| Stafford | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
  .jpg)   Clockwise from top:Shire Hall,Stafford Castle,St Mary's Church,County Buildings andAncient High House | |
  Stafford Location within theUnited Kingdom | |
| Population | 71,673 (2021 census) |
| OS grid reference | SJ922232 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Suburbs of the town | |
| Post town | STAFFORD |
| Postcode district | ST16-ST21 |
| Dialling code | 01785 |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | staffordbc |
| 52°48′25″N2°07′01″W / 52.807°N 2.117°W /52.807; -2.117 | |
Stafford (/ˈstæfərd/) is a market town and thecounty town ofStaffordshire, England. It is located about 15 miles (24 km) south ofStoke-on-Trent, 15 miles (24 km) north ofWolverhampton and 24 miles (39 km) north-west ofBirmingham. The town had a population of 71,673 at the2021 census,[1] and is the main settlement within the largerBorough of Stafford, which had a population of 136,837 in 2021.[2]
Stafford hasAnglo-Saxon roots, being founded in 913, whenÆthelflæd,Lady of the Mercians, founded a defensiveburh; it became the county town of Staffordshire soon after. Stafford became an important market town in the Middle Ages and later grew into an important industrial town, due to the proliferation of shoemaking, engineering and electrical industries.
Prehistoric finds suggest scattered settlements in the area, whilst 2.5 miles (4.0 km) south-west of the town lies anIron Agehill fort atBerry Ring. There is also evidence ofRoman activity in the area, with finds around Clark and Eastgate Street. However it is thought that the Romans reclaimed the marsh for agriculture rather than settlement.[3]
Stafford means "ford" by astaithe (landing place). The original settlement was on a near island, on a gravelly lowland bounded by loop of theRiver Sow to the south and west (a tributary of theRiver Trent). The eastern boundary was formed by Sandyford brook, with a marshy area to the north. Despite many drains being constructed in the 19th century, the area is still prone to flooding.[3]
Stafford has been identified as the island of Bethney, or Bethnei where StBertelin is said to have founded a hermitage about AD 700, before moving to a more remote area.[4][5][3]
Others then settled in the area and named it Stafford. There may have been a settlement near the river crossing in 913, when Æthelflæd, Lady ofMercia founded aburh (fortified settlement) at Stafford; one of many founded across Mercia as part of her campaign against theDanes (Vikings). Amint was founded at Stafford by KingÆthelstan (924-39) which continued in operation until the reign ofHenry II (1154–89).[3] Stafford also provided an industrial area for centralised production of Roman-style pottery (Stafford Ware),[6] which was supplied to a chain of West Midlandsburhs.
The county of Staffordshire was formed at about this time, with Stafford as its county town. Stafford lay within thePirehillhundred.[7]
In the autumn of 1069, a rebellion led byEadric the Wild against theNorman Conquest culminated in the Battle of Stafford, during which the Anglo-Welsh rebel army was decisively defeated by Norman forces led byBrian of Brittany andWilliam I. Two years later another rebellion, led byEdwin, Earl of Mercia, ended in Edwin's assassination and distribution of his lands among the followers ofWilliam the Conqueror, who grantedRobert de Tonei (later known as Robert de Stafford) the manor of Bradley and one third of the king's rents in Stafford. The estate became the seat of the powerfulStafford family.[8]
Following the Battle of Stafford, and the subsequentHarrying of the North, Stafford underwent an extensive period of depopulation and urban decay. Archaeological evidence has revealed that much of the town had been abandoned following the battle, and when theDoomsday Book was completed in 1086, seventeen years after the battle, the town was declared to still be "partially waste" with almost a third of the messuages uninhabited.[9]
Stafford Castle, was first built by Robert de Stafford on a nearby hilltop to the west in the wake of the Norman Invasion, where the motte, moat and baily remain visible to this day.[8] It was first made of wood and later rebuilt in stone around 1348. It has been rebuilt since.[10] A wooden castle had been built in 1070 much closer to the town centre, however this had fallen into ruin by the recording of the Doomsday Book and its precise location remains unknown.[11]
Stafford was awalled town by 1086. The town walls were probably wooden originally, but later rebuilt in stone. There were four gates on the roads into the town from the north, south, east and west. By around 1670 the walls were in ruin, and their remnants were gradually demolished.[12]
Stafford became an important market town during theMiddle Ages, which had a particular focus of trading cloth and wool.[4] By the 1280s there were various trades such astanning, glove making and shoe making being practised in the town. Aguild of shoemakers was founded in 1476.[13]
