Staffordshire

Staffordshire, administrative, geographic, and historic county in the Midlands of west-central England. It extends north from the West Midlands metropolitan county (centred on Birmingham) and is bordered by Shropshire to the west, Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire to the northeast, Warwickshire to the southeast, and Worcestershire to the southwest. Stafford is the county seat.

The administrative, geographic, and historic counties occupy somewhat different areas. The administrative county comprises eight districts: Cannock Chase, Lichfield, South Staffordshire, Staffordshire Moorlands, and the boroughs of East Staffordshire, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Stafford, and Tamworth. The geographic county includes the entire administrative county and the unitary authority of Stoke-on-Trent.

The historic county encompasses all of the geographic county except three small areas: in East Staffordshire borough, an area east of the River Dove at Rocester and the part of Burton upon Trent east of the River Trent both belong to the historic county of Derbyshire; and in Tamworth borough, the area east of the River Tame and south of the River Anker belongs to the historic county of Warwickshire. However, the historic county of Staffordshire extends beyond the geographic county to encompass much of the West Midlands area, including the metropolitan boroughs of Wolverhampton and Walsall and parts of the metropolitan boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, and Birmingham.

The geographic county lies across the upper reaches of the River Trent, England’s third longest river, which rises on Biddulph Moor near the Cheshire border and then flows southeastward across the county before turning northeastward to form the boundary with Derbyshire for several miles. From north to south the county can be divided into five physical regions. The northern moorlands, composed of grit and limestone, form the southern tip of the Pennines, the upland “spine” of northern England. Immediately to their south lie the northern Staffordshire coalfields, consisting of sandstones, clays, and shales interspersed with coal seams—the region better known as the Potteries. The central agricultural belt, including the town of Stafford, is an area of sandstones and marls. Southeast of that undulating countryside, pebble strata underlie the barren heathland known as Cannock Chase. That area, formerly a royal forest, reaches elevations of 600 to 700 feet (180 to 200 metres). An arm of the geographic county of Staffordshire extends south of Cannock Chase and west of the metropolitan county of West Midlands into the headwaters of the River Stour, a tributary of the River Severn. That last area combines rich agricultural land with suburban development.

Traces of Neolithic (New Stone Age) and Bronze Age settlements remain, especially in the northeast, where there are long, low Neolithic burial mounds. Notable Iron Age hill forts include Castle Ring on Cannock Chase and Bury Ring near Stafford. The Romans built roads through the forests that covered the historic county, including what are now Watling Street and Ryknield Street, intersecting near Lichfield. Roman settlements developed along those roads, including Letocetum (near Wall; at their intersection) and Pennocrucium (near Penkridge). From the 7th until the 9th century the area was the centre of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia. Tamworth was the kingdom’s political capital, and Lichfield became its religious centre. At the end of the 9th century the Danes ravaged the area, and throughout the 10th and much of the 11th century the county was the scene of considerable fighting, including a rebellion against William I the Conqueror. Domesday Book (1086) recorded a sparsely populated and poor area. During the Reformation Staffordshire was a bastion of support for Roman Catholicism.

The county’s later history is largely that of its main industries. Beginning in the 13th century, coal and iron were mined on the upper River Trent and around Cannock Chase, but they did not achieve real importance until the late 18th century. The long-established pottery industry of northern Staffordshire also became renowned during the 18th century, particularly through the entrepreneurial efforts of Josiah Wedgwood. The brewing industry of Burton upon Trent acquired similar recognition in the 19th century. A growing network of canals and railways further promoted the county’s industries. By the mid-19th century the Black Country and nearby Birmingham—in the present-day metropolitan county of West Midlands—had become a major industrial area, with numerous coal mines and steel mills, but by the end of the 20th century coal mining had ceased.

Most of the geographic county of Staffordshire is still agricultural, and dairy farming is particularly important. Arable farming produces mainly fodder crops, except in the extreme south and around Tamworth and Lichfield, where market gardening predominates. The Forestry Commission has planted conifers on large areas of Cannock Chase. The Chase and the Pennines uplands, in Peak District National Park, are recreational centres for the urban population of the West Midlands. The most important industrial area in the geographic county is the metalworking and engineering district around the city and unitary authority of Stoke-on-Trent, whose pottery and glass industries also remain important. Most towns in the administrative county have also attracted some industry: Stafford has light engineering and shoe manufacture, Leek produces silk and rayon, and Burton upon Trent remains famous for its beer. The University of Keele is in the borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme. Area administrative county, 1,012 square miles (2,620 square km); geographic county, 1,047 square miles (2,713 square km). Pop. (2001) administrative county, 806,744; geographic county, 1,047,380; (2011) administrative county, 848,489; geographic county, 1,097,497.