Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Water Buffalo
<catset>Category="Staffordshire"</catset><right><p><table border=1 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=0 width=300 style="margin-left: 0.5em;"><tr><th colspan=2 align=center bgcolor=ff9999>Staffordshire</th></tr><tr><td colspan=2 align=center>[image]</td></tr><tr><th colspan=2 bgcolor=ff9999>Geography</th></tr><tr><td width=45%>Status:</td><td><a href="Ceremonial counties of England">Ceremonial</a> & (smaller) <a href="Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England">Non-metropolitan</a> county</td></tr><tr><td>Region:</td><td><a href="West Midlands (region)">West Midlands</a></td></tr><tr><td><a href="Area">Area</a>:<br>- Total<br>- Admin. council<br>- Admin. area</td><td><a href="List of ceremonial counties of England by area">Ranked 18th</a><br><a href="1 E9 mē">2,713</a> <a href="Square metre">kmē</a><br><a href="List of non-metropolitan counties of England by area">Ranked 18th</a><br>2,620 kmē</td></tr><tr><td>Admin HQ:</td><td><a href="Stafford">Stafford</a></td></tr><tr><td><a href="ISO 3166-2:GB">ISO 3166-2</a>:</td><td>GB-STS</td></tr><tr><td><a href="ONS coding system">ONS code</a>:</td><td>41</td></tr><tr><td><a href="Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics">NUTS</a> 3:</td><td>UKG24</td></tr><tr><th colspan=2 bgcolor=ff9999>Demographics</th></tr><tr><td><a href="Population">Population</a>:<br>- Total (<a href="2003">2003</a> est.)<br>- <a href="Density">Density</a><br>- Admin. council<br>- Admin. pop.</td><td><a href="List of ceremonial counties of England by population">Ranked 14th</a><br>1,048,973<br>386 / kmē<br><a href="List of non-metropolitan counties of England by population">Ranked 7th</a><br>810,982</td></tr><tr><td>Ethnicity:</td><td>97.0% White<br>1.7% S.Asian</td></tr><tr><th colspan=2 bgcolor=ff9999>Politics</th></tr><tr><td colspan=2 align=center>[image]<br>Staffordshire County Council<br>http://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/</td></tr><tr><td>Executive:</td><td><a href="Labour Party (UK)">Labour</a></td></tr><tr><td colspan=2 align=center><a href="MPs elected in the UK general election, 2005">Members of Parliament</a></td></tr><tr><td colspan=2><small> <a href="Charlotte Atkins">Charlotte Atkins</a>, <a href="Bill Cash">William Cash</a>, <a href="Patrick Cormack">Patrick Cormack</a>, <a href="Janet Dean">Janet Dean</a>, <a href="Michael Fabricant">Michael Fabricant</a>, <a href="Paul Farrelly">Paul Farrelly</a>, <a href="Mark Fisher">Mark Fisher</a>, <a href="Robert Flello">Robert Flello</a>, <a href="Brian Jenkins">Brian Jenkins</a>, <a href="David Kidney">David Kidney</a>, <a href="Joan Walley">Joan Walley</a>, <a href="Tony Wright (Staffordshire politician)">Tony Wrig</a> </small></td></tr><tr><th colspan=2 bgcolor=ff9999>Districts</th></tr><tr><td colspan=2><center>[image]</center><ol><li><a href="Tamworth">Tamworth</a><li><a href="Lichfield (district)">Lichfield</a><li><a href="Cannock Chase (district)">Cannock Chase</a><li><a href="South Staffordshire">South Staffordshire</a><li><a href="Stafford (borough)">Stafford</a><li><a href="Newcastle-under-Lyme">Newcastle-under-Lyme</a><li><a href="Staffordshire Moorlands">Staffordshire Moorlands</a><li><a href="East Staffordshire">East Staffordshire</a><li><a href="Stoke-on-Trent">Stoke-on-Trent</a> (Unitary)</ol></td></tr></table><p></right> <b>Staffordshire</b> (abbreviated <b>Staffs</b>) is a landlocked county in the <a href="West Midlands (region)">West Midlands region</a> of <a href="England">England</a>. The county town is <a href="Stafford">Stafford</a>. Part of the <a href="National Forest, England">National Forest</a> lies within its borders. It adjoins the <a href="Ceremonial counties of England">ceremonial counties</a> of <a href="Cheshire">Cheshire</a>, <a href="Derbyshire">Derbyshire</a>, <a href="Leicestershire">Leicestershire</a>, <a href="Warwickshire">Warwickshire</a>, <a href="West Midlands (county)">West Midlands</a>, <a href="Worcestershire">Worcestershire</a> and <a href="Shropshire">Shropshire</a>.