Stafford () is a market town and the
county town
In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a county town is the most important town or city in a county. It is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county and the place where the county's members of Parliament are elect ...
of
Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...
, in the
West Midlands
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
region of England. It lies about north of
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...
, south of
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...
and northwest of
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
. The town had a population of 70,145 in the
2021 census, It is the main settlement within the larger
borough of Stafford
The Borough of Stafford is a local government district with borough status in Staffordshire, England. It is named after the town of Stafford. It also includes the towns of Stone and Eccleshall, as well as numerous villages such as Weston, Hixon, ...
which had a population of 136,837 (2021).
History
Stafford means "
ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
" by a
staithe (landing place). The original settlement was on a dry sand and gravel peninsula that offered a strategic crossing point in the marshy valley of the
River Sow
The River Sow is a tributary of the River Trent in Staffordshire, England, and is the river that flows through Stafford.
Course
The river rises to the south of Loggerheads, near Broughton and flows south-east beside the villages of Fairoak ...
, a tributary of the
River Trent
The Trent is the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, third-longest river in the United Kingdom. Its Source (river or stream), source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midland ...
. There is still a large area of
marshland
A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...
north-west of the town, which is subject to flooding and did so in 1947, 2000, 2007 and 2019.
![Gough Map Birmingham](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/Gough_Map_Birmingham.jpg)
Stafford is thought to have been founded about AD 700
by a
Mercia
la, Merciorum regnum
, conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia
, common_name=Mercia
, status=Kingdom
, status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879)Client state of Wessex ()
, life_span=527–918
, era=Heptarchy
, event_start=
, date_start=
, ye ...
n prince called
Bertelin, who, legend has it, founded a hermitage on a peninsula named Betheney. Until recently it was thought that the remains of a wooden preaching cross from the time had been found under the remains of St
Bertelin's Chapel, next to the later
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 ...
of St Mary in the town centre. Recent reappraisal of the evidence shows this to be a misinterpretation – it was a tree-trunk coffin placed centrally in the first, timber chapel around the time that
Æthelflæd
Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians ( 870 – 12 June 918) ruled Mercia in the English Midlands from 911 until her death. She was the eldest daughter of Alfred the Great, king of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex, and his wife Ealhswith.
Æthe ...
founded the
burh
A burh () or burg was an Old English fortification or fortified settlement. In the 9th century, raids and invasions by Vikings prompted Alfred the Great to develop a network of burhs and roads to use against such attackers. Some were new constru ...
in 913. It may have been placed there as a commemoration or veneration of St
Bertelin.
Already a centre for delivering grain tribute in the
Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...
, Stafford was commandeered in July 913 by
Æthelflæd, Lady of Mercia, to construct a
burh
A burh () or burg was an Old English fortification or fortified settlement. In the 9th century, raids and invasions by Vikings prompted Alfred the Great to develop a network of burhs and roads to use against such attackers. Some were new constru ...
there. This
fortification
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
provided an industrial area for centralised production of Roman-style pottery (Stafford Ware),
which was supplied to a chain of West Midlands
burh
A burh () or burg was an Old English fortification or fortified settlement. In the 9th century, raids and invasions by Vikings prompted Alfred the Great to develop a network of burhs and roads to use against such attackers. Some were new constru ...
s.
Æthelflæd and her younger brother, King
Edward the Elder
Edward the Elder (17 July 924) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 899 until his death in 924. He was the elder son of Alfred the Great and his wife Ealhswith. When Edward succeeded to the throne, he had to defeat a challenge from his cousin Æt ...
of
Wessex
la, Regnum Occidentalium Saxonum
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the West Saxons
, common_name = Wessex
, image_map = Southern British Isles 9th century.svg
, map_caption = S ...
, were trying to complete their father King
Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who bot ...
's programme of moulding England into a single kingdom. Æthelflæd, a formidable military leader and tactician, sought to protect and extend the northern and western frontiers of her overlordship of
Mercia
la, Merciorum regnum
, conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia
, common_name=Mercia
, status=Kingdom
, status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879)Client state of Wessex ()
, life_span=527–918
, era=Heptarchy
, event_start=
, date_start=
, ye ...
against the Danish
Vikings
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
by fortifying
burh
A burh () or burg was an Old English fortification or fortified settlement. In the 9th century, raids and invasions by Vikings prompted Alfred the Great to develop a network of burhs and roads to use against such attackers. Some were new constru ...
s, including
Tamworth and Stafford in 913, and
Runcorn
Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port in the Borough of Halton in Cheshire, England. Its population in 2011 was 61,789. The town is in the southeast of the Liverpool City Region, with Liverpool to the northwest across the River Mersey. ...
on the
River Mersey
The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part ...
in 915, while King
Edward the Elder
Edward the Elder (17 July 924) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 899 until his death in 924. He was the elder son of Alfred the Great and his wife Ealhswith. When Edward succeeded to the throne, he had to defeat a challenge from his cousin Æt ...
concentrated on the east, wresting
East Anglia
East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...
and
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
from the
Danes
Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural.
Danes generally regard t ...
. Anglo-Saxon women could play powerful roles in society; Æthelflæd's death in 918 effectively ended
Mercia
la, Merciorum regnum
, conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia
, common_name=Mercia
, status=Kingdom
, status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879)Client state of Wessex ()
, life_span=527–918
, era=Heptarchy
, event_start=
, date_start=
, ye ...
's relative independence.
Edward the Elder
Edward the Elder (17 July 924) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 899 until his death in 924. He was the elder son of Alfred the Great and his wife Ealhswith. When Edward succeeded to the throne, he had to defeat a challenge from his cousin Æt ...
of Wessex took over her fortress at Tamworth and accepted submission from all who were living in
Mercia
la, Merciorum regnum
, conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia
, common_name=Mercia
, status=Kingdom
, status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879)Client state of Wessex ()
, life_span=527–918
, era=Heptarchy
, event_start=
, date_start=
, ye ...
, Danish or English. In late 918
Aelfwynn, Æthelflæd's daughter, was deprived of her authority over Mercia and taken to Wessex. The project of unifying England took another step forward.
Stafford was one of Æthelflæd's military campaign bases. Extensive archaeological investigations and recent re-examination and interpretation show her new burh producing, alongside Stafford Ware, food for her army (butchery, grain processing, baking), coinage and weaponry, but apparently no other crafts and making few imports.
The county of
Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...
was formed at about this time. Stafford lay within the
Pirehill hundred
100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101.
In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to de ...
.
