112-601: Eccleshall ( / ɛ k əl ʃ əl / ) is a town and civil parish in the Stafford district, in the county of Staffordshire , England. It is located seven miles northwest of Stafford , and six miles west-southwest of Stone . Eccleshall is twinned with Sancerre in France . According to the Domesday Book , Eccleshall in 1086 was no more than a small village of about one hundred inhabitants. A few fragments of stone at
224-522: A London borough . (Since the new county was beforehand a mixture of metropolitan boroughs , municipal boroughs and urban districts, no extant parish councils were abolished.) In 1974, the Local Government Act 1972 retained rural parishes, but abolished most urban parishes, as well as the urban districts and boroughs which had administered them. Provision was made for smaller urban districts and boroughs to become successor parishes , with
336-447: A 30-mile radius. The maximum capacity of 2.6MW makes Eccleshall one of the first carbon-neutral towns in the UK, according to the company that runs the plant. Civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government . It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to
448-515: A Special Expense, to residents of the unparished area to fund those activities. If the district council does not opt to make a Special Expenses charge, there is an element of double taxation of residents of parished areas, because services provided to residents of the unparished area are funded by council tax paid by residents of the whole district, rather than only by residents of the unparished area. Parish councils comprise volunteer councillors who are elected to serve for four years. Decisions of
560-576: A boundary coterminous with an existing urban district or borough or, if divided by a new district boundary, as much as was comprised in a single district. There were 300 such successor parishes established. In urban areas that were considered too large to be single parishes, the parishes were simply abolished, and they became unparished areas . The distinction between types of parish was no longer made; whether parishes continued by virtue of being retained rural parishes or were created as successor parishes, they were all simply termed parishes. The 1972 act allowed
672-545: A business in 1767 that became the largest shoe company in Stafford, selling worldwide. He had several government contracts through the town's Member of Parliament (MP), the playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan . The shoe industry gradually died out in the late 20th century, with Lotus Shoes the last manufacturer. Its factory in Sandon Road was demolished in 2001 and replaced by housing. A locomotive firm, WG Bagnall ,
784-477: A city council (though most cities are not parishes but principal areas, or in England specifically metropolitan boroughs or non-metropolitan districts ). The chairman of a town council will have the title "town mayor" and that of a parish council which is a city will usually have the title of mayor . When a city or town has been abolished as a borough, and it is considered desirable to maintain continuity of
896-462: A city council. According to the Department for Communities and Local Government , in England in 2011 there were 9,946 parishes. Since 1997 around 100 new civil parishes have been created, in some cases by splitting existing civil parishes, but mostly by creating new ones from unparished areas. Parish or town councils have very few statutory duties (things they are required to do by law) but have
1008-559: A city was Hereford , whose city council was merged in 1998 to form a unitary Herefordshire . The area of the city of Hereford remained unparished until 2000 when a parish council was created for the city. As another example, the charter trustees for the City of Bath make up the majority of the councillors on Bath and North East Somerset Council. Civil parishes cover 35% of England's population, with one in Greater London and few in
1120-440: A civil parish is usually an elected parish council (which can decide to call itself a town, village, community or neighbourhood council, or a city council if the parish has city status). Alternatively, in parishes with small populations (typically fewer than 150 electors) governance may be by a parish meeting which all electors may attend; alternatively, parishes with small populations may be grouped with one or more neighbours under
1232-481: A civil parish which has no parish council, the parish meeting may levy a council tax precept for expenditure relating to specific functions, powers and rights which have been conferred on it by legislation. In places where there is no civil parish ( unparished areas ), the administration of the activities normally undertaken by the parish becomes the responsibility of the district or borough council. The district council may make an additional council tax charge, known as
SECTION 10
#17327902689241344-586: A common parish council. Wales was also divided into civil parishes until 1974, when they were replaced by communities , which are similar to English parishes in the way they operate. Civil parishes in Scotland were abolished for local government purposes by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 ; the Scottish equivalent of English civil parishes are the community council areas established by
1456-494: A defensive burh , 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 an Iron Age hill fort at Berry Ring . There
1568-483: A fixed studio broadcasting from Stafford, to Stafford. Like most of the British Isles , Stafford has a maritime climate with cool summers and mild winters. The nearest Met Office weather station is at Penkridge , about 5 miles to the south. Stafford has a history of shoemaking as far back as 1476, when it was a cottage industry, but a manufacturing process was introduced in the 1700s. William Horton founded
