Staffordshire
Encyclopedia
Staffordshire (ˈ or icon; abbreviated Staffs) is a landlocked county
in the West Midlands
region of England. For Eurostat
purposes, the county (less the unitary district of Stoke-on-Trent
) is a NUTS
3 region (code UKG24) 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. It adjoins the ceremonial counties
of Cheshire
(to the north west), Derbyshire
(to the east), Leicestershire
(to the east), Warwickshire
(to the south east), West Midlands
(to the south), Worcestershire
(to the south), and Shropshire
(to the west).
The largest city in Staffordshire is Stoke-on-Trent, which is administered separately from the rest of the county as an independent unitary authority
. Lichfield
also has city status
, although this is a considerably smaller cathedral city. Major towns include Stafford
(the county town), Burton upon Trent
, Cannock
, Newcastle-under-Lyme
and Tamworth
. Wolverhampton
and Walsall
were also in Staffordshire until local government reorganisation in 1974, but are now within the West Midlands county.
Apart from Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire is divided into the districts of Cannock Chase
, East Staffordshire
, Lichfield
, Newcastle-under-Lyme
, South Staffordshire
, Stafford
, Staffordshire Moorlands
, and Tamworth
.
s of Cuttlestone, Offlow, Pirehill, Seisdon
, and Totmonslow.
The historic boundaries of Staffordshire cover much of what is now the metropolitan county
of West Midlands
. An administrative county
of Staffordshire was set up in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888
covering the county except the county borough
s of Wolverhampton
, Walsall
, and West Bromwich
in the south (the area known as the Black Country
), and Hanley in the north. The Act also saw the towns of Tamworth
(partly in Warwickshire) and Burton upon Trent
(partly in Derbyshire) united entirely in Staffordshire.
In 1553 Queen Mary
made Lichfield
a county separate from the rest of Staffordshire. It remained so until 1888.
Handsworth
and Perry Barr
became part of the county borough of Birmingham
in the early 20th century, and thus associated with Warwickshire
. Burton, in the east of the county, became a county borough in 1901, and was followed by Smethwick
, another Black Country town in 1907. In 1910 the six towns of the Staffordshire Potteries, including Hanley, became the single county borough of Stoke-on-Trent
.
A major reorganisation in the Black Country in 1966, under the recommendation of the Local Government Commission for England led to the creation of an area of contiguous county boroughs. The County Borough of Warley
was formed by the merger of the county borough of Smethwick
and municipal borough of Rowley Regis
with the Worcestershire borough of Oldbury
: the resulting county borough was associated with Worcestershire. Meanwhile, the county borough of Dudley
, historically a detached part of Worcestershire, expanded and became associated with Staffordshire instead. This reorganisation led to the administrative county of Staffordshire having a thin protrusion passing between the county boroughs (to the east) and Shropshire, to the west, to form a short border with Worcestershire.
Under the Local Government Act 1972
, on 1 April 1974 the county boroughs of the Black Country and the Aldridge-Brownhills Urban District of Staffordshire became, along with Birmingham, Solihull, and Coventry and other districts, a new metropolitan county of West Midlands
. County boroughs were abolished, with Stoke becoming a non-metropolitan district in Staffordshire, and Burton forming an unparished area
in the district of East Staffordshire
. On 1 April 1997, under a recommendation of the Banham Commission
, Stoke-on-Trent became a unitary authority independent of Staffordshire once more.
In July 2009, the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold ever found in Britain was discovered in a field near Lichfield
. The artefacts, known as The Staffordshire Hoard
have tentatively been dated to the 7th or 8th centuries, placing the origin of the items in the time of the Kingdom of Mercia.
This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of the non-metropolitan county of Staffordshire at current basic prices published (pp. 240–253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.
Some nationally and internationally known companies have their base in Staffordshire.They include The Britannia Building Society
which is based in Leek
. JCB
is based in Rocester
near Uttoxeter
.The theme park Alton Towers
is in the Staffordshire Moorlands
and several of the world's largest pottery manufacturers are based in Stoke On Trent.
, Blake High School and Norton Canes High School combining their sixth forms to create a "Sixth Form Consortium", which can offer a greater selection of subjects than each school could individually.
Two universities are located in the county. Keele University
is located in Newcastle-under-Lyme
. Staffordshire University
has four campuses located in Stoke-on-Trent
, Stafford
, Lichfield
and Shrewsbury
.
and Port Vale
both from Stoke-on-Trent
and Burton Albion
who play in Burton upon Trent
.
Stoke City, one of the oldest professional football clubs in existence, were founded in 1863 and played at the Victoria Ground
for 119 years from 1878 until their relocation to the Britannia Stadium
in 1997. They were among the 12 founder members of the Football League in 1888. By the late 1930s, they were established First Division
members and boasted arguably the finest footballer in England at the time in right-winger Stanley Matthews
, who had two spells with the club between 1930 and his retirement in 1965 at the age of 50. In 1972, the club finally won a major trophy when they lifted the Football League Cup
, but after relegation from the First Division in 1985 they would not experience top flight football for 23 years. After spending some two decades bouncing between the second and third tiers of the English league, they finally reclaimed their top flight status in 2008 by securing promotion to the FA Premier League
– where they have remained ever since. Stoke City reached their first FA Cup
final in 2011
, but lost to Manchester City
.
Port Vale, who like Stoke City play in Stoke-on-Trent, were formed in 1876 and became members of the Football League in 1892. After more than 70 years at various stadiums around the city, the club moved to its present home, Vale Park
, in 1950. In early 1936, they had famously eliminated First Division
champions Sunderland
from the FA Cup
. Another surprise FA Cup success came in February 1988 when they eliminated seven-time winners Tottenham Hotspur
from the competition. Promotion to the Second Division
for the first time since the 1960s was secured in 1989, and Vale would spent nine of the next 11 years at this level. However, the club has been less successful since the turn of the 21st century, and suffered relegation to League Two
– the fourth tier of the English league – in 2008. The club has yet to win promotion from this division.
The counties other professional Football team is Burton Albion from Burton Upon Trent
who currently play in Football League Two
, after securing promotion from the Conference
for the first time in the 2008–09 season.
The county has a number of non-league football clubs, including Stafford Rangers
, Hednesford Town
and Leek Town
.
In cricket
, Staffordshire is one of the nineteen Minor counties of English and Welsh cricket. It is represented in Minor counties cricket by Staffordshire County Cricket Club
who have played in the Minor Counties Championship since 1895, a competition which it has won outright ten times, making it one of the most successful Minor counties teams. Among famous international cricketers produced by the county include Sydney Barnes
and Dominic Cork
, both of who went on to represent England.
