S T A 



of it is an old gatewav, ornamented with three feries of co- 

 h.mns, built by fir Walter AHon. Behind this gateway 

 ftood the ancient manfion, of which fome remains are itill 

 vifible, ereaed by fir Edward Aiton, in the beginning ot 

 Henry VIII. 's reifrn. Adjoininii to the park which fur- 

 rounds the manfion is Tixal Heath, diftinguifhed by two 

 remarkable tumuli, one called the King's, the other the 

 Queen's Low. But why lo named, or on what occafion 

 conllrutled, no account is extant. Two urns, fuppofed to 

 be of Roman workmanlhip, were found near them early m 

 the lalt century. . 



Adjoining Tixal is Ingeitre Hall, an old manfion, built in 

 the reign of queen Elizabeth, the feat of earl Talbot. Near 

 the houfe is the village-church, which was built in 1673, by 

 Walter Chetwynd, efq. the then poffeffor of this ellate. 



On Hopton Heath, adjoining Ingeftre, a fevere aiftion 

 was fought between the parhamentary and king's forces, in 

 the time of the civil wars of Charles I. — Hiitory and An- 

 tiquities of Staffordfhire, &c. by the Rev. Stebbing Shaw, 

 folio, 1798. Beauties of England and Wales, Stafford/hire, 

 by J. Nightingale, 8vo. 



Stafford, a county of Virginia, bounded N. by Prince 

 William county and E. by the Patowmac ; containing 9830 

 inhabitants, of whom 4195 are flaves. — Alfo, a townfhip 

 of Connefticut, in Tolland county, on the S. line of Maila- 

 chufetts, iz or 15 miles N.E. of Tolland. In this town- 

 fhip is a furnace for calling hollow ware, and a medicinal 

 fpring, which is the refort of valetudinarians. It contains 

 223J inhabitants. 



Stafford, New, a townfhip of New Jerfey, in Mon- 

 mouth county, adjoining Dover on the S.W. and contain- 

 ing 1239 inhabitants. 



STAFFORDSHIRE is an inland county, fituated 

 nearly in the centre of England, between 52 and 54 degrees 

 N. latitude, and between one and three degrees W. longitude 

 from London. It is in fhape an irregular parallelogram ; 

 and is bounded on the N. by Chefhire and Derbyfhire, on 

 the E. by Leicellerfhire, on the S. by the counties of War- 

 wick and Worcefter, and on the W. by Shropfhire. Its 

 greateft length from N.N.E. to S.S.W. is about 60 miles, 

 and its greateft breadth from E. to W. 38 miles. The fu- 

 perficial contents are about 780,800 acres, of which 100,000 

 are palture, 500,000 arable, and the remaining 180,800, 

 woods, waters, wailes, &c. 



^Indent State: Hijlorical Events. — This county appertained 

 to the Cornavii of the Britons, to the divifion of Flavia 

 Caefarienfis of the Romans, and was a part of the king- 

 dom of Mercia during the Saxon heptarchy. Bede calls 

 the inhabitants Angli-Mediterranei, the midland Englilh. 

