Administrative Boundary of Staffordshire

About Staffordshire

Staffordshire is a county in the West Midlands of England. Covering approximately 2,620 square kilometres of moorland, river valley, heathland, and agricultural landscape between the Peak District in the north and the West Midlands conurbation in the south, Staffordshire had a population of approximately 890,000 at the 2021 Census (excluding the unitary authority of Stoke-on-Trent). The county made history in 2009 when a metal detectorist discovered the Staffordshire Hoard — the largest and most important hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork ever found — and also contains the only three-spired medieval cathedral in England, the heathland of Cannock Chase, and the heritage of Samuel Johnson. The Staffordshire Hoard The Staffordshire Hoard — discovered in July 2009 by Terry Herbert using a metal detector in a field near the village of Hammerwich, close to Lichfield — is the largest and most significant hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork ever found. The hoard contained over 3,500 individual items, including fittings and components from high-status military equipment (sword pommels, helmet fragments, sword hilt fittings), a small number of religious objects (including a remarkable inscribed strip bearing a Latin quotation from the Book of Numbers), and quantities of gold, garnet cloisonné, and silver work of extraordinary technical quality. The hoard dates to the 7th century — the height of the Mercian kingdom whose centre lay in what is now Staffordshire — and its discovery transformed understanding of the richness and sophistication of Mercian material culture. The Hoard is jointly owned by Birmingham Museums Trust and the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Stoke-on-Trent, and is displayed across both institutions. Lichfield Cathedral and Samuel Johnson Lichfield Cathedral — the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary — is the only medieval cathedral in England with three spires, its triple spires (the "Ladies of the Vale") creating one of the most distinctive skylines of any English cathedral. The cathedral is largely 13th and 14th century in date, with a magnificent west facade covered in medieval sculpture (heavily restored in the 18th and 19th centuries). The Lichfield Gospels — one of the finest illuminated manuscript gospels to survive from 8th-century Britain — are kept in the cathedral. Samuel Johnson (1709–1784), the great lexicographer, critic, poet, and conversationalist — author of A Dictionary of the English Language (1755), the most important English dictionary before the Oxford English Dictionary — was born in Lichfield; the Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum and the house where he grew up are preserved in the city centre. Cannock Chase and Natural Heritage Cannock Chase — designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1958 — covers approximately 68 square kilometres of heathland, conifer plantation, and ancient oak woodland between Stafford and Lichfield. The Chase was a medieval royal hunting forest and was intensively used as a military training ground during both World Wars, with several Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries on the Chase commemorating both World Wars. The German War Cemetery on Cannock Chase is the only German war cemetery in England. GIS and Boundary Data The administrative boundary of Staffordshire County Council is available for free download in GeoJSON and KML formats, sourced from the ONS Open Geography Portal (Crown copyright 2024). Compatible with QGIS, ArcGIS, Mapbox, and Google Earth, the dataset supports Anglo-Saxon archaeology, cathedral heritage, heathland conservation, literary heritage mapping, and demographic analysis across the Staffordshire local authority area.

📍 Administrative boundary of Staffordshire county