In the north and in the south the county is hilly, with wild moorland
s in the far north and Cannock Chase
an area of natural beauty in the south. In the middle regions the landscape is low and undulating. Throughout the entire county there are vast and important coalfields. In the southern part there are also rich iron ore deposits. The largest river is the Trent
. The soil is chiefly clay and agriculture was not highly developed until the mechanisation of farms.
Staffordshire is home to the highest village in Britain, Flash
. The village in the Staffordshire Moorlands
stands at 463 m (1518 ft) above sea level. This record was confirmed in 2007 by the Ordnance Survey
after Wanlockhead
in Scotland also claimed the record. The BBC
's The One Show
investigated the case in a bid to settle the argument and Flash was confirmed as the highest. The highest point in Staffordshire is Cheeks Hill
.
purposes, it is a NUTS 3 region (code UKG22).
Staffordshire operates a cabinet-style council
. There are 62 councillors for Staffordshire. The Full Council elects a cabinet of 10 councillors, including the council leader, from the majority party. Each cabinet member has their own portfolio about which they make the "day to day" decisions.
was bred for hunting purposes in this county. They are known affectionately as "staffs", "staffies", and "nanny-dogs". Staffies should not be confused with the considerably larger American Staffordshire Terrier
, American Pit Bull Terrier
, and (English) Bull Terrier
.
in the city of Lichfield
, the Diocese of Lichfield
covers the whole county with the exception of Stapenhill
, and much of the nearby county of Shropshire
and the Black Country
area of the West Midlands County
. The county is covered by the archdeaconries of Stoke-on-Trent
and Lichfield
. The current Bishop of Lichfield
is Jonathan Gledhill
and the current Bishop of Stafford
Geoff Annas
. There are 298 Church of England
Churches in the County.
was founded in Staffordshire by Hugh Bourne
, a native of Stoke-on-Trent, at a public gathering in the village of Mow Cop
. He originally followed the Wesleyan
form of Methodism
but in 1801 he reformed the Methodist service by conducting it outside. By 1811 with his brother he founded the first chapel in the Tunstall
area of Stoke-on-Trent
.
in the county is on London Road in Newcastle-Under-Lyme
which opened in 2006 and replaced the former "Birch Terrace" Synagogue in Hanley
according to the 2001 census there were 407 Jewish People in The non-metropolitan area of Staffordshire, and 83 is Stoke-on-Trent
, With a total population of 490 which makes up around 0.05% of the total population of the county.
4 in Burton-upon-Trent and 1 in both Stafford
and Lichfield
. A controversial new Mosque is under construction in the Hanley
area of Stoke-on-Trent
and will be the first purpose built mosque in the area. At the 2001 census there were 7,658 in Stoke-on-Trent
and 6,081 in the rest of Staffordshire, With a total of 13,739 making up 1.3% of the population. 62.9% (3823) of the Muslims in the rest of Staffordshire of from the town of Burton-upon-Trent.
, Caldon Canal
, Coventry Canal
, Shropshire Union Canal
, Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal
and Trent and Mersey Canal
.
The M42
has a junction in Tamworth at the south-east of the county, and heads south-west towards Birmingham. The M6
runs north through the county and junctions 10A-16 are in the county. The M6 Toll
, the UK's first toll motorway
, runs through the county with junctions in Weeford near Lichfield, Cannock and joins the M6 heading north towards Stafford.
The A5 and A34 run through the county. The former has been significantly widened to a dual carriageway at several sections, although much of it remains single carriageway.
in Bobbington
and Tatenhill Airfield
near Burton-upon-Trent both of which are small airports catering for General Aviation.
Counties of England
Counties of England are areas used for the purposes of administrative, geographical and political demarcation. For administrative purposes, England outside Greater London and the Isles of Scilly is divided into 83 counties. The counties may consist of a single district or be divided into several...
in the West Midlands
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,...
region of England. For Eurostat
Eurostat
Eurostat is a Directorate-General of the European Commission located in Luxembourg. Its main responsibilities are to provide the European Union with statistical information at European level and to promote the integration of statistical methods across the Member States of the European Union,...
purposes, the county (less the unitary district 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...
) is a NUTS
Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics
The Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics or Nomenclature of Units for Territorial Statistics is a geocode standard for referencing the subdivisions of countries for statistical purposes...
3 region (code UKG24) and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region
NUTS 2 statistical regions of the United Kingdom
In the NUTS codes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland , there are 38 level 2 statistical regions.-List of NUTS 2 statistical regions:-See also:* NUTS of the United Kingdom...
. Part of the National Forest
National Forest, England
The National Forest is one of England’s most ambitious environmental projects. Across parts of Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Staffordshire, are being transformed, blending ancient woodland with new planting to create a new national forest...
lies within its borders. It adjoins the ceremonial counties
Ceremonial counties of England
The ceremonial counties are areas of England to which are appointed a Lord Lieutenant, and are defined by the government as counties and areas for the purposes of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 with reference to the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England and Lieutenancies Act 1997...
of Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
(to the north west), Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
(to the east), Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
(to the east), Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
(to the south east), West Midlands
West 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...
(to the south), Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
(to the south), and Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a 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. It borders Wales to the west...
(to the west).
The largest city in Staffordshire is Stoke-on-Trent, which is administered separately from the rest of the county as an independent unitary authority
Unitary authority
A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...
. 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...
also has city status
City status in the United Kingdom
City status in the United Kingdom is granted by the British monarch to a select group of communities. The holding of city status gives a settlement no special rights other than that of calling itself a "city". Nonetheless, this appellation carries its own prestige and, consequently, competitions...
, although this is a considerably smaller cathedral city. Major towns include Stafford
Stafford
Stafford is the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies approximately north of Wolverhampton and south of Stoke-on-Trent, adjacent to the M6 motorway Junction 13 to Junction 14...
(the county town), Burton upon Trent
Burton upon Trent
Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a town straddling the River Trent in the east of Staffordshire, England. Its associated adjective is "Burtonian"....
, 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....
, Newcastle-under-Lyme
Newcastle-under-Lyme
Newcastle-under-Lyme is a market town in Staffordshire, England, and is the principal town of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme. It is part of The Potteries Urban Area and North Staffordshire. In the 2001 census the town had a population of 73,944...
and 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...
. 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 Walsall
Walsall
Walsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...
were also in Staffordshire until local government reorganisation in 1974, but are now within the West Midlands county.