In 1069, a rebellion by
Eadric the Wild
Eadric ''the Wild'' (or Eadric ''Silvaticus''), also known as Wild Edric, Eadric ''Cild'' (or ''Child'') and Edric ''the Forester'', was an Anglo-Saxon magnate of Shropshire and Herefordshire who led English resistance to the Norman Conquest, acti ...
against the
Norman conquest
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...
culminated in the Battle of Stafford. Two years later another rebellion, led by
Edwin, Earl of Mercia
Edwin (Old English: ''Ēadwine'') (died 1071) 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 de ...
, ended in Edwin's assassination and distribution of his lands among the followers of
William the Conqueror
William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...
.
Robert de Tonei was granted the manor of Bradley and one third of the king's rents in Stafford. The Norman Conquest there was especially brutal, and resulted not only in the imposition of a castle, but in destruction and suppression for about a century of every other activity except intermittent minting of coins.
Stafford Castle
Stafford Castle is an ancient Grade II listed castle situated two miles west of the town of Stafford in Staffordshire, England. From the time of the Norman Conquest and as recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 it was the seat of the powerful Ang ...
, built by the
Normans
The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Fran ...
on a nearby hilltop to the west about 1090, was first made of wood and later rebuilt in stone. It has been rebuilt twice since; the ruins of the 19th-century
Gothic revival
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
castle on the
earthworks
Earthworks may refer to:
Construction
*Earthworks (archaeology), human-made constructions that modify the land contour
* Earthworks (engineering), civil engineering works created by moving or processing quantities of soil
*Earthworks (military), m ...
incorporate much of the original stonework.
Redevelopment began in the late 12th century. While the church, the main north–south street (Greengate) and routes through the late Saxon industrial quarter to the east remained, the town plan changed in other ways. A
motte
A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to ...
was built 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 peninsula and trade and crafts flourished until the early 14th century, when a period of upset may have been associated with the
Black Death
The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...
. This was followed in the mid-16th century by another revival.
In 1206 King
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Secon ...
granted a
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, bu ...
creating the
borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
In the Middle Ag ...
of Stafford. It became a medieval market town mainly dealing in cloth and wool. Though a shire town, Stafford required waves of external investment from
Æthelflæd
Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians ( 870 – 12 June 918) ruled Mercia in the English Midlands from 911 until her death. She was the eldest daughter of Alfred the Great, king of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex, and his wife Ealhswith.
Æthe ...
's time to that of Queen
Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen".
El ...
.
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 James I may refer to:
People
*James I of Aragon (1208–1276)
*James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327)
*James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu
*James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347)
*James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...
visited Stafford, he was said to be so impressed by the Shire Hall and other buildings that he called it "Little London".
Charles I Charles I may refer to:
Kings and emperors
* Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings
* Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily
* Charles I of ...
visited Stafford shortly after the outbreak of the
English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
, staying for three days at the
Ancient High House. The town was later captured by the
Parliamentarians after a small-scale battle at nearby
Hopton. Stafford still later fell to the Parliamentarians, as did Stafford Castle after a six-week siege. However, its famous son
Izaak Walton, author of
The Compleat Angler
''The Compleat Angler'' (the spelling is sometimes modernised to ''The Complete Angler'', though this spelling also occurs in first editions) is a book by Izaak Walton. It was first published in 1653 by Richard Marriot in London.
Walton continu ...
, was a staunch
Royalist
A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...
.
In 1658 Stafford elected
John Bradshaw, who had been judge at the trial of King
Charles I Charles I may refer to:
Kings and emperors
* Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings
* Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily
* Charles I of ...
, to represent the town in Parliament. During the reign of
Charles II,
William Howard, 1st Viscount Stafford
William Howard, 1st Viscount Stafford, FRS (30 November 1614 – 29 December 1680) was the youngest son of Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel, and his wife, the former Alethea Talbot. A Fellow of the Royal Society from 1665, he was a Royalist ...
became implicated in the
Popish Plot
The Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy invented by Titus Oates that between 1678 and 1681 gripped the Kingdoms of England and Scotland in anti-Catholic hysteria. Oates alleged that there was an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinate C ...
, in which
Titus Oates
Titus Oates (15 September 1649 – 12/13 July 1705) was an English priest who fabricated the " Popish Plot", a supposed Catholic conspiracy to kill King Charles II.
Early life
Titus Oates was born at Oakham in Rutland. His father Samuel (1610 ...
whipped up anti-Catholic feeling with claims of a plot to have the king killed. Lord Stafford was among those accused; he was unfortunate to be the first to be tried and was beheaded in 1680. The charge was false and on 4 June 1685, the bill of attainder against him was reversed.
The town was represented in Parliament from 1780 by the playwright
Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan (30 October 17517 July 1816) was an Irish satirist, a politician, a playwright, poet, and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. He is known for his plays such as ''The Rivals'', ''The Sc ...
. During that period, the town's mechanised shoe industry was founded, the best-known factory owner being William Horton.
The industry gradually died, the last factory being redeveloped in 2008.
In 1837 the
Grand Junction Railway
The Grand Junction Railway (GJR) was an early railway company in the United Kingdom, which existed between 1833 and 1846 when it was amalgamated with other railways to form the London and North Western Railway. The line built by the company w ...
built a line from
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
to
Warrington
Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...
to pass through the town and link at Warrington, via another line, with the
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
–
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
railway. Birmingham provided the first connection to London. Other lines followed. Stafford became a major junction, which helped to attract other industries. The
Friars' Walk drill hall was completed in 1913, just in time for the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
On 31 March 2006 the
Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
visited the town for the 800th anniversary civic celebrations.
In 2013 Stafford celebrated its 1,100th anniversary year with a number of history-based exhibitions, while local historian Nick Thomas and writer Roger Butters were set to produce the two-volume ''A Compleat
'sic''History of Stafford''.
Governance
Staffordshire County Council
Staffordshire County Council is the top-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Staffordshire, England.
62 councillors sit on Staffordshire County Council. Staffordshire operates a cabinet-style council
In England, local auth ...
and
Stafford Borough Council are both based in the town. The office of
Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
of Stafford Borough has existed since the passing of the
Municipal Corporations Act 1835. The Mayor in 2019–2020 is Gareth Jones. The borough council was based at the
Borough Hall before moving to the new civic offices in Riverside in 1978.
Stafford has its own
parliamentary constituency
An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...
, represented since 2019 by Theo Clarke, a
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
.
Landmarks
![View from Stafford Castle - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/View_from_Stafford_Castle_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1136200.jpg)
The
Elizabethan
The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personifi ...
Ancient High House in the town centre is the largest
timber-framed
Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...
town house in England. It is now a museum with temporary exhibitions.
Stafford Castle
Stafford Castle is an ancient Grade II listed castle situated two miles west of the town of Stafford in Staffordshire, England. From the time of the Norman Conquest and as recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 it was the seat of the powerful Ang ...
was built by the
Normans
The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Fran ...