Medieval Stafford was served by two churches:St Chad's, which is the oldest building in Stafford, dating from the mid-12th century, andSt Mary's which dates from the early-13th century.[4][14]
KingRichard II was paraded through the town's streets as a prisoner in 1399, by troops loyal to Henry Bolingbroke (the futureHenry IV).[4]
In 1521, Stafford was described as 'a proper and fair town', although it went into decline during theTudor period, and in 1540, many of the houses were described as being in a state of disrepair.Elizabeth I visited Stafford in 1575, at this time the town was still in a state of decay.[3]
TheAncient High House, believed to be the largest timber-framed town house in England, was built in 1595 for John Dorrington; it was extensively restored during 1976-86.[15]
WhenJames I visited Stafford in 1617, he was said to be so impressed by the Shire Hall and other buildings that he called it "Little London".[4]
During theEnglish Civil War, Stafford was initially held by theRoyalists; KingCharles I visited Stafford shortly after the outbreak of the war in September 1642, staying for three days at theAncient High House. The town resisted two assaults by theParliamentarians in February 1643, but was later taken by them in May 1643, when a force led bySir William Brereton captured the town by stealth. Stafford then became the seat of the parliamentary county committee.[3] Stafford Castle was defended by a garrison led by Lady Isabel Stafford, but the Parliamentarians finally won control in 1643. A few months later an order was given for the demolition of the castle.[10] However, Stafford's famous sonIzaak Walton, author ofThe Compleat Angler, was a staunch Royalist.[4]
In 1658, Stafford electedJohn Bradshaw, who had been judge at the trial of KingCharles I, to represent the town in Parliament. During the reign ofCharles II,William Howard, 1st Viscount Stafford became implicated in thePopish Plot, in whichTitus Oates 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.[16]
The town was represented in Parliament from 1780 by the playwrightRichard Brinsley Sheridan. During that period, the town's mechanised shoe industry was founded, the best-known factory owner being William Horton.[4] The shoemaking industry flourished over the next century, and became Stafford's staple trade, at its height in the 1880s, there were 39 manufacturers in the town. The industry went into steady decline from thereon, and by 1958 there was just one manufacturer, Lotus remaining.[13] The last shoe factory was demolished in 1998.[17]
In 1814, Stafford was linked to the canal network by theRiver Sow Navigation; a short navigation which linked Stafford to theStaffordshire and Worcestershire Canal. The navigation fell into disuse in the 1930s.[18]
The railways arrived in Stafford in 1837 when theGrand Junction Railway was opened, linking theLiverpool and Manchester Railway toBirmingham, which provided the first rail connection to London. TheTrent Valley Railway toRugby and then direct to London, was opened in 1847. Two more lines, both now closed then followed, fromStafford to Shrewsbury in 1849, andto Uttoxeter in 1867. Stafford became a major junction, which helped to attract other industries.[18]
In the late 19th century, Stafford's economy began to diversify into engineering, when thelocomotive manufacturerW. G. Bagnall opened a large works in the town in 1875. In the early 1900s electrical engineering became a major activity, whenSiemens Brothers, opened a large factory in the town, producing such items as electrical motors, generators andtransformers. The electrical industry has been under the ownership of several companies since, includingEnglish Electric andGEC.[13]
TheFriars' Walk drill hall was completed in 1913, just in time for theFirst World War.[19]
TheM6 motorway was opened to the west of Stafford in 1962.[20]
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-volumeA Compleat [sic] History of Stafford.
Stafford was already anancient borough by the time of theDomesday Book of 1086. Its borough status was confirmed in 1206, whenKing John issued a charter. Stafford was reconstituted as amunicipal borough in 1835. The borough boundaries were expanded in 1876, 1917 and 1934.[21]
The modernBorough of Stafford covers a much larger area then the town itself, and was created in 1974, when the old municipal borough of Stafford was merged with theStafford Rural District, theStone Rural District and theStoneUrban District.[21]
| Year | 1622 | 1801 | 1831 | 1861 | 1881 | 1911 | 1951 | 1971 | 2001 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population* [3][1] | 1,550 | 3,898 | 6,956 | 12,532 | 19,977 | 23,383 | 40,263 | 55,001 | 62,789 | 71,673 |
TheElizabethanAncient High House in the town centre is the largesttimber-framed town house in England.[22] It is now a museum with temporary exhibitions.
Stafford Castle was built by theNormans 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 theearthworks 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 theM6 motorway.
