Curious Places in Staffordshire.

This is a book about the odd and unusual buildings and locations within Staffordshire. Such 'curiosities' can include buildings, structures, locations or landforms that are either rare or unusual architecturally, or are associated with a fascinating story, particularly one that might not have reached the pages of the history books. The area defined by this book is the post 1992 county. It is a remarkably varied area and an extensive one. The book divides the county reflecting the variation in landscape, culture and curiosities that exist within its boundaries. The Staffordshire Moorlands are partly within the Peak District and to an extent reflects its Derbyshire neighbour. Within here is an extensive collection of curiosities - churches, churchyards ancient crosses, industrial remains, scenic spots and a theme park with some history! As a whole, the Staffordshire Moorlands deserves to be better known. The Potteries of the Five Towns and Newcastle under Lyme are well known to collectors of Wedgwood, readers of Arnold Bennett and students of industrial archeology. They contain some interesting curiosities both with the urban areas and the rural fringes. The county town of Stafford and the rest of its borough is as varied an area as the county as a whole. With a historical centre, it also contains aristocratic estates, interesting churches and a western fringe that can often be mistaken for being a part of adjacent Shropshire. Likewise at the other end of the county, Eastern Staffordshire merges into South Derbyshire and Leicestershire. The ecclesiastical centre of Lichfield has a good collection of interesting buildings associated with its past and some of the characters from literature and science that lived there. Tamworth and Cannock (especially the Chase) add their contributions whilst South Staffordshire provide a picturesque fringe to the West Midlands, along with some more aristocratic estates and one of Britain's most scenic narrow canals. The curiosities of the area reflect its history, its geography and its people. There is ample justification for its current marketing slogan 'The Creative County'. The choice of curiosities that follows in these pages is inevitably a personal one. There are of course, many others.