117-594: Armitage is a village in Staffordshire , England on the south side of the Trent and Mersey Canal south just outside of the market town of Rugeley and north of the city of Lichfield , and noteworthy for the Armitage Shanks sanitary porcelain factory. With the adjacent village of Handsacre , it forms the parish of Armitage with Handsacre . The area of Armitage with Handsacre had a population of 5,335 at
234-510: A county corporate or "county of itself". For most practical purposes this separate status was replaced in the late 19th century when county boroughs were introduced. Bristol developed as a major port in the medieval period, straddling both sides of the River Avon which formed the ancient boundary between Gloucestershire and Somerset . In 1373 Edward III decreed …that the said town of Bristol with its suburbs and their precinct, as
351-471: A county corporate , meaning it was administered separately from the rest of Staffordshire, remaining so until 1888. Handsworth and Perry Barr became part of the county borough of Birmingham , and thus Warwickshire , in 1911 and 1928 respectively. Burton, in the east of the county, became a county borough in 1901, and was followed by Smethwick , another town in the Black Country in 1907. In 1910
468-411: A county day in which the culture and history of the historic county is celebrated; many of these county days were created in the 21st century. A direct action group, CountyWatch , was formed in 2004 to remove what its members consider to be wrongly placed county boundary signs that do not mark the historic or traditional county boundaries of England and Wales . They have removed, resorted or erected
585-406: A culvert tunnel, dividing the hall down the middle between the two counties – a division reflected in its architecture. The 1888 Act ensured that every urban sanitary district would be considered to be part of a single county. This principle was maintained in the 20th century: when county boroughs such as Birmingham , Manchester , Reading and Sheffield expanded into neighbouring counties,
702-487: A detached part of Worcestershire, expanded and became associated with Staffordshire instead. This reorganisation led to the administrative county of Staffordshire having a thin protrusion passing between the county boroughs (to the east) and Shropshire, to the west, to form a short border with Worcestershire. Under the Local Government Act 1972 , on 1 April 1974, the county boroughs of the Black Country and
819-439: A basis for social, sporting and cultural activities. The Campaign for Historic Counties is dedicated to campaigning, both in the public arena and among parliamentarians, for the restoration of historic counties. Their objectives are: In 2013, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Eric Pickles formally recognised and acknowledged the continued existence of England's 39 historic counties. On 23 April 2014
936-417: A county with a "-shire" suffix which is not named after a town and whose correct formation is "County of Berks". The "-shire" suffix was also appended for some counties, such as "Devonshire", "Dorsetshire" and "Somersetshire", despite their origin. For instance, there has been an Earl of Devonshire since 1603, and Duke of Devonshire since 1694. Great Britain was first divided into administrative areas by
1053-511: A daily basis. Historic counties of England The historic counties of England are areas that were established for administration by the Normans , in many cases based on earlier kingdoms and shires created by the Angles , Saxons , Jutes , Celts and others. They are alternatively known as ancient counties , traditional counties , former counties or simply as counties . In
1170-590: A factory and the UK headquarters of Bostikon Common Road, in the north of the town. Numark Pharmacy is at Tamworth . Bristan based in Dordon and Baddesley Ensor on the Birch Coppice Business Park south-west of Tamworth, next to a new Ocado distribution centre, is the UK's largest supplier of kitchen and bathroom taps; Volkswagen Group (VAG UK) have their main UK distribution facility there,
1287-634: A major local government reform took place under the Local Government Act 1972 . The Act abolished administrative counties and county boroughs, and divided England (except Greater London and the Isles of Scilly) into counties. These were of two types: "metropolitan" and "non-metropolitan" counties. Apart from local government, the new counties were "substituted for counties of any other description" for judicial, shrievalty, lieutenancy and other purposes. Several counties, such as Cumberland , Herefordshire , Rutland , Westmorland and Worcestershire , vanished from
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#17327724151571404-664: A native of Stoke-on-Trent, at a public gathering in the village of Mow Cop . He originally followed the Wesleyan form of Methodism but in 1801 he reformed the Methodist service by conducting it outside. By 1811 with his brother he founded the first chapel in the Tunstall area of Stoke-on-Trent. The most popular synagogue in the county is on London Road in Newcastle-Under-Lyme , which opened in 2006 and replaced
1521-550: A new initiative was announced to support the 'tapestry' of traditional English counties, including the removal of a restriction preventing the names of traditional counties being displayed on street and road signs. In August 2014, the first road sign was erected to mark the boundary of the historic county of Yorkshire. The Government is also publishing a new online interactive map of England's county boundaries. The Government has previously changed rules to allow local and county flags to be flown without planning permission, and supported
1638-582: A new office of High Sheriff of Middlesex appointed in the same manner as other English and Welsh counties, created the County of London with its own high sheriff, and restricted the jurisdiction of the sheriffs of London to the City. During the Middle Ages a number of other large cities and towns were granted the status of self-governing counties separate from adjacent counties. Such a county became known as
1755-496: A number of changes came into effect. The new administrative area of Greater London was created, resulting in the abolition of the administrative counties of London and Middlesex, at the same time taking in areas from surrounding counties. On the same date the new counties of Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely and of Huntingdon and Peterborough were formed by the merger of pairs of administrative counties. The new areas were also adopted for lieutenancy and shrievalty purposes. In 1974
