h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi Again,

I have quite a lot of stuff to send you for the Staffordshire article.
I re-read the article carefully and there are a few things in it that seem a bit muddled (trying to be polite here -I know you didn't write it)One example is that Staffordshire only came into existence in 1880's I can't find any references to this date anywhere, but have seen maps of Staffordshire from 1600s
I'm thinking that it may be easier for me to do a re-write/ draft which includes the new stuff I've put together? rather than just sending you lists of bits and pieces for you to add.

Please let me know your thoughts. I won't take offence and I hope you don't think I'm being snooty

Lanza

Ok go for it

hows the re write going

Nearly there,have a bit more to do about some rural attractions. I've done all the towns and famous people. I can post it to you tomorrow.

well done, why the inerest in the area

I'm a *Potter* born and bred. I now live in a village near Leek, (when I'm not in Lanzarote)

I am going to send what I've done so far, I just need to do the Attractions bit at the end, I should have time tomorrow

Staffordshire England UK

Staffordshire is in the middle of Middle England – roughly halfway between Birmingham and Manchester. Generally speaking it’s the kind of place that you travel through rather than go out of your way to visit but it is well worth further exploration. There are sites of historical interest and some spectacular countryside, especially in the Staffordshire Moorlands. Staffordshire has house prices that represent excellent value for money and arguably the best beer in Great Britain. It is the geographical home for the Staffordshire Potteries.

The Bare Facts

Staffordshire is a largely rural county, with a fair amount of dairy farming and agriculture interspersed by small industrial towns.
The County is bordered by Shropshire to the west, Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire to the northeast and Worcestershire and the West Midlands to the south. One of England’s greatest rivers, the River Trent, rises on Biddulph Moor and after passing through Stoke on Trent runs southeast to the confluence with the River Sow at Great Haywood (just southeast of Stafford) which is where it first attains any significant size, before heading east to Burton-on-Trent and then out to sea via the East Midlands, Lincolnshire and the River Humber.

General Information

The geographic county of Staffordshire covers 1,049 square miles, divided into the following administrative districts.
Stafford Borough Council
Newcastle under Lyme Borough Council
Staffordshire Moorlands District Council
Cannock Chase Council
Lichfield District Council
Tamworth Borough Council
South Staffordshire Council
East Staffordshire Borough Council

The City of Stoke on Trent – the home of the Staffordshire Potteries - is located within the geographical boundaries of Staffordshire, but has been a separate Authority since 1997. The City of Stoke on Trent itself is made up of 6 towns, the Federation having been inaugurated in 1910.

http://www.thepotteries.org/sot/five.htm

Statistics

The population of Staffordshire in 2006 was reported to be 822,600, with rises in population of 6.8% overall from 1986.

There is a wide diversity between urban and rural areas in Staffordshire; in 2004 Tamworth had a density of 24.2 persons per hectare whereas the Staffordshire Moorlands had a density of only 1.6 persons per hectare.

In 2007 the unemployment rate in Staffordshire ranged from 1.1% in Staffordshire Moorlands up to 1.9% in Tamworth. Overall the rate for Staffordshire (1.5%) was considerably lower than the England (2.3%) and West Midlands (3.1%) comparators.

(source Office of National Statistics)

Transport Links

Staffordshire is easily reached by modern day transport, being well served by its position on the motorway and rail networks.

Before the Industrial Revolution transport to Staffordshire was somewhat limited, but this changed with the arrival of both the Railway and Canal. Staffordshire was a centre for pottery production because clay, lead, salt and coal were in plentiful local supply. Once transport of the finished pottery products became easier, due to the improvements of both canal and rail the industry prospered and became famous worldwide.

James Brindley,(1716-720 the pioneer canal engineer, was instrumental in the hastening of the Industrial Revolution and designed many of the canals in Staffordshire and elsewhere. The canals in Staffordshire include the Trent and Mersey, the Caldon, the Staffordshire and Worcester.
http://www.thepotteries.org/biographies/brindley_james.htm


History of Staffordshire

The administrative County of Staffordshire was set up in 1889, prior to this it included part of what is now known as the West Midlands. Tamworth and Burton-on-Trent were also amalgamated within its borders at this time.

Historically, Staffordshire was divided into the five hundreds of Cuttlestone, Offlow, Pirehill, Seisdon, and Totmonslow. The county first came into being in the decade after the year 913. This was the date at which Stafford (the strategic military fording-point for an army to cross the River Trent) became a secure fortified stronghold and the new capital of Mercia under Queen Æthelflæd.