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 may refer to:
Construction
*Earthworks (archaeology), human-made constructions that modify the land contour
* Earthworks (engineering), civil engineering works created by moving or processing quantities of soil
*Earthworks (military), m ...
incorporate much of the original stonework. The castle has a visitor centre with audio-visual displays and hands-on items. There is also a recreated medieval herb garden. Shakespeare productions take place in the castle grounds each summer. The castle forms a landmark for drivers, as it is visible from the
M6 motorway
The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 and the western end of the A14 at t ...
.
![St Chad's Church, Stafford - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/St_Chad%27s_Church%2C_Stafford_-_geograph.org.uk_-_462721.jpg)
The oldest building now in Stafford is
St Chad's Church, dating back to the 12th century. The main part of the church is richly decorated. Carvings in its archways and on its pillars may have been made by a group of stonemasons from the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
who came to England during the Crusades. Much of the stonework was covered up in 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 rediscovered. The church hosts "Timewalk", a computer-generated display that 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 rebuilt in the early 13th century on a
cruciform
Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design.
Cruciform architectural plan
Christian churches are commonly described ...
plan, with an
aisle
An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parl ...
d
nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
and
chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse.
Ove ...
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 the chancel. St Mary's was restored in 1842 by
Giles Gilbert Scott
Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (9 November 1880 – 8 February 1960) was a British architect known for his work on the New Bodleian Library, Cambridge University Library, Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, Battersea Power Station, Liverpool Cathedral, and ...
.
The
Shire Hall was built in 1798 as a court house and office of the Mayor and Clerk of Stafford.
The Shire Hall used to be the town's court house, and is a Grade II
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
. In recent times, the building was used as an art gallery and library, before a new facility was built within the new council buildings.
Green Hall on Lichfield Road is a Grade II listed manor house (now apartments), originally built about 1810 as Forebridge Hall, known after 1880 as Green Hall. It was previously used as a girls' school and as council offices.
The
Shugborough Hall
Shugborough Hall is a stately home near Great Haywood, Staffordshire, England.
The hall is situated on the edge of Cannock Chase, about east of Stafford and from Rugeley. The estate was owned by the Bishops of Lichfield until the dissolutio ...
country estate is out of town. It once belonged to the
Earls of Lichfield
Earl of Lichfield is a title that has been created three times, twice in the Peerage of England (1645 and 1674) and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom (1831). The third creation is extant and is held by a member of the Anson family.
...
and is now owned by the
National Trust
The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
, but maintained by its leaseholder, Staffordshire County Council. The 19th-century
Sandon Hall is north-east of Stafford. It is set in of parkland, as the seat of the
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 S ...
. Weston Hall stands east of Stafford, in the
Trent
Trent may refer to:
Places Italy
* Trento in northern Italy, site of the Council of Trent United Kingdom
* Trent, Dorset, England, United Kingdom Germany
* Trent, Germany, a municipality on the island of Rügen United States
* Trent, California, ...
valley with a large park and was once part of the
Chartley estate. It is thought that the main part of the hall was built about 1550 as a small dower house, but the architectural evidence suggests it is
Jacobean. Weston Hall was extended in 1660 into a three-gabled structure with high-pitched roofs.
Culture
Stafford Gatehouse Theatre is the town's main entertainment and cultural venue. Its Met Studio is a dedicated to stand-up comedy and alternative live music. There is an art gallery in the Shire Hall. Staffordshire County Showground, just outside the town, holds many national and local events. The annual
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
Festival at Stafford Castle has attracted many notable people, including
Frank Sidebottom
Frank or Franks may refer to:
People
* Frank (given name)
* Frank (surname)
* Franks (surname)
* Franks, a medieval Germanic people
* Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang
Cur ...
and
Ann Widdecombe
Ann Noreen Widdecombe (born 4 October 1947) is a British politician, author and television personality. She was Member of Parliament (MP) for Maidstone and The Weald, and the former Maidstone constituency, from 1987 to 2010 and Member of the E ...
.
![Victoria Park, Stafford - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Victoria_Park%2C_Stafford_-_geograph.org.uk_-_870013.jpg)
Victoria Park, opened in 1908, is a 13-acre (53 ha)
Edwardian
The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...
riverside park with a play park, bowling green, bird cages and greenhouses. It has a children's play area, a sand-and-water-jet area replacing an open-air paddling pool, and a bmx/skateboard area. Stafford also has a 9-hole
golf course
A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...
near the town centre.
Recent developments on Riverside allowed for an expansion of the town, notably with a new Odeon cinema to replace the ageing one at the end of the high street. Stafford Film Theatre is based at the Gatehouse Theatre and shows independent and alternative films. There is a
tenpin
Ten-pin bowling is a type of bowling in which a bowler rolls a bowling ball down a wood or synthetic lane toward ten pins positioned evenly in four rows in an equilateral triangle. The objective is to knock down all ten pins on the first roll ...
bowling alley at Greyfriars Place. The new Stafford Leisure Centre opened in 2008 on Lammascote Road.
Night life consists of smaller bar and club venues such as Casa, the Grapes,
the Picture House, neighbouring night clubs Couture and Poptastic Hogarths, and rock gigs at the live music venue Redrum. Most of these are in walking distance of each other. There is a big student patronage, with coaches bringing them from
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...
,
Cannock
Cannock () is a town in the Cannock Chase district in the county of Staffordshire, England. It had a population of 29,018. Cannock is not far from the nearby towns of Walsall, Burntwood, Stafford and Telford. The cities of Lichfield and Wolverh ...
, and
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...
.
A new shopping centre was completed in 2017, housing major stores and a number of restaurants.but unfortunately due to closures the centre is now empty.
Media
Newspapers
Stafford is covered by the ''
Express and Star
The ''Express & Star'' is a regional evening newspaper in Britain. Founded in 1889, it is based in Wolverhampton, England, and covers the West Midlands county and Staffordshire.
Currently edited by Martin Wright, the ''Express & Star'' publish ...
'' and ''Staffordshire Newsletter'', neither of which have offices in the town.
Television
Stafford is covered by
BBC West Midlands
BBC Midlands (known as the Midland Region from 1927 until c. 1974) is the BBC English Region producing local radio and web content for Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, the West Midlands, and Worcestershire.
Although the r ...
and
ITV Central
ITV Central, previously known as Central Independent Television, Carlton Central, ITV1 for Central England and commonly referred to as simply Central, is the Independent Television franchisee for the Midlands. It was created following the rest ...
, both broadcasting from Birmingham to the wider West Midlands region. Stafford is mainly served by the
Sutton Coldfield transmitting station
The Sutton Coldfield transmitting station is a broadcasting and telecommunications facility located in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, England. In terms of population covered, it is the third most important transmitter in the UK, after Crystal Pa ...