Apart from Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire is divided into the districts of Cannock Chase
Cannock Chase (district)
Cannock Chase is a local government district in England. It covers a large part of Cannock Chase forest and the towns of Cannock, Rugeley and Hednesford.There are several parish and town councils in the district:* Rugeley* Hednesford...
, East Staffordshire
East Staffordshire
East Staffordshire is a local government district with borough status in Staffordshire in England. It has two main towns, Burton upon Trent, famous for its breweries, and Uttoxeter, for its racecourse....
, Lichfield
Lichfield (district)
Lichfield is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. It is administered by Lichfield District Council, based in Lichfield.The dignity and privileges of the City of Lichfield are vested in the parish council of the 14 km² Lichfield civil parish...
, Newcastle-under-Lyme
Newcastle-under-Lyme (borough)
Newcastle-under-Lyme is a local government district with borough status in Staffordshire, England.It is named after its main town of Newcastle-under-Lyme where the council is based, but also includes the town of Kidsgrove, the villages of Silverdale and Keele, and the rural area surrounding Audley...
, South 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...
, 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....
, Staffordshire Moorlands
Staffordshire Moorlands
Staffordshire Moorlands is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. Its council, Staffordshire Moorlands District Council, is based in Leek and is located between the city of Stoke-on-Trent and the Peak District National Park. The 2001 census recorded the population as...
, and 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...
.
History
Historically, Staffordshire was divided into the five hundredHundred (division)
A hundred is a geographic division formerly used in England, Wales, Denmark, South Australia, some parts of the United States, Germany , Sweden, Finland and Norway, which historically was used to divide a larger region into smaller administrative divisions...
s of Cuttlestone, Offlow, Pirehill, Seisdon
Seisdon
Seisdon is a rural village in the county of Staffordshire approximately six miles west of Wolverhampton.-Etymology:The name appears to mean "hill of the Saxons", deriving from the Anglo-Saxon words Seis meaning Saxon and Dun meaning hill.-History:...
, and Totmonslow.
Metropolitan county
The metropolitan counties are a type of county-level administrative division of England. There are six metropolitan counties, which each cover large urban areas, typically with populations of 1.2 to 2.8 million...
of West Midlands
West 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...
. An administrative county
Administrative counties of England
Administrative counties were a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government from 1889 to 1974. They were created by the Local Government Act 1888 as the areas for which county councils were elected. Some large counties were divided into several administrative...
of Staffordshire was set up in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888
Local Government Act 1888
The Local Government Act 1888 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which established county councils and county borough councils in England and Wales...
covering the county except the county borough
County borough
County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control. They were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales, but continue in use for lieutenancy and shrievalty in...
s 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...
, Walsall
Walsall
Walsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...
, and West Bromwich
West Bromwich
West Bromwich is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands, England. It is north west of Birmingham lying on the A41 London-to-Birkenhead road. West Bromwich is part of the Black Country...
in the south (the area known as the 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...
), and Hanley in the north. The Act also saw the towns of 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...
(partly in Warwickshire) and Burton upon Trent
Burton upon Trent
Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a town straddling the River Trent in the east of Staffordshire, England. Its associated adjective is "Burtonian"....
(partly in Derbyshire) united entirely in Staffordshire.
In 1553 Queen Mary
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
made 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...
a county separate from the rest of Staffordshire. It remained so until 1888.
Handsworth
Handsworth, West Midlands
Handsworth is an inner city area of Birmingham in the West Midlands, England. The Local Government Act 1894 divided the ancient Staffordshire parish of Handsworth into two urban districts: Handsworth and Perry Barr. Handsworth was annexed to the county borough of Birmingham in Warwickshire in 1911...
and Perry Barr
Perry Barr
Perry Barr is an inner-city area in north Birmingham, England. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee. The constituency includes the smaller Perry Barr ward and the wards of Handsworth Wood, Lozells and East Handsworth, and Oscott, which elect three councillors to...
became part of the county borough 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...
in the early 20th century, and thus associated with Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
. Burton, in the east of the county, became a county borough in 1901, and was followed by Smethwick
Smethwick
Smethwick is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands of England. It is situated on the edge of the city of Birmingham, within the historic boundaries of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire....
, another Black Country town in 1907. In 1910 the six towns of the Staffordshire Potteries, including Hanley, became the single county borough 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...
.
A major reorganisation in the Black Country in 1966, under the recommendation of the Local Government Commission for England led to the creation of an area of contiguous county boroughs. The County Borough of Warley
County Borough of Warley
Warley was a county borough and civil parish forming part of the West Midlands conurbation, England, and geographical county of Worcestershire. It was formed in 1966 by the combination of the existing county borough of Smethwick with the municipal boroughs of Oldbury and Rowley Regis Warley was a...
was formed by the merger of the county borough of Smethwick
Smethwick
Smethwick is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands of England. It is situated on the edge of the city of Birmingham, within the historic boundaries of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire....
and municipal borough of Rowley Regis
Rowley Regis
Rowley Regis is a town in the Sandwell metropolitan borough of the West Midlands county and a part of the Black Country in the United Kingdom. Being part of the Black Country, locals speak with the traditional dialect, though in a form regarded by many as the quickest and the hardest to...
with the Worcestershire borough of Oldbury
Oldbury, West Midlands
Oldbury is a town in the West Midlands in England. It is a part of the Black Country and the administrative centre of the borough of Sandwell.-Local government:...
: the resulting county borough was associated with Worcestershire. Meanwhile, the county borough of Dudley
Dudley
Dudley is a large town in the West Midlands county of England. At the 2001 census , the Dudley Urban Sub Area had a population of 194,919, making it the 26th largest settlement in England, the second largest town in the United Kingdom behind Reading, and the largest settlement in the UK without...
, historically a detached part of Worcestershire, expanded and became associated with Staffordshire instead. This reorganisation led to the administrative county of Staffordshire having a thin protrusion passing between the county boroughs (to the east) and Shropshire, to the west, to form a short border with Worcestershire.
Under the Local Government Act 1972
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....
, on 1 April 1974 the county boroughs of the Black Country and the Aldridge-Brownhills Urban District of Staffordshire became, along with Birmingham, Solihull, and Coventry and other districts, a new metropolitan county of West Midlands
West 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...
. County boroughs were abolished, with Stoke becoming a non-metropolitan district in Staffordshire, and Burton forming an unparished area
Unparished area
In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish. Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unparished. Many towns and some cities in otherwise rural districts are also unparished areas and therefore no longer have a town council or city...
in the district of East Staffordshire
East Staffordshire
East Staffordshire is a local government district with borough status in Staffordshire in England. It has two main towns, Burton upon Trent, famous for its breweries, and Uttoxeter, for its racecourse....