Links for further research

http://www.staffordshire.co.uk/Staffordshire.htm


The Main Towns

Stafford

Stafford is the County town and administrative centre for Staffordshire. It is situated on the same eastern, north-south main route (now the A34) as Worcester, the road from London to the coastal ports clustered around Liverpool. Stafford is situated on a major crossing of the river Sow. There is evidence of a history as far back as the Iron Age, and Romans may have settled the town. However, the first recorded history begins when King Alfred’s daughter Aethelflaed fortified the town against Danes. The charter dated 913 was for a market to serve a huge rural area full of farming and forestry. When the Normans arrived Stafford Castle was built, as were many fortified houses and forts, evidence that the area was hard to subdue.


Newcastle under Lyme
Link to h2g2 EG Newcastle under Lyme article
Newcastle Under Lyme borders the conurbation of Stoke on Trent in North Staffordshire. It has a range of shops centred on the high street and Guild Hall and is the biggest shopping area in North Staffordshire (except for Hanley in Stoke on Trent). The traditional open-air market in the high street operates regularly. There is a large cinema complex, a few nightclubs, some interesting pubs and nightlife. The New Vic Theatre in nearby Basford offers theatre-in-the-round in a purpose built building.

Leek

Leek is known locally as ‘Queen of the Moorlands’. The town is brimming with historical interest and unusual architecture.

As a market town and antique centre Leek has retained its character of small independent shops around the market square where there are many buildings of architectural interest. There are various markets, both outdoor and indoor, selling a wide range of locally sourced food and other goods. Leek was granted its Market Charter in 1207 by King John and celebrated the 800th anniversary of this historic event in 2007.
Silk weaving was also carried out in the town; there are many examples of old mills and silk weavers cottages to be seen.

Cannock

The town of Cannock has its roots in coal mining. The smaller outlying towns of Hednesford, Heath Hayes and Chadsmoor offer a mix of history and shopping.
Cannock Chase is an area of outstanding natural beauty with wonderful wildlife, walking cycling and picnic areas.

Lichfield

Lichfield is a small city in the South of Staffordshire. The most well know landmark is the medieval Cathedral with three spires, often referred to as ‘The Ladies of the Vale’ The historic Cathedral City has some examples of interesting architecture combined with modern facilities. There is a Heritage Trail that will guide you around the City.

The Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) Birthplace Museum stands in the centre of the historic city of Lichfield, which remained close to Johnson's heart throughout his life. Samuel Johnson was best known for his Dictionary of the English Language and he spent the first 27 years of his life in the large, imposing house that overlooks Market Square, frequently returning until shortly before his death.

Tamworth

Tamworth has a fascinated wealth of local history dating back to the Middle Ages. In 1888 it was divided right through the town centre, being in two separate counties, that of Warwickshire and Staffordshire. It was finally brought entirely into Staffordshire in 1889.
Tamworth, 17 miles north of Birmingham, is now a busy centre with a selection of mainly manufacturing industry. In the past it was where the Reliant Car Company built the three-wheeled Robin and the Scimitar sportscar.
Historically it was the original capital of Mercia, the ‘Seat of Saxon Kings’ and has had many Royal Charters bestowed upon it since the 14th Century. In its heyday it was the largest centre in the Midlands, when Birmingham was still in its infancy. In the 11th Century a Norman Castle was built, which still stands and is a tourist attraction.

The Victorian Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel served as the town's MP from 1830 until his death in 1850. It was in Tamworth that Robert Peel unveiled his Tamworth Manifesto in 1834 and created what is now the modern Conservative Party.

During the 19th century a breed of pig called Tamworth Pig was initially bred here using some imported Irish stock.

Uttoxeter

Uttoxeter is a rural market town in the grazing district above the River Dove. It is famous for its racecourse and also for two of its local employers, JCB and Foxes Biscuits.
Staffordshire's most famous export - even including Wedgwood pottery, Bass Beer, Royal Doulton or Armitage Shanks toiletware - is almost certainly the JCB digger, manufactured in Rocester near Uttoxeter, and sold all over the world. The initials JCB come from company founder JC Bamford, and the Bamford family still retain control of what is one of the largest privately owned corporations in the United Kingdom.



Burton upon Trent

Burton upon Trent is a bustling market town that is most famous for its Brewing Industry. The River Trent runs through it and the Washlands offers a pleasant green space in the centre of the town. The town centre has been pedestrianised and has a number of shopping centres, cafes, bars and specialist shops There are both open air and indoor markets.

Originally the monks at the local Abbey discovered that the local hard water brewed very good Ale and the brewing industry was born.
The River Trent was an important factor in the distribution of the Ale which was exported to the Baltic ports. At one time it is thought that there were up to 40 breweries in Burton on Trent. There were also many Inns for travellers passing through the town. The Bass Museum has now been closed due to a decline in visitor numbers.