1680-563: A landmark for drivers, as it is visible from the M6 motorway . The oldest building now in Stafford is St Chad's Church , dating back to the 12th century. 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 the Middle East who came to England during the Crusades. Much of the stonework was covered up in
1792-454: A major industrial activity has been heavy electrical engineering , particularly power station transformers . The works have been successively owned by Siemens Brothers , English Electric , GEC and GEC Alsthom . Alstom T&D was sold in 2004 to Areva . At the end of 2009, Areva T&D was split between former owners Alstom and Schneider Electric . At the end of 2015, the works were acquired by General Electric consolidating Stafford as
1904-437: A market town for the surrounding area. In 1153 it was granted the right to hold a weekly market. Around the beginning of the 13th century the village had become a town with the granting of ‘Borough’ status and by 1259 had obtained a charter to hold an annual fair at Ascensiontide. By the time of the survey of the bishop’s estates in 1298 about five hundred people lived in the village, mainly craftsmen or engaged in agriculture. To
2016-529: A new code. In either case the code must comply with the Nolan Principles of Public Life . A parish can be granted city status by the Crown . As of 2020 , eight parishes in England have city status, each having a long-established Anglican cathedral: Chichester , Ely , Hereford , Lichfield , Ripon , Salisbury , Truro and Wells . The council of an ungrouped parish may pass a resolution giving
2128-431: A new smaller manor, there was a means of making a chapel which, if generating or endowed with enough funds, would generally justify foundation of a parish, with its own parish priest (and in latter centuries vestry ). This consistency was a result of canon law which prized the status quo in issues between local churches and so made boundary changes and sub-division difficult. The consistency of these boundaries until
2240-711: A parish (a "detached part") was in a different county . In other cases, counties surrounded a whole parish meaning it was in an unconnected, "alien" county. These anomalies resulted in a highly localised difference in applicable representatives on the national level , justices of the peace , sheriffs, bailiffs with inconvenience to the inhabitants. If a parish was split then churchwardens, highway wardens and constables would also spend more time or money travelling large distances. Some parishes straddled two or more counties, such as Todmorden in Lancashire and Yorkshire. Stafford Stafford ( / ˈ s t æ f ər d / )
2352-416: A parish council, and instead will only have a parish meeting : an example of direct democracy . Alternatively several small parishes can be grouped together and share a common parish council, or even a common parish meeting. A parish council may decide to call itself a town council, village council, community council, neighbourhood council, or if the parish has city status, the parish council may call itself
SECTION 20
#17327902689242464-503: A population of between 100 and 300 could request their county council to establish a parish council. Provision was also made for a grouped parish council to be established covering two or more rural parishes. In such groups, each parish retained its own parish meeting which could vote to leave the group, but otherwise the grouped parish council acted across the combined area of the parishes included. Urban civil parishes were not given their own parish councils, but were directly administered by
2576-471: A prisoner in 1399, by troops loyal to Henry Bolingbroke (the future Henry IV ). In 1521, Stafford was described as 'a proper and fair town', although it went into decline during the Tudor 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. The Ancient High House , believed to be
2688-1079: A range of discretionary powers which they may exercise voluntarily. These powers have been defined by various pieces of legislation. The role they play can vary significantly depending on the size, resources and ability of the council, but their activities can include any of the following: Parish councils have powers to provide and manage various local facilities; these can include allotments , cemeteries, parks, playgrounds, playing fields and village greens , village halls or community centres , bus shelters, street lighting, roadside verges, car parks, footpaths, litter bins and war memorials. Larger parish councils may also be involved in running markets , public toilets and public clocks, museums and leisure centres . Parish councils may spend money on various things they deem to be beneficial to their communities, such as providing grants to local community groups or local projects, or fund things such as public events, crime prevention measures, community transport schemes, traffic calming or tourism promotion. Parish councils have
2800-537: A relatively minor role in local government. As of September 2023 , there are 10,464 parishes in England, and in 2020 they covered approximately 40% of the English population. For historical reasons, civil parishes predominantly cover rural areas and smaller urban areas, with most larger urban areas being wholly or partly unparished ; but since 1997 it has been possible for civil parishes to be created within unparished areas if demanded by local residents . In 2007
2912-409: A role in the planning system; they have a statutory right to be consulted on any planning applications in their areas. They may also produce a neighbourhood plan to influence local development. The Localism Act 2011 allowed eligible parish councils to be granted a " general power of competence " which allows them within certain limits the freedom to do anything an individual can do provided it