 The two Roman military ways, Watling-ftreet and Icknield- 

 ilreet, pafs through this county. The former enters it out 

 of Warwickfhire, near Tamworth, and running weft ward 

 pafies into Shropfhire. Icknield-ftreet alfo enters from 

 Warwicklhire at the village of Hanfworth, near Birming- 

 ham, crofi'es Watling-ftreet, and enters Derbyfhire at Monk's 

 bridge. The Roman ftations in this county that are known, 

 are Pennocrucium, near Stretton ; and Etocetum, at Wall 

 near Lichfield. But Salmon gives to Staffordfhire four 

 Roman ftations, which, he fays, are Mediolanum, at 

 Knightley; Uriconium, at Wrottelley ; Uxacona, at Wall- 

 Lichfield ; and Etocetum, at Barbeacon. The firft of thefe 

 ftations Camden pofitively fixes in Montgomcrylhire ; and 

 bilhop Horflcy places it on a flip of land inclofed by the 

 Tern and another river. Salmon afhgns Pennocrucium to 

 Oldbury, in Warwickfhire, and refers to Antoninus's fecond 

 Iter for his authority ; but Plot, Gale, Horfley, and Stuke- 

 ley, coincide in opinion that Penkridge is the fcite of that 



S T A 



ftation. The ancient inhabitants of StafTordfhire, in the 

 opinion of Dr. Plot, were the Iceni ; but in this he ttands 

 unlupported : Shaw fays that tribe was undaubtedly of 

 Dc'rbyfliire. Camden and Goiigh will not allow that they 

 extended beyond Huntingdonfhire, weftward ; while Sal- 

 mon confines them to Norfolk and Suflnlk. Shaw fuppofes 

 that the Ordovices were the original inhabitants of this dif- 

 tridl, and it is generally agreed that they poifefled it many 

 centuries before the Chriitian era. Thefe were an intrepid 

 warlike people, whole territories compriled a great portion 

 of Wales and feveral counties of England. But they were 

 difturbed in their poftellions by the Coriiabii, who, breaking 

 through the hmits of their original fettlements on the banks 

 of the Dee, conquered a large traCt of country to the welt 

 and north-weft, and ellablilhed a monarchy, of which Con- 

 date was the capital. The Brigantes, in their turn fubdued 

 a portion of the territories of this tribe a fhort time previous 

 to the arrival of the Romans. On this event the metropolis 

 was transferred from Condate to Uriconium, now Wroxeter, 

 where it continued a confiderable time, till the Romans ex- 

 tended their conquell into the interior of the country. 

 During the fanguinary contelts which enfued, little is re- 

 corded refpefting this diltrift and its inhabitants, but that 

 they heroically refilled the invaders, and though at length 

 compelled to fubmit, their courage and ardour for freedom 

 excited the admiration of their conquerors. The Cornabii, 

 after the fubjeftion of their country, appear to have been the 

 friends and allies of the Romans. It is remarkable that 

 after the dechne of the Roman power, the appellation Cor- 

 nabii never occurs in the annals of Englilh hiltory. Whea 

 the Britons experienced a fecond fubjugation by the Saxons, 

 and the heptarchy was eltablilhcd, StafFordlhire formed a 

 part of the kingdom of Mercia, which extended over all 

 the midland counties, and was founded by Crida in the year 

 585. During the repeated invafions of the Danes, thi» 

 county fuftained a confiderable part of the calamities confe- 

 quent en their cruelty and rapacity. Several fanguinary 

 battles took place within the kingdom of Mercia ; in Staf- 

 fordfhire particularly, two viftories were obtained over the 

 Danes in the reign of Edward the Elder. On the partition 

 of England between Edmund Ironfide and Canute, this 

 county, as part of Mercia, was awarded to the latter. 

 After the Norman conquell, William divided the cllates of 

 the Mercian earls among four of his principal followers, 

 Hugh de Montgomery, earl ot Arundil ; Robert de Staf- 

 ford, Henry de Ferrars, and William Fuz-Anfciilph ; the 

 lall of whom held twenty five manors in this county. The 

 other principal landhold rs befides the king, were tiie bifhop 

 of Cheller, the abbots of Wellminlter and Burton, tne 

 church of Rheims, and the canons ot Stafford and Wolver- 

 hampton. During the contention between the royal houfes 

 of York and Lancafter, a decifive battle was fought at 

 Bloreheath, in this county, between the Yorkilts under the 

 earl of Salifbury, and the Lancallrians under lord Audley, 

 when the latter, with double the force and fuperior pofi- 

 tion, was completely defeated, himfelf flam, and 2400 Che- 

 ftiire gentlemen, whofe attachment to king Henry led them 

 into the van, alfo fell in the action. 



In the civil war of the feventeenth century, Staffordfhire 

 was confidL-rably engaged : Stafford furrendered to the par- 

 liament's forces, and Lichfield was feveral times taken and re- 

 taken by the contending parties. In this county Charles II. 

 lay concealed after the fatal battle of Worcefter, till he had 

 an opportunity of efcaping. The circumftances attending 

 his concealment', the difficulties he fuftained, and the uu- 

 fhaken loyalty of his friends, are amply detailed by Mr. Shaw 

 in his General Hiftory of Staffordllure. 



Eu/e- 



