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STAFFORD COURT HOUSE
The County of Stafford is situated near the centre of the Country of England.It has
boundaries with, Cheshire in the north west, Derbyshire in the north east, Worcestershire
in the south, Warwickshire in the south east and Shropshire in the west. The County is
fifty-five miles in length and thirty three miles wide and has an area of 1,148 square
miles.
The name of Stafford is thought to have come from the fact that
the river Stour could be forded by means of a staff in the town. The
County was formed in the 10th Century during the reign of , Edward the Elder.
For administrative purposes the County was divided into five divisions called Hundreds,
(Local Government). The Hundred Courts dealt with law and order, taxes, criminal offences,
etc. See The Five Hundreds of Staffordshire.HUNDREDSBATTLES FOUGHT IN ANCIENT TIMES.
The County has a long history and has been the centre of many battles. The ancient British
inhabitants were the Cornavii, who were defeated by the Romans who included the
County in the division known as Flavia Caesariensis. When the Anglo-Saxons took
up occupation they annexed Stafford into the kingdom of Mercia. The County suffered
greatly during the invasion of the Danes and the subsequent battles with the Saxons. The
Danes were defeated in battle, suffering great losses, during the reign of Edward the
Elder, in the South West of the County.
During the wars of the roses in 1459, between the houses of York and Lancaster, a battle
was fought at, Audley's Cross, Blore Heath, Nr Market Drayton.
The battle was fought between, the Earl of Salisbury with his army of five thousand men
and the local, Lord Audley and a Royal force of ten thousand. The Earl of Salisbury and
his men defeated Lord Audley's troops with over 2,400 of the Lord's men being slain, most
of whom were from Cheshire, Lord Audley was also killed in the battle. Margaret
of Anjou, consort of King Henry V1, who had been watching the battle
take place, fled, as it became evident the Royalist's were about to be defeated, to
Eccleshall Castle, which is just north west of Stafford.
In 1643 during the Civil War between the Royalist's and
Parliamentarians a battle took place just over a mile north of Stafford at Hopton Heath. A
small party of Royalist's commanded by, the Earl of Northampton, was in pursuit of a force
under the command of, Sir John Gell and Sir William Brereton, two of Cromwell's Generals.
The Earls force was surrounded and slain. Stafford soon after this surrendered to the
Parliament army's as did many other towns in the County, including Wolverhampton and
Eccleshall castle. Lichfield also suffered badly at the hands of the two contesting
factions.
CIVIL AND ECCLESIASTICAL DIVISION.
Staffordshire, in 1835 according to, the 'Pigot and Co' directory, was in the province of
Canterbury, and Diocese of Lichfield and Coventry, and was in the Oxford Circuit. The
County was divided into five hundreds, (Districts), these were, CUTTLESTONE, in which were the market
towns of, Rugely and Penkridge, OFFLOW
, which was divided into North and South divisions, the Market Towns in this Hundred were,
Burton-upon-Trent, Tamworth, Walsall, Wednesbury and Lichfield, .PIREHILL, one of the largest of the
Hundreds in Staffordshire, it includes the Boroughs of, Stoke-upon-Trent,
Newcastle-under-Lyme and Stafford. It also has as well as those 3 Market Towns, Burslem,
Tunstall, Hanley and Shelton, Longton, Stone Eccleshall, and Abbots Bromley. SEISDON, in the south west of the County
is the smallest but one of the most populated. It includes the town of Wolverhampton.
Finally there was, TOTMONSLOW.which
covered the Moorlands of North Staffordshire.
The five Hundreds of Staffordshire which in 1835 were divided into 145 Parishes,
(181 Parishes in 1851), contained one City (Lichfield), one County Town (Stafford) and
more than 20 other Market Towns.
Prior to the 'Reform Bill' the County was represented by 10
Members of Parliament, they were two Members for, Lichfield, Newcastle-under-Lyme,
Stafford and Tamworth and two for the Shire. In
addition to these the new Bill allowed, Wolverhampton, Stoke-upon-Trent
to send two Members each and Walsall one, also an extra two Members were
allowed for the County. This meant the Shire was represented by 17 Members of Parliament.
The Boundaries Act, which was an appendage to the Reform Bill divided the
County into two parts, The Northern Division and the Southern Division. The Northern
Division contained, Pirehill, Totmonslow and Offlow North, and the Election of
Members of Parliament took place in Stafford. The Southern Division
contained the Hundreds of Seisdon, Cuttlestone and Offlow South and the Election of
Members of Parliament took place in Lichfield.
The Populations in the County of Staffordshire were, in 1801
- 239,153 persons.
In 1821 - 341,040. In 1831 - 410,485. In 1841
it had jumped to 510,504.
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