Portal:Staffordshire

The Staffordshire Portal

Introduction

Staffordshire (/ˈstæfərdʃɪər, -ʃər/; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a 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.

The county has an area of 1,713 square kilometres (661 sq mi) and a population of 1,131,052. Stoke-on-Trent is located in the north, with the town of Newcastle-under-Lyme immediately to the west. Stafford is in the centre of the county, Burton upon Trent in the east, and Tamworth and the city of Lichfield in the south-east. 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. The Cannock Chase AONB and parts of the National Forest and Kinver Edge 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. (Full article...)

Selected article -

Official portrait c. 1914

Sir Joseph Cook (7 December 1860 – 30 July 1947) was an Australian politician and trade unionist who served as the sixth prime minister of Australia from 1913 to 1914. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party, having previously been leader of the Anti-Socialist Party from 1908 to 1909. His victory at the 1913 election marked the first time that a centre-right party had won a majority at an Australian federal election.

Cook was born in Silverdale, Staffordshire, England, and began working in the local coal mines at the age of nine. He emigrated to Australia in 1885, settling in Lithgow, New South Wales. He continued to work as a miner, becoming involved with the local labour movement as a union official. In 1891, Cook was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly as a representative of the Labor Party, becoming one of its first members of parliament. He was elected party leader in 1893, but the following year left Labor due to a disagreement over party discipline. He was then invited to become a government minister under George Reid, and joined Reid's Free Trade Party. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

Topics

Towns & Districts	• STAFFORDSHIRE \| PLACES \| CIVIL PARISHES \| Cannock Chase \| East Staffordshire \| Lichfield \| Newcastle-under-Lyme \| South Staffordshire \| Stafford \| Staffordshire Moorlands \| Tamworth
History	• HISTORY \| Staffordshire Hoard \| Tamworth Castle \| Stafford Castle \|Tutbury Castle \|Chartley Castle \| MILITARY HISTORY \| Battle of Hopton Heath \| South Staffordshire Regiment North Staffordshire Regiment \| Staffordshire Yeomanry
Sights	• PLACES OF INTEREST \| Drayton Manor Theme Park \| Alton Towers \| Rudyard Lake Steam Railway \| CASTLES & HISTORIC HOUSES \| Ancient High House \| Barlaston Hall \| Barlaston Hall \| Barlaston Hall \| Tixall Gatehouse \| Alton Castle \| Blithfield Hall \| Wootton Lodge \| Erasmus Darwin House \| Hospital of St John Baptist without the Barrs \| Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum \| Ford Green Hall \| Himley Hall \| GRADE I LISTED BUILDINGS \| *GRADE II LISTED BUILDINGS** \| Grade II* listed buildings in Cannock Chase (district) \| Grade II* listed buildings in Cannock Chase (district) \| Grade II* listed buildings in East Staffordshire \| Grade II* listed buildings in Lichfield (district) \| Grade II* listed buildings in Newcastle-under-Lyme (borough) \| Grade II* listed buildings in South Staffordshire \| Grade II* listed buildings in Stafford (borough) \| Grade II* listed buildings in Staffordshire Moorlands \| Grade II* listed buildings in Stoke-on-Trent \| Grade II* listed buildings in Tamworth (borough)
Sport & Recreation	• SPORTING TEAMS \| Stoke City F.C. \| Port Vale F.C. \| SPORTING VENUES \| Britannia Stadium \| Victoria Ground \| Vale Park \| SPORTING EVENTS \| Potteries derby \| RECREATION \| Scouting
Transport	• CANALS \| Caldon Canal \| Bridgewater Canal \|Trent and Mersey Canal \| Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal \| Hatherton Canal \| Lichfield Canal \| Shropshire Union Canal \| Sir Nigel Gresley's Canal \| Stourbridge Extension Canal \| Birmingham and Fazeley Canal \| RAIL \| Stoke-on-Trent railway station \| Lichfield City railway station \| Stafford railway station \| West Coast Main Line \| ROADS \| M6 \| M6 Toll \| M54 \| M64 \| A50 \| A34
Education & Services	• SCHOOLS \| List of schools in Stoke-on-Trent \| UNIVERSITIES \| Keele University \| Staffordshire University \| SERVICES \| Fire and Rescue \| Police \| Severn Trent
Culture & Media	• LITERATURE \| Arnold Bennett \| Anna of the Five Towns \| Clayhanger \| THEATRE \| Regent Theatre \| New Vic Theatre \| Lichfield Garrick Theatre \| NEWSPAPERS \| The Sentinel \| Burton Mail \| RADIO \| BBC Radio Stoke \| Signal 1 \| Signal 2 \| Stafford FM \| Windmill Broadcasting \| 6 Towns Radio
Religion	• RELIGION \| Grade I listed churches in Staffordshire \| Bishop of Lichfield \| Lichfield Cathedral \| Diocese of Lichfield \| Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham

Selected image

Keele Hall, a former stately home on the outskirts of Newcastle-under-Lyme was bought by the Keele University in 1948. In the early 20th century, the exiled Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich of Russia lived in the hall.