3024-598: A set number of guardians for each parish, hence a final purpose of urban civil parishes. With the abolition of the Poor Law system in 1930, urban parishes became a geographical division only with no administrative power; that was exercised at the urban district or borough council level. In 1965 civil parishes in London were formally abolished when Greater London was created, as the legislative framework for Greater London did not make provision for any local government body below
3136-523: A settlement near the river crossing in 913, when Æthelflæd , Lady of Mercia founded a burh (fortified settlement) at Stafford; one of many founded across Mercia as part of her campaign against the Danes ( Vikings ). A mint was founded at Stafford by King Æthelstan (924-39) which continued in operation until the reign of Henry II (1154–89). Stafford also provided an industrial area for centralised production of Roman-style pottery (Stafford Ware), which
3248-943: A small village or town ward to a large tract of mostly uninhabited moorland in the Cheviots, Pennines or Dartmoor. The two largest as at December 2023 are Stanhope (County Durham) at 98.6 square miles (255 km ), and Dartmoor Forest (Devon) at 79.07 square miles (204.8 km ). The two smallest are parcels of shared rural land: Lands Common to Axminster and Kilmington (Devon) at 0.012 square miles (0.031 km ; 3.1 ha; 7.7 acres), and Lands Common to Brancepeth and Brandon and Byshottles (County Durham) at 0.0165 square miles (0.043 km ; 4.3 ha; 10.6 acres). The next two smallest are parishes in built up areas: Chester Castle (Cheshire) at 0.0168 square miles (0.044 km ; 4.4 ha; 10.8 acres) (no recorded population) and Hamilton Lea (Leicestershire) at 0.07 square miles (0.18 km ; 18 ha; 45 acres) (1,021 residents at
3360-521: A spur to the creation of new parishes in some larger towns which were previously unparished, in order to retain a local tier of government; examples include Shrewsbury (2009), Salisbury (2009), Crewe (2013) and Weymouth (2019). In 2003 seven new parish councils were set up for Burton upon Trent , and in 2001 the Milton Keynes urban area became entirely parished, with ten new parishes being created. Parishes can also be abolished where there
3472-577: A three-gabled structure with high-pitched roofs. 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 annual Shakespeare Festival at Stafford Castle has attracted many notable people, including Frank Sidebottom and Ann Widdecombe . Victoria Park, opened in 1908,
Eccleshall - Misplaced Pages Continue
3584-530: A transmitter based on top of the County Education building. In commercial radio, Stafford is covered by Greatest Hits Radio programming from London, Manchester or Birmingham for most of the day), broadcasting on 96.1 FM from a transmitter at Pye Green BT Tower , near Hednesford. Stafford can also receive the West Midlands regionals, like Heart West Midlands and Smooth West Midlands , and
3696-467: Is a Grade II listed building in Eccleshall which is currently used as a Bed and Breakfast. Eagle House was originally erected to replace the old Eccleshall Poorhouse (Workhouse) and was built using construction materials from the demolished local Town Hall. Eccleshall is twinned with: For three centuries leather working and shoemaking had been important domestic industries in Eccleshall, but by
3808-413: 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-hole golf course near the town centre. Recent developments on Riverside allowed for an expansion of the town, notably with a new Odeon cinema to replace
3920-559: 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. The Shugborough Hall country estate is 4 miles (6.4 km) out of town. It once belonged to the Earls of Lichfield and is now owned by the National Trust . The 19th-century Sandon Hall is 5 miles (8.0 km) north-east of Stafford. It
4032-781: Is a conservation area. The town has been a regular winner in the Britain in Bloom competition and, in summer, the main parts of Eccleshall are bedecked with colourful floral baskets, organised by the town's civic group, the 'Ecclian Society'. Eccleshall F.C. are an English non-league football club. They play in the North West Counties League Division One. The reserves play in the Staffordshire County Senior League Premier Division. HM Prison Drake Hall
4144-498: Is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire , England. It is located about 15 miles (24 km) south of Stoke-on-Trent , 15 miles (24 km) north of Wolverhampton , and 24 miles (39 km) northwest of Birmingham . The town had a population of 71,673 in 2021 , and is the main settlement within the larger Borough of Stafford , which had a population of 136,837 in 2021. Stafford has Anglo-Saxon roots, being founded in 913, when Æthelflæd , Lady of Mercia founded
4256-702: Is a women's closed prison . It is approximately a mile north of the town, near the village of Sturbridge. Nearby Cold Meece houses a British Army training area that used to be a Royal Ordnance Factory , ROF Swynnerton. It is often used by the Air Training Corps and the Army Cadet Force . In terms of television, Eccleshall is served by BBC Midlands Today and ITV News Central . Local radio stations are BBC Radio Stoke , Hits Radio Staffordshire & Cheshire , and Greatest Hits Radio Staffordshire & Cheshire . The local newspapers are
4368-601: Is also evidence of Roman 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. Stafford means " ford " by a staithe (landing place). The original settlement was on a near island, on a gravelly lowland bounded by loop of the River Sow to the south and west (a tributary of the River Trent ). The eastern boundary
4480-507: Is at present the only part of England where civil parishes cannot be created. If enough electors in the area of a proposed new parish (ranging from 50% in an area with less than 500 electors to 10% in one with more than 2,500) sign a petition demanding its creation, then the local district council or unitary authority must consider the proposal. Since the beginning of the 21st century, numerous parish councils have been created, including some relatively large urban ones. The main driver has been