1872-477: A number of what they claim to be "wrongly sited" county boundary signs in various parts of England. For instance, in Lancashire 30 signs were removed. CountyWatch has been criticised for such actions by the councils that erected the signs: Lancashire County Council pointed out that the taxpayers would have to pay for the signs to be re-erected. The only political party with a manifesto commitment to restore
1989-436: A population of 1,131,052. After Stoke-on-Trent (258,366), the largest settlements are Tamworth (78,646), Newcastle-under-Lyme (75,082), Burton upon Trent (72,299) and Stafford (71,673); the city of Lichfield has a population of 33,816. 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
2106-460: A public consultation in 2009 Postcomm found that many respondents objected to the use of counties in the alias file. In May 2010 Postcomm announced that it was encouraging Royal Mail to discontinue the use of counties in its alias file at the earliest opportunity. However, because some existing software included the use of counties, Royal Mail was advised not to implement the change before 2013. The historic counties of England continue to be used as
2223-628: A salaried county surveyor was to be appointed. By the 1880s it was being suggested that it would be more efficient if a wider variety of functions were provided on a county-wide basis. Some of the counties had major subdivisions. Of these, the most significant were the divisions of Yorkshire: the East Riding , West Riding , North Riding and the ainsty of York. Since Yorkshire was so large, its ridings became established as geographical terms quite apart from their original role as administrative divisions. The second largest county, Lincolnshire ,
2340-826: A unitary authority independent of Staffordshire once more. In July 2009, the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold ever found in Britain was discovered in a field near Lichfield. The artefacts, known as The Staffordshire Hoard , have tentatively been dated to the 7th or 8th centuries, placing the origin of the items in the time of the Kingdom of Mercia . Staffordshire has a completely comprehensive system with eight independent schools. Most secondary schools are from 11 to 16 or 18, but two in Staffordshire Moorlands and South Staffordshire are from 13 to 18. Resources are shared where appropriate. There are two universities in
2457-419: Is a NUTS 3 region (code UKG22). Staffordshire operates a cabinet-style council . There are 62 councillors for Staffordshire. The Full Council elects a cabinet of 10 councillors, including the council leader, from the majority party. Each cabinet member has their own portfolio about which they make the "day to day" decisions. Some settlements were formerly governed as part of the county, these are now under
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#17327724151572574-515: Is a landlocked 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 , and the county town is Stafford . The county has an area of 1,713 square kilometres (661 sq mi) and
2691-569: Is covered by the archdeaconries of Stoke-upon-Trent and Lichfield . The current Bishop of Lichfield is Michael Ipgrave and the current Bishop of Stafford Geoff Annas . There are 298 Church of England churches in the county. Staffordshire is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham . The current archbishop is Bernard Longley . Primitive Methodism was founded in Staffordshire by Hugh Bourne ,
2808-600: Is followed by Irish, making up 0.6%. Non-White citizens make up 2% of the population. The largest Non-White ethnic group are British Pakistanis . 94% of the population was born in England, and those born in Scotland and Wales together make up 1% of the total population. The brewing companies such as Coors Brewers are in Burton on Trent , as well as Marmite , Marston's Brewery , GNC UK ( health supplements ). Branston
2925-700: Is in Tamworth and the motorway heads southwest towards Birmingham. The M6 runs north–south through the county, which contains junctions 10A–16. The M6 Toll , the UK's first toll motorway , runs through the county with junctions in Weeford near Lichfield, Cannock and joins the M6 south of Stafford. The A5 and A34 run through the county. The former has been significantly widened to a dual carriageway at several sections, although much of it remains single carriageway. There are currently no airports with scheduled flights in
3042-543: Is represented in Minor counties cricket by Staffordshire County Cricket Club who have played in the Minor Counties Championship since 1895, a competition which it has won outright eleven times, making it the most successful Minor counties team. Famous international cricketers produced by the county include Sydney Barnes , Bob Taylor and Dominic Cork , all of whom went on to represent England . In
3159-588: Is served by long-distance CrossCountry and Avanti West Coast trains to Manchester. This station is also the terminus of the North Staffordshire line to Derby via Uttoxeter, which narrowly avoided closure in the 1960s. Stone railway station reopened in 2008. The county has relatively good links to the national roads network. Several major roads intersect the county, making it a popular location for commuters working in Birmingham. The M42 junction 10
3276-589: Is situated at Festival Park in Etruria , and is Stoke-on-Trent's largest private sector employer. Dechra Pharmaceuticals makes veterinary pharmaceuticals at Talke . Churchill China is at Sandyford near Tunstall . Sumitomo Electrical Wiring Systems (Europe) , which supplies wiring for the automotive industry, is at Silverdale . At Kidsgrove , Converteam make variable speed drives (VSDs); AAH Pharmaceuticals has its Enterprise and Trident divisions in Talke , in
3393-825: Is the original home of Branston Pickle , where the original factory can still be seen on Burton Road. Spirit Pub Company is near the A5121/A38 junction, with Punch Taverns slightly further north. Newell Rubbermaid UK (owner of Parker Pen , Berol , Paper Mate and DYMO ), a large RDC of Tesco, and Zytek (motorsport) is at Fradley Park, on an old airfield . Norgren was an international pneumatic technology company on Eastern Avenue, Lichfield. Michelin Tyres are made at Sideway in Stoke-on-Trent. Royal Doulton and Wedgwood were/are based at Burslem and Barlaston respectively. Portmeirion Pottery , which owns