. On 1 April 1997, under a recommendation of the Banham Commission
Local Government Commission for England (1992)
The Local Government Commission for England was the body responsible for reviewing the structure of local government in England from 1992 to 2002. It was established under the Local Government Act 1992, replacing the Local Government Boundary Commission for England...
, Stoke-on-Trent became a unitary authority independent of Staffordshire once more.
In July 2009, the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold ever found in Britain was discovered in a field near 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...
. The artefacts, known as The Staffordshire Hoard
Staffordshire Hoard
The Staffordshire Hoard is the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork . Discovered in a field near the village of Hammerwich, near Lichfield, in Staffordshire, England on 5 July 2009, it consists of some 3,500 items that are nearly all martial in character...
have tentatively been dated to the 7th or 8th centuries, placing the origin of the items in the time of the Kingdom of Mercia.
Economy
| Year | Regional Gross Value Added | Agriculture | Industry | Services |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 6,447 | 209 | 2,349 | 3,889 |
| 2000 | 8,621 | 150 | 2,986 | 5,485 |
| 2003 | 10,169 | 169 | 3,164 | 6,835 |
Some nationally and internationally known companies have their base in Staffordshire.They include The Britannia Building Society
Britannia Building Society
The Britannia is a financial services institution and trading name of the Co-operative Bank Plc in the United Kingdom.Before the merger with the Co-operative, Britannia was a mutual building society, with headquarters in Leek, Staffordshire...
which is based in Leek
Leek, Staffordshire
Leek is a market town in the county of Staffordshire, England, on the River Churnet. It is an ancient borough and was granted its royal charter in 1214.It is the administrative centre for the Staffordshire Moorlands District Council...
. JCB
J. C. Bamford
JCB is a global construction, demolition and agricultural equipment company headquartered in Rocester, United Kingdom. It is the world's third-largest construction equipment manufacturer. It produces over 300 types of machines, including diggers , excavators, tractors and diesel engines...
is based in Rocester
Rocester
Rocester is a village and civil parish in the East Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England. Its name is spelt Rowcestre in the Domesday Book.-Geography:...
near 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...
.The theme park 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...
is in the Staffordshire Moorlands
Staffordshire Moorlands
Staffordshire Moorlands is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. Its council, Staffordshire Moorlands District Council, is based in Leek and is located between the city of Stoke-on-Trent and the Peak District National Park. The 2001 census recorded the population as...
and several of the world's largest pottery manufacturers are based in Stoke On Trent.
Education
Staffordshire has a completely comprehensive system with eight independent schools. Most secondary schools are from 11–16 or 18, but two in Staffordshire Moorlands and South Staffordshire are from 13–18. Resources are shared where appropriate, as per the example of Kingsmead Technology CollegeKingsmead Technology College
Kingsmead Technology College is a specialist school in technology. Established in 1938, it is located in Hednesford, Staffordshire, England. The head teacher is Ian Bryant....
, Blake High School and Norton Canes High School combining their sixth forms to create a "Sixth Form Consortium", which can offer a greater selection of subjects than each school could individually.
Two universities are located in the county. Keele University
Keele University
Keele University is a campus university near Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as an experimental college dedicated to a broad curriculum and interdisciplinary study, Keele is most notable for pioneering the dual honours degree in Britain...
is located in Newcastle-under-Lyme
Newcastle-under-Lyme
Newcastle-under-Lyme is a market town in Staffordshire, England, and is the principal town of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme. It is part of The Potteries Urban Area and North Staffordshire. In the 2001 census the town had a population of 73,944...
. 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 four campuses located 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...
, Stafford
Stafford
Stafford is the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies approximately north of Wolverhampton and south of Stoke-on-Trent, adjacent to the M6 motorway Junction 13 to Junction 14...
, 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...
and 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...
.
Sport
The modern county of Staffordshire currently has three professional football clubs – Stoke CityStoke City F.C.
Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...
and Port Vale
Port Vale F.C.
Port Vale Football Club is an English football club currently playing in Football League Two. They are based in Burslem, Staffordshire — one of six towns that make up the city of Stoke-on-Trent. The club's traditional rivals in the city are Stoke City, and games between the two clubs are known as...
both 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...
and Burton Albion
Burton Albion F.C.
Burton Albion Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire. The club's home ground is the Pirelli Stadium, having moved from Eton Park in 2005...
who play in Burton upon Trent
Burton upon Trent
Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a town straddling the River Trent in the east of Staffordshire, England. Its associated adjective is "Burtonian"....
.
Stoke City, one of the oldest professional football clubs in existence, were founded in 1863 and played at the Victoria Ground
Victoria Ground
Victoria Ground may refer to:*Victoria Ground, the former name of Hartlepool United’s ground Victoria Park.*Victoria Ground, Stoke City’s ground from 1878 to 1997.*Victoria Ground, current home of Bromsgrove Rovers...
for 119 years from 1878 until their relocation to the Britannia Stadium
Britannia Stadium
The Britannia Stadium is an all-seater football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, England and the home of Premier League club Stoke City Football Club. With space for 27,598 spectators . The name is taken from the sponsors of the Stadium the Britannia Co-operative Bank...
in 1997. They were among the 12 founder members of the Football League in 1888. By the late 1930s, they were established First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
members and boasted arguably the finest footballer in England at the time in right-winger Stanley Matthews
Stanley Matthews
Sir Stanley Matthews, CBE was an English footballer. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the English game, he is the only player to have been knighted while still playing, as well as being the first winner of both the European Footballer of the Year and the Football Writers'...
, who had two spells with the club between 1930 and his retirement in 1965 at the age of 50. In 1972, the club finally won a major trophy when they lifted the Football League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
, but after relegation from the First Division in 1985 they would not experience top flight football for 23 years. After spending some two decades bouncing between the second and third tiers of the English league, they finally reclaimed their top flight status in 2008 by securing promotion to the FA Premier League
FA Premier League
The Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier...
– where they have remained ever since. Stoke City reached their first FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
final in 2011
2011 FA Cup Final
The 2011 FA Cup Final was the 130th final of the FA Cup, the world's oldest domestic football cup competition. The match took place on 14 May 2011 at Wembley Stadium in London. The clubs contesting the 2011 final were Premier League clubs Manchester City and Stoke City, with the victors guaranteed...
, but lost to Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
.
Port Vale, who like Stoke City play in Stoke-on-Trent, were formed in 1876 and became members of the Football League in 1892. After more than 70 years at various stadiums around the city, the club moved to its present home, Vale Park
Vale Park
Vale Park is a football stadium in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England. It is the home ground of Port Vale F.C., who have played at the ground since 1950....
