Alstom factory. It also includes a new retail park.
- CoppenhallCoppenhallCoppenhall is a small settlement in Staffordshire, England. Coppenhall lies southwest of Stafford and NNW of Penkridge with Baron Stafford as lord of the manor. The parish of ~ is bounded on the east by the Pothooks Brook...
- Coton Fields
- DoxeyDoxeyDoxey is a village and civil parish in the borough of Stafford in Staffordshire, England. It is a north-western suburb of Stafford. The village became a civil parish on April 1, 2005....
- Forebridge
- Highfields
- Coppenhall
- A large council estate with Wolverhampton Road at one end and Newport Road at the other. The first houses in Highfields were built c. 1955, with substantial additions (Highfields number two estate, as it was then known) in 1963/4. West Way is the longest street in Highfields, carving its way through the entire estate. Many of the streets in the sixties expansion of Highfields were named after poets and playwrights (Shakespeare Road, Masefield Drive, Coleridge Drive, Keats Avenue, Tennyson Road, Binyon Court (now renamed "The Keep"), etc). Of the older roads, the longest is Bagot's Oak, so called because of a large old tree that was in the road. Much of the original estate was built on Preston's Farm land, and one of the bus services was still called 'Highfields Farm until recently.
- HolmcroftHolmcroftHolmcroft is the name of a Stafford, Staffordshire, England, residential estate approximately 1½ miles north of Stafford town centre, situated in a geographic area long recorded as "Tillington, Staffordshire." Holmcroft is also a Ward of Stafford Borough Council...
- Hyde Lea
- King Edward Court
- Kingston Hill
- LittleworthLittleworth, StaffordshireLittleworth is a former village now forming part of the eastern end of the county town of Stafford in the English county of Staffordshire.Littleworth is a relatively diverse area of Stafford, ranging from terraced former council-owned estates on its western side to more up-market housing on the...
- Manor Estate
- Meadowcroft Park
- Moss PitMoss PitMoss Pit. William Moss & Son were builders, railway contractors and coal merchants in Stafford from 1855 to 1884 when William Moss was killed at his sand and gravel pit now called Moss Pit. William Moss & Son built many railway lines around the Midlands including the Queensville curve in Stafford...
- Holmcroft
- Moss Pit is situated in southern Stafford, approximately one mile from Junction 13 of the M6 motorway; areas include The Pippins, The Chestnuts and Scholar's Gate.
- ParksideParkside- England :*Parkside railway station, Liverpool and Manchester Railway*Parkside, Barrow-in-Furness*Parkside, Cambridge*Parkside, County Durham*Parkside Community College, Cambridge*Parkside Community College , Devonport, Devon...
- Parkside
- A housing estate at the extreme north of the town. It has two entrances from the A513 Beaconside Road, forming a U-shape. The estate has access to many green areas, including 3 parks, a 'green' and access to Stafford Common. There is also a primary school (Parkside Primary School) on the estate and access to Sir Graham Balfour SchoolSir Graham Balfour SchoolSir Graham Balfour School is a secondary school in Stafford, England. It is named after Sir Graham Balfour, the Victorian statistician and member Florence Nightingale's inner circle....
which has been totally rebuilt in 2001. Some of the school grounds were sold off when the old school was demolished to build "the Oaks" housing estate which is adjacent to Parkside. There is also a precinct of shops and the northern terminus of the number 10 bus route (Parkside - Trinity Fields - Stone Road - Stafford Town Centre). The Parkside estate was built in the 1970s and has a selection of different types of housing: detached, semi-detached, flats and modern terraced housing.- Queensville
- Rising Brook
- Rickerscote
- Rickerscote many years ago used to have a lane running from the now Silkmore estate heading towards the area where the bridge to Argos is. This area is known to many as 'the village', and there is a local shop that serves the people. Rickerscote is home to a large area of grassland know locally as the 'green'.
- Other locally well known areas of here are 'The Conker Tree', Boultons Farm, Devils Triangle and 'The Metal Bridge'. The local drinking houses are the Rickerscote Arms, known to the old school as the Alpine, and further into the estate there is the Post Office Social Club.