3510-602: The Aldridge-Brownhills Urban District of Staffordshire became, along with Birmingham, Solihull, and Coventry and other districts, a new metropolitan county of West Midlands. County boroughs were abolished, with Stoke becoming a non-metropolitan district in Staffordshire, and Burton forming an unparished area in the district of East Staffordshire . On 1 April 1997, under a recommendation of the Banham Commission , Stoke-on-Trent became
3627-768: The Britannia Building Society which is based in Leek . JCB is based in Rocester near Uttoxeter and Bet365 which is based in Stoke-on-Trent. The theme park Alton Towers is in the Staffordshire Moorlands and several of the world's largest pottery manufacturers are based in Stoke-on-Trent. The town of Burton upon Trent is known for its beer brewing industry with several major brands such as Carling , Cobra and Marston's brewed there. The ceremonial county of Staffordshire (including
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3744-614: The British Army linked the recruiting areas of infantry regiments to the counties. Each English county sent two Knights of the Shire to the House of Commons (in addition to the burgesses sent by boroughs). Yorkshire gained two members in 1821 when Grampound was disenfranchised. The Great Reform Act of 1832 reapportioned members throughout the counties, many of which were also split into parliamentary divisions. Constituencies based on
3861-531: The Flag Institute in encouraging a new wave of county and community flags to be designed and flown by local communities. The flags of England's historic counties have been flown from Government offices in support of these identities. All 39 counties have registered flags, with the flag of Leicestershire the last to be adopted. In July 2019 the UK Government published official guidance on Celebrating
3978-575: The Friends of Real Lancashire and the Yorkshire Ridings Society , promotes the historic counties. It states that the "...ABC contends that Britain needs a fixed popular geography, one divorced from the ever changing names and areas of local government...The ABC, therefore, seeks to fully re-establish the use of the historic counties as the standard popular geographical reference frame of Britain and to further encourage their use as
4095-554: The Furness portion of Lancashire remained separated from the rest of Lancashire by a narrow strip of Westmorland — though it was accessible by way of the Morecambe Bay tidal flats . When the first county councils were set up in 1889, they covered newly created entities known as administrative counties . Several historic subdivisions with separate county administrations were also created administrative counties, particularly
4212-520: The Kingdom of England was united as a whole in 927 it became necessary to subdivide it for administrative convenience and to this end, earldoms were created out of the earlier kingdoms, which were in turn subdivided into shires. The whole kingdom was divided into shires by the time of the Norman conquest . Robert of Gloucester accounts for thirty-five shires and William of Malmesbury thirty-two, Henry of Huntingdon, thirty-seven. In Anglo-Saxon times
4329-520: The Kingdom of Kent , Surrey from the Anglian word for 'southern region', and Essex , Sussex and Middlesex come from the East Saxons , South Saxons and Middle Saxons . Norfolk and Suffolk were subdivisions representing the "North Folk" and "South Folk" of the Kingdom of East Anglia . Only one county on the south coast of England now usually takes the suffix "-shire": Hampshire , named after
4446-693: The Laws in Wales Act 1535 . It was then added to the Oxford circuit of the English Assizes. For legal purposes it was regarded as part of England, but Laws since the late 19th century were often applied to " Wales and Monmouthshire ". It was listed among the English counties for parliamentary purposes until 1950 and for local government until 1974, but the Local Government Act 1972 unambiguously included
4563-584: The Local Government Act 1888 covering the county, except for the county boroughs of Wolverhampton , Walsall , and West Bromwich in the south (the area known as the Black Country ), and Hanley in the north. The Act also saw the towns of Tamworth (partly in Warwickshire) and Burton upon Trent (partly in Derbyshire) united entirely in Staffordshire. In 1553, Queen Mary made Lichfield
4680-550: The Local Government Commission for England , led to the creation of an area of contiguous county boroughs. The County Borough of Warley was formed by the merger of the county borough of Smethwick and municipal borough of Rowley Regis with the Worcestershire borough of Oldbury : the resulting county borough was associated with Worcestershire. Meanwhile, the county borough of Dudley , historically
4797-603: The London post town. It is common for people to speak of " Uxbridge , Middlesex", " Dagenham , Essex" or " Bromley , Kent" (which are outside the London postal district), but much less so to speak of " Brixton , Surrey", " Greenwich , Kent", or " West Ham , Essex" (which are inside it). In 1996, following further local government reform and the modernisation of its sorting equipment, the Royal Mail ceased to use counties at all in
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4914-498: The March of Wales , which after the Norman conquest had been administered by Marcher Lords largely independently of the English monarch, were incorporated into the English counties of Shropshire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire in 1535. There was historic ambiguity as to the status of the county of Monmouthshire . As with other Marcher areas added to existing counties, it was created out of "the said Country or Dominion of Wales" by
5031-479: The Norman -derived word for its county town Shrewsbury ; "Oxon" for Oxfordshire , from Latin Oxonia (referring to both the county and the city of Oxford ); "Hants" for Hampshire ; and "Northants" for Northamptonshire . Counties can be prefixed with "County of" in official contexts with any "-shire" suffix dropped, such as "County of Kent" or "County of York". There is similar usage in the single case of Berkshire,
