Stafford

The county town of Staffordshire, the town of Stafford is well placed as a tourist centre being within very easy reach of the main M6 motorway and also on the central rail network.

Standing on the River Trent, Stafford is a town that is proud of its rich heritage and one that has much to offer the tourist, and is also home to a major student population resident at Staffordshire University. The impressively floodlit Stafford Castle – now a hilltop ruin – is a familiar site to those who use the nearby motorway regularly, and the history of the town is embroiled with tales of royal charters and warring factions.

 

Today the town offers a wide and varied array of historic buildings – with of particular interest the stunning High House, the oldest timber framed town house in England which dates from Elizabethan times. A pretty town with excellent shops, interesting pubs and some quirky attractions, the central location of Stafford makes it a popular tourist destination.

The Ancient High House, Greengate Street, Stafford ST16 2HS (01785) 619131
The Ancient High House has led a chequered history. Built in the late 16th Century it was first used by King Charles I in 1642 at the start of the English Civil War, before being used one year later by the Parliamentarians to hold Royalists as prisoners.
Nowadays, life is much more serene and the Ancient High House now contains a museum dedicated to the Staffordshire Yeomanry and Queen’s Own Royal Regiment.

Stafford Castle & Visitor Centre, Castle Bank, Newport Road, Stafford ST16 1DJ (01785 257 698
Built by the Normans around 1100AD to protect themselves from marauding natives, Stafford Castle has been through many changes.
During the 17th Century and particularly around the English Civil War, the Castle was eventually abandoned and then demolished. It was rebuilt during the 18th Century, but again, fell into ruins.
Following excavations, a visitor centre was created to exhibit the collections and artefacts found.