STAFFORDSHIRE. 



Eeclefiajlical Hiflory. — Staffordfhire did not receive the 

 light of the gofpel till the reign of Penda, king of Mercia, 

 wnofe fon, Peadda, was converted to Chriftianity by the vene- 

 rable Bede. This vpas foon declared the ettablirtied religion 

 of Mercia, and the cathedral of Lichfield was founded, 

 where the epifcopal fee of Mercia was fixed in 669 ; but it 

 was foon afterwards divided into five feveral diocefes, and 

 Lichfield, Worcefter, Hereford, Leicelter, and Sidnacefter, 

 chofen for the refpeftive fees. In the year 786, at the re- 

 queft of king OfTa, pope Adrian advanced Lichfield to the 

 dignity of an arciibifliopric ; but this dillindtion was con- 

 tinued only till the death of Offa, when pope Leo reduced 

 it to its former rank. About the year 1067 the epifcopal 

 feat was removed to Chefter, and thence foon afterwards to 

 Coventry, where it continued till the end of the thirteenth 

 century, when Walter de Langton was appointed bifhop of 

 Lichfield and Coventry. From this period nothing remark- 

 able occurred in Staffordfhire, connected with church hif- 

 tory, previous to the reformation, when Lichfield cathedral 

 was defpoiled of the rich fhrine of St. Chad, and the fee of 

 Coventry feparated from it. The two bithoprics remained 

 diflinA till the relloration, when they were again united in 

 the perfon of Dr. John Hacket. Since that time the diocefe 

 has undergone no particular alteration. Staffordfhire, which 

 is comprised in this fee, contains 181 parilhes. 



Civil Div'tfion. — Staffordfhire is divided into fire hun- 

 dreds ; Totmanflow, Pyrehill, Cuddleftone, OfHow, and 

 Seifdon : and contains one city, Lichfield, and twenty-three 

 other market-towns, 'uiz. Stafford, Wolverhampton, Wal- 

 fall, Burton-on-Trent, Uttoxeter, Newcallle, Leek, Stone, 

 Cheadle, Ecclefhall, Rudgeley, Tamworth, Tutbury, Ab- 

 bot's-Bromley, Breewood, Penkridge, Cannock, Wednef- 

 bury, Burflem, Handley-Gieen, Lane-End, and Longnor. 

 Ten members are returned to the imperial parliament from 

 this county, viz. two for the fhire, and two each for Lich- 

 field, Stafford, Newcaflle, and Tamworth. According to 

 the population furvey of the year 181 1, this county con- 

 tained 57,040 houfes, occupied by 295,153 perfons ; of 

 whom 34,011 families were chiefly employed in trade and 

 manufactures, and 18,361 in agriculture. 



General AfpeS, Soil, and Climate The appearance of 



the county varies m different diltrifts. The middle and 

 fouth portions are generally level : among the few excep- 

 tions are the hills of Dudley and Sedgeley, the quartofe 

 and ragftone hills of Rowley, and thofe of Clent and Bar- 

 beacon. The grounds of Byfhbury and Eflington, and 

 feme fituations near Tettenhall and Enville, as well as on 

 Cannock-heath, are alfo confiderably elevated. Tiie latter 

 portion of the county was in ancient times covered with 

 oak, but motl of thefe have been dellroyed : indeed fcarccly 

 a tree now remains to enliven the profpeft, through an ex- 

 tent of 2500 acres. The northern portion of the county is of 

 an oppofite charafter to that on the fouth. Here the furface 

 is molUy bleak and hilly : only a few of the eminences, Iiow- 

 ever, rife to any remarkable elevation. The fummit of Bun- 

 fter, near Ham, was found by Mr. Pitt, in the courfe of his 

 " Agricultural Survey," to be 1 200 feet above the level of 

 the Thames. The Wcevcr hills, and feme other points, he 

 reports as afcending even 1500 feet. The general elevation 

 of this diftrift above the fouthcrn is ellimated at from 

 one to two hundred yards. That portion of it called the 

 moorlands, is the commencement of that range of mountains 

 which extend through the centre of England, till they enter 

 Scotland, acquiring different appellations in their progrefi:, 

 and incrcafing in altitude as they approach tlie north. The 

 fail is extremely varied. The arable foils may be divided 

 generally into the argillaceeus, or lliiT and llrong clayey j 

 . Vol. XXXIU. 