5148-687: The Old French ermitage , from a tradition that a hermit lived between the church and the River Trent . It does not appear in the Domesday Book , although Handsacre does. Armitage is now part of Armitage with Handsacre , although this is due to growth—historically they were once separate villages. It lies close to Hill Ridware along with the Hamstall Ridware , Mavesyn Ridware , Pipe Ridware and Longdon . It lies close to
5265-567: The Royal Worcester brand, is in Stoke. Steelite International (pottery) is based at Middleport , in west Burslem, next to the Trent and Mersey Canal . Wade Ceramics is at Etruria to the east of Wolstanton, near the HQ of The Sentinel newspaper ( Harmsworth Printing ). Premier Foods make Mr Kipling slices and Cherry Bakewells at Trent Vale in the south of Stoke-on-Trent. Bet365
5382-501: The West Midlands , and were first drawn up from the 1950s. All the county's districts contain some portion of belt. According to the 2001 Census the population of the Non-metropolitan Staffordshire is 806,744 and the population of Stoke-on-Trent was 240,636 making a total population of 1,047,380. In non-metropolitan Staffordshire, White British is the largest ethnicity, making up 96% of the population. This
5499-498: The assizes and quarter sessions . Later earldoms were created that were not named after a shire, particularly from the 17th century onwards, but by that time the title of earl was honorary, with no effective role in local administration. Although all of England was divided into shires by the time of the Norman conquest, some counties were formed later, such as Lancashire in the 12th century. Perhaps because of their differing origins
5616-503: The earl and sheriff were jointly responsible for administering each shire through its shire court . Each earl was responsible for multiple shires, with some fluctuation in which shires belonged to which earldoms during this period. In the years following the Norman conquest of 1066 the large earldoms of the Anglo-Saxon era were gradually replaced by smaller earldoms corresponding to a single shire. The Norman French term for an earl
5733-519: The 1540s the office of Lord Lieutenant was instituted. The lieutenants had a military role, previously exercised by the sheriffs, and were made responsible for raising and organising the militia in each county. The lieutenancies were subsequently given responsibility for the Volunteer Force . In 1871 the lieutenants lost their positions as heads of the militia, and their office became largely ceremonial. The Cardwell and Childers Reforms of
5850-529: The 2011 Census. Armitage has a variety of village amenities including a Londis , a fishing shop, a newspaper shop, and the Croft Primary School. Armitage is also the home of Armitage Shanks . Its parish church , St. John the Baptist church, is located at the north end of the village. The organ of St John the Baptist church is of particular interest due to its size, age and history. The organ
5967-414: The English counties started to take shape soon afterwards, with the Kingdom of Kent founded by settlers around 445. In southern England more widely, shires emerged from earlier sub-kingdoms as part of the administrative structure of Wessex , which then imposed its system of shires, boroughs (or burhs ) and ealdormen on Mercia after it came under West Saxon control during the 10th century. Once
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#17327724151576084-533: The English league, they finally reclaimed their top flight status in 2008 by securing promotion to the Premier League . Stoke City reached their first FA Cup final in 2011 , but lost 1–0 to Manchester City . Port Vale, who like Stoke City play in Stoke-on-Trent, were formed in 1876 and became members of the Football League in 1892. After more than 70 years at various stadiums around the city,
6201-497: The Historic Counties of England, stating that "the tapestry of England's historic counties is one of the bonds which draws our nation together". Sussex and Yorkshire , both historic counties and long abandoned as units for administrative purposes, have continued to be widely recognised as cultural regions, significant in sport and used by many organisations as regional units. These counties, and several others, have
6318-539: The Isle of Wight, the former kingdoms of the Jutes , "...shire" was not used. Counties ending in the suffix "-sex", the former Saxon kingdoms, are also in this category. Some of these names include compass directions. The third category includes counties such as Cornwall and Devon where the name corresponds to the tribes who inhabited the area. County Durham is anomalous in terms of naming and origin, not falling into any of
6435-542: The London urban area sprawls into Buckinghamshire and Berkshire. The Local Government Act 1972 sought generally to unite conurbations within a single county, while retaining the historic county boundaries as far as was practicable. In a period of financial crisis, the Post Office was able to alter many of its postal counties in accordance with the 1965 and 1974 reforms, but not all. The two major exceptions were Greater London and Greater Manchester . Greater London
6552-645: The North of England was left depopulated and was included in the returns for Cheshire and Yorkshire in the Domesday Book. However, there is some disagreement about the status of some of this land. The area in between the River Ribble and the River Mersey , referred to as "Inter Ripam et Mersam" in the Domesday Book, was included in the returns for Cheshire. Whether this meant that this land
6669-582: The Romans, most likely following major geographical features such as rivers. Before their arrival there were distinct tribal areas, but they were in a constant state of flux as territory was gained and lost. After the demise of Roman Britain around 410 these first divisions of land were generally abandoned, although traditional divisions taking the form of petty kingdoms such as Powys , Dumnonia and Elmet remained in those areas which remained British , such as south west England . The areas that would later form
6786-570: The Saxons in the 9th century. Devon and Cornwall were based on the pre-Saxon Celtic tribes known in Latin as the Dumnonii and Cornovii , in the latter case with the suffix wealas , meaning foreigners, added by the Saxons. When Wessex annexed Mercia in the 10th century, it subdivided the area into various shires of roughly equal size and tax-raising potential or hidage . These generally took