, just north of Birmingham, but some residents get a better picture from
The Wrekin transmitting station, near
Telford
Telford () is a town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, about east of Shrewsbury, south west of Stafford, north west of Wolverhampton and from Birmingham in the same direction. With an est ...
.
Radio
In terms of BBC Local Radio, Stafford is covered by
BBC Radio Stoke, with a transmitter based on top of the County Education building. In commercial radio, Stafford is covered by
Signal 1
Signal 1 is an Independent Local Radio station owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Staffordshire and South Cheshire.
As of September 2022, the station has a weekly audience of 172,000 listeners a ...
(which is owned by Bauer and re-broadcasts 'The Hits' programming from Manchester or Birmingham for most of the day), broadcasting on 96.10 FM from a transmitter at Pye Green BT Tower, near Hednesford. Both these stations are based in
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...
and cover
Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...
and Cheshire.
Stafford can get marginal signals from the West Midlands regionals, like Heart West Midlands, Heart and Smooth West Midlands, Smooth Radio, and is at the very north of Free Radio Shropshire & Black Country, Free Radio's Black Country and Shropshire coverage area.
Stafford also has a community radio station serving the town and surrounding areas, Stafford FM. Stafford FM broadcasts on 107.3 FM and online from studios in the town centre.
BFBS Gurkha Radio broadcasts locally on 1278 kHz medium wave from Beacon Barracks.
Climate
Like most of the British Isles, Stafford has 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 history of shoemaking as far back as 1476, when it was a cottage industry,
but a manufacturing process was introduced in the 1700s.
William Horton founded a business in 1767 that became the largest shoe company in Stafford, selling worldwide. He had several government contracts through the town's Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP), the playwright
Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan (30 October 17517 July 1816) was an Irish satirist, a politician, a playwright, poet, and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. He is known for his plays such as ''The Rivals'', ''The Sc ...
. The shoe industry gradually died out in the late 20th century, with Lotus Shoes the last manufacturer. Its factory in Sandon Road was demolished in 2001 and replaced by housing.
A locomotive firm, WG Bagnall, was set up in 1875 to manufacture steam engines for the London, Midland & Scottish Railway and the Great Western Railway. Between 1875 and 1962, the Castle Engine Works in Castle Town produced 1,660 locomotives, including steam, diesel and electric. It was taken over in 1962 by English Electric, which also bought the Stafford-based engine manufacturer WH Dorman & Company. This had merged with Bagnall's by then.
Since 1903, a major industrial activity has been heavy electrical engineering, particularly power station transformers. The works have been successively owned by Siemens, English Electric, General Electric Company, GEC and Alstom, GEC Alsthom. Alstom T&D was sold in 2004 to Areva. At the end of 2009, Areva T&D was split between former owners Alstom and Schneider Electric. At the end of 2015, the works were acquired by General Electric consolidating Stafford as the Centre of Excellence for HVDC, AC Substations and Converter Transformers. Each transformer weighs several hundred tons and a road train is used for transport. In the 1968 Hixon rail crash, one such road train was struck by an express train on a level crossing.
Perkins Engines has a factory for diesel engines in Littleworth, Stafford, Littleworth. Adhesives manufacturer Bostik has a large factory in the town. Stafford is also a dormitory town for commuting to
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...
and
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
.
Private service industries based in Stafford include TopCashback. The public sector provides much local employment, with Staffordshire County Council, Stafford Borough Council and Staffordshire Police all headquartered in the town. HM Prison Stafford, Stafford Prison, County Hospital, Stafford, County Hospital and Beacon Barracks are other sources of public-sector employment.
The town was home to the computer science and Information Technology, IT campus of Staffordshire University, along with Beaconside campus, which housed the Faculty of Computing Engineering and Technology and part of the Business School. These have all been transferred to Stoke-on-Trent. The only block of Stafford University left in use is the School of Health in Blackheath Lane, which teaches medical nursing. The main Stoke campus lies about to the north.
The Guildhall Shopping Centre in the centre of town offers over 40 retail outlets, several empty at present. The three superstores around the main town centre were joined by two others in 2018.
Transport
Railways
![Staffordstation](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/Staffordstation.jpg)
Stafford railway station was once a major railway hub, but the suspension of passenger services on the Stafford and Uttoxeter Railway, Stafford to Uttoxeter line in 1939 and Beeching cuts, Beeching's closure of the Stafford–Shrewsbury line, Stafford to Shrewsbury Line in 1964 eliminated the station's east-west traffic. The years up to 2008 saw cross-country trains (operated by Virgin CrossCountry) stopping at Stafford less frequently. Since Arriva CrossCountry took over the franchise and adopted a new timetable in 2008, this has reversed and services between Manchester Piccadilly railway station, Manchester Piccadilly and Birmingham New Street railway station, Birmingham New Street almost always stop at Stafford, giving a service typically every 30 mins on weekdays. Beyond Birmingham, the services continue alternately to Bristol Temple Meads railway station, Bristol Temple Meads and Bournemouth railway station, Bournemouth.
Avanti West Coast services to Euston railway station, London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street railway station, Liverpool Lime Street operate hourly in each direction seven days a week. In December 2008, London Midland introduced a service stopping at Stafford on the Crewe railway station, Crewe to London Euston route and a Birmingham New Street–Liverpool Lime Street service that departs from Stafford normally every 30 mins on weekdays. These are now operated by West Midlands Trains. At least one train a day in each direction between Birmingham New Street and Crewe is operated by Transport for Wales Rail, Transport for Wales, usually the first and last of the day.
Roads
Junctions 13 (Stafford South & Central) and 14 (Stafford North) of the
M6 motorway
The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 and the western end of the A14 at t ...
provide access to the town, so that Birmingham and Manchester are easily reached. The A34 road, A34 runs through the town centre and links with Stone and Stoke-on-Trent to the north and to the West Midlands conurbation to the south including Birmingham, Walsall and Wolverhampton. The A518 road connects Stafford with Telford to the south-west and Uttoxeter to the north-east. This is the main route to the theme park at Alton Towers. The A449 road, A449 runs south from the town centre to the nearby town of Penkridge and to Wolverhampton. Finally, the A513 road, A513 runs east from Stafford to the local towns of Rugeley and Lichfield.
Most bus services in Stafford are run by D&G Bus as services to Lichfield, Cannock and Rugeley, while Arriva Midlands runs one to Telford. National Express West Midlands had a service between Wolverhampton and Stafford until April 2020, when it was cut short and later withdrawn. An infrequent link between Wolverhampton and Stafford is provided by Select Bus. Services to Stone, Staffordshire, Stone and
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...
are handled by First Potteries (service 101).