Rugeley

Rugeley, on the edge of Cannock Chase is another market town, mostly dominated by the cooling towers of Rugeley Power Station.

Biddulph

Biddulph was originally a small mining town near to the Cheshire border and is now proud of its floral displays. It is also the location of Biddulph Grange, a restored Victorian Garden designed by James Bateman complete with follies and grotto. The National Trust now owns Biddulph Grange. The nearby village of Mow Cop has a magnificent view over the Cheshire Plain and also has an unusual folly which provides a local landmark visible for many miles.

Cheadle

Cheadle is a small historic town in the Staffordshire Moorlands with a restored Victorian market and an Art Trail for tourists. It is also the home of one of the finest churches in Britain, St Giles Roman Catholic Church which was designed in the 19th Century by A.W.N. Pugin. The church has a 200 foot spire and has an elaborately decorated interior.


Curious Facts

The place in the whole of Britain furthest from the sea is in Staffordshire, the hamlet
of Chebsey, 5 miles northwest of Stafford.

The highest village in Britain is Flash, in the Staffordshire Moorlands. Due to its remote location it is reputed that Flash was where money was counterfeited, and also where prize fighting took place. Either or both of these may be the origin of the term ‘flash money’, i.e. having money gained by ill-gotten means.

Accents change markedly in Staffordshire depending on where you are. In the south of the county, the flat vowels of the West Midlands 'Brummie' accent dominate, whereas those born in the north favour a more nasal accent with hard northern vowel sounds closer to that traditionally spoken in the North-West. Stafford, in the middle of all this, is something of a linguistic crossroads, and has been described by one researcher as ‘the most accentless middle-class town in England’
The original Staffordshire Potteries had its own dialect rather than just a slightly different accent.

The emblem of Staffordshire is the Stafford Knot. Whilst some sources give the origins of this being portrayed on an early stone cross others give the origin to a be a hangman’s noose. It is the heraldic symbol for the de Stafford family and the heraldic badge for Staffordshire includes the Stafford Knot, with the motto ‘The Knot Unites’
The Staffordshire Railway was called ‘The Knotty’.


Staffordshire Oatcakes

Oatcakes are one of the things a local from North Staffordshire often misses when away from home. They are a local curiosity (link to article in edited guide) made in specialist shops on every high street and are completely different from the Scottish Oatcake. Staffordshire Oatcakes are the local staple food from bygone years when oats were easier than wheat to grow in the poor upland soils of north Staffordshire. Oatcakes are rather like a chapatti to look at, being soft pancake shaped oat ‘cakes’ made from fine oatmeal and whole wheat flour, raised with yeast and the resulting batter baked on a griddle. The recipe for the oatcake is usually kept as a family secret and passed down from generation to generation. They are often served with bacon, cheese, sausage, eggs, mushrooms; the original all-day breakfast ‘take-away’.


Places of Interest in Staffordshire

The Peak District National Park

Part of the Peak District is in the Staffordshire Moorlands, and is an area of wild rugged beauty with

Alton Towers

This well known theme park resort is near to the town of Cheadle, just outside the picturesque village of Alton. Originally the stately home of (---) it retains much of the original landscaped grounds including a Japanese Pagoda.

There are two steam railways of note
Foxfield and Cheddleton

Churnet Valley RSPB

Rudyard Lake


There are two universities, Keele University, situated a few miles outside of Newcastle under Lyme and Staffordshire University with its main campus site in Stafford.

Well done I will wait for the rest and have a long look but this looks very good

I can see immediately I posted it some glaring errors. But I think I've cracked it, and I learned a whole lot about people I didn't know a thing about before. eg Robert Peel.


Oh yes that reminds me Izaak Walton....

Hi Bob I missed these two towns -
Towns
Kidsrove
Kidsgrove is a town in the borough of Newcastle under Lyme, associated with mining and canals. Famous for the Harecastle Tunnel on the Trent Mersey Canal, it is also tarnished with the memory of the Black Panther, Donald Nielson who kidnapped and left a young woman to die in the 1970’s. Another famous person to mention is Reginald Mitchell, born in Butt Lane Kidsgrove, who invented the Spitfire. He died in 1937,aged 42, just one year after the prototype of the Spitfire first flew. Visitors can see the Spitfire in the Hanley Museum.
http://www.stoke.gov.uk/ccm/navigation/leisure/museums/potteries-museum---art-gallery/things-to-see/spitfire/stoke-on-trent-s-spitfire/



Stone

Stone sits on the middle of the 93 mile Trent Mersey Canal, which was commissioned by Josiah Wedgwood, and retains some delightful canal side pubs. The designer of the Trent Mersey was James Brindley and the Headquarters of the Canal Company were in Stone.
http://www.canaljunction.com/canal/engineer.htm#Brindley



I can't do 'footnotes' yet, but Wedgwood (1730-95)was born in Burslem SOT, (else we'd have to include him too.)