, in 1950. In early 1936, they had famously eliminated First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
champions Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
from the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
. Another surprise FA Cup success came in February 1988 when they eliminated seven-time winners Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
from the competition. Promotion to the Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
for the first time since the 1960s was secured in 1989, and Vale would spent nine of the next 11 years at this level. However, the club has been less successful since the turn of the 21st century, and suffered relegation to League Two
Football League Two
Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....
– the fourth tier of the English league – in 2008. The club has yet to win promotion from this division.
The counties other professional Football team is Burton Albion from Burton Upon Trent
Burton upon Trent
Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a town straddling the River Trent in the east of Staffordshire, England. Its associated adjective is "Burtonian"....
who currently play in Football League Two
Football League Two
Football League Two is the third-highest division of The Football League and fourth-highest division overall in the English football league system....
, after securing promotion from the Conference
Conference National
Conference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...
for the first time in the 2008–09 season.
The county has a number of non-league football clubs, including Stafford Rangers
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...
, Hednesford Town
Hednesford Town F.C.
Hednesford Town Football Club are an association football team based in Hednesford, Staffordshire, England. They play at Keys Park.-History:...
and Leek Town
Leek Town F.C.
Leek Town Football Club is an English football club based in Leek, Staffordshire, currently playing in the Northern Premier League Division One South...
.
In cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
, Staffordshire is one of the nineteen Minor counties of English and Welsh cricket. It is represented in Minor counties cricket by Staffordshire County Cricket Club
Staffordshire County Cricket Club
Staffordshire County Cricket Club is one of the county clubs which make up the Minor Counties in the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Staffordshire and playing in the Minor Counties Championship and the MCCA Knockout Trophy...
who have played in the Minor Counties Championship since 1895, a competition which it has won outright ten times, making it one of the most successful Minor counties teams. Among famous international cricketers produced by the county include Sydney Barnes
Sydney Barnes
Sydney Francis Barnes was an English professional cricketer who is generally regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the sport's history...
and Dominic Cork
Dominic Cork
Dominic Gerald Cork is a former English cricketer. Cork is a right-handed lower-order batsman who bowls right-arm fast-medium, and is renowned for his swing and seam control. Making his début in first-class cricket for Derbyshire in 1990, he was selected to play for England in 1992, aged 21. He...
, both of who went on to represent England.
Geography
See the List of reservoirs in StaffordshireMoorland
Moorland or moor is a type of habitat, in the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome, found in upland areas, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils and heavy fog...
s in the far north and Cannock Chase
Cannock Chase
Cannock 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....
an area of natural beauty in the south. In the middle regions the landscape is low and undulating. Throughout the entire county there are vast and important coalfields. In the southern part there are also rich iron ore deposits. The largest river is the 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...
. The soil is chiefly clay and agriculture was not highly developed until the mechanisation of farms.
Staffordshire is home to the highest village in Britain, Flash
Flash, Staffordshire
Flash is a village within the Staffordshire Moorlands, England, and the Peak District National Park. It is recognised by the Ordnance Survey as the highest altitude village in the United Kingdom. It was an early centre for Wesleyanism....
. The village in the Staffordshire Moorlands
Staffordshire Moorlands
Staffordshire Moorlands is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. Its council, Staffordshire Moorlands District Council, is based in Leek and is located between the city of Stoke-on-Trent and the Peak District National Park. The 2001 census recorded the population as...
stands at 463 m (1518 ft) above sea level. This record was confirmed in 2007 by the Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...
after Wanlockhead
Wanlockhead
Wanlockhead is a village in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland nestling in the Lowther Hills one mile south of Leadhills at the head of the Mennock Pass, which forms part of the Southern Uplands...
in Scotland also claimed the record. The BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's The One Show
The One Show
The One Show is a topical magazine-style daily television programme broadcast live on BBC One and BBC One HD, hosted by Alex Jones and Matt Baker. Chris Evans joins Jones to present the programme on Friday...
investigated the case in a bid to settle the argument and Flash was confirmed as the highest. The highest point in Staffordshire is Cheeks Hill
Cheeks Hill
Cheeks hill is a hill near Buxton and the border between Derbyshire and Staffordshire. It is the highest point in Staffordshire and is high. It is part of the Axe Edge Moor and lies close to the Cat and Fiddle Road.-Profile:...
.
Government
Staffordshire County Council is the top-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county. For EurostatEurostat
Eurostat is a Directorate-General of the European Commission located in Luxembourg. Its main responsibilities are to provide the European Union with statistical information at European level and to promote the integration of statistical methods across the Member States of the European Union,...
purposes, it is a NUTS 3 region (code UKG22).
Staffordshire operates a cabinet-style council
Cabinet-style council
A Cabinet-style Council is a type of local government which has been introduced in the United Kingdom for Local Councils following the introduction of the Local Government Act 2000....
. There are 62 councillors for Staffordshire. The Full Council elects a cabinet of 10 councillors, including the council leader, from the majority party. Each cabinet member has their own portfolio about which they make the "day to day" decisions.
Latest Council Election results
|}Towns and villages
See the list of places in Staffordshire, list of Staffordshire settlements by population and the List of civil parishes in StaffordshireDogs
A type of bull terrier called the Staffordshire Bull TerrierStaffordshire Bull Terrier
The Staffordshire Bull Terrier is a medium-sized, short-coated, old-time breed of dog. It is an English dog, where it is the 5th most popular breed, and related to the bull terrier...
was bred for hunting purposes in this county. They are known affectionately as "staffs", "staffies", and "nanny-dogs". Staffies should not be confused with the considerably larger American Staffordshire Terrier
American Staffordshire Terrier
The American Staffordshire terrier is a medium-sized, short-coated American dog breed. In the early part of the twentieth century the breed gained social stature and was accepted by the American Kennel Club as the American Staffordshire Terrier in 1936...
, American Pit Bull Terrier
American Pit Bull Terrier
The American Pit Bull Terrier is a medium-sized, solidly built, short haired dog whose early ancestors came from England and Ireland...
, and (English) Bull Terrier
Bull Terrier
The Bull Terrier or English Bull Terrier is a breed of dog in the terrier family. They are known for their large, egg-shaped head, small triangular eyes, and "jaunty gait." Their temperament has been described as generally fun-loving, active and clownish...
.
Church of England
The only Cathedral in the county is Lichfield CathedralLichfield Cathedral
Lichfield Cathedral is situated in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. It is the only medieval English cathedral with three spires. The Diocese of Lichfield covers all of Staffordshire, much of Shropshire and part of the Black Country and West Midlands...
in the city of 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...