General images -

The following are images from various Staffordshire-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1A diagram of local railway services in Stoke-on-Trent (from Stoke-on-Trent)
Image 2Former City Central Library & Archives, Bethesda Street, Hanley (from Stoke-on-Trent)
Image 3The Golden sculpture, March 2017 (from Stoke-on-Trent)
Image 4Shire Hall and Market Square (from Stafford)
Image 5Miss Elizabeth is a pleasure boat that travels the length of Trentham Lake, within Trentham Gardens (from Stoke-on-Trent)
Image 6A Staffordshire oatcake (from Stoke-on-Trent)
Image 7Man of Fire, a 1964 sculpture installed on the Lewis's store (later Debenhams), in Hanley (from Stoke-on-Trent)
Image 8Statue of Josiah Wedgwood by Edward Davis unveiled at its present location in 1863 (from Stoke-on-Trent)
Image 9Stafford Crown Court (from Stafford)
Image 10Lemmy, born in Burslem (from Stoke-on-Trent)
Image 11Terraced housing is a common feature in the city (from Stoke-on-Trent)
Image 12Looking southeast over the Roaches and Hen Cloud (from Staffordshire Moorlands)
Image 13Vale Park, home of Port Vale. Completed in 1950, at the time of its construction it was nicknamed 'The Wembley of the North'. (from Stoke-on-Trent)
Image 14A Man Can't Fly sculpture (from Stoke-on-Trent)
Image 15Cheadle, the district's third largest town. (from Staffordshire Moorlands)
Image 16Stoke-upon-Trent Town Hall (from Stoke-on-Trent)
Image 17View from Stafford Castle (from Stafford)
Image 18Stafford Knot (from Stafford)
Image 19Arnold Bennett, raised in Hanley (from Stoke-on-Trent)
Image 20Stafford railway station (from Stafford)
Image 21Leek, the district's largest town and administrative headquarters. (from Staffordshire Moorlands)
Image 22The author Izaak Walton was born in Stafford. Portrait by Jacob Huysmans (from Stafford)
Image 23Moors located within the district (from Staffordshire Moorlands)
Image 24The Stoke campus of the University of Staffordshire (from Stoke-on-Trent)
Image 25Potteries Museum & Art Gallery (from Stoke-on-Trent)
Image 26Royal Stoke University Hospital (from Stoke-on-Trent)
Image 27Chatterley Whitfield Colliery (from Stoke-on-Trent)
Image 28Hundreds of Staffordshire (with North to the right) (from History of Staffordshire)
Image 29Victoria Park, Stafford (from Stafford)
Image 30Stafford Hospital (from Stafford)
Image 31Restored bottle kilns, Stoke-on-Trent (from Stoke-on-Trent)
Image 32Burslem School of Art (from Stoke-on-Trent)
Image 33Map of Stafford (from Stafford)
Image 34Porcelain teapot by Henry and Richard Daniel, 1830 (from Stoke-on-Trent)
Image 35Perseus with the Head of Medusa sculpture by Benvenuto Cellini at Trentham Gardens (from Stoke-on-Trent)
Image 36Hugh Bourne, founder of Primitive Methodism (from Stoke-on-Trent)
Image 37Stoke City's bet365 Stadium, opened in 1997, has a 30,089 capacity. (from Stoke-on-Trent)
Image 38Stafford Castle (from Stafford)
Image 39Stoke-on-Trent railway station, built in 1848 (from Stoke-on-Trent)
Image 40County Buildings, Martin Street (from Stafford)
Image 41Ancient High House (from Stafford)
Image 42Biddulph Grange in Biddulph, the district's second largest town. (from Staffordshire Moorlands)
Image 43The canal on New Leek Road (from Stoke-on-Trent)
Image 44The A50, close to Longton (from Stoke-on-Trent)
Image 45Tunstall Tower Square (from Stoke-on-Trent)
Image 46Arnold Bennett Statue Hanley, located on the approach to Potteries Museum and Art Gallery (from Stoke-on-Trent)
Image 47Town Twinning sign on Eccleshall Road (from Stafford)
Image 48Colorado Bouillons Regina and teapots, vitrified tableware by Dudson Brothers Ltd. (from Stoke-on-Trent)
Image 49Flag of Staffordshire (from History of Staffordshire)
Image 50St Chad's Church, Stafford (from Stafford)
Image 51"CAPO" Modernist Sculpture depicting the head of Josiah Wedgwood by Vincent Woropay, © Eirian Evans via Geograph (from Stoke-on-Trent)
Image 52Colclough China Longton, a factory typical of the mid-20th century (from Stoke-on-Trent)
Image 53Map of Stafford by John Speed circa 1611 (from Stafford)
Image 54Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent city centre (from Stoke-on-Trent)
Image 55Stafford CC versus the MCC in their centenary year, 1964 (from Stafford)

Interesting facts

Did you know...

... that British police officer Suzette Davenport was responsible for crime in Staffordshire and intelligence in the West Midlands?
... that George Speake sees an "eyeless, open-jawed serpent" on the Staffordshire helmet?
... that according to historian Rev. H B Kendall, five Camp Meetings which led to the establishment of Primitive Methodism as a denomination in 1811 were held in Ramsor in Staffordshire?
... that Bethesda Methodist Chapel in Hanley, Staffordshire, now redundant, has been known as the "Cathedral of the Potteries"?