Stafford has five taxi firms and several independent operators from ranks at the station, Bridge St, Broad St and Salter St.
Canal
The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal runs close to the Baswich and Wildwood, Stafford, Wildwood areas and was once linked to the
River Sow
The River Sow is a tributary of the River Trent in Staffordshire, England, and is the river that flows through Stafford.
Course
The river rises to the south of Loggerheads, near Broughton and flows south-east beside the villages of Fairoak ...
by the River Sow Navigation.
Public services
Local government
Staffordshire County Council
Staffordshire County Council is the top-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Staffordshire, England.
62 councillors sit on Staffordshire County Council. Staffordshire operates a cabinet-style council
In England, local auth ...
headquarters are in central Stafford. Most staff in the town work in the Staffordshire Place development, which opened in 2011. The shift of administrative staff to Staffordshire Place meant conversion of most offices into private homes, but the County Council still meets at County Buildings, Stafford, County Buildings in Martin St.
For much of the 20th century the local municipal council was based at the
Borough Hall in Eastgate Street. Following local government reorganisation in 1974, a modern Civic Centre was built for the enlarged Borough of Stafford, Stafford Borough Council in Riverside and completed in 1978.
The town's main library, once in the Shire Hall, it has moved to the ground floor of 1 Staffordshire Place, with smaller libraries in Rising Brook, Baswich and Holmcroft. The William Salt Library in the town centre has a large collection of printed books, pamphlets, manuscripts, drawings, watercolours and transcripts built up by William Salt.
Hospitals, police and fire
The town's main County Hospital, Stafford, County Hospital provides a range of non-specialist medical and surgical services. Its Emergency department, Accident and Emergency unit is the only such facility in the town. The Stafford Hospital scandal, hospital made the national news in March 2009 with the release of a Healthcare Commission report detailing major shortcomings.
St George's Hospital, part of the South Staffordshire and Shropshire Health Care Trust, is a combination of two historical hospitals — the Kingsmead (previously an elderly care facility) and St George's Hospital, Stafford, St George's psychiatric hospital. It provides mental health services, including a psychiatric 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 an outpatient facility, where the town's Alcoholics Anonymous, AA also meets. Rowley Hall Hospital in Rowley Park is a private one run by Ramsay Healthcare, but offers some NHS treatment.
The town receives primary health care from the South Staffordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).
Policing is provided by Staffordshire Police, headquartered in Weston Road. Its former headquarters in Cannock Road is giving way to a housing estate. There is a town-centre police station in Eastgate St.
Fire service in the United Kingdom, Statutory emergency fire and rescue service is provided by the Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service, which has stations in Beaconside and Rising Brook.
Justice
![Stafford Crown Court](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Stafford_Crown_Court.JPG)
Stafford Crown Court and Stafford County Court share a building in the town centre. There was a magistrates' court in nearby South Walls, but it closed in 2016. The Shire Hall, Stafford, completed in 1798, used to be a court house, but is now an art gallery.
Stafford (HM Prison), Stafford Prison is a Prison security categories in the United Kingdom, Category C men's prison, operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service, HM Prison Service. It holds a number of vulnerable prisoners, mainly sex offenders. It was built on its current site in 1794 and has been in almost continuous use, except between 1916 and 1940.
MoD Stafford
MoD Stafford is located on Beaconside. Originally RAF Stafford, the base was a non-flying Royal Air Force station. It was redesignated MoD Stafford in March 2006, an event marked by a fly-past and a flag-lowering ceremony. For many years the site employed civilians and military personnel, but it was handed over by the Royal Air Force under the current policy of defence strategy and streamlining. A small Tactical Supply Wing (TSW) still operates from the base, which now houses a Gurkha signals regiment and an RAF Regiment contingent alongside Tactical Supply Wing.
Education
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 School
*Flash Ley Community Primary School
*John Wheeldon Primary School
*Leasowes Primary School (founded 2006)
*Oakridge Primary School (plus nursery)
*Parkside Primary School
*Rowley Park Primary Academy (Formerly The Grove)
*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 John's CE Primary School
*St Leonard's Primary School
*St Patrick's Catholic Primary School
*St Paul's Primary School
*Doxey Primary School
*Tillington Manor Primary School (formerly Holmcroft Primary School)
Secondary schools
*Blessed William Howard Catholic School
*King Edward VI High School, Stafford, King Edward VI High School (Highfields)
*Stafford Grammar School. Selective, independent school, Founded 1982.
*Stafford Manor High School (formerly Rising Brook High School and Stafford Sports College)
*Sir Graham Balfour School
*Walton High School, Stafford, Walton High School
*Weston Road Academy
Tertiary education
Stafford College is a large college of further education. It also provides some higher education courses on behalf of Staffordshire University, focusing on computing and engineering.
South Staffordshire College has a base in the village of Rodbaston on the edge of Stafford. It is largely an agricultural college.
Staffordshire University had a large campus in the east of the town which focused heavily on computing, engineering and media technologies (film, music and computer games). It also ran teacher-training courses. The university had two halls of residence opposite the campus, the smaller Yarlet with 51 rooms and the larger Stafford Court with 554 Rooms. Stafford Court was divided into 13 "houses" named after local villages. This part of the campus closed in 2016, with the majority of facilities relocating to its new campus in
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...
.
Sport
Stafford is home to three association football clubs; Stafford Rangers F.C., Brocton F.C. and Stafford Town F.C., none of which play at a fully professional level.
![Stafford v mcc](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Stafford_v_mcc.jpg)
The town has two rugby union clubs, though again they do not play at a high level.
There is a local hockey club with eight adult teams.
Stafford Post Office Rifle and Pistol Club is a Home Office approved rifle club founded in 1956. It has a 25-yard indoor range attached to the Stafford Post Office Social Club. In addition to short-range indoor shooting facilities, the club has a number of outdoor ranges, including Kingsbury, Sennybridge and Thorpe, for larger-calibre long-range shooting.
Stafford Cricket and Hockey Club, an England and Wales Cricket Board, ECB Clubmark Accredited Club founded in 1864, is almost certainly the town's oldest sports club. It appears to have played originally at the Lammascotes, before being offered a field at the Hough (Lichfield Road/GEC site) in 1899, which belonged to the grammar school. In 1984 the club made a move to Riverway in 1984, as the Hough came under the ownership of GEC. It currently owns at Riverway and hosts numerous sports: two cricket pitches in summer and football, mini-football, rugby and hockey facilities in winter. In 1999 it won a £200,000 lottery grant towards a new pavilion completed in 2000, with six changing rooms and a function room. The cricket section welcomes players of all abilities. Four senior sides play on Saturdays. The first and second elevens play in the North Staffordshire and South Cheshire League. The third and fourth elevens play in the Stone and District Cricket League. There is also a senior team that plays in the Lichfield Sunday League. The five junior sides are for under 9s, under 11s, under 13s, under 15s and under 17s.