6903-454: The Shropshire boundary. Ornua , best known for the Kerrygold brand, have a large cheese production site in Leek on Sunnyhills Road. This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of the non-metropolitan county of Staffordshire at current basic prices by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British pounds sterling. Some nationally and internationally known companies have their base in Staffordshire. They include
7020-429: The West Midlands county: In the 2011 United Kingdom census , the population of Staffordshire reported their religion as follows: The only cathedral in the county is Lichfield Cathedral in the city of Lichfield. The Diocese of Lichfield covers the whole county with the exception of Stapenhill and Amington , the north of the nearby county of Shropshire and the Black Country area of the West Midlands . The county
7137-783: The administrative map, while new entities such as Avon , Cleveland , Cumbria and Humberside appeared, in addition to the six new metropolitan counties . The built-up areas of conurbations tend to cross historic county boundaries freely. Examples are Bournemouth – Poole – Christchurch ( Dorset and Hampshire ) Greater Manchester ( Cheshire , Derbyshire and Lancashire ), Merseyside (Cheshire and Lancashire), Teesside (Yorkshire and County Durham), South Yorkshire (Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire ), Tyneside (County Durham and Northumberland ) and West Midlands ( Staffordshire , Warwickshire and Worcestershire ). Greater London itself straddles five ancient counties — Essex , Hertfordshire , Kent, Middlesex , Surrey — and
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#17327724151577254-421: The ancient county boundaries remained in use until 1918. From the 16th century onwards the county was increasingly used as a unit of local government as the justices of the peace took on various administrative functions known as "county business". This was transacted at the quarter sessions , summoned four times a year by the lord lieutenant. By the 19th century the county magistrates were exercising powers over
7371-436: The area added became associated with the county borough's geographic county. However, this principle was not applied to Stockport or Cardiff , which remained divided, the latter even divided between Wales and England (from 1938 Cardiff included Rumney in the territory of the historic county of Monmouthshire , which was legally regarded as part of England until 1972 when it was instead assigned to Wales). On 1 April 1965,
7488-418: The area as part of Wales. A charter of Henry I in about 1130 gave the City of London its own Sheriff . The Sheriff of London also had jurisdiction over the county of Middlesex, so that "London and Middlesex were from that time regarded as one from an administrative point of view", although they retained their separate identities. This relationship continued until the Local Government Act 1888 created
7605-585: The area. At the 2001 census there were 7,658 Muslims in Stoke-on-Trent and 6,081 in the rest of Staffordshire, with a total of 13,739 making up 1.3% of the population. 62.9% (3823) of the Muslims in the rest of Staffordshire are from the town of Burton-upon-Trent. Staffordshire has an extensive network of canals including the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal , Caldon Canal , Coventry Canal , Shropshire Union Canal , Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal and Trent and Mersey Canal . Staffordshire has several railways that pass through and serve settlements within
7722-414: The basis for county cricket teams and the governance of cricket in England through the ECB County Boards . There are exceptions in that Rutland is integrated with Leicestershire; the Isle of Wight has its own board outside the Hampshire one; there is a board for the ceremonial county of Cumbria which is representative of both Cumberland and Westmorland. In addition, the ECB County Boards include one for
7839-434: The boroughs or cities of Lincoln (1409), Nottingham (1448), Lichfield (1556) and Worcester (1622) as counties. The County of the City of Coventry was separated from Warwickshire in 1451, and included an extensive area of countryside surrounding the city. Charters granting separate county status to the cities and boroughs of Chester (1238/9), York (1396), Newcastle upon Tyne (1400) and Kingston-upon-Hull (with
7956-444: The boundaries and political functions of all ancient counties, including Middlesex and Monmouthshire , is the English Democrats Party . By the late Middle Ages the county was being used as the basis of a number of functions. The Assize Courts used counties, or their major divisions, as a basis for their organisation. Justices of the peace originating in Norman times as Knights of the Peace, were appointed in each county. At
8073-438: The boundaries now exist, henceforward shall be separated and exempt in every way from the said counties of Gloucester and Somerset, on land and by water; that it shall be a county in itself and be called the county of Bristol for ever… Similar arrangements were later applied to Norwich (1404), Southampton (1447), Canterbury (1471), Gloucester (1483), Exeter (1537), and Poole (1571). Charters were granted constituting
8190-455: The centuries that followed their establishment, as well as their administrative function, the counties also helped define local culture and identity. This role continued even after the counties ceased to be used for administration after the creation of administrative counties in 1889, which were themselves amended by further local government reforms in the years following. Unlike the partly self-governing boroughs that covered urban areas,
8307-399: The churchyard of Stoke Minster . The county was formed in the early tenth century, when Stafford became the capital of Mercia . The county was relatively settled in the following centuries, and rapidly industrialised during the Industrial Revolution , when the North Staffordshire coalfield was exploited and fuelled the iron and automobilie industries in the south of the county. Pottery is
8424-434: The club has been less successful since the turn of the 21st century, and suffered relegation to League Two – the fourth tier of the English league – in 2008. The club has seen an upturn in its fortunes as the club was promoted to League One in the 2012–13 season. In the 2016–17 season Port Vale were relegated back to League Two. West Bromwich Albion , Wolverhampton Wanderers and Walsall are also notable clubs based in