, the Diocese of Lichfield
Diocese of Lichfield
The Diocese of Lichfield is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury, England. The bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Chad in the city of Lichfield. The diocese covers 4,516 km² The Diocese of Lichfield is a Church of England...
covers the whole county with the exception of Stapenhill
Stapenhill
Stapenhill is an area and civil parish in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire in the UK. Stapenhill was a small village owned by Nigel of Stafford in 1086.The village of Stapenhill has long since been surrounded by new housing developments....
, and much of the nearby county of Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a 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. It borders Wales to the west...
and the 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...
area of the West Midlands County
West 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...
. The county is covered by the archdeaconries 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...
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...
. The current Bishop of Lichfield
Bishop of Lichfield
The Bishop of Lichfield is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 4,516 km² of the counties of Staffordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire and West Midlands. The bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of the Blessed...
is Jonathan Gledhill
Jonathan Gledhill
Jonathan Michael Gledhill is the 98th Bishop of Lichfield. He was enthroned in Lichfield Cathedral on 15 November 2003....
and the current Bishop of Stafford
Bishop of Stafford
The Bishop of Stafford is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after Stafford, the county town of Staffordshire. The Bishop of Stafford has particular episcopal oversight of the...
Geoff Annas
Geoff Annas
Geoffrey Peter Annas is a British clergyman, the suffragan Bishop of Stafford in the Church of England.-Education and career:...
. There are 298 Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
Churches in the County.
Methodism
Primitive MethodismPrimitive Methodism
Primitive Methodism was a major movement in English Methodism from about 1810 until the Methodist Union in 1932. The Primitive Methodist Church still exists in the United States.-Origins:...
was founded in Staffordshire by Hugh Bourne
Hugh Bourne
Hugh Bourne was the joint founder of Primitive Methodism, the largest offshoot of Wesleyan Methodism and, in the mid nineteenth century, an influential Protestant Christian movement in its own right.- Early life :...
, a native of Stoke-on-Trent, at a public gathering in the village of Mow Cop
Mow Cop
Mow Cop is an isolated village which straddles the Cheshire–Staffordshire border, and is thus divided between the North West and West Midlands regions of England...
. He originally followed the Wesleyan
John Wesley
John Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...
form of Methodism
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
but in 1801 he reformed the Methodist service by conducting it outside. By 1811 with his brother he founded the first chapel in the Tunstall
Tunstall
-Place names:United Kingdom*Tunstall, East Riding of Yorkshire*Tunstall, Kent*Tunstall, Lancashire*Tunstall, Norfolk, in the parish of Halvergate*Tunstall, North Yorkshire*Tunstall, Stafford, near to Eccleshall...
area 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...
.
Judaism
The only SynagogueSynagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
in the county is on London Road in Newcastle-Under-Lyme
Newcastle-under-Lyme
Newcastle-under-Lyme is a market town in Staffordshire, England, and is the principal town of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme. It is part of The Potteries Urban Area and North Staffordshire. In the 2001 census the town had a population of 73,944...
which opened in 2006 and replaced the former "Birch Terrace" Synagogue in Hanley
Hanley
Hanley, in Staffordshire, England, is one of the six major towns that joined together to form the city of Stoke-on-Trent in 1910. Hanley was the only one of the six towns to be a county borough before the merger; its status was transferred to the enlarged borough...
according to the 2001 census there were 407 Jewish People in The non-metropolitan area of Staffordshire, and 83 is 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...
, With a total population of 490 which makes up around 0.05% of the total population of the county.
Islam
there are 15 mosques in Stoke-on-TrentStoke-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...
4 in Burton-upon-Trent and 1 in both Stafford
Stafford
Stafford is the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies approximately north of Wolverhampton and south of Stoke-on-Trent, adjacent to the M6 motorway Junction 13 to Junction 14...
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...
. A controversial new Mosque is under construction in the Hanley
Hanley
Hanley, in Staffordshire, England, is one of the six major towns that joined together to form the city of Stoke-on-Trent in 1910. Hanley was the only one of the six towns to be a county borough before the merger; its status was transferred to the enlarged borough...
area 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...
and will be the first purpose built mosque in the area. At the 2001 census there were 7,658 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...
and 6,081 in the rest of Staffordshire, With a total of 13,739 making up 1.3% of the population. 62.9% (3823) of the Muslims in the rest of Staffordshire of from the town of Burton-upon-Trent.
Canals
Staffordshire has an extensive network of canals including the Birmingham and Fazeley CanalBirmingham and Fazeley Canal
The Birmingham and Fazeley Canal is a canal of the Birmingham Canal Navigations in the West Midlands of England. Its purpose was to provide a link between the Coventry Canal and Birmingham and thereby connect Birmingham to London via the Oxford Canal....
, Caldon Canal
Caldon Canal
The Caldon Canal , opened in 1779, runs 18 miles from Etruria, in Stoke-on-Trent where it leaves the Trent and Mersey Canal at the summit level, to Froghall, Staffordshire...
, Coventry Canal
Coventry Canal
The Coventry Canal is a navigable narrow canal in the Midlands of England.It starts in Coventry and ends 38 miles north at Fradley Junction, just north of Lichfield, where it joins the Trent and Mersey Canal...
, Shropshire Union Canal
Shropshire Union Canal
The Shropshire Union Canal is a navigable canal in England; the Llangollen and Montgomery canals are the modern names of branches of the Shropshire Union system and lie partially in Wales....
, 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....
and Trent and Mersey Canal
Trent and Mersey Canal
The Trent and Mersey Canal is a in the East Midlands, West Midlands, and North West of England. It is a "narrow canal" for the vast majority of its length, but at the extremities—east of Burton upon Trent and west of Middlewich—it is a wide canal....
.
Roads
The county has relatively good links to the national roads network. Several major roads intersect the county, making it a popular location for commuters working in Birmingham.The M42
M42 motorway
The M42 motorway is a major road in England. The motorway runs north east from Bromsgrove in Worcestershire to just south west of Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire, passing Redditch, Solihull, the National Exhibition Centre and Tamworth on the way. The section between the M40 and M6 road forms...
has a junction in Tamworth at the south-east of the county, and heads south-west towards Birmingham. The M6
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...
runs north through the county and junctions 10A-16 are in the county. The M6 Toll
M6 Toll
The M6 Toll , connects M6 Junction 4 at the NEC to M6 Junction 11A at Wolverhampton with of six-lane motorway. The weekday cash cost is £5.30 for a car and £10.60 for a HGV...