The oldest building now in Stafford isSt Chad's Church, dating back to the 12th century.[23] 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 theMiddle East 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 early19th-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 acruciform plan, with anaislednave andchancel 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 byGiles Gilbert Scott.[24]
TheShire Hall was built in 1798 as a court house and office of the Mayor and Clerk of Stafford.[25] The Shire Hall used to be the town's court house, and is a Grade IIlisted building. In recent times, the building was used as an art gallery and library, before a new facility was built within the new council buildings, The Market Square has recently gone under a £2 million redevelopment which was completed in November 2023.
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.[26]
TheShugborough Hall country estate is 4 miles (6.4 km) out of town. It once belonged to theEarls of Lichfield and is now owned by theNational Trust. The 19th-centurySandon Hall is 5 miles (8.0 km) north-east of Stafford. It is set in 400 acres (1.6 km2) of parkland, as the seat of theEarl of Harrowby. Weston Hall stands 5 miles (8.0 km) east of Stafford, in theTrent valley with a large park and was once part of theChartley 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 isJacobean. Weston Hall was extended in 1660 into a three-gabled structure with high-pitched roofs.[27]
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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 annualShakespeare Festival at Stafford Castle has attracted many notable people, includingFrank Sidebottom andAnn Widdecombe.
Victoria Park, opened in 1908, is a 13-acre (53 ha)Edwardian 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-holegolf course 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 atenpin 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, Cannock and Wolverhampton.
A new shopping centre was completed in 2017, housing major stores and a number of restaurants. The Guildhall shopping centre no longer is open
Like most of theBritish Isles, Stafford has anoceanic climate which is a sub zone oftemperate climates with cool summers and mild winters. The nearest Met Office weather station is atPenkridge, about 5 miles to the south.
| Climate data for Stafford 101 m asl, 1991–2020 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 7.29 (45.12) | 8.06 (46.51) | 10.51 (50.92) | 13.53 (56.35) | 16.60 (61.88) | 19.45 (67.01) | 21.77 (71.19) | 21.27 (70.29) | 18.57 (65.43) | 14.45 (58.01) | 10.44 (50.79) | 7.66 (45.79) | 14.16 (57.49) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 1.83 (35.29) | 1.83 (35.29) | 3.10 (37.58) | 4.56 (40.21) | 7.20 (44.96) | 9.98 (49.96) | 11.97 (53.55) | 11.79 (53.22) | 9.87 (49.77) | 7.28 (45.10) | 4.32 (39.78) | 2.01 (35.62) | 6.34 (43.41) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 56.69 (2.23) | 43.05 (1.69) | 42.50 (1.67) | 48.78 (1.92) | 55.47 (2.18) | 61.43 (2.42) | 61.01 (2.40) | 60.12 (2.37) | 61.53 (2.42) | 67.48 (2.66) | 67.43 (2.65) | 66.37 (2.61) | 691.86 (27.24) |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 46.04 | 66.35 | 105.78 | 148.68 | 185.47 | 166.10 | 182.71 | 161.23 | 127.60 | 95.72 | 57.96 | 42.52 | 1,386.16 |
| Source: The Met Office | |||||||||||||
Stafford has a history of shoemaking as far back as 1476, when it was a cottage industry,[29] but a manufacturing process was introduced in the 1700s.[29] 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'sMember of Parliament (MP), the playwrightRichard Brinsley Sheridan. The shoe industry gradually died out in the late 20th century, with Lotus Shoes the last manufacturer.[30] Its factory in Sandon Road was demolished in 2001 and replaced by housing.
A locomotive firm,W. G. Bagnall, was set up in 1875 to manufacture steam engines for theLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway and theGreat Western Railway. Between 1875 and 1962, the Castle Engine Works in Castle Town produced 1,869 locomotives, including steam, diesel and electric. It was taken over in 1961 byEnglish Electric, which also bought the Stafford-based engine manufacturerW.H. Dorman & Co. This had merged with Bagnall's by then.[13]
Since 1901, a major industrial activity has been heavyelectrical engineering, particularlypower stationtransformers. The works have been successively owned bySiemens Brothers,English Electric,GEC andGEC Alsthom.[13] Alstom T&D was sold in 2004 toAreva. At the end of 2009, Areva T&D was split between former owners Alstom andSchneider 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 aroad train is used for transport. In the 1968Hixon rail crash, one such road train was struck by an express train on alevel crossing.
British Reinforced Concrete Engineering (BRC) moved from Manchester and opened a large factory in Stafford in 1926. In the late 1970s, BRC employed around 750 people in Stafford,[13] however the business declined, and the factory closed in 1990.[31]
Perkins Engines has a factory for diesel engines inLittleworth. Stafford is also a dormitory town for commuting to Stoke-on-Trent and Birmingham.