8541-611: The club moved to its present home, Vale Park , in 1950. In early 1936, they had eliminated First Division champions Sunderland from the FA Cup. Another FA Cup success came in February 1988 when they eliminated seven-time winners Tottenham Hotspur from the competition . Promotion to the Second Division for the first time since the 1960s was secured in 1989, and Vale would spend nine of the next 11 years at this level. However,
8658-525: The counties varied considerably in size . The county boundaries were fairly static until the Local Government Act 1888 . Each shire was responsible for gathering taxes for the central government; for local defence; and for justice, through assize courts . In southern England the counties were mostly subdivisions of the Kingdom of Wessex , and in many areas represented annexed, previously independent, kingdoms or other tribal territories. Kent derives from
8775-405: The counties of medieval England existed primarily as a means of enforcing central government power, enabling monarchs to exercise control over local areas through their chosen representatives – originally sheriffs and later the lord-lieutenants – and their subordinate justices of the peace . Counties were used initially for the administration of justice , collection of taxes and organisation of
8892-500: The country of Wales. A review of the structure of local government in England by the Local Government Commission for England led to the restoration of the East Riding of Yorkshire , Herefordshire , Rutland and Worcestershire as administrative areas in the 1990s; the abolition of Avon, Cleveland and Humberside within 25 years of their creation; and the restoration of the traditional borders between Somerset and Gloucestershire (except at Bristol ), County Durham and Yorkshire (towards
9009-536: The county are once significant coalfields , including the South Staffordshire coalfield . 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. Staffordshire is home to the highest village in Britain, Flash . The village, in the Staffordshire Moorlands, stands at 1,519 ft (463 m) above sea level. This record
9126-400: The county's most famous export; a limited amount is still produced in Stoke-on-Trent. Historically, Staffordshire was divided into five hundreds : Cuttlestone , Offlow , Pirehill , Seisdon , and Totmonslow . The historic boundaries of Staffordshire cover much of what is now the metropolitan county of West Midlands . An administrative county of Staffordshire was set up in 1889 under
9243-465: The county, Keele University , west of Newcastle-under-Lyme , and the University of Staffordshire , which has campuses in Stoke-on-Trent, Stafford, London, Lichfield and Shrewsbury . The modern county of Staffordshire currently has three professional football clubs – Stoke City and Port Vale , both from Stoke-on-Trent, and Burton Albion , who play in Burton upon Trent . Stoke City, one of
9360-504: The county, with the nearest ones being Birmingham , East Midlands and Manchester . Depending on the location, there is, however, Wolverhampton Airport in Bobbington and Tatenhill Airfield near Burton-upon-Trent, both of which are small airports catering for general aviation. Services within the county are chiefly provided by Arriva Midlands , D&G Bus and First Potteries . National Express coaches serve towns and cities on
9477-499: The county. The most important of these is the West Coast Main Line , which facilitates through services between London and Scotland. Few, if any, of these stop inside the county's borders. Stafford railway station is at a junction with the line to Birmingham New Street , a major hub, and is predominantly served by London Northwestern Railway . Stoke-on-Trent railway station is the busiest station in Staffordshire and
9594-405: The direction of mail. Instead it now uses the outward code (first half) of the postcode. The former postal counties were removed in 2000 from its Postcode Address File database and included in an "alias file", which is used to cross-reference details that may be added by users but are no longer required, such as former street names or historic, administrative and former postal counties. During
9711-530: The former Birch Terrace synagogue in Hanley. According to the 2001 census there were 407 Jews in the non-metropolitan county of Staffordshire, and 83 in Stoke-on-Trent. There are 15 mosques in Stoke-on-Trent, 5 in Burton-upon-Trent and 1 in both Stafford and Lichfield. As of 2019 a new mosque has finished construction in the Hanley area of Stoke-on-Trent and is the first purpose-built mosque in
9828-401: The former town of "Hamwic" (sic), the site of which is now a part of the city of Southampton . A "lost" Saxon county was Winchcombeshire which lasted from 1007 to 1017 before being incorporated into Gloucestershire . Dorset and Somerset derive their names from the saete or inhabitants of the areas around the towns of Dorchester and Somerton respectively; the names were first used by
9945-599: The head of the legal hierarchy were the High Sheriff and the Custos rotulorum (keeper of the rolls) for each county. The justices had responsibility for maintaining county gaols and houses of correction . During the 19th century penal reformers campaigned against the often primitive conditions in gaols, and under the Prison Act 1877 they came under Home Office control. Until the 19th century law enforcement
10062-463: The historic county boundaries. The county's other professional football team is Burton Albion , based in Burton upon Trent , who currently play in League One . The county has a number of non-league football clubs, including Tamworth , Stafford Rangers , Hednesford Town and Leek Town . In cricket , Staffordshire is one of the nineteen Minor counties of English and Welsh cricket . It
10179-713: The historic county boundary runs right up the middle of the high street; in Royal Tunbridge Wells the historic county boundary had a theatre (now the Corn Exchange) built right on it, with the actors playing in Sussex to an audience in Kent; and in Todmorden, the historically fractious border between Lancashire and Yorkshire (the river known as Walsden Water) had Todmorden Town Hall built right on top of it on