In December 2018, a parkrun (free weekly timed 5k run/walk) was launched in Stafford on the Isabel Trail, a public foot/cycle path that follows part of the former course of the Stafford–Uttoxeter railway. The run/walk takes place on Saturday mornings at 09:00am, starting at the southern end of the Isabel Trail by Sainsbury's supermarket.
The Stafford knot
![Complete Guide to Heraldry Fig684](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Complete_Guide_to_Heraldry_Fig684.png)
The Stafford knot, sometimes Staffordshire knot, is a distinctive three-looped tie that is the traditional symbol of the county and county town, used on buildings, logos and coats of arms. It also gives its name to a pub.
Notable people
Notable people from Stafford include the 17th-century author of ''
The Compleat Angler
''The Compleat Angler'' (the spelling is sometimes modernised to ''The Complete Angler'', though this spelling also occurs in first editions) is a book by Izaak Walton. It was first published in 1653 by Richard Marriot in London.
Walton continu ...
'',
Izaak Walton, whose cottage at nearby Shallowford, Staffordshire, Shallowford is now an angling museum, and the 18th-century playwright
Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan (30 October 17517 July 1816) was an Irish satirist, a politician, a playwright, poet, and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. He is known for his plays such as ''The Rivals'', ''The Sc ...
, who was once the local Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), MP. The 1853 Lord
Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
of London Thomas Sidney was also born in the town.
In the early 1900s, the village of Great Haywood near Stafford became home to the famous ''The Lord of the Rings'' author J. R. R. Tolkien and his wife, Edith, in her cottage in the village during the winter of 1916. Surrounding areas were said to have inspired some of his early works.
The Scottish poet, playwright and freelancer Carol Ann Duffy, though born in Glasgow, grew up in Stafford and attended King Edward VI High School, Stafford, Stafford Girls' High School. She was awarded an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, OBE in 1995, and a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, CBE in 2002. Many of her poems describe experiences and places in Stafford. She was the Poet laureate from 2009 to 2019, and now lives in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
.
Baron Stafford is a title created several times in the Peerage of England. A full schedule of over 30 of the eponymous title holders is listed at Baron Stafford. Here just three are included.
Early times
In birth order:
*Ralph de Stafford, 1st Earl of Stafford, Ralph de Stafford, 2nd Baron Stafford, 1st Earl of Stafford (1301–1372), a notable soldier in the Hundred Years' War
*Henry Stafford, 1st Baron Stafford (1501–1563) In 1531 Staffordshire elected him recorder for the borough. He was later appointed JP for Staffordshire and Shropshire and Lord-Lieutenant of Staffordshire. His descendants supported Catholic Christian mission, missions in the town, leading to the building of St Austin's Church, Stafford, St Austin's Church.
*Richard Barnfield (1574 in Norbury – 1620) poet, had an obscure but close relationship with William Shakespeare that interests scholars.
*Thomas Maxfield (real name Macclesfield) (c. 1590–1616), Roman Catholic priest and a Catholic martyr, beatified in 1929, was born in HM Prison Stafford, Stafford gaol.
18th and 19th cc.
In birth order:
*Sir Robert Pigot, 2nd Baronet (1720–1796 in Stafford), a British Army officer during the American Revolutionary War
*Lieutenant General Sir William Congreve, 1st Baronet (1742 in Stafford – 1814), a British military officer who improved artillery strength through gunpowder experiments
*James Oatley, Sr. (c. 1769 in Stafford – 1839), an Australian watch and clock maker and one-time convict. Oatley, aged 44, was sentenced to penal transportation for life for stealing shirts and bedding. He had an earlier conviction for stealing a ton of cheese.
*James Trubshaw (1777 in Colwich – 1853) English builder, architect and civil engineer
*John Prescott Knight RA (1803 in Stafford – 1881) English portrait painter, Secretary of the Royal Academy from 1848 until 1873
*George Smith (executioner), George Smith (1805–1874), known as ''Throttler Smith'', was an English hangman at Stafford gaol from 1840 until 1872.
*Charles Pye Victoria Cross, VC (1820 in Stafford – 1876) sergeant-major, recipient of the Victoria Cross
*William Palmer (murderer), William Palmer (1824 in Rugeley – 1856 in Stafford Prison) an English doctor found guilty in 1855 of the murder by poisoning of his friend John Cook and executed by George Smith (executioner), George Smith in public by hanging
*Benjamin Broomhall (1829 in Bradley – 1911) author and advocate of foreign missions, administrator of China Inland Mission
*Francis Webb (engineer), Francis Webb (1836 in Tixall – 1906) British engineer responsible for the design and manufacture of locomotives for the London and North Western Railway (LNWR)
*Edward Ilsley (1838 in Stafford – 1926) prelate in the Roman Catholic Church, first Archbishop of Birmingham (1888–1921)
*Whitaker Wright (1846 in Stafford – 1904) company promoter and swindler, who committed suicide at the Royal Courts of Justice in London immediately after his conviction for fraud.
*Ernest Shears (1849 – 1917 in Stafford), an Anglican clergyman in South Africa, retired to Stafford.
*William Gordon Bagnall (1852–1907) British mechanical engineer, founded the locomotive manufacturing company of W.G. Bagnall in 1875 which operated until taken over in 1962 by English Electric
*Captain Egerton Bagot Byrd Levett-Scrivener (1857 in Milford Hall – 1954) Royal Navy Flag Lieutenant and aide to Vice Admiral George Willes in the Far East
*Alice Hawkins (1863 in Stafford – 1946) a leading English suffragette among the boot and shoe machinists of Leicester
20th c.
In birth order:
*G. Godfrey Phillips CBE (1900-1965) was the Town Clerk from 1932 to 1934. He then became secretary and later Commissioner General of the Shanghai Municipal Council.
*Moira Forsyth (1905–1991) stained-glass artist
*Falkner Allison (1907–1993) Anglican bishop successively of Bishop of Chelmsford, Chelmsford and the Bishop of Winchester, Winchester.
*Michael John Wise CBE, MC (1918–2015) academic, professor of geography at the University of London
*Thomas Worrall Kent (1922–2011) Canadian economist, journalist, editor, public servant, and industrialist; born in Stafford
*Sarah Buck OBE (born 1953) structural and civil engineer and business woman in engineering and construction, attended Stafford Girls High School.
*Francis Fitzherbert, 15th Baron Stafford, Francis Melfort William Fitzherbert, 15th Baron Stafford (born 1954), landowner and peer, Chancellor of Staffordshire University
*Alun Kyte (born 1964) double murderer, suspected of many other murders of prostitutes
*Mike Dilger (born 1966) ecologist, ornithologist and TV presenter
*Sir Jonathan Ive, Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, KBE (born 1967), iPhone designer, went to school at Stafford Walton High School and now resides in San Francisco, California.