, the UK's first toll motorway
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
, runs through the county with junctions in Weeford near Lichfield, Cannock and joins the M6 heading north towards Stafford.
The A5 and A34 run through the county. The former has been significantly widened to a dual carriageway at several sections, although much of it remains single carriageway.
Air
There are currently no airports with scheduled flights in the county whith the nearest ones being Birmingham, East Midlands and Manchester depending on the location there is however Wolverhampton AirportWolverhampton Airport
Wolverhampton Halfpenny Green Airport , formerly Halfpenny Green Airport and Wolverhampton Business Airport, locally Bobbington Airport, is a small, airport situated near the village of Bobbington, South Staffordshire...
in Bobbington
Bobbington
Bobbington is a village and civil parish in the South Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England, about five miles west of Wombourne. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 506....
and Tatenhill Airfield
Tatenhill Airfield
Tatenhill Airfield is a licensed airfield operated by Tatenhill Aviation Ltd, located west of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England.Tatenhill Aerodrome has a CAA Ordinary Licence that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the...
near Burton-upon-Trent both of which are small airports catering for General Aviation.
Places of interest
See the List of museums in Staffordshire- 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...
- Ancient High HouseAncient High HouseThe 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...
- Belvide ReservoirBelvide ReservoirBelvide Reservoir is a reservoir in South Staffordshire, England. Owned by British Waterways, it was constructed c. 1833 to feed the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal, which is now the Shropshire Union Canal...
- Biddulph GrangeBiddulph GrangeBiddulph Grange is a National Trust landscaped gardens, in Biddulph near Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England.-Description:"Behind a gloomy Victorian shrubbery there's a gloomy Victorian mansion, but behind that lurks one of the most extraordinary gardens in Britain...it contains whole...
- Blithbury Reindeer Lodge
- Blithfield HallBlithfield HallBlithfield Hall , is a privately owned Grade I listed country house in Staffordshire, England, situated some east of Stafford, southwest of Uttoxeter and north of Rugeley....
- Blithfield ReservoirBlithfield ReservoirBlithfield Reservoir is a large drinking water reservoir in South Staffordshire, England, owned by South Staffordshire Water.Some 800 acres of reservoir was formed on land sold by Baron Bagot to the South Staffordshire Water Company in the 1940s. Blithfield Reservoir was opened by H.M...
- Brindley Water MillBrindley Water MillThe Brindley Water Mill is a water mill situated in the town of Leek in the English county of Staffordshire. The current mill was used for grinding corn and was built by James Brindley, the famous canal builder, in 1752, although previous mills existed on the site several centuries earlier...
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- Broad Eye Windmill
- Burslem Hall
- 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....
- Chasewater RailwayChasewater RailwayThe Chasewater Railway is a former colliery railway running round the shores of Chasewater in Staffordshire, England. It is now operated as a heritage railway.The line is approximately two miles in length, contained entirely within Chasewater Country Park...
- Cheddleton Flint MillCheddleton Flint MillCheddleton Flint Mill is a water mill situated in the village of Cheddleton in the English county of Staffordshire. The mill was built to grind flint for use in the pottery industry. The mill complex includes two separate water mills, a miller's cottage, two flint kilns, a drying kiln and...
- Churnet Valley RailwayChurnet Valley RailwayThe Churnet Valley Railway is a standard gauge heritage railway to the east of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. The CVR has two main operational headquarters - Cheddleton station, where the motive power department is based and where the first trains ran, and Kingsley and Froghall station, where...
- Coors Visitor Centre and Museum of Brewing (previously the Bass Museum) Closed in June 2008
- Croxden AbbeyCroxden AbbeyCroxden Abbey was a Cistercian abbey at Croxden, Staffordshire, England.In 1179, Bertram de Verdun, the lord of the manor of Croxden, endowed a site for a new abbey, and 12 monks arrived from the Savigniac Cistercian mother house of Aunay-sur-Odon in Normandy to build the new abbey over the next 50...
- Dovecliff Hall
- Downs BanksDowns BanksDowns Bank is an area of open countryside, located two miles north of the town of Stone in Staffordshire, and four miles south of the city of Stoke-on-Trent. It is owned and managed by the National Trust...
- Drayton Manor Theme ParkDrayton Manor Theme ParkDrayton Manor Theme Park is a theme park, resort & zoo in the grounds of the former Drayton Manor, near Tamworth in Staffordshire, England.Drayton Manor is best known because it is a theme park and zoo which attracts around 1.4 million people a year. The attraction has a wide selection of rides set...
- Eccleshall CastleEccleshall CastleEccleshall Castle is located in Eccleshall, Staffordshire, England . It was originally built in the 13th century. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and a Grade II* listed building....
- Festival ParkStoke-on-Trent Garden FestivalThe Stoke-on-Trent National Garden Festival was the second of Britain's National Garden Festivals. It was held in the city from 1 May to 26 October 1986, and was opened by the Queen. Preparation of the site involved the reclamation of land formerly occupied by the Shelton Bar steelworks , about...
- Ford Green HallFord Green HallFord Green Hall is a Grade II* listed farmhouse and historic house museum, originally built in 1624, located in Smallthorne, area in the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England....
- Foxfield Steam Railway
- Gladstone Pottery MuseumGladstone Pottery MuseumThe Gladstone Pottery Museum is a working museum of a medium sized pottery, typical of those once common in the North Staffordshire area of England from the time of the industrial revolution in the 18th century to the mid 20th century....
- Hanley ParkHanley ParkHanley Park is an urban park in Stoke-on-Trent, England. Officially opened on 20 June 1897, it occupies about of land. The area previously comprised a large waste ground called 'Stoke Fields', cut in two by the Caldon Canal. Hanley park developed over a period of five years and cost approximately...
- Heart of England WayHeart of England WayThe Heart of England Way is a long distance walk of around through the Midlands of England. The walk starts from Milford Common on Cannock Chase and ends at Bourton on the Water in the Cotswolds passing through the counties of Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Gloucestershire.The walk provides links...
- Moseley Railway TrustMoseley Railway TrustThe Moseley Railway Trust is a major British collection of industrial narrow gauge locomotives and other equipment. It originally had its base in south Manchester, but has completely relocated to the Apedale Country Park near Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire where a passenger railway is now open...
(Apedale)
- Ilam ParkIlam ParkIlam Park is a country park situated in Ilam, on both banks of the River Manifold five miles north west of Ashbourne, England, and in the ownership of the National Trust...