Universal Grinding Wheel Ltd was founded in the town in 1913. Its Doxey Road site was enlarged over the years to cover 44 acres (18 ha). By the 1970s the company had become Europe's largest manufacturer ofgrinding wheels. The company was taken over a number of times, eventually becoming part of French multi-nationalSaint-Gobain. The business relocated to new premises on an industrial park in the north of the town and the Doxey Road factory was demolished in 2019.[32]
Adhesives manufacturerBostik, which took over Evode Ltd has a factory on Common Road.[33]
The public sector provides much local employment, with Staffordshire County Council, Stafford Borough Council andStaffordshire Police all headquartered in the town.Stafford Prison,County Hospital andMOD Stafford are other sources of public-sector employment.
The town was home to thecomputer science andIT campus of theUniversity of Staffordshire, 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 the University of Staffordshire left in use is the School of Health in Blackheath Lane, which teaches medicalnursing. The main Stoke campus lies about 18 miles (30 km) to the north.
The Guildhall Shopping Centre in the centre of town offered over 40 retail outlets; it has since closed. The three superstores around the main town centre were joined by two others in 2018.
The Stafford Railway Building Society was established in 1877. It rebranded and changed its name to theStafford Building Society on 1 March 2024 and has its head office in the town centre.[34][35]
At the2021 census there were 70,145 residents in Stafford, up from 68,472, in the 2011 census, and 62,440 in the 2001 census.[1]
In terms of ethnicity in 2021:[1]
In terms of religion, 51.8% of Stafford residents identified asChristian, 42.9% said they hadno religion, 1.7% wereMuslim, 1.5% wereHindu, 0.8% wereSikh, 0.6% wereBuddhists, and 0.6% were from another religion.[1]
Stafford railway station was once a major railway hub, but the suspension of passenger services on theStafford to Uttoxeter line in 1939 and of theStafford to Shrewsbury Line during theBeeching cuts in 1964 eliminated the station's east-west traffic.
Services are provided by threetrain operating companies:
Junctions 13 (Stafford South & Central) and 14 (Stafford North) of theM6 motorway provide access to the town, so that Birmingham and Manchester are easily reached. TheA34 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. TheA518 road connects Stafford with Telford to the south-west andUttoxeter to the north-east. TheA449 runs south from the town centre to the nearby town ofPenkridge and to Wolverhampton. Finally, theA513 runs east from Stafford to the local towns ofRugeley andLichfield.
There are several bus interchanges in Stafford town centre, rather than a single bus station; Gaol Square and Chell Road are the most used.
Stafford is predominantly served by Select Bus andChaserider (formerly part ofArriva Midlands until the depot sale toD&G). Select Bus operates local circulars, such as to Highfields and longer distance routes to Coven, Wolverhampton andCannock. Chaserider operates longer distance routes to Cannock, Rugeley, Lichfield,Uttoxeter and surrounding areas. Arriva Midlands still operates a service toTelford.First Potteries operates service 101 to Stoke-on-Trent.[39]
Stafford has five taxi firms and several independent operators from ranks at the station, Bridge St, Broad St and Salter St.
TheStaffordshire and Worcestershire Canal runs close to theBaswich andWildwood areas and was once linked to theRiver Sow by theRiver Sow Navigation.
Staffordshire County Council headquarters are in central Stafford. Most staff in the town work in the Staffordshire Place development, which opened in 2011.[40] The shift of administrative staff to Staffordshire Place meant conversion of most offices into private homes,[41] but the County Council still meets atCounty Buildings in Martin St.[42]
For much of the 20th century, the localmunicipal council was based at theBorough Hall in Eastgate Street.[43] Following local government reorganisation in 1974, a modern Civic Centre was built for the enlargedStafford Borough Council in Riverside and completed in 1978.[44][45]
The town's main library, once in the Shire Hall, has moved to the ground floor of 1 Staffordshire Place,[46] with smaller libraries in Rising Brook, Baswich and Holmcroft. TheWilliam Salt Library in the town centre has a large collection of printed books, pamphlets, manuscripts, drawings, watercolours and transcripts built up byWilliam Salt.
Stafford has its ownparliamentary constituency, represented since 2024 byLeigh Ingham of theLabour Party.
County Hospital provides a range of non-specialist medical and surgical services. Itsaccident and emergency unit is the only such facility in the town. In March 2009, the hospital was involved ina scandal after the release of aHealthcare Commission report that detailed severe failings.[47][48][49] St George's Hospital, part of the South Staffordshire and Shropshire Health Care Trust, is a combination of the Kingsmead (previously an elderly care facility) andSt George's psychiatric hospital. It provides mental health services, including apsychiatric intensive care unit, secure units, aneating 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'sAlcoholics Anonymous also meets. Rowley Hall Hospital in Rowley Park is private and run by Ramsay Healthcare, but offers some NHS treatment.[50] The town receives primary health care from the South Staffordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).
