Stafford - Landmarks

Landmarks

The Elizabethan Ancient High House in the town centre is the largest timber-framed town house in England. It is now a museum, with changing exhibitions.

Stafford Castle was built by the Normans on the nearby hilltop to the west in about 1090, replacing the post-Conquest fort in the town. It was first made of wood, and later rebuilt of stone. It has been rebuilt twice since, and the ruins of the 19th century gothic revival castle crowning the earthworks incorporate much of the original stonework. The castle has a visitor centre, with audio visual displays and hands-on items. There's also a recreated medieval herb garden and Shakespeare productions take place in the castle grounds each Summer. The castle forms a landmark for drivers, as it is highly visible from the M6 motorway.

The oldest building now in Stafford is St Chad's Church, dating back into the twelfth century. The main part of the church is richly decorated. Carvings in the church's archways and pillars may have been made by a group of stonemasons from the Middle East who came to England during the Crusades. A great deal of the stonework was covered up during the 17th and 18th centuries, and the church took on a neo-classical style. In the early 19th century restoration, work was carried out on the church and the Norman decoration was rediscovered. The Church hosts "Timewalk", a computer generated display which relates the journey of history and mystery within the walls of the church.

St Mary's, the collegiate church formerly linked to St Bertelin's chapel, was completely rebuilt in the early 13th century in a cruciform layout with an aisled nave and chancel typical of the period. It has an impressive octagonal tower, once topped by a tall steeple, which can be picked out in Gough's plan shown above. The church was effectively two churches in one, divided by a screen, with the parish using the nave and the collegiate canons using the chancel. St Mary's was restored in 1842 by Giles Gilbert Scott.

The Shire Hall Gallery was built in 1798 as a court house and office of the Mayor and Clerk of Stafford. It houses the Art Gallery, which shows changing exhibitions. It also contains a café and the town's library. The Shire Hall used to be the town's court house, and is a Grade II listed building. It still retains two courtrooms. One of them is open to the general public and has a permanent exhibition showing the history of the building and details of some high profile cases that were heard there. An old 'holding cell' is also open to public viewing.

The Shugborough Hall country estate is 4 miles (6.4 km) outside town. It previously belonged to the Earls of Lichfield, and is now owned by the National Trust and maintained by the leaseholder, Staffordshire County Council. The 19th century Sandon Hall is 5 miles (8.0 km) northeast of Stafford. It is set in 400 acres (1.6 km2) of parkland, and is the seat of the Earl of Harrowby. Weston Hall stands 5 miles (8.0 km) east of Stafford, in the Trent valley, with a large park and it was once part of the Chartley estate. It is believed that the main part of the Hall was built around 1550 as a small dower house, however the architectural evidence suggests that it is Jacobean. Weston Hall was extended in 1660 into a three-gable structure with high-pitched roofs.