4592-535: Is at the very north of the Hits Radio Black Country & Shropshire coverage area. BFBS Gurkha Radio broadcasts locally on 1278 kHz medium wave from Beacon Barracks . The town's first community licensed station, Stafford FM , launches in 2015 after a number of restricted service FM licences. The station rebranded in April 2024 to Vibe 1, and remains the only commercial radio station with
Eccleshall - Misplaced Pages Continue
4704-539: Is evidence that this is in response to "justified, clear and sustained local support" from the area's inhabitants. Examples are Birtley , which was abolished in 2006, and Southsea , abolished in 2010. Every civil parish has a parish meeting, which all the electors of the parish are entitled to attend. Generally a meeting is held once a year. A civil parish may have a parish council which exercises various local responsibilities prescribed by statute. Parishes with fewer than 200 electors are usually deemed too small to have
4816-405: Is not prohibited by other legislation, as opposed to being limited to the powers explicitly granted to them by law. To be eligible for this, a parish council must meet certain conditions such as having a clerk with suitable qualifications. Parish councils receive funding by levying a " precept " on the council tax paid by the residents of the parish (or parishes) served by the parish council. In
4928-571: Is set in 400 acres (1.6 km ) of parkland, as the seat of the Earl of Harrowby . Weston Hall stands 5 miles (8.0 km) east of Stafford, in the Trent valley with a large park and was once part of the Chartley 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 is Jacobean . Weston Hall was extended in 1660 into
5040-504: The 'Standards Board regime' with local monitoring by district, unitary or equivalent authorities. Under new regulations which came into effect in 2012 all parish councils in England are required to adopt a code of conduct with which parish councillors must comply, and to promote and maintain high standards. A new criminal offence of failing to comply with statutory requirements was introduced. More than one 'model code' has been published, and councils are free to modify an existing code or adopt
5152-526: The Battle of Blore Heath in 1459. Bishop William Overton (1580–1609) was probably responsible, in 1580, for bringing two glass making families from Lorraine , Tyzack and Henzey to Bishop's Wood near Eccleshall to set up glass production. Manufacturing ceased around 1615, however, the site of one glass furnace has been excavated in recent times and is preserved and can be seen in Bishop's Wood. In June 1643
5264-571: The Bishop of Lichfield , Eccleshall was conveniently situated on the main road between the centres of the diocese in Chester , Lichfield and Coventry . Land was reputedly granted to St Chad and in 1200 Bishop Geoffrey de Muschamp was granted by King John a ‘licence to crenellate’ a castle . From then on until the 1860s the site would provide a residence for the Bishops of Lichfield. However
5376-761: The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 , which have fewer powers than their English and Welsh counterparts. There are no equivalent units in Northern Ireland . The parish system in Europe was established between the 8th and 12th centuries, and an early form was long established in England by the time of the Norman Conquest . These areas were originally based on the territory of manors , which, in some cases, derived their bounds from Roman or Iron Age estates; some large manors were sub-divided into several parishes. Initially, churches and their priests were
5488-1010: The Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) to become the smallest geographical area for local government in rural areas. The act abolished the civil (non-ecclesiastical) duties of vestries . Parishes which straddled county boundaries or sanitary districts had to be split so that the part in each urban or rural sanitary district became a separate parish (see List of county exclaves in England and Wales 1844–1974 ). The sanitary districts were then reconstituted as urban districts and rural districts , with parishes that fell within urban districts classed as urban parishes, and parishes that fell within rural districts were classed as rural parishes. The 1894 act established elected civil parish councils as to all rural parishes with more than 300 electors, and established annual parish meetings in all rural parishes. Civil parishes were grouped to form either rural or urban districts which are thereafter classified as either type. The parish meetings for parishes with
5600-559: The Popish Plot , in which Titus 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. The town was represented in Parliament from 1780 by the playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan . During that period,
5712-670: The Stafford Rural District , the Stone Rural District and the Stone Urban District . The Elizabethan Ancient High House in the town centre is the largest timber-framed town house in England. It is now a museum with temporary exhibitions. Stafford Castle was built by the Normans on the nearby hilltop to the west in about 1090, replacing the post-Conquest fort in the town. It
SECTION 50
#17327902689245824-438: The ancient system of parishes , which for centuries were the principal unit of secular and religious administration in most of England and Wales. Civil and religious parishes were formally split into two types in the 19th century and are now entirely separate. Civil parishes in their modern form came into being through the Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73), which established elected parish councils to take on
5936-472: The break with Rome , parishes managed ecclesiastical matters, while the manor was the principal unit of local administration and justice. Later, the church replaced the manor court as the rural administrative centre, and levied a local tax on produce known as a tithe . In the medieval period, responsibilities such as relief of the poor passed increasingly from the lord of the manor to the parish's rector , who in practice would delegate tasks among his vestry or