- Izaak Walton Cottage Museum
- Manifold Way following the route of the former Leek and Manifold Valley Light RailwayLeek and Manifold Valley Light RailwayThe Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railway was a narrow gauge railway in Staffordshire, Great Britain that operated between 1904 and 1934. When in operation, the line mainly carried milk from dairies in the region, acting as a feeder to the standard gauge system. It also provided passenger...
- Lichfield CathedralLichfield CathedralLichfield Cathedral is situated in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. It is the only medieval English cathedral with three spires. The Diocese of Lichfield covers all of Staffordshire, much of Shropshire and part of the Black Country and West Midlands...
- Lichfield Road
- Madeley Old HallMadeley Old HallMadeley Old Hall is a historical 16th century house now a small hotel in the village of Madeley in Staffordshire, England. It is a Grade II* listed building.-References:*...
- Monkey Forest
- Moseley Old HallMoseley Old HallMoseley Old Hall is a National Trust property located in Fordhouses, north of Wolverhampton in the United Kingdom. It is famous as one of the resting places of Charles II of England during his escape to France following defeat at the Battle of Worcester in 1651.-Background:The Hall was built in...
- Mow Cop CastleMow Cop CastleMow Cop Castle is a folly at Mow Cop, near Harriseahead in the county of Staffordshire, England.Traces of a prehistoric camp have been found here, but in 1754, Randle Wilbraham of nearby Rode Hall built an elaborate summerhouse looking like a medieval fortress and round tower.The Castle was given...
- National Memorial ArboretumNational Memorial ArboretumThe National Memorial Arboretum is a national site of remembrance at Alrewas, near Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. It gives its purpose as:-Origins:...
- Peak District National Park
- RSPB Coombes ValleyRSPB Coombes ValleyCoombes Valley RSPB reserve is a nature reserve, run by the RSPB, near the town of Leek in Staffordshire, England. It is best known for its breeding woodland birds, including Common Redstart, Wood Warbler and Pied Flycatcher.- External links :*...
- Rudyard Lake Steam RailwayRudyard Lake Steam RailwayThe Rudyard Lake Steam Railway is a minimum gauge railway and the third railway of any gauge to run along the side of Rudyard Lake in Staffordshire. The railway runs for on the track bed of an old standard gauge North Staffordshire Railway line. After the NSR line closed down, a small narrow gauge...
- Sandon HallSandon HallSandon 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....
- Shugborough EstateShugborough 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...
- Stafford CastleStafford CastleStafford 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...
- Staffordshire WayStaffordshire WayThe Staffordshire Way is a long distance walk in Staffordshire, England. The path links with the Cheshire Gritstone Trail, the Heart of England Way and the North Worcestershire Path.- The route :...
- Staffordshire MoorlandsStaffordshire MoorlandsStaffordshire Moorlands is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. Its council, Staffordshire Moorlands District Council, is based in Leek and is located between the city of Stoke-on-Trent and the Peak District National Park. The 2001 census recorded the population as...
- The Potteries Museum & Art GalleryPotteries Museum & Art GalleryThe Potteries Museum & Art Gallery is in Hanley, one of the six towns of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. Admission is free.One of the four local authority museums in the City, the other three being Gladstone Pottery Museum, Ford Green Hall and Etruria Industrial Museum, The Potteries Museum & Art...
- The Pennine WayPennine WayThe Pennine Way is a National Trail in England. The trail runs from Edale, in the northern Derbyshire Peak District, north through the Yorkshire Dales and the Northumberland National Park and ends at Kirk Yetholm, just inside the Scottish border. The path runs along the Pennine hills, sometimes...
- The RoachesThe RoachesThe Roaches is the name given to a prominent rocky ridge situated above Leek and Tittesworth Reservoir in the Peak District of England...
- Tamworth CastleTamworth CastleTamworth Castle, a Grade I listed building, is a Norman castle, located next to the River Tame, in the town of Tamworth in Staffordshire, England....
- 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...
- Trentham Lakes
- Tutbury CastleTutbury CastleTutbury Castle is a largely ruinous medieval castle at Tutbury, Staffordshire, England, in the ownership of the Duchy of Lancaster. It is a Grade I listed building...
- Victoria Park
- Wall Roman SiteLetocetumLetocetum is the remains of a Roman settlement. It was an important military staging post and posting station near the junction of Watling Street, the Roman military road to North Wales , and Icknield Street . The site is now within the parish of Wall, Staffordshire, England...
- Wedgwood Museum
- Weston ParkWeston ParkWeston Park is a country house in Weston-under-Lizard, Staffordshire, England, set in more than of park landscaped by Capability Brown. The park is located north-west of Wolverhampton, and north-east of Telford, close to the border with Shropshire...
- Whitmore HallWhitmore HallWhitmore Hall is the home of the Cavenagh-Mainwaring family at Whitmore, Staffordshire. A Grade I listed building, the hall was designated a house of outstanding architectural and historical interest and is a fine example of a small Carolinian style manor house.The Whitmore estate was acquired by...
- Apedale Community Country ParkApedale Community Country ParkApedale Community Country Park is a 454 [154ha] acre country park in the borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. The park is unusual for the area as it was previously as an opencast mine....
See also
- Lord Lieutenant of StaffordshireLord Lieutenant of StaffordshireThis is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant for Staffordshire. Since 1828, all Lord Lieutenants have also been Custos Rotulorum of Staffordshire.-Lord Lieutenants of Staffordshire:*Henry Stafford, 1st Baron Stafford 1559...
- High Sheriff of StaffordshireHigh Sheriff of StaffordshireThis is a list of the High Sheriffs of Staffordshire.The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred...
- List of MPs for StaffordshireStaffordshire (UK Parliament constituency)Staffordshire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832...
- Samuel Hieronymus GrimmSamuel Hieronymus GrimmSamuel Hieronymus Grimm was an 18th century Swiss topographical artist who worked in oils , watercolours, and pen and ink media.-Life and work:...
- The Stafford knotStafford knotThe Stafford knot, sometimes incorrectly referred to as the Staffordshire knot, is a distinctive three-looped knot that is the traditional symbol of the English county of Staffordshire and of its county town, Stafford. It is a particular representation of the simple overhand knot, the most basic...
- Tamworth Pig
- The Staffordshire Search and Rescue Team: www.staffssearchandrescue.org
External links
- East Staffordshire Community Website
- BBC Staffordshire website
- Staffordshire County Council
- Staffordshire Past Track – Historical archive about the county
- The story of a Staffordshire Home Guard Battalion, 1940–1944
- Staffordshire Photographs
- Staffordshire Tourism website
- The Staffordshire Encyclopaedia
- Staffordshire Business Directory
- Staffordshire Governors Association