Stafford Archers
Notes on the County Town of Stafford

Things you might not know about Stafford

2006 is the 800th anniversary of the granting, by King John in 1206, of the Royal Charter which created the borough of Stafford. On the 31st March Her Majesty The Queen visited the town to join in the civic celebrations.

The crowd is entertained by the band of the Prince of Wales Regiment.
The Royal Standard flies above the Shire Hall

The Queen on walk about in Stafford's Market Square

Did you know that David Cameron (Con) lost an election to David Kidney (Lab) in Stafford in 1997?  David Kidney has been Stafford's MP since that time.

Did you know that The Ancient High House in Stafford's Greengate Street is the largest timber framed Tudor town house in England?  It was built in 1595 and is one of the finest Tudor buildings in the country.

Stafford Castle, familiar to all the poor souls who navigate the M6, was built by the Normans as a huge timber fortress in the early 12th century to quell the "hostile and rebellious native community".  Archers, no doubt!
The Castle was owned by the de Stafford family and Earl Ralph Stafford, a founder member of the Order of the Garter, ordered the building of a massive stone keep on top of the motte in 1347.  The decline began in the 17th century and the present day ruin is the consequence.

The Stafford Knot (it appears in the centre of our logo). The arms of Staffordshire show a distinctive three looped knot and the county motto is "the knot unites". However this is properly called the Stafford knot since it was the badge of the de Stafford family. The fanciful legend is that three convicted felons who had committed a crime together were due to be executed in Stafford jail. There was argument over who should be hanged first but the hangman solved the problem by devising this knot and hanging the three simultaneously. However; the knot can be seen on a 4 ft (1.2 m) high carved Anglo-Saxon cross in Stoke churchyard. This strongly suggests it pre-dates the Norman and medieval period, being probably either a heraldic symbol of early Mercia or a Celtic Christian symbol brought to Staffordshire by missionary monks from Lindisfarne (commemorated in the arms of Stafford).

Archery in Mid-Staffordshire