Portal:Staffordshire

Staffordshire (/ˈstæfərdʃɪər, -ʃər/; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a 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.

The county has an area of 1,713 square kilometres (661 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 1,177,578 in 2024. Stoke-on-Trent is located in the north, with the town of Newcastle-under-Lyme immediately to the west. Stafford is in the centre of the county, Burton upon Trent in the east, and Tamworth and the city of Lichfield in the south-east. 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 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. The Cannock Chase AONB and parts of the National Forest and Kinver Edge are in the south. The River Trent and its tributaries drain most of the county. From its source, near Biddulph, 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. (Full article...)