- Rowley Park
- Silkmore
- Silkmore is an area situated between Rickerscote and Meadowcroft, with the distant Rising Brook to its side. The local primary school is Silkmore and the area has a selection of shops, ranging from the local butchers to a Chinese. Over the years the area has been under a small facelift in order to brighten up and change the image of the place.
- An area of Silkmore is renowned for flooding, namely the area where the 'Southend Club' used to stand. This has now been replaced with new homes. Other areas of the estate that no longer exist are 'The Pioneer', 'The Garage' and 'Finney's Farm'. These have all now been replaced by homes or the Co-op.
- Tillington, StaffordshireTillington, StaffordshireTillington is an ancient geographic district about 1½ miles north of Stafford town centre, in the county of Staffordshire, England. Essentially, the district lies within a triangle formed by Eccleshall Road, Stone Road and Crab Lane that narrows southward to a point where the two roads join at...
- Trinity Fields
- The Oaks
- Tillington, Staffordshire
- The Oaks a new estate that is off the A34 near Sir Graham Balfour school extreme north of stafford.
- Walton on the HillWalton-on-the-Hill, StaffordshireWalton-on-the-Hill is a substantial settlement in the English county of Staffordshire lying to the south-east of, and almost contiguous with, the county town of Stafford....
- Walton on the Hill
- Walton on the Hill is at the extreme south of Stafford bordering Milford and is viewed as an exclusive residential area in the Borough with the highest average house prices. Walton High School is specialist science school and one of the top state schools in the Midlands and as such, places are much sought after.
- Weeping Cross
- Weeping Cross is an estate on the east side of Stafford, named after the First World War Memorial Cross placed there. It is easily found by heading up Radford Bank, towards Rugeley and Cannock. It also holds Leasowes Primary School and St Annes Catholic Primary School. Weeping Cross also has a local pub, the Lynton Tavern(now closed), a clinic with nearby Pharmacy, a library and a row of convenient shops. The number one bus runs every 30 minutes around the estate.
- Western Downs
- An estate on the edge of Stafford that borders on Highfields and the M6 Motorway. A large green area with two football pitches and a basketball court known as 'The Bottom Pitches' can be found in Western Downs along with 'The Rainbow Park' on Clarendon Drive, and the 'Dome Park' on Torridge Drive. Until the council built a play area they were the main footballing locations on the estate. The number nine bus route also covers Western Downs.
- WildwoodWildwoodWildwood is woodland which has developed naturally; particularly where it and a suitable climate have developed together.Wildwood may also refer to:-Place names:Municipalities*Wildwood, Alberta, Canada*Wildwood, Florida, USA*Wildwood, Georgia, USA...
- Wildwood
- a large estate with a ring road that joins on to the A34 roadA34 roadThe A34 is a major road in England. It runs from the A6042 in Salford to Winchester in Hampshire. It forms a large part of the major trunk route from Southampton, via Oxford, to Birmingham, The Potteries and Manchester...
. The estate was built around the 1970s and housed a lot of the Stafford police force as the Staffordshire PoliceStaffordshire PoliceStaffordshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent in the West Midlands of England...
HQ was / is located on the opposite side of the A34 roadA34 roadThe A34 is a major road in England. It runs from the A6042 in Salford to Winchester in Hampshire. It forms a large part of the major trunk route from Southampton, via Oxford, to Birmingham, The Potteries and Manchester...
.
Nearby places
- Alton TowersAlton TowersAlton Towers is a theme park and resort located in Staffordshire, England. It attracts around 2.7 million visitors per year making it the most visited theme park in the United Kingdom. Alton Towers is also the 9th most visited theme park in Europe...
- BirminghamBirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
- CannockCannockCannock is the most populous of three towns in the district of Cannock Chase in the central southern part of the county of Staffordshire in the West Midlands region of England....
- Cannock ChaseCannock ChaseCannock Chase is a mixed area of countryside in the county of Staffordshire, England. The area has been designated as the Cannock Chase Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Chase gives its name to the Cannock Chase local government district....