6048-442: The locomotive manufacturer W. G. Bagnall opened a large works in the town in 1875. In the early 1900s electrical engineering became a major activity, when Siemens Brothers , opened a large factory in the town, producing such items as electrical motors, generators and transformers . The electrical industry has been under the ownership of several companies since, including English Electric and GEC . The Friars' Walk drill hall
6160-470: The (often well-endowed) monasteries. After the dissolution of the monasteries , the power to levy a rate to fund relief of the poor was conferred on the parish authorities by the Poor Relief Act 1601 . Both before and after this optional social change, local (vestry-administered) charities are well-documented. The parish authorities were known as vestries and consisted of all the ratepayers of
6272-420: The 1280s there were various trades such as tanning , glove making and shoe making being practised in the town. A guild of shoemakers was founded in 1476. Medieval Stafford was served by two churches; St Chad's , which is the oldest building in Stafford, dating from the mid- 12th century , and St Mary's which dates from the early- 13th century . King Richard II was paraded through the town's streets as
6384-458: The 17th and 18th centuries and the church took on a neo-classical style. In the early 19th-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,
6496-564: The 19th century is useful to historians, and is also of cultural significance in terms of shaping local identities; reinforced by the use of grouped parish boundaries, often, by successive local authority areas; and in a very rough, operations-geared way by most postcode districts. There was (and is) wide disparity in parish size. Writtle , Essex traditionally measures 13,568 acres (21 sq mi) – two parishes neighbouring are Shellow Bowells at 469 acres (0.7 sq mi), and Chignall Smealy at 476 acres (0.7 sq mi) Until
6608-591: The 2011 census, Newland with Woodhouse Moor and Beaumont Chase reported inhabitants, and there were no new deserted parishes recorded. Nearly all instances of detached parts of civil parishes (areas not contiguous with the main part of the parish) and of those straddling counties have been ended. 14 examples remain in England as at 2022, including Barnby Moor and Wallingwells , both in Nottinghamshire. Direct predecessors of civil parishes are most often known as "ancient parishes", although many date only from
6720-511: The 2021 census). The 2001 census recorded several parishes with no inhabitants. These were Chester Castle (in the middle of Chester city centre), Newland with Woodhouse Moor , Beaumont Chase , Martinsthorpe , Meering , Stanground North (subsequently abolished), Sturston , Tottington , and Tyneham (subsequently merged). The lands of the last three were taken over by the Armed Forces during World War II and remain deserted. In
6832-523: The Parliamentarians finally won control in 1643. A few months later an order was given for the demolition of the castle. However, Stafford's famous son Izaak Walton , author of The Compleat Angler , was a staunch Royalist. In 1658 Stafford elected John Bradshaw , who had been judge at the trial of King Charles I , to represent the town in Parliament. During the reign of Charles II , William Howard, 1st Viscount Stafford became implicated in
SECTION 60
#17327902689246944-656: The Staffordshire Newsletter and Express and Star , who have offices in Stafford , and The Stone and Eccleshall Gazette which comes from Stone . The A519 road runs through the town. Junction 14 of the M6 motorway is five miles south of Eccleshall on the A5013. The nearest railway station was Norton Bridge , three miles east, which formally closed in 2017. The nearest operational railway stations are Stafford and Stone . Holy Trinity Church dates from 1195. The tombs of five Bishops of Lichfield lie in
7056-738: The administration of the poor laws was the main civil function of parishes, the Poor Law Amendment Act 1866 , which received royal assent on 10 August 1866, declared all areas that levied a separate rate or had their own overseer of the poor to be parishes. This included the Church of England parishes (until then simply known as "parishes"), extra-parochial areas , townships and chapelries . To have collected rates this means these beforehand had their own vestries, boards or equivalent bodies. Parishes using this definition subsequently became known as "civil parishes" to distinguish them from
7168-627: 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 a tenpin 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
7280-447: The base of the tower of the present Parish Church of Holy Trinity suggest that a stone church was in existence about this time and the base of a 10th-century cross still stands outside the church. The oldest part of the church, the pillars and arches of the nave, were begun in 1180 while the remainder of the church was completed during the 13th century, with a fine clerestory being added in the 15th century. Eccleshall became important as
7392-479: The castle was besieged by Sir William Brereton and his Parliamentary forces encamped around the church. Their guns caused considerable damage to the walls but the castle held out. When the Parliamentary forces finally took the castle on 30 August they found that the bishop ( Robert Wright ) had died of a heart attack during the siege and most of the defenders were either drunk or had gone into town drinking in
7504-399: The charter, the charter may be transferred to a parish council for its area. Where there is no such parish council, the district council may appoint charter trustees to whom the charter and the arms of the former borough will belong. The charter trustees (who consist of the councillor or councillors for the area of the former borough) maintain traditions such as mayoralty . An example of such