<p>The major city in Staffordshire is <a href="Stoke-on-Trent">Stoke-on-Trent</a>. <a href="Lichfield">Lichfield</a> is also a city but is considerably smaller. Major towns include <a href="Burton-upon-Trent">Burton-upon-Trent</a>, <a href="Newcastle-under-Lyme">Newcastle-under-Lyme</a>, <a href="Tamworth">Tamworth</a> and <a href="Stafford">Stafford</a> itself.<p>Staffordshire is divided into a number of districts.  These are <a href="Cannock Chase (district)">Cannock Chase</a>, <a href="East Staffordshire">East Staffordshire</a>, <a href="Lichfield (district)">Lichfield</a>, <a href="Newcastle-under-Lyme (borough)">Newcastle-under-Lyme</a>, <a href="South Staffordshire">South Staffordshire</a>, <a href="Stafford (borough)">Stafford</a>, <a href="Staffordshire Moorlands">Staffordshire Moorlands</a> and <a href="Tamworth">Tamworth</a>.  <a href="Stoke-on-Trent">Stoke-on-Trent</a> is administered as a separate <a href="Unitary authority">Unitary authority</a>.<h2 style="margin: 0; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaaaaa; font-size: 150%;">History</h2><i>Main article <a href="History of Staffordshire">History of Staffordshire</a>.</i><p>The historic county of Staffordshire included <a href="Wolverhampton">Wolverhampton</a>, <a href="Walsall">Walsall</a>, and <a href="West Bromwich">West Bromwich</a>, these were removed in <a href="1974">1974</a> to the new county of <a href="West Midlands (county)">West Midlands</a>.   The resulting administrative area of Staffordshire has a narrow southwards protrusion that runs west of West Midlands to the border of <a href="Worcestershire">Worcestershire</a>.  Further, <a href="Stoke-on-Trent">Stoke-on-Trent</a> was removed in the <a href="1990s">1990s</a> to form a <a href="Unitary authority">Unitary authority</a>, but is still considered part of Staffordshire for ceremonial purposes.<p>Historically, Staffordshire was divided into the five <a href="Hundred (division)">hundreds</a> of Cuttlestone, Offlow, Pirehill, <a href="Seisdon">Seisdon</a> and Totmonslow.<h2 style="margin: 0; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaaaaa; font-size: 150%;">Geography</h2>In the north and in the south the county is hilly, with wild <a href="Heath (habitat)">moorlands</a> in the far north and <a href="Cannock Chase">Cannock Chase</a> 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 <a href="Coal mining">coal fields</a>.  In the southern part there are also rich iron ore deposits. The largest river is the <a href="River Trent">Trent</a>.  The soil is chiefly clay and agriculture was not highly developed until the mechanisation of farms.<h2 style="margin: 0; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaaaaa; font-size: 150%;">Towns and villages</h2><i>See the <a href="List of places in Staffordshire">List of places in Staffordshire</a> and the <a href="List of civil parishes in Staffordshire">List of civil parishes in Staffordshire</a></i><h2 style="margin: 0; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaaaaa; font-size: 150%;">Places of interest</h2><ul> <li><font color=#700070> Churnet Valley Railway</font> <li><a href="Alton Towers">Alton Towers</a> <li><a href="Lichfield Cathedral">Lichfield Cathedral</a> <font color=#700070></font> <li><a href="Shugborough Hall">Shugborough Hall</a> <font color=#700070></font> <li><a href="Blithfield Hall">Blithfield Hall</a> <li>Dovecliff Hall <li><a href="Stoke-on-Trent Garden Festival">Festival Park</a> <li>Ford Green Hall, Smallthorne <li>Madeley Old Hall <li><a href="Moseley Old Hall">Moseley Old Hall</a>, <a href="Featherstone">Featherstone</a> <li>Sandon Hall <li>Whitmore Hall <li><a href="Biddulph Grange">Biddulph Grange</a> <li><a href="Eccleshall Castle">Eccleshall Castle</a> <li><a href="Mow Cop Castle">Mow Cop Castle</a> <li><a href="Stafford Castle">Stafford Castle</a> <li><a href="Tamworth Castle">Tamworth Castle</a> <li><a href="Tutbury">Tutbury Castle</a> <li><a href="Croxden Abbey">Croxden Abbey</a> <li>Broad Eye Windmill, <a href="Stafford">Stafford</a> <li>Cheddleton Flint Mill, watermill <li><a href="Watermill">Watermill</a> housing Brindley Water Museum, <a href="Leek, Staffordshire">Leek</a>  <li>Izaak Walton Cottage Museum <li><a href="Weston Park">Weston Park</a> <li><a href="Cannock Chase">Cannock Chase</a> <li>Hazel Slade Reserve <li><a href="RSPB Coombes