10296-430: The licensing of alehouses, the construction of bridges, prisons and asylums, the superintendence of main roads, public buildings and charitable institutions, and the regulation of weights and measures. The justices were empowered to levy local taxes to support these activities, and in 1739 these were unified as a single "county rate", under the control of a county treasurer. In order to build and maintain roads and bridges,
10413-404: The military, and later for local government and electing parliamentary representation. They continue to form the basis of modern local government areas in many parts of the country away from the main urban areas, although the newly created areas sometimes have considerably altered boundaries from the historic counties on which they are based. The name of a county often gives a clue to how it
10530-631: The mouth of the River Tees ; not in Teesdale ), and Yorkshire and Lincolnshire for ceremonial purposes in these areas. The case of Huntingdonshire was considered twice, but the Commission found that "there was no exceptional county allegiance to Huntingdonshire, as had been perceived in Rutland and Herefordshire". The Association of British Counties (ABC), with its regional affiliates, such as
10647-508: The name of the main town (the county town ) of the county, along with "-shire". Examples are Northamptonshire and Warwickshire . In some cases the original names have been worn down: for example, Cheshire was originally "Chestershire". In the east Midlands, it is thought that county boundaries may represent a 9th-century division of the Danelaw between units of the Danish army. Rutland
10764-623: The north and in the south, the county is hilly, with the southern foothills and uplands of the Pennines in the north, with parts of it in the Peak District National Park. Most of the northern upland terrain is in the Staffordshire Moorlands district. Cannock Chase , an area of natural beauty, and part of the National Forest are in the south. In the middle regions, the landscape is low and undulating. In parts of
10881-653: 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 , while the Cannock Chase AONB and part of the National Forest are in the south. The River Trent and its tributaries drain most of the county. From its source, near Biddulph ,
10998-679: The oldest professional football clubs in existence, were founded in 1863 and played at the Victoria Ground for 119 years from 1878 until their relocation to the Britannia Stadium (now named the Bet365 Stadium ) in 1997. They were among the 12 founder members of the Football League in 1888. By the late 1930s, they were established First Division members and boasted arguably the finest footballer in England at
11115-552: 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. Staffordshire contains a number of Iron Age tumuli and Roman camps, and was settled by the Angles in the sixth century; the oldest Stafford knot , the county's symbol, can be seen on an Anglian cross in
11232-623: The separate ridings of Yorkshire , the separate parts of Lincolnshire, and the East and West divisions of Sussex. The Local Government Act 1888 also contained wording to create both a new "administrative county" and a "county" of London , and to ensure that the county boroughs which were created at the same time continued for non-administrative purposes to be part of the county which they geographically lay. These counties were to be used "for all purposes, whether sheriff, lieutenant, custos rotulorum, justices, militia, coroner, or other". The effect
11349-667: The site of Birch Coppice Colliery before 1987. Ansell UK ( medical gloves , from Australia) is on Tamworth Enterprise Park. Whittington Barracks (DMS Whittington) near to the west is the home of the Defence Medical Services , Defence Dental Service , and the Defence Medical Services Training Centre . Premier Foods make Bird's Custard , Angel Delight and Marvel powdered milk in Knighton , west of Eccleshall near
11466-496: The six towns of the Staffordshire Potteries, including Hanley, became the single county borough of Stoke-on-Trent . A significant boundary change occurred in 1926 when the east of Sedgley was transferred to Worcestershire to allow the construction of the new Priory Estate on land purchased by Dudley County Borough council. A major reorganisation in the Black Country in 1966, under the recommendation of
11583-405: The surrounding area of Hullshire ) (1440). In 1551 Berwick upon Tweed , on the border with Scotland , was created a county corporate. The ancient counties have many anomalies, and many small exclaves , where a parcel of land was politically part of one county despite not being physically connected to the rest of the county. The Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844 was passed, the effect of which
11700-634: The three categories. Instead, it was a diocese that was turned into the County Palatine of Durham , ruled by the Bishop of Durham . The expected form would otherwise be "Durhamshire", but it was rarely used. There are customary abbreviations for many of the counties. In most cases, these consist of simple truncation, usually with an "s" at the end signifying "shire", such as "Berks" for Berkshire or "Bucks" for Buckinghamshire . Some abbreviations are not obvious, such as "Salop" for Shropshire , from
11817-553: The time in right-winger Stanley Matthews , who had two spells with the club between 1930 and his retirement in 1965 at the age of 50. In 1972, the club finally won a major trophy when they lifted the Football League Cup , but after relegation from the First Division in 1985 they would not experience top flight football for 23 years. After spending some two decades bouncing between the second and third tiers of
11934-637: The time of the Domesday Book , some parts of what later became Wales were included in English counties: Monmouth , for example, was included in Herefordshire . Additionally, the Domesday Book included, as part of Cheshire, areas that later became part of Wales, including the two hundreds of Atiscross and Exestan , and the southern part of Duddestan Hundred (as it was known as the time), which later became known as Maelor Saesneg (English Maelor), and (later still) " Flintshire Detached". Parts of
12051-450: The town of Rugeley and a few miles north of Lichfield . It is located on the West Coast Main Line , the nearest stop being Rugeley. With continuous growth in the area Armitage and Rugeley are growing closer together. This Staffordshire location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Staffordshire Staffordshire ( / ˈ s t æ f ər d ʃ ɪər , - ʃ ər / ; postal abbreviation Staffs .)