*Hannah Maybank (born in Stafford 1974) artist best known for the ripped and distressed surfaces of her three-dimensional paintings in acrylic
Music, acting and writing
*Rodney Milnes OBE (1936–2015) music critic, translator and broadcaster, with an interest in opera
*Dave Follows (1941–2003), British cartoonist, lived in Stafford best known for his comic strip Creature Feature (comic strip), Creature Feature
*Patrick Fyffe (1942–2002) creator of Hinge and Bracket, Dame Hilda Bracket
*Pete Haycock (1951 in Stafford – 2013) musician, film score composer and founding member of the Climax Blues Band
*Storm Constantine (1956–2021) British science fiction and fantasy author primarily known for her Wraeththu series
*Mark Curry (television presenter), Mark Curry (born in Stafford 1961) actor and television and radio presenter
*Neil Morrissey (born in Stafford 1962) actor, star of Men Behaving Badly
*Climax Blues Band formed in 1968, a popular Stafford blues band which later achieved international record success
*Dominic Mafham (born 1968), actor born in Stafford
*Medicine Head 1970s hit duo, hailed from nearby Tixall.
*Dave Gorman (born 1971) comedian, author and television presenter
*Duncan Botwood (born 1972 in Stafford) video game designer and voice actor
*Fran Healy (musician), Fran Healy (born in Stafford 1973) singer in Travis (band), Travis moved to Scotland when very young.
*Kieron Gillen, (born 1975) British computer games and music journalist and comic book author. He went to Blessed William Howard Catholic High School.
*Tom Vaughan (actor), Tom Vaughan (born in Stafford 1985) television actor, played the part of List of Hollyoaks characters (2007)#Spike, Spike in Channel 4 series Hollyoaks in 2007.
*Bizarre Inc, rave act formed in 1989
*Altern-8, rave act formed in Stafford in 1990
*Chicken Lips, dance music band, production team formed in 1999, successor to Bizarre Inc
Sport
*Charles Baker (footballer), Charles Baker (1867–1924) played in the Football League for Stoke F.C. and Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
*Walter Twigg (1883 in Weeping Cross – 1963) field hockey player and cricketer
*Harry Hutsby (1886 in Stafford – 1971) joined Stoke F.C. in 1908 from local side Stafford Wednesday
*Bill Aston (1900 in Hopton – 1974) racing driver, participated in three World Championship Grands Prix
*Joe Hulme (1904–1991) English footballer and cricketer, played 333 times for Arsenal F.C. and 225 times for Middlesex as an aggressive middle-order batsman and medium-fast bowler.
*Walter Robins (1906–1968) cricketer and footballer. He was one of Wisden's Cricketers of the Year in 1930.
*Brian Little (footballer), Brian Little (born 1953) former Aston Villa player and manager lives in the town.
*Nigel Callaghan (born 1962) professional footballer with Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa, Derby County F.C., Derby County and Watford F.C., Watford, lives and DJs in the town.
*David Fell (cricketer), David Fell (born 1964), cricketer
*Phil Robinson (footballer, born 1967), Phil Robinson (born 1967) Recruitment Manager at Manchester City, former footballer, with 567 pro appearances mainly for Notts County, Huddersfield Town, Stoke City, Hereford United and Stafford Rangers.
*Chris Birchall (born 1984), footballer, scored 21 goals in 322 appearances in a 16-year professional career, and scored four goals in 43 international matches,
*Christopher Paget (born 1987), right-handed batsman and right-arm offbreak bowler, plays for Derbyshire.
*Joe Leach (born 1990) cricketer, is a right-handed batsman who bowls right-arm fast-medium for Worcestershire, as a first-team regular in 2015 and county captain in 2016.
*Steve Leach (cricketer), Steve Leach (born 1993), cricketer
*Nick Yelloly (born 1990 in Stafford) auto racing driver
*Emma Wilkins (born 1991) sprint freestyle swimmer, born in Stafford
*Morgan Gibbs-White (born 2000 in Stafford) English footballer, midfielder for Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C., went to Sir Graham Balfour.
Politics
*Richard Stanford (MP), Richard Stanford (1382–1402) politician, MP for Stafford in May 1382, 1386, September 1388, 1391, 1399 and 1402
*Matthew Cradock (MP died 1636), Matthew Cradock (1584–1636) wool merchant, elected MP for Stafford in 1621, re-elected in 1624, 1625 and 1628. He sat until 1629, when King Charles dispensed with Parliament for eleven years.
*Edward Leigh (writer), Sir Edward Leigh (1602–1671) an English lay writer on religious topics and MP for Stafford 1645 to 1648.
*John Swinfen (1613–1694 in Weeford) politician, elected MP for Stafford in 1660 in the Convention Parliament (England), Convention Parliament
*John Campbell, 1st Baron Campbell (1779–1861) Liberal MP for Stafford in 1830 & 1831, lawyer and man of letters.
*Sir Walter Essex (1857–1941) businessman and Liberal Party politician, MP for Stafford (UK Parliament constituency), Stafford from 1910 to 1918
*Sir Charles Shaw, 1st Baronet (1859 in W'ton – 1942) Liberal Party politician, MP for Stafford (UK Parliament constituency), Stafford from 1892 to 1910
*William Ormsby-Gore, 4th Baron Harlech Knight of the Garter, KG GCMG PC (1885–1964) Conservative politician and banker, MP for Stafford (UK Parliament constituency), Stafford from 1918 until he entered the House of Lords on succeeding to his father's peerage in 1938.
*Peter Thorneycroft, Peter Thorneycroft, Baron Thorneycroft CH PC (1909–1994) Conservative Party politician, MP for Stafford (UK Parliament constituency), Stafford from 1938 to 1945 and Chancellor of the Exchequer between 1957 and 1958
*Stephen Swingler (1915–1969) Labour Party politician, MP for Stafford (UK Parliament constituency), Stafford from 1945 to 1950, and for Newcastle-under-Lyme (UK Parliament constituency), Newcastle under Lyme from 1951 to 1969
*Sir Hugh Fraser (British politician), Hugh Fraser Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, MBE PC (1918–1984) Conservative politician, first husband of Lady Antonia Fraser and MP for Stafford (UK Parliament constituency), Stafford from 1945 until 1984
*Bill Cash, Sir William Nigel Paul Cash (born 1940), known as ''Bill Cash'', Conservative politician and MP for Stafford (UK Parliament constituency), Stafford from 1984 to 1997
*David Kidney (born 1955) Labour Party politician, MP for Stafford (UK Parliament constituency), Stafford from 1997 to 2010
*Patrick McLoughlin PC MP (born 1957 in Stafford) Conservative Party politician; the son and grandson of coal miners
*Jeremy Lefroy (born 1959) Conservative Party politician, MP for Stafford (UK Parliament constituency), Stafford from 2010 to 2019
TheyWorkForYou website, Jeremy Lefroy, MP, Stafford
Retrieved 27 January 2018.