Places of Interest in Staffordshire

The Peak District National Park
http://www.peakdistrict-nationalpark.com/history.php
Part of the Peak District is in the Staffordshire Moorlands, and is an area of wild rugged beauty with many dales and of course ‘Peaks’ It was the first of Britain’s National Parks and has many places of interest and history.

Each Spring the villages of the Peak have ceremonies dating back to Pagan times called Well Dressings, where wells and springs are decorated with pictures made of flowers.

Izaak Walton, famous as the 16th century author of ‘The Compleat Angler’, was born in Stafford and was a frequent visitor to Beresford Dale, in the Peak District.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/stoke/content/articles/2006/04/03/local_heroes_izaak_walton_feature.shtml

Alton Towers

This well-known theme park resort is near to the picturesque village of Alton, close to the town of Cheadle. Originally the stately home of The Earls of Shrewsbury it retains the original landscaped grounds including the Chinese Pagoda Fountain which is an exact copy of the To Ho Pagoda in Canton. The history of the Towers is often overlooked, in favour of the thrill of the rides. In the 8th century there was a fortress on the site held by Ceolred, King of Mercia. From 1412 to 1920 the Earls of Shrewsbury occupied the castle. The Alton Towers Company came into being in 1924 when the castle was sold to them, but the grounds were first opened to the public in 1860.

http://www.towerstimes.co.uk/


Steam Railways
There are two steam railways of note

The Churnet Valley Railway Company has stations and 10.5 miles of track between Kingsley, Froghall, Consall, Cheddleton and Leekbrook. Steam trains run frequently, with interesting themed events throughout the year.

Foxfield Light Railway is smaller, with track between Caverswall and Dilhorne.
http://www.foxfieldrailway.co.uk/index.htm


Rudyard Lake, Rudyard, Near Leek
Rudyard Lake was built in 1831 to provide water for the Macclesfield Canal. It became popular in the 1900’s as a tourist attraction. Rudyard Kipling owes his name to the fact that his parents did their courting near the lake and named their son after this romantic location. The present day lake is still popular as a venue for walkers, water sports enthusiasts and day trippers. There is a narrow gauge steam railway around the lakeside.

RSPB Coombes and Churnet Valley
Set in a spectacular wooded valley this reserve supports a wide diversity of birds and other wildlife.
http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/c/coombeschurnet/

Universities
There are two universities, Keele University, situated a few miles outside of Newcastle under Lyme and Staffordshire University with its main campus site in Stafford.

Right I think I will put the kettle on now as I have come to an end in what I have to offer. Apart from helping you to edit it that is.
In particular, the list of towns is in no particular order, as I couldn't decide between Geographical area, alphabetical order or size.

I haven't tackled football, sport or culture (?)

I am probably going to think about doing an article or two on the Potteries, ie History of and Modern City, so obvious candidates can go into that article where needed.

I am also going to write more about Leek, and possibly about Well dressings.

Good luck reading it, I am sure you will spot things to amend.
L

A49713933

Have a look and comment please

Hi Bob

I see you are down as the editor? Not one of the writers?


Anyway, thanks! it looks great, I like how you have moved a few things about, better places. eg Well dressings, they are curious.

I think the town order could be a tad better, how about
Stafford, then Stone
Newcastle, then Kidsgrove
Leek, then Biddulph and Cheadle

then the rest

Typo on Kidsgrove header, missing 'g'

What is the preference northeast north east or north-east? We seem to have examples of all types, my spell checker likes them all equally.

Not too sure about the famous folk at the end, it looks a bit sparse,

what do you think?

again L

It needs finishing, if the famous people arenot seperate they will be missed I think what about you.

Yes the order needs sorting and the missing links can be added after the taxt if sorted

What do you think...

I like it so far! Feeling happy!
What do you want me to do next?

Lets see if we can sort an order, shall we list the famous seperatly or not.
And have we missed anything do you think


SEARCH h2g2 enter staffordshire to find ant H2G2
entries we can link, sorry this is the deep end and if you survive you will be able to continue to do entries unai ded

Ok will come back to you tomorrow.

Thanks!

Izaak Walton it really *is* the

Compleat (olde worlde spelling)


Angler


I think the book title should be in italics