Did You Know?

Staffordshire is located in the West Midlands in England, prominent cities and towns in the area include Stoke-on-Trent, Stafford and Cannock. It is well located for visitors to explore the West Midlands and North East regions.

In Roman times, the region was part of the territory of the Cornovii. Watling Street crossed the southern part of the county, intersecting with the Icknield Way near Lichfield. It subsequently became the heartland of the kingdom of Mercia. 

Most dangerous place in Staffordshire?
Chartley Moss (near Stafford) is pretty much as it was  20,000 years ago – a swamp!.  On the water is a thick ‘raft’ of peat and moss, so if you dare walk over it, it moves; it is a ‘Quaking Bog’. So, walking in some of its areas is not advised – and there are adders too.

Throughout the Middle Ages, Staffordshire remained remote and inaccessible. Poor communications and the relative insignificance of the county town meant that many market towns achieved a genuinely independent existence—Leek, Stone, Walsall, Wolverhampton, Newcastle under Lyme, Rugely, and Uttoxeter. 

Did you know that the co-founder of Marks & Spencer, Thomas Spencer, is buried in St Giles Church, in Staffordshire?

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.

Did you know Staffordshire was the birthplace of Reginald Mitchell, designer of the World War II Spitfire? 

Stoke City, one of 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 in 1997. They were among the 12 founder members of the Football League in 1888.

Did you know that the first jar of Marmite was produced in Staffordshire? It was German scientist, Justus Von Liebig, who realised that the beer by-product could be bottled and eaten. 

Staffordshire is home to the highest village in Britain, Flash. The village, in the Staffordshire Moorlands, stands at 1519 ft above sea level. This record 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 transformation of Staffordshire's economy came in the 18th cent., with the development of potting, brewing, engineering, and mining, all greatly assisted by the new canals. The outlines of the canal network were apparent in the 1770s, when Brindley opened the Staffordshire and Worcester to link up with the Severn.

Edward Wightman was the last person in Britain to be burned at the stake for heresy and this took place in Lichfield Market Square on April 11 1612.