Policing is provided byStaffordshire Police, headquartered in Weston Road. Its former headquarters in Cannock Road is giving way to a housing estate.[when?] There is a town-centre police station in Eastgate St.Statutory emergency fire and rescue service is provided by theStaffordshire Fire and Rescue Service, which has stations in Beaconside and Rising Brook.
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.[51] TheShire Hall, completed in 1798, used to be a courthouse but is now an art gallery.
Stafford Prison, operated byHM Prison Service, provides accommodation for about 750 male sex offenders.[52] It was built on its current site in 1794 and has been in almost continuous use, except between 1916 and 1940.
MOD Stafford is located on Beaconside. Originally RAF Stafford, the base was a non-flyingRoyal 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 twoRoyal Signals units and anRAF Regiment contingent alongside Tactical Supply Wing.
Stafford College is a largecollege offurther education. It also provides somehigher education courses on behalf ofStaffordshire University, focusing on computing and engineering.
South Staffordshire College has a base in the village ofRodbaston on the edge of Stafford. It is largely an agricultural college.
TheUniversity of Staffordshire 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 inStoke-on-Trent. The University retains a significant presence at its Blackheath Lane campus to cater for Health related courses, such as Nursing and Paramedics.
Stafford is covered by theExpress & Star andStaffordshire Newsletter,[72] neither of which have offices in the town.
Stafford is covered byBBC West Midlands andITV Central, both broadcasting from Birmingham to the wider West Midlands region. Stafford is mainly served by theSutton Coldfield transmitting station, just north of Birmingham, but some residents get a better picture fromThe Wrekin transmitting station, nearTelford.
In terms of BBC Local Radio, Stafford is covered byBBC Radio Stoke, with a transmitter based on top of the County Education building.[citation needed] In commercial radio, Stafford is covered byGreatest Hits Radio (programming from London, Manchester or Birmingham for most of the day), broadcasting on 96.9 FM from a transmitter atPye Green BT Tower, near Hednesford.
Stafford can also receive the West Midlands regionals, likeHeart West Midlands andSmooth West Midlands, and is at the very north of theHits Radio Black Country & Shropshire coverage area.
BFBS Gurkha Radio broadcasts locally on 1278 kHzmedium wave fromBeacon Barracks.
The town's first community licensed station,Stafford FM, launched in 2015 after a number of restricted service FM licences. The station rebranded in April 2024 to Vibe 1; it remains the only commercial radio station with a fixed studio broadcasting from Stafford to Stafford.
Stafford is home to threeassociation football clubs:Stafford Rangers F.C.,Brocton F.C. andStafford Town F.C., none of which play at a fully professional level.
The town has tworugby union clubs,[73] though again they do not play at a high level.
There is a local hockey club[74] with eight adult teams.
Stafford Post Office Rifle and Pistol Club is a Home Office approved rifle club founded in 1956.[75] 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, anECB 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 11 acres (4 ha) 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.[76] Four senior sides play on Saturdays. The first and second elevens play in theNorth Staffordshire and South Cheshire League.[77] The third and fourth elevens play in the Stone and District Cricket League.[78] 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, aparkrun (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.[79]
The Staffordknot, 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 and a multi-operator bus ticket.[80][81][82][83]
Notable people from Stafford include the 17th-century author ofThe Compleat Angler (1653),Izaak Walton,[84] whose cottage at nearbyShallowford is now an angling museum, and the 18th-century playwrightRichard Brinsley Sheridan,[85] who was once the localMP. The 1853 LordMayor of LondonThomas Sidney was also born in the town.
In the early 1900s, the village ofGreat Haywood near Stafford became home to the famousThe Lord of the Rings authorJ. 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 freelancerCarol Ann Duffy, though born inGlasgow, grew up in Stafford and attendedStafford Girls' High School. Many of her poems describe experiences and places in Stafford. She was thePoet laureate from 2009 to 2019, and now lives inManchester.
Baron Stafford[86] is a title created several times in thePeerage of England.[87] A full schedule of over 30 of the eponymous title holders is listed atBaron Stafford. Here just three are included.
In birth order:
In birth order:
In birth order:
These nature reserves are in Stafford:
Stafford istwinned with:
4. Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: "Ven._Thomas_Maxfield".Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 10. 1911.
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