Stafford, Staffordshire, England, UK 作者：  来源：  发布时间：2021-04-02

I. Population and Area

Continent: Europe

Country: The U.K

State/Province: England

City/Town: Stafford, Staffordshire

Total Area: 4.274(sq mi)

Population in 2011: 146.6（thousand） 

II. Natural Geography (environment and resources)

Climate

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.

Railways

Stafford railway station was once a major railway hub, but the suspension of passenger services on the Stafford to Uttoxeter line in 1939 and Beeching's closure of the Stafford to Shrewsbury Line in 1964 eliminated the station's east-west traffic. The years up to 2008 saw cross-country trains (operated by Virgin CrossCountry) stopping at Stafford less frequently. Since Arriva CrossCountry took over the franchise and adopted a new timetable in 2008, this has reversed and services between Manchester Piccadilly and Birmingham New Street almost always stop at Stafford, giving a service typically every 30 mins on weekdays. Beyond Birmingham the services continue alternately to Bristol Temple Meads and Bournemouth. Avanti West Coast services to London Euston and Liverpool Lime Street operate hourly in each direction seven days a week.

Roads

Junctions 13 (Stafford South & Central) and 14 (Stafford North) of the M6 motorway provide access to the town, so that Birmingham and Manchester are easily reached. The A34 runs through the town centre and links with Stone and Stoke-on-Trent to the north and to the West Midlands conurbation to the south including Birmingham, Walsall and Wolverhampton. The A518 road connects Stafford with Telford to the south-west and Uttoxeter to the north-east. This is the main route to the theme park at Alton Towers. The A449 runs south from the town centre to the nearby town of Penkridge and to Wolverhampton. Finally, the A513 runs east from Stafford to the local towns of Rugeley and Lichfield.

Buses

Most bus services in Stafford and area are provided by Arriva Midlands which also runs to Lichfield, Rugeley and Telford. National Express West Midlands ran a service between Wolverhampton and Stafford until April 2020 which was cut back to run between the i54 and Wolverhampton only due to funding cuts. An infrequent link between Wolverhampton and Stafford is provided by Select Bus. Services to Stone and Stoke-on-Trent are handled by First Potteries and Bakerbus. D&G Bus and a number of smaller operators serve rural destinations.

Taxis

Stafford has five taxi companies and several independent operators from ranks at the station, Bridge St, Broad St and Salter St.

Canal

The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal runs close to the Baswich and Wildwood areas and was once linked to the River Sow by the River Sow Navigation.

III. ECONOMY

Reference Website:

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/REALGDPALL51179 

IV. Industrial Characterisitics

Major industries：Some nationally and internationally known companies have their base in Staffordshire. They include the Britannia Building Society which is based in Leek. JCB is based in Rocester near Uttoxeter and Bet365 which is based in Stoke-on-Trent. The theme park Alton Towers is in the Staffordshire Moorlands and several of the world's largest pottery manufacturers are based in Stoke-on-Trent. The town of Burton upon Trent is known for its beer brewing industry with several major brands such as Carling, Cobra and Marston's brewed there.

 Big project：The Stafford Project

Details: Stafford plays Michelle, an actress known for her role of Francis on a soap opera who is raising her three-year-old daughter and trying to "get her groove on as a single chick and mother

V. Attractions

1. Icarus Falconry：

It was obvious that all the staff care deeply for the birds & have real enthusiasm for the work they do as well as sharing their knowledge about the birds and conservation.

2. Trapp'd Northampton：

Came the other night, Amy & Tilly were extremely welcoming and very friendly from the start, with new Covid measures everything was really easy and the room was great.

3. Northampton Filmhouse：

Love this filmhouse. Comfortable seats, easy to book on line and pickup the tickets when you get there, a bar that also serves coffee. A place one can visit alone.

 Reference Website:

https://www.tripadvisor.cn/Attractions-g186349-Activities-zft12156-Northampton_Northamptonshire_England.html

VI. History

Stafford means "ford" by a staithe (landing place). The original settlement was on a dry sand and gravel peninsula that offered a strategic crossing point in the marshy valley of the River Sow, a tributary of the River Trent. There is still a large area of marshland north-west of the town, which is subject to flooding and did so in 1947, 2000, 2007 and 2019.

Already a centre for delivering grain tribute in the Early Middle Ages, Stafford was commandeered in July 913 by Æthelflæd, Lady of Mercia, to construct a burh there. This fortification provided an industrial area for centralised production of Roman-style pottery (Stafford Ware),which was supplied to a chain of West Midlands burhs.

Æthelflæd and her younger brother, King Edward the Elder of Wessex, were trying to complete their father King Alfred the Great's programme of moulding England into a single kingdom. Æthelflæd, a formidable military leader and tactician, sought to protect and extend the northern and western frontiers of her overlordship of Mercia against the Danish Vikings by fortifying burhs, including Tamworth and Stafford in 913, and Runcorn on the River Mersey in 915, while King Edward the Elder concentrated on the east, wresting East Anglia and Essex from the Danes. Anglo-Saxon women could play powerful roles in society; Æthelflæd's death in 918 effectively ended Mercia's relative independence. Edward the Elder of Wessex took over her fortress at Tamworth and accepted submission from all who were living in Mercia, Danish or English. In late 918 Aelfwynn, Æthelflæd's daughter, was deprived of her authority over Mercia and taken to Wessex. The project of unifying England took another step forward.

VII. Culture

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, Stafford

Victoria Park, opened in 1908, is a 13-acre (53 ha) Edwardian riverside park with a play park, bowling green, bird cages and greenhouses. It has recently undergone redevelopment in places, incorporating a new children's play area, a new sand-an-water-jet area replacing an open-air paddling pool, and a new 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 the aging 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, and rock gigs at 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.

VIII. Other information

Stafford Crown Court and Stafford County Court share a building in the town centre. There was a magistrates' court in nearby South Walls, but it closed in 2016. The Shire Hall, Stafford, completed in 1798, used to be a court house, but is now an art gallery.

Stafford Prison is a Category C men's prison, operated by HM Prison Service. It holds a number of vulnerable prisoners, mainly sex offenders. It was built on its current site in 1794 and has been in almost continuous use, except between 1916 and 1940.

IX. Contact information

Mayor/Officer: Leonard Scarcella

Tel: (281) 261-3900

Mail: contactus@staffordtx.gov

Reference Website:

http://www.staffordtx.gov/government/mayors-office/about-mayor-scarcella.html