7616-457: The church, that of William Overton beside the altar being particularly notable. Eccleshall Castle was the palace of the Bishop of Lichfield . The Domesday Book details that the Eccleshall estate had been given to the Bishop of Lichfield some time before the Norman conquest , possibly as early as the 7th century. By the time Bishop John Lonsdale died in 1867 the lack of a railway was one of
7728-537: The council are carried out by a paid officer, typically known as a parish clerk. Councils may employ additional people (including bodies corporate, provided where necessary, by tender) to carry out specific tasks dictated by the council. Some councils have chosen to pay their elected members an allowance, as permitted under part 5 of the Local Authorities (Members' Allowances) (England) Regulations 2003. The number of councillors varies roughly in proportion to
7840-464: The council of the urban district or borough in which they were contained. Many urban parishes were coterminous (geographically identical) with the urban district or municipal borough in which they lay. Towns which included multiple urban parishes often consolidated the urban parishes into one. The urban parishes continued to be used as an electoral area for electing guardians to the poor law unions . The unions took in areas in multiple parishes and had
7952-466: The council will an election be held. However, sometimes there are fewer candidates than seats. When this happens, the vacant seats have to be filled by co-option by the council. If a vacancy arises for a seat mid-term, an election is only held if a certain number (usually ten) of parish residents request an election. Otherwise the council will co-opt someone to be the replacement councillor. The Localism Act 2011 introduced new arrangements which replaced
8064-459: The creation of town and parish councils is encouraged in unparished areas . The Local Government and Rating Act 1997 created a procedure which gave residents in unparished areas the right to demand that a new parish and parish council be created. This right was extended to London boroughs by the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 – with this, the City of London
8176-463: The desire to have a more local tier of government when new larger authorities have been created, which are felt to be remote from local concerns and identity. A number of parishes have been created in places which used to have their own borough or district council; examples include Daventry (2003), Folkestone (2004), Kidderminster (2015) and Sutton Coldfield (2016). The trend towards the creation of geographically large unitary authorities has been
8288-439: The ecclesiastical parishes. The Church of England parishes, which cover more than 99% of England, have become officially (and to avoid ambiguity) termed ecclesiastical parishes . The limits of many of these have diverged; most greatly through changes in population and church attendance (these factors can cause churches to be opened or closed). Since 1921, each has been the responsibility of its own parochial church council . In
8400-423: The end of the 19th century both had almost ceased, with the growth of the mechanised shoe factories in nearby Stafford. Glass production was important to the town in the 14th and 15th centuries. Farming remains a major activity in the area. Eccleshall has been the site for an operational biofuel power station since September 2007, fuelled by elephant grass , the majority of which is grown by local farmers within
8512-534: The established English Church, which for a few years after Henry VIII alternated between the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England , before settling on the latter on the accession of Elizabeth I in 1558. By the 18th century, religious membership was becoming more fractured in some places, due in part to the progress of Methodism . The legitimacy of the parish vestry came into question, and
8624-402: The first rail connection to London. The Trent Valley Railway to Rugby and then direct to London, was opened in 1847. Two more lines, both now closed then followed, from Stafford to Shrewsbury in 1849, and to Uttoxeter in 1867. Stafford became a major junction, which helped to attract other industries. In the late 19th century, Stafford's economy began to diversify into engineering, when
8736-505: The followers of William the Conqueror , who granted Robert 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 powerful Stafford family . Stafford Castle , was first built by Robert de Stafford on a nearby hilltop to the west around 1070. It was first made of wood and later rebuilt in stone around 1348. It has been rebuilt since. Stafford
8848-645: The gift and continued patronage (benefaction) of the lord of the manor , but not all were willing and able to provide, so residents would be expected to attend the church of the nearest manor with a church. Later, the churches and priests became to a greater extent the responsibility of the Catholic Church thus this was formalised; the grouping of manors into one parish was recorded, as was a manor-parish existing in its own right. Boundaries changed little, and for centuries after 1180 'froze', despite changes to manors' extents. However, by subinfeudation , making
8960-455: The government at the time of the Local Government Act 1972 discouraged their creation for large towns or their suburbs, but there is generally nothing to stop their establishment. For example, Birmingham has two parishes ( New Frankley and Sutton Coldfield ), Oxford has four, and the Milton Keynes urban area has 24. Parishes could not however be established in London until the law was changed in 2007. A civil parish can range in area from