Valley">RSPB Coombes Valley</a> <li><a href="National Memorial Arboretum">National Memorial Arboretum</a> <font color=#700070></font> <li><a href="Trentham Gardens">Trentham Gardens</a> <li><a href="Rudyard Lake">Rudyard Lake</a> <li><a href="Tittesworth reservoir">Tittesworth reservoir</a> <font color=#700070></font> <li><a href="Chasewater">Chasewater</a> <font color=#700070></font> <li><a href="River Trent">River Trent</a> <li><a href="River Blythe">River Blythe</a> <li><a href="River Churnet">River Churnet</a> <li><a href="Birmingham and Fazeley Canal">Birmingham and Fazeley Canal</a> <li><a href="Caldon Canal">Caldon Canal</a> <li><a href="Coventry Canal">Coventry Canal</a> <li><a href="Shropshire Union Canal">Shropshire Union Canal</a> <li><a href="Trent and Mersey Canal">Trent and Mersey Canal</a>, <a href="Harecastle Tunnel">Harecastle Tunnel</a> <li><a href="Heritage railway">Heritage railways</a>: <a href="Chasewater Railway">Chasewater Railway</a>, <a href="Foxfield Steam Railway">Foxfield Steam Railway</a>, Manifold Valley Railway <li><a href="Long-distance trail">Long distance footpaths</a>: <a href="Heart of England Way">Heart of England Way</a>, Staffordshire Way </ul><h2 style="margin: 0; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaaaaa; font-size: 150%;">Local Groups</h2><ul> <li><a href="West Midland Bird Club">West Midland Bird Club</a> <li><a href="Lichfield Cricket Club">Lichfield Cricket Club</a> </ul><h2 style="margin: 0; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaaaaa; font-size: 150%;">See also</h2><ul> <li><a href="Stafford">The Stafford knot</a> - as on the coat of arms above </ul><h2 style="margin: 0; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaaaaa; font-size: 150%;">External links</h2><ul> <li><font color=#700070> Staffordshire Past Track</font> - excellent historical archive about the county </ul><p><p><table style="margin:0 auto;"><tr><td align=center><b><a href="Districts of England">Districts of England</a> - <a href="West Midlands (region)">West Midlands</a></b> </td><td>[image]</td></tr><tr><td align=center> <small> <a href="Birmingham">Birmingham</a> | <a href="Bridgnorth (district)">Bridgnorth</a> |  <a href="Bromsgrove (district)">Bromsgrove</a>  | <a href="Cannock Chase (district)">Cannock Chase</a> |  <a href="Coventry">Coventry</a> |   <a href="Metropolitan Borough of Dudley">Dudley</a> |   <a href="East Staffordshire">East Staffordshire</a> |  <a href="Herefordshire">Herefordshire</a> | <a href="Lichfield (district)">Lichfield</a> |  <a href="Malvern Hills (district)">Malvern Hills</a> |  <a href="Newcastle-under-Lyme (borough)">Newcastle-under-Lyme</a> |  <a href="North Shropshire">North Shropshire</a> |  <a href="North Warwickshire">North Warwickshire</a> |  <a href="Nuneaton and Bedworth">Nuneaton and Bedworth</a> |  <a href="Oswestry (borough)">Oswestry</a> |  <a href="Redditch">Redditch</a> |  <a href="Rugby (borough)">Rugby</a> |  <a href="Sandwell">Sandwell</a> |  <a href="Shrewsbury and Atcham">Shrewsbury and Atcham</a> |  <a href="Metropolitan Borough of Solihull">Solihull</a> |  <a href="South Shropshire">South Shropshire</a> |  <a href="South Staffordshire">South Staffordshire</a> |  <a href="Stafford (borough)">Stafford</a> |  <a href="Staffordshire Moorlands">Staffordshire Moorlands</a> |  <a href="Stoke-on-Trent">Stoke-on-Trent</a> |  <a href="Stratford-on-Avon (district)">Stratford-on-Avon</a> |  <a href="Tamworth">Tamworth</a> |  <a href="Telford and Wrekin">Telford and Wrekin</a> |  <a href="Metropolitan Borough of Walsall">Walsall</a> |  <a href="Warwick (district)">Warwick</a> |  <a href="Wolverhampton">Wolverhampton</a> |  <a href="Worcester">Worcester</a>  |  <a href="Wychavon">Wychavon</a> | <a href="Wyre Forest">Wyre Forest</a> </small></td></tr><tr><td align=center> <p>  <i><a href="Administrative counties of England">Administrative Counties</a> with multiple districts: <a href="Shropshire">Shropshire</a>, Staffordshire, <a href="Warwickshire">Warwickshire</a>, <a href="West Midlands (county)">West Midlands</a>, <a href="Worcestershire">Worcestershire</a></i></td></tr></table><p><table style="margin: 0 auto; 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