Staffordshire
Encyclopedia : S : ST : STA : Staffordshire
| Staffordshire | |
|---|---|
| |
| Geography | |
| Status: | Ceremonial & (smaller) Non-metropolitan county |
| Region: | West Midlands |
| Area: - Total - Admin. council - Admin. area | Ranked 18th 2,713 km² Ranked 18th 2,620 km² |
| Admin HQ: | Stafford |
| : | GB-STS |
| ONS code: | 41 |
| NUTS 3: | UKG24 |
| Demographics | |
| Population - Total (2004 est.) - Density - Admin. council - Admin. pop. | Ranked {{English cerem counties / km² Ranked {{English admin counties |
| Ethnicity: | 97.0% White 1.7% S.Asian |
| Politics | |
 Staffordshire County Council http://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/ | |
| Executive: | |
| Members of Parliament | |
| Charlotte Atkins, William Cash, Patrick Cormack, Janet Dean, Michael Fabricant, Paul Farrelly, Mark Fisher, Robert Flello, Brian Jenkins, David Kidney, Joan Walley, Tony Wrig | |
| Districts | |
 | |
The major city in Staffordshire is Stoke-on-Trent. Lichfield is also classed as a city but this is only by virtue of it having a cathedral and so is considerably smaller. Major towns include Burton upon Trent, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Cannock, Tamworth and Stafford itself.
Staffordshire is divided into a number of districts. These are Cannock Chase, East Staffordshire, Lichfield, Newcastle-under-Lyme, South Staffordshire, the Borough of Stafford, Staffordshire Moorlands and Tamworth. Stoke-on-Trent is administered as an independent unitary authority.
History
Main article History of Staffordshire.The historic county of Staffordshire included Wolverhampton, Walsall, and West Bromwich, these were removed in 1974 to the new county of West Midlands. The resulting administrative area of Staffordshire has a narrow southwards protrusion that runs west of West Midlands to the border of Worcestershire. Further, Stoke-on-Trent was removed from the non-metropolitan county in the 1990s to form a unitary authority, but is still considered part of Staffordshire for ceremonial and geographical purposes.
Historically, Staffordshire was divided into the five hundreds of Cuttlestone, Offlow, Pirehill, Seisdon and Totmonslow.
Economy
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.| Year | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 6,447 | 209 | 2,349 | 3,889 |
| 2000 | 8,621 | 150 | 2,986 | 5,485 |
| 2003 | 10,169 | 169 | 3,164 | 6,835 |
Note 1: includes hunting and forestry
Note 2: includes energy and construction
Note 3: includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured
Note 4: Components may not sum to totals due to rounding
Geography
In the north and in the south the county is hilly, with wild moorlands in the far north and Cannock Chase an area of natural beauty in the south. In the middle regions the surface is low and undulating. Throughout the entire county there are vast and important coal fields. 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.Towns and villages
See the list of places in Staffordshire and the List of civil parishes in StaffordshireEducation
Two major universities are located in the county. Keele University is located in Newcastle-under-Lyme. It is a research-intensive university with particular strengths in health and law. Staffordshire University is located in Stoke-on-Trent and in Stafford. It has strengths in Aerospace & Aeronautics.Dogs
A type of bull terrier called the Staffordshire Bull Terrier was bred for hunting purposes in this county. Later, a fighting dog was created called the Staffordshire pit bull. They are known affectionately as "Staffies".Railways
See Railways in StaffordshirePlaces of interest
Amusement parks Churches Historic buildings- Shugborough Hall [link]
- Blithfield Hall
- Dovecliff Hall
- Madeley Old Hall
- Moseley Old Hall, Featherstone, Staffordshire
- Sandon Hall
- Whitmore Hall
- Biddulph Grange
- Eccleshall Castle
- Mow Cop Castle
- Stafford Castle
- Tamworth Castle
- Tutbury Castle
- Croxden Abbey
- Broad Eye Windmill, Stafford
- Cheddleton Flint Mill, watermill
- Ford Green Hall, Smallthorne
- Rudyard Lake
- Tittesworth Reservoir [link]
- Chasewater [link]
- River Trent
- River Blythe
- River Churnet
- Birmingham and Fazeley Canal
- Caldon Canal
- Coventry Canal
- Shropshire Union Canal
- Trent and Mersey Canal, Harecastle Tunnel
- Weston Park
- Cannock Chase
- Hazel Slade Reserve
- RSPB Coombes Valley
- National Memorial Arboretum [link]
- Trentham Gardens
- Festival Park
- Churnet Valley Railway [link]
- Heritage railways: Chasewater Railway, Foxfield Steam Railway, Manifold Valley Railway
- Rudyard Lake Steam Railway Railway's website [link]
- Churnet Valley Railway [link]
Local Groups
- Lichfield Cricket Club
- Port Vale F.C.
- Stoke City F.C.
- Tipton Harriers
- West Midland Bird Club
- Abbots Bromley School for Girls
See also
- The Stafford knot - as on the coat of arms above
External links
- [link] - Staffordshire County Council
- [Staffordshire Past Track] - Historical archive about the county
- [North Staffordshire Railway]
| Districts of the West Midlands |
|
| Birmingham | Bridgnorth | Bromsgrove | Cannock Chase | Coventry | Dudley | East Staffordshire | Herefordshire | Lichfield | Malvern Hills | Newcastle-under-Lyme | North Shropshire | North Warwickshire | Nuneaton and Bedworth | Oswestry | Redditch | Rugby | Sandwell | Shrewsbury and Atcham | Solihull | South Shropshire | South Staffordshire | Stafford | Staffordshire Moorlands | Stoke-on-Trent | Stratford-on-Avon | Tamworth | Telford and Wrekin | Walsall | Warwick | Wolverhampton | Worcester | Wychavon | Wyre Forest | |
|
Counties with multiple districts: Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands, Worcestershire |
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