9072-532: The largest timber-framed town house in England, was built in 1595 by John Dorrington; it was extensively restored during 1976-86. When James 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". During the English Civil War , Stafford was initially held by the Royalists ; King Charles I visited Stafford shortly after
9184-476: The late 19th century, most of the "ancient" (a legal term equivalent to time immemorial ) irregularities inherited by the civil parish system were cleaned up, and the majority of exclaves were abolished. The census of 1911 noted that 8,322 (58%) of "parishes" in England and Wales were not geographically identical when comparing the civil to the ecclesiastical form. In 1894, civil parishes were reformed by
9296-511: 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 Stafford is covered by the Express and Star and Staffordshire Newsletter , neither of which have offices in
9408-455: The main reasons that his successor Bishop Selwyn gave for the decision to sell the castle and thus sever the long association of Eccleshall with the Bishop of Lichfield . At the beginning of the last century the castle passed into the hands of the present owners, the Carter family (distant relations of former US President Jimmy Carter ). The town itself was a relatively important market town by
9520-465: The mid 19th century. Using a longer historical lens the better terms are "pre-separation (civil and ecclesiastical) parish", "original medieval parishes" and "new parishes". The Victoria County History , a landmark collaborative work mostly written in the 20th century (although incomplete), summarises the history of each English "parish", roughly meaning late medieval parish. A minority of these had exclaves , which could be: In some cases an exclave of
9632-465: The new district councils (outside London) to review their parishes, and many areas left unparished in 1972 have since been made parishes, either in whole or part. For example, Hinckley , whilst entirely unparished in 1974, now has four civil parishes, which together cover part of its area, whilst the central part of the town remains unparished. Some parishes were sub-divided into smaller territories known as hamlets , tithings or townships . Nowadays
9744-488: The other conurbations. Civil parishes vary greatly in population: some have populations below 100 and have no settlement larger than a hamlet , while others cover towns with populations of tens of thousands. Weston-super-Mare , with a population of 71,758, is the most populous civil parish. In many cases small settlements, today popularly termed villages , localities or suburbs, are in a single parish which originally had one church. Large urban areas are mostly unparished, as
9856-725: The outbreak of the war in September 1642, staying for three days at the Ancient High House . The town resisted two assaults by the Parliamentarians in February 1643, but was later taken by them in May 1643, when a force led by Sir William Brereton captured the town by stealth. Stafford then became the seat of the parliamentary county committee. Stafford Castle was defended by a garrison led by Lady Isabel Stafford, but
9968-401: The parish the status of a town, at which point the council becomes a town council . Around 400 parish councils are called town councils. Under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 , a civil parish may be given one of the following alternative styles: As a result, a parish council can be called a town council, a community council, a village council or occasionally
10080-404: The parish. As the number of ratepayers of some parishes grew, it became increasingly difficult to convene meetings as an open vestry. In some, mostly built-up, areas the select vestry took over responsibility from the entire body of ratepayers. This innovation improved efficiency, but allowed governance by a self-perpetuating elite. The administration of the parish system relied on the monopoly of
10192-562: The parish; the church rate ceased to be levied in many parishes and became voluntary from 1868. During the 17th century it was found that the 1601 Poor Law did not work well for very large parishes, which were particularly common in northern England. Such parishes were typically subdivided into multiple townships , which levied their rates separately. The Poor Relief Act 1662 therefore directed that for poor law purposes 'parish' meant any place which maintained its own poor, thereby converting many townships into separate 'poor law parishes'. As
10304-499: The perceived inefficiency and corruption inherent in the system became a source for concern in some places. For this reason, during the early 19th century the parish progressively lost its powers to ad hoc boards and other organisations, such as the boards of guardians given responsibility for poor relief through the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 . Sanitary districts covered England in 1875 and Ireland three years later. The replacement boards were each entitled to levy their own rate in
10416-411: The population of the parish. Most rural parish councillors are elected to represent the entire parish, though in parishes with larger populations or those that cover larger areas, the parish can be divided into wards. Each of these wards then returns councillors to the parish council (the numbers depending on their population). Only if there are more candidates standing for election than there are seats on
10528-438: The right to create civil parishes was extended to London boroughs , although only one, Queen's Park , has so far been created. Eight parishes also have city status (a status granted by the monarch ). A civil parish may be equally known as and confirmed as a town, village, neighbourhood or community by resolution of its parish council, a right not conferred on other units of English local government. The governing body of
