Staffordshire
Staffordshire (/ˈstæfərdʃɪər, -ʃər/;[2] postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked ceremonial county in the West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the south-east, the West Midlands county and Worcestershire to the south, and Shropshire to the west. The largest settlement is the city of Stoke-on-Trent, and the county town is Stafford.
"Staffs" redirects here. For other uses, see Staff (disambiguation).
The county has an area of 1,713 square kilometres (661 sq mi) and a population of 1,131,052. After Stoke-on-Trent (258,366), the largest settlements are Tamworth (78,646), Newcastle-under-Lyme (75,082) and Burton upon Trent (72,299); the city of Lichfield has a population of 33,816. For local government purposes Staffordshire comprises a non-metropolitan county, with nine districts, and the unitary authority area of Stoke-on-Trent. The county historically included the north-west of the West Midlands county, including Walsall, West Bromwich, and Wolverhampton.
Staffordshire is hilly to the north and south. The southern end of the Pennines is in the north, containing part of the Peak District National Park, while the Cannock Chase AONB and part of the National Forest are in the south. The River Trent and its tributaries drain most of the county. From its source, near Biddulph, the river flows through Staffordshire in a southwesterly direction, meeting the Sow just east of Stafford; it then meets the River Tame and turns north-east, exiting into Derbyshire immediately downstream of Burton upon Trent.
Staffordshire contains a number of Iron Age tumuli and Roman camps, and was settled by the Angles in the sixth century; the oldest Stafford knot, the county's symbol, can be seen on an Anglian cross in the churchyard of Stoke Minster. The county was formed in the early tenth century, when Stafford became the capital of Mercia. The county was relatively settled in the following centuries, and rapidly industrialised during the Industrial Revolution, when the North Staffordshire coalfield was exploited and fuelled the iron and automobilie industries in the south of the county. Pottery is the county's most famous export; a limited amount is still produced in Stoke-on-Trent.
Sport[edit]
The modern county of Staffordshire currently has three professional football clubs – Stoke City 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 (now named the Bet365 Stadium) in 1997. They were among the 12 founder members of the Football League in 1888.[9] 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.[10] In 1972, the club finally won a major trophy when they lifted the Football League Cup,[11] but after relegation from the First Division in 1985 they would not experience top flight football for 23 years.[12] 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 Premier League.[13] Stoke City reached their first FA Cup final in 2011, but lost to Manchester City.[14]
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 eliminated First Division champions Sunderland from the FA Cup. Another 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 spend 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 seen an upturn in its fortunes as the club was promoted to League One in the 2012–13 season. In the 2016-17 season Port Vale were relegated back to League Two.[15]
West Bromwich Albion, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Walsall are also notable clubs based in the historic county boundaries.
The county's other professional football team is Burton Albion, based in Burton upon Trent, who currently play in League One.
The county has a number of non-league football clubs, including Tamworth,[16] Stafford Rangers,[17] Hednesford Town[18] and Leek Town.[19]
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 eleven times, making it the most successful Minor counties team. Famous international cricketers produced by the county include Sydney Barnes, Bob Taylor and Dominic Cork, all of whom went on to represent England.
Demographics[edit]
According to the 2001 Census the population of the Non-metropolitan Staffordshire is 806,744 and the population of Stoke-on-Trent was 240,636 making a total population of 1,047,380. In non-metropolitan Staffordshire, White British is the largest ethnicity, making up 96% of the population. This is followed by Irish, making up 0.6%. Non-White citizens make up 2% of the population. The largest Non-White ethnic group are British Pakistanis.[22] 94% of the population was born in England, and those born in Scotland and Wales together make up 1% of the total population.[23]
Government[edit]
Westminster parliamentary[edit]
The ceremonial county of Staffordshire (including the unitary authority of Stoke-on-Trent) is represented by twelve Members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons. Eleven of the MPs represent the Conservative Party and one sits as an independent.[24] The results of the 2019 general election in the county are as follows:
Transport[edit]
Canals[edit]
Staffordshire has an extensive network of canals including the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal, Caldon Canal, Coventry Canal, Shropshire Union Canal, Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal and Trent and Mersey Canal.
Media[edit]
Newspapers[edit]
Daily Newspapers in Staffordshire are The Sentinel, covering Stoke-on-Trent, Newcastle-under-Lyme and the Staffordshire Moorlands, Burton Mail which covers the town of Burton-upon-Trent and the Express & Star which has several editions covering Tamworth, Lichfield, Cannock Chase and Stafford.
Radio[edit]
The local BBC radio stations covering Staffordshire are BBC Radio Stoke covering Mid and North Staffordshire, BBC Radio WM covering the south of the county and BBC Radio Derby covering East Staffordshire. The local commercial radio stations are Hits Radio Staffordshire & Cheshire and Greatest Hits Radio Staffordshire & Cheshire which cover North and Mid Staffordshire, and Capital Mid-Counties, which covers Burton, Lichfield and Tamworth. Further stations which cover parts of Staffordshire include Heart, Smooth, and Greatest Hits Radio which cover the southern parts of the county. Hits Radio Birmingham covers Lichfield and Tamworth, and Hits Radio Black Country & Shropshire covers the Cannock area.
United Christian Broadcasters, which has facilities in Burslem and Hanchurch, has been involved in radio broadcasting since 1987. Today it is broadcast nationally in the UK through DAB digital radio.
Boscobel House
Tamworth Castle
Lichfield Cathedral
Weston Park
Wightwick Manor
The Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal
Map of Staffordshire and its hundreds, by Wenceslas Hollar, c. 1627–1677