12168-526: The unitary authority of Stoke-on-Trent) is represented by twelve Members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons . Eleven of the MPs represent the Conservative Party and one sits as an independent . The results of the 2019 general election in the county are as follows: Staffordshire County Council is the top-tier local council for the non-metropolitan county. For Eurostat purposes, it
12285-595: The west of Kidsgrove. Andritz UK is at Wolstanton, in the north of Newcastle. Mann+Hummel UK, at Featherstone , make air and oil filters . Armitage Shanks (owned by Ideal Standard International) is to the east of Rugeley in Armitage with Handsacre ; JCB Cab Systems was next to the A51 on the Riverside Industrial Estate. The UK headquarters of GE Grid Solutions is based at Stafford as well as
12402-502: Was subsequently treated as part of Worcestershire , as the remainder already was. Exclaves that the 1844 Act did not touch included the part of Derbyshire around Donisthorpe , locally in Leicestershire ; a part of Huntingdonshire near Woodbury Park , separated by Cambridgeshire ; and most of the larger exclaves of Worcestershire, including the town of Dudley , which remained surrounded by Staffordshire . Additionally,
12519-448: Was a comte or count ; whilst in England the title count was not used for the person, the territory they controlled nevertheless became known as a 'county'. As the shires and counties were generally the same areas from the 12th century onwards, the terms shire and county came to be used interchangeably. The earls' role in administering their counties was gradually reduced as the shire court was eclipsed in importance by other courts, notably
12636-586: Was a successor to the Viking kingdom of York and the Brittonic kingdom of Elmet ; at the time of the Domesday Book in 1086 it was considered to include what was to become northern Lancashire , as well as parts of Cumberland , and Westmorland . Most of the later Cumberland and Westmorland were under Scottish rule until 1092. After the Norman Conquest in 1066 and the harrying of the North , much of
12753-541: Was actually part of Cheshire is however not clear. The Northeast land that later became County Durham and Northumberland , was left unrecorded. Cumberland, Westmorland, Lancashire, County Durham and Northumberland were established as counties in the 12th century. Lancashire can be firmly dated to 1182. Part of the domain of the Bishops of Durham , Hexhamshire was split off and was considered an independent county until 1572, when it became part of Northumberland. At
12870-570: Was an anomalous territory or soke , associated with Nottinghamshire , but it eventually became considered the smallest county. Lincolnshire was the successor to the Kingdom of Lindsey , and took on the territories of Kesteven and Holland when Stamford became the only Danelaw borough to fail to become a county town. Much of Northumbria was also shired, the best known of these counties being Hallamshire and Cravenshire . The Normans did not use these divisions, and so they are not generally regarded as ancient counties. The huge county of Yorkshire
12987-478: Was built in 1789 for nearby Lichfield Cathedral , but moved here in 1865, commissioned by the then organist Josiah Spode (IV) who resided at nearby Hawkesyard estate, also known as Spode House. Armitage is served by Chaserider bus services 826 and 828 connecting to Lichfield, Rugeley and Stafford. The name comes from the Middle English Ermitage , meaning ' Hermitage ', in turn derived from
13104-541: Was confirmed in 2007 by the Ordnance Survey after Wanlockhead in Scotland also claimed the record. The BBC 's The One Show investigated the case in a bid to settle the argument and Flash was confirmed as the higher of the two. The highest point in Staffordshire is Cheeks Hill . Staffordshire contains sectors of three green belt areas, two of which surround the large conurbations of Stoke-on-Trent and
13221-429: Was formed, either as a division that took its name from a centre of administration, an ancient kingdom, or an area occupied by an ethnic group. The majority of English counties are in the first category, with the name formed by combining the central town with the suffix "-shire", for example Yorkshire . Former kingdoms which became earldoms in the united England did not feature this formulation; so for Kent, Surrey and
13338-555: Was mostly carried out at the parish level. With an increasingly mobile population, however, the system became outdated. Following the successful establishment of the Metropolitan Police in London, the County Police Act 1839 empowered justices of the peace to form county constabularies outside boroughs. The formation of county police forces was made compulsory by the County and Borough Police Act 1856 . In
13455-623: Was not adopted in 1965, since, according to the Post Office at the time, it would have been too expensive to do so, while it gave as its reason for not adopting Greater Manchester the ambiguity of the name with the Manchester post town . Perhaps as a result of this, the ancient counties appear not to have fallen completely out of use for locating places in Greater Manchester, along with areas of Greater London that are not part of
13572-557: Was that new county boroughs which were counties corporate retained their status as separate counties. In retrospect, these "statutory" counties can be identified as the predecessors of the ceremonial counties of England. The censuses of 1891, 1901 and 1911 provided figures for the "ancient counties". Several towns are historically divided between counties, including Banbury , Burton upon Trent , Newmarket , Peterborough , Royal Tunbridge Wells , Royston , Stamford, Tamworth , Todmorden , Warrington and Wisbech . In Newmarket and Tamworth
13689-560: Was to treat many of these exclaves as part of the county which surrounded them. This had already been done for Parliamentary purposes under the Great Reform Act 1832. Large exclaves affected by the 1844 Act included the County Durham exclaves of Islandshire , Bedlingtonshire and Norhamshire , which were subsequently treated as hundreds of Northumberland ; and those parts of Halesowen forming part of Shropshire, which
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