- CreswellCreswell, StaffordshireCreswell is a small village on the north-western edge of Stafford, the county town of Staffordshire, England situated on elevated ground above the wide floodplain and extensive marshes of the River Sow....
- EccleshallEccleshallEccleshall is a town in Staffordshire, England. It is located seven miles north west of Stafford, and six miles west of Stone. Eccleshall is twinned with Sancerre in France.-History:...
- Heath Hayes and WimbleburyHeath Hayes and WimbleburyHeath Hayes and Wimblebury is a civil parish in the Cannock Chase District of Staffordshire, England. At the 2001 census it had a population of 12,176....
- HixonHixon, StaffordshireHixon is a village in the borough of Stafford, Staffordshire, England. It is about 8 km east of Stafford at .Hixon was served by a railway station which was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway on May 1, 1849....
- LichfieldLichfieldLichfield is a cathedral city, civil parish and district in Staffordshire, England. One of eight civil parishes with city status in England, Lichfield is situated roughly north of Birmingham...
- Newport, ShropshireNewport, ShropshireNewport is a market town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. It lies some north of Telford and some west of Stafford sitting on the Shropshire/Staffordshire border...
- RugeleyRugeleyRugeley is a historic market town in the county of Staffordshire, England. It lies on the northern edge of Cannock Chase, and is situated roughly midway between the towns of Stafford, Cannock, Lichfield and Uttoxeter...
- Shugborough HallShugborough HallShugborough is a country estate in Great Haywood, Staffordshire, England, 4 miles from Stafford on the edge of Cannock Chase. It comprises a country house, kitchen garden, and model farm...
- Stoke-on-TrentStoke-on-TrentStoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
- StoneStone, StaffordshireStone is an old market town in Staffordshire, England, situated about seven miles north of Stafford, and around seven miles south of the city of Stoke-on-Trent. It is the second town, after Stafford itself, in the Borough of Stafford, and has long been of importance from the point of view of...
- Trentham GardensTrentham GardensTrentham Gardens are formal Italianate gardens, and an English landscape park in Trentham, Staffordshire on the southern fringes of the city of Stoke-on-Trent, England. The former house on the site, Trentham Hall, became one of many to be demolished in the 20th century when in 1912, its owner the...
- UttoxeterUttoxeterUttoxeter is a historic market town in Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. The current population is approximately 13,711, though new developments in the town will increase this figure. Uttoxeter lies close to the River Dove and is near the cities of Stoke-on-Trent, Derby and...
- WolverhamptonWolverhamptonWolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
See also
- Stafford rail crashStafford rail crashThere have been two rail crashes at Stafford in recent times:*8 March 1996*August 1990A few miles away, there was the Hixon rail crash on 6 January 1968....
- HMP Stafford
- Etymological list of counties of the United KingdomEtymological list of counties of the United KingdomToponymical list of counties of the United Kingdom is a list of the origins of the names of counties of the United Kingdom. For England and Wales it includes ancient and contemporary counties.-Background:...
External links
- Stafford Borough Council
- Stafford Tourism Bureau
- Stafford Forum
- www.StaffordHistory.co.uk
- Stafford Town Centre Web Site
- Ancient High House
- Stafford Gatehouse Theatre
- St. Chad's Church
- Legionnaires' Disease, General Hospital LegionellosisLegionellosisLegionellosis is a potentially fatal infectious disease caused by gram negative, aerobic bacteria belonging to the genus Legionella. Over 90% of legionellosis cases are caused by Legionella pneumophila, a ubiquitous aquatic organism that thrives in temperatures between , with an optimum temperature...
- Lyrics and a live performance video of the Stafford Song
- Stafford Now and Then, Antique Picture Postcards
- Pictures & stories about the shoe industry in Stafford
- History of Doxey
- Stafford Borough Council site re a short history of the town
- an illustrated history of the town
- Stafford, a visitors guide
- William Horton's 1801 penny token
- Staffordshire Past-Track