County Dossier
Staffordshire
Mercian shire: castles, coalfields and industry.
Staffordshire is an inland county in the English Midlands, known for its striking contrasts between industry, urban life, and natural beauty.
At a glance
Staffordshire at a glance
Mercian shire: castles, coalfields and industry.
- Ford by the landing place
- County c913: Æthelflæd
- Domesday: Statfordscire
- Area: 1,176 sq miles
- Population: 2,159,392
- County Top: Cheeks Hill
County Geography
Staffordshire meets Cheshire to the north, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire and Worcestershire to the south, and Shropshire to the west. The county is organised by the Trent valley, Cannock Chase, low central ground, and northern hill country.
The Trent system, heathland, central lowland, and northern upland edge give Staffordshire a strong county shape.
Map Reference
View Staffordshire on the map
Staffordshire is the county. The map also shows lieutenancies and council areas that use the county name.
The county.
The lieutenancy.
Council areas.
Places and routes
Stafford, Lichfield, Stoke-on-Trent, and Wolverhampton show the county from county town and cathedral city to the Potteries and the Black Country, with Tamworth marking the eastern boundary. Together they show Staffordshire’s range more clearly than the reduced modern label does.
Connections
Staffordshire’s routes have long followed the Trent corridor, the roads between Stafford and Lichfield toward Tamworth on the eastern boundary, the northward lines into the Potteries, and the industrial connections of the Black Country.
Names
- Staffordshire
- County of Stafford
County of Stafford is the formal historical style. Staffs is the familiar short form, while Staffordshire reflects the shire built around Stafford, the ford by the landing place.
Early references appear in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and Domesday records the county as Statfordscire.