Areas
*Baswich
:An estate towards Rugeley and Cannock from Stafford town centre
*Beaconside
*Burton Manor
*Castle House Gardens
*Castle House Drive
*Castlefields
:An estate built on the wetlands off Newport Road in the early 1990s. Roads are named after then famous athletes (Gunnell Close, Christie Drive etc.)
*Castletown
:Estate of terraced cottages built in the 1830s and 1840s for an influx of railway workers. Its former church, St Thomas's, was demolished in the 1970s and replaced by a new one in Doxey. The offices of ''Staffordshire Newsletter'' now occupy the site.
*The Crossings
:An estate built on the site of Stychfields in the grounds of the Alstom factory. It also includes a retail park.
*Coppenhall
*Coton Fields
*Doxey
*Forebridge
*Highfields
:A council estate between Wolverhampton Road and Newport Road. The first houses were built about 1955 and many others ("Highfields No. 2 estate" in 1963–1964. West Way is its longest street. Many streets added in the 1960s are named after poets and playwrights (Shakespeare Road, Masefield Drive, Coleridge Drive, Keats Avenue, Tennyson Road, Binyon Court, etc.) Much of the original estate was built on Preston's Farm land. Two tower blocks stood in Milton Grove: Brooke Court, mainly used as student housing, was demolished in 1998 for a housing development. Binyon Court was renovated and renamed the Keep.
*Holmcroft
*Hyde Lea
*King Edward Court
*Kingston Hill
*Littleworth, Stafford, Littleworth
*Manor Estate
*Meadowcroft Park
*Moss Pit
:Moss Pit is in southern Stafford, approximately one mile from Junction 13 of the M6 motorway
The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 and the western end of the A14 at t ...
; areas include the Pippins, the Chestnuts and Scholar's Gate.
*Parkside
:A housing estate in the north of the town built in the 1970s. It has two entrances from the A513 Beaconside Road and access to three parks, a green and Stafford Common. It has a primary school (Parkside Primary School) and Sir Graham Balfour School, rebuilt in 2001. Some school grounds were sold off for the adjacent Oaks housing estate. There is a precinct of shops and a bus terminus.
*Queensville
*Rising Brook
*Rickerscote
:Rickerscote had a lane running from the Silkmore estate towards the area of the bridge to Argos. The area is known to many as the village and has a shop. Its large area of grassland know as the Green.
:Other local areas are the Conker Tree, Boulton's Farm, Devil's Triangle and the Metal Bridge.
*Rowley Park
*Silkmore
:Silkmore, between Rickerscote and Meadowcroft, by the Rising Brook. It has a primary school and a selection of shops. It has seen a development programme to upgrade the exteriors of the housing.
:An area of Silkmore near the old Southend Club was subject to flooding. It has been replaced with new homes. Other parts such as Pioneer, the Garage and Finney's Farm have been replaced by homes or the Co-op.
*St. George's
:A development close to St George's Hospital along St George's Parkway, with various modern buildings, including a modern interpretation of a Georgian crescent. Work has begun on restoring the hospital building, disused since 1995, as luxury flats.
*Tillington, Staffordshire
*Trinity Fields
*The Oaks
:An estate off the A34 built on the site of the old Sir Graham Balfour School in the extreme north of Stafford. Coppice Way, so named after the adjacent Coppice is located where the environmental science department of the school used to be. Old School Drive and Balfour Way are located on the site of the old school's Balfour and Trinity buildings used to be.
*Walton-on-the-Hill, Staffordshire, Walton on the Hill
:To the south of Stafford bordering Milford. Walton High School is specialist science school.
*Weeping Cross
:An estate on the east side of Stafford, off Radford Bank, towards Rugeley and Cannock. It contains the Leasowes Primary and St Anne's Catholic Primary schools.
*Western Downs
:This borders Highfields and the M6 motorway. A green area with two football pitches and a basketball court known as Bottom Pitches can be found, along with Rainbow Park in Clarendon Drive and Dome Park in Torridge Drive.
*Wildwood
:A large estate with a ring road that joins the A34 road. It was built around the 1970s and housed many of the Stafford police force at its HQ was on the opposite side of the A34.
Nature reserves
These nature reserves are in Stafford:
*Astonfields Balancing Lakes, a local nature reserve, are two lakes constructed in recent decades for flood protection, a mile north of the town centre
*Doxey Marshes, managed by the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust, is a wet grassland habitat two miles northwest of the town centre
*Kingsmead Marsh, a local nature reserve, is a remnant of marshland near the town centre
*Radford Meadows, managed by the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust, is a floodplain two miles south of the town centre
Nearby places
*Brewood
*Cannock
Cannock () is a town in the Cannock Chase district in the county of Staffordshire, England. It had a population of 29,018. Cannock is not far from the nearby towns of Walsall, Burntwood, Stafford and Telford. The cities of Lichfield and Wolverh ...
*Cannock Chase
*Creswell, Staffordshire, Creswell
*Eccleshall
*Great Haywood
*Heath Hayes and Wimblebury
*Hednesford
*Hixon, Staffordshire, Hixon
*Lichfield
*Little Haywood
*Newport, Shropshire
*Penkridge
*Rugeley
*Shugborough Hall
Shugborough Hall is a stately home near Great Haywood, Staffordshire, England.
The hall is situated on the edge of Cannock Chase, about east of Stafford and from Rugeley. The estate was owned by the Bishops of Lichfield until the dissolutio ...
*Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...
*Stone, Staffordshire, Stone
*Trentham Gardens
*Uttoxeter
*Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...
Twin towns
Stafford is Twin towns and sister cities, twinned with:
See also
*1990 Stafford rail crash
*1996 Stafford rail crash at Rickerscote
*Stafford (HM Prison), HMP Stafford
*Etymological list of counties of the United Kingdom
*Stafford (UK Parliament constituency)
*Listed buildings in Stafford (Central Area)
*Listed buildings in Stafford (Outer Area)
*Stafford power station
References
Notes
Bibliography
*11th century and earlier: ''Staffordshire Newsletter 1994 Guide'' is good.
Further reading
*
External links
*
Stafford Gatehouse Theatre
*
{{Authority control
Stafford,
Towns in Staffordshire
County towns in England
Railway towns in England
Unparished areas in Staffordshire
Borough of Stafford