10640-644: The ruins which exist today are those a later castle built in 1305 by Bishop William Langton , a friend of King Edward I and later Chancellor of England . This was the great era of castle building and he built an imposing fortress with four corner towers and a wide moat. Eccleshall castle briefly played a part in the War of the Roses , when it was used as a base for the Lancastrian Queen Margaret of Anjou and her troops before and after her defeat at
10752-469: The scene where Joan Webster ( Wendy Hiller ) meets up with her father in London, and he informs her that he had travelled all the way from Eccleshall to see her that evening. The high street has numerous shops, pubs, restaurants and businesses. A farmers' market is held every month and the town holds its major festival every two years. The Eccleshall Show is held every summer at Sugnall Parks. Eccleshall High Street, with many Georgian and earlier buildings,
10864-450: The secular functions of the parish vestry . A civil parish can range in size from a sparsely populated rural area with fewer than a hundred inhabitants, to a large town with a population in excess of 100,000 . This scope is similar to that of municipalities in continental Europe, such as the communes of France . However, unlike their continental European counterparts, parish councils are not principal authorities , and in most cases have
10976-501: The taverns. The castle was sacked but enough of the building remained to be used as a prison for Royalist gentry. With the development of turnpike trusts in the 18th century as a method of financing road building and improvements, coach travel throughout England had become faster and more reliable. With its position on the main London to Chester road Eccleshall became an important stopping point for coaches on several different routes and
11088-407: The time of the Domesday Book of 1086. Its borough status was confirmed in 1206, when King John issued a charter. Stafford was reconstituted as a municipal borough in 1835. The borough boundaries were expanded in 1876, 1917 and 1934. The modern Borough 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
11200-514: The time of the Wars of the Roses . In 1459, the castle was briefly a residence for the Queen, Margaret of Anjou , in her preparation for the Battle of Blore Heath , the site of which lies a few miles north of the town near Market Drayton . Later, the castle suffered damage during the English Civil War . The restored Mill Meece Pumping Station is to the north of Eccleshall. Eagle House, Eccleshall
11312-547: The town prospered, the inns in particular. Until recently the large stables at the Royal Oak Hotel could be seen. For three centuries leather working and shoemaking had been important domestic industries in Eccleshall, but by the end of the 19th century both had almost ceased, with the growth of the mechanised shoe factories in nearby Stafford . The film I Know Where I'm Going! , Powell and Pressburger's classic romantic comedy made in 1945 highlights Eccleshall in
11424-400: The town's mechanised shoe industry was founded, the best-known factory owner being William Horton. 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. The last shoe factory
11536-482: The town. Stafford is covered by BBC West Midlands and ITV Central , both broadcasting from Birmingham to the wider West Midlands region. Stafford is mainly served by the Sutton Coldfield transmitting station , just north of Birmingham, but some residents get a better picture from The Wrekin transmitting station , near Telford . In terms of BBC Local Radio, Stafford is covered by BBC Radio Stoke , with
11648-465: Was a walled 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. Stafford became an important market town during the Middle Ages , which had a particular focus of trading cloth and wool. By
11760-551: Was built in 1798 as a court house and office of the Mayor and Clerk of Stafford. The Shire Hall used to be the town's court house, and is a Grade II listed 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
11872-478: Was completed in 1913, just in time for the First World War . The M6 motorway was opened to the west of Stafford in 1962. 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-volume A Compleat [ sic ] History of Stafford . Stafford was already an ancient borough by
11984-675: Was demolished in 1998. In 1814, Stafford was linked to the canal network by the River Sow Navigation ; a short navigation which linked Stafford to the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal . The navigation fell into disuse in the 1930s. The railways arrived in Stafford in 1837 when the Grand Junction Railway was opened, linking the Liverpool and Manchester Railway to Birmingham , which provided
12096-424: 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 the earthworks 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
12208-415: 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. Stafford has been identified as the island of Bethney, or Bethnei where St Bertelin is said to have founded a hermitage about AD 700, before moving to a more remote area. Others then settled in the area and named it Stafford. There may have been
12320-510: Was rebuilt in the early 13th century on a cruciform plan, with an aisled nave and chancel 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 by Giles Gilbert Scott . The Shire Hall
12432-712: Was set up in 1875 to manufacture steam engines for the London, Midland & Scottish Railway and the Great 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 by English Electric , which also bought the Stafford-based engine manufacturer WH Dorman & Company . This had merged with Bagnall's by then. Since 1901,
12544-652: Was supplied to a chain of West Midlands burhs . The county of Staffordshire was formed at about this time, with Stafford as its county town . Stafford lay within the Pirehill hundred . In 1069, a rebellion by Eadric the Wild against the Norman conquest culminated in the Battle of Stafford. Two years later another rebellion, led by Edwin, Earl of Mercia , ended in Edwin's assassination and distribution of his lands among
#923076