the arenaceous, or loofe, light, and fandy ; the calcareous, 

 or lime earth ; and a mixed or compound foil, or loam com- 

 pofed of the foregoing, with the addition of ilones and other 

 matters. The climate of this county inclines to wet : the 

 annual rains are calculated at upwards of 36 inches, and 

 thus exceed by nearly 16 inches the average computation 

 of rain in London. A great quantity of fnow fills in the 

 moorlands, which doubtlefs is a principal caufe of the 

 piercing cold which prevails in that diltrift. 



Rivers. — Staffordfhire abounds with rivers, but none of 

 them are navicjablc, at lead within the county. The prin- 

 cipal are the Trent, the Dove, the Tame, and the Blythe. 

 The Trent, which may be confidered as the third river of 

 England, waters, in its courfe to the lea, fome of the 

 moil fertile and bell cultivated diltrifts of the kingdom. 

 During its paffage throueh Staffordfhire, its banks are 

 covered with luxuriant meadows. In the vicinity of Trent- 

 ham, the feat of the noble family of Gower, the efforts of 

 art have greatly added to the natural beauty of the river, 

 by fwelling it into an expanfive lake. Paffing the town of 

 Stone, it flows through a valley diverfified with a variety 

 of elegant parks ; of which that of Wolfey, bordering on 

 the chafe of Cannock, is one of the moll remarkable for 

 the romantic beauty of its (cenery. Purfuing its courfe, 

 the Trent becomes the boundary between the counties of 

 Stafford and Derby, till its junclion with the river Dove ; 

 then, crofling Derbyfhire, it runs through the counties of 

 Nottingham and Lincoln, and at length pours its water* 

 into the Humber. The Dove takes its rife among the hills 

 in the moorlands, near tiie points where the counties of 

 Stafford, Derby, and Chefter meet. From the declivity of 

 its channel, its waters flow with uncommon rapidity ; in 

 fome places it dafhes precipitately over rugged rocks ; in 

 others it is diltinguifhcd by gentle cafcades. It falls into 

 the Trent near Burton, on tlie confines of Derbyfhire. 

 The Tame, another river of c»nfiderable fize, fprings from 

 feveral fources in the vicinity of Walfall and Colcfhill, enterj 

 Warwickfhire near Birmingham, returns into Staffordfhire 

 at Tamworth, and finally joins the Trent. The Blythe 

 rifes in the neighbourhood of W^tley moor, in the northern 

 dillrift. Its courfe is nearly parallel to the Trent, into 

 which it falls near King's-Bromley. 



Canals. — Although an inland fituation, without navigable 

 rivers, appears to labour under peculiar difadvantage for 

 the purpofes of trade ; yet in Staffordlliirc the deficiency is 

 amply compenfated by the number and extent of the canals, 

 with which this county is fo largely fupplied. The prin- 

 cipal are the Grand Trunk Canal, the Coventry and Oxford, 

 and the Birmingham Canal. Thefe, with their numcrouf 

 branches and ramifications, have already been particularly 

 defcribed. See Canal. 



Lakes and Springs. — This county affords but few lakc«, 

 and thofe of no great confequcnce. Thofc moll worthy 

 notice are that of Aquilate, which extends 1S48 yards in 

 length, and 672 in breadth; and Ladford Pool, which 

 occupies the fpace of about 60 acres. Salt fprings are 

 found in various places. The moll confidcrable are thofe 

 in the parilh of Wellon, whence fait is produced, equal in 

 quality and colour to that of any part of the kingdom. 



Minerals. — The number and value of the mineral pro. 

 dudlions of Staffordlhire claim particular notice. Coal is 

 abundant : upwards of 50,000 acres have been afcertaincd 

 to contain an inexhaullible fupply, near enough to the fur- 

 face to be eafily raifed. From the earliell times to the pre- 

 fent, the confumption does not appear to have exceeded a 

 tenth part of the whole. In the fouthern divifion of the 

 county, the coal dillriA extends in length from tUc interior 



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