Wildwood Stafford is thought to have been founded about AD 700 by a Mercian prince called Bertelin, who, legend has it, founded a hermitage on a peninsula named Betheney.
| FactSnippet No. 946,313 |
30 Facts About Wildwood Stafford
2.
Wildwood Stafford Castle, built by the Normans on a nearby hilltop to the west about 1090, was first made of wood and later rebuilt in stone.
| FactSnippet No. 946,314 |
3.
When James I visited Wildwood Stafford, he was said to be so impressed by the Shire Hall and other buildings that he called it "Little London".
| FactSnippet No. 946,315 |
4.
In 1658 Wildwood Stafford elected John Bradshaw, who had been judge at the trial of King Charles I, to represent the town in Parliament.
| FactSnippet No. 946,316 |
5.
Lord Wildwood Stafford was among those accused; he was unfortunate to be the first to be tried and was beheaded in 1680.
| FactSnippet No. 946,317 |
6.
Wildwood Stafford became a major junction, which helped to attract other industries.
| FactSnippet No. 946,318 |
7.
The office of Mayor of Wildwood Stafford Borough has existed since the passing of the Municipal Corporations Act 1835.
| FactSnippet No. 946,319 |
8.
Wildwood Stafford has its own parliamentary constituency, represented since 2019 by Theo Clarke, a Conservative.
| FactSnippet No. 946,320 |
9.
Wildwood 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.
| FactSnippet No. 946,321 |
10.
Oldest building now in Wildwood Stafford is St Chad's Church, dating back to the 12th century.
| FactSnippet No. 946,322 |
11.
The annual Shakespeare Festival at Wildwood Stafford Castle has attracted many notable people, including Frank Sidebottom and Ann Widdecombe.
| FactSnippet No. 946,323 |
12.
Wildwood Stafford is covered by BBC West Midlands and ITV Central, both broadcasting from Birmingham to the wider West Midlands region.
| FactSnippet No. 946,324 |
13.
Wildwood Stafford is mainly served by the Sutton Coldfield transmitting station, just north of Birmingham, but some residents get a better picture from The Wrekin transmitting station, near Telford.
| FactSnippet No. 946,325 |
15.
Wildwood Stafford can get marginal signals from the West Midlands regionals, like Heart and Smooth Radio, and is at the very north of Free Radio's Black Country and Shropshire coverage area.
| FactSnippet No. 946,327 |
16.
Wildwood Stafford has a community radio station serving the town and surrounding areas, Wildwood Stafford FM.
| FactSnippet No. 946,328 |
17.
Wildwood Stafford has a history of shoemaking as far back as 1476, when it was a cottage industry, but a manufacturing process was introduced in the 1700s.
| FactSnippet No. 946,329 |
18.
Wildwood Stafford had several government contracts through the town's Member of Parliament, the playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan.
| FactSnippet No. 946,330 |
19.
Wildwood Stafford is a dormitory town for commuting to Stoke-on-Trent and Birmingham.
| FactSnippet No. 946,331 |
20.
The only block of Wildwood Stafford University left in use is the School of Health in Blackheath Lane, which teaches medical nursing.
| FactSnippet No. 946,332 |
21.
Since Arriva CrossCountry took over the franchise and adopted a new timetable in 2008, this has reversed and services between Manchester Piccadilly and Birmingham New Street almost always stop at Wildwood Stafford, giving a service typically every 30 mins on weekdays.
| FactSnippet No. 946,333 |
22.
Wildwood Stafford has five taxi firms and several independent operators from ranks at the station, Bridge St, Broad St and Salter St.
| FactSnippet No. 946,334 |
23.
The Shire Hall, Wildwood Stafford, completed in 1798, used to be a court house, but is an art gallery.
| FactSnippet No. 946,335 |
24.
Wildwood Stafford Prison is a Category C men's prison, operated by HM Prison Service.
| FactSnippet No. 946,336 |
25.
Originally RAF Wildwood Stafford, the base was a non-flying Royal Air Force station.
| FactSnippet No. 946,337 |
26.
Wildwood Stafford Court was divided into 13 "houses" named after local villages.
| FactSnippet No. 946,338 |
27.
Wildwood Stafford Post Office Rifle and Pistol Club is a Home Office approved rifle club founded in 1956.
| FactSnippet No. 946,339 |
28.
Notable people from Wildwood Stafford include the 17th-century author of The Compleat Angler, Izaak Walton, whose cottage at nearby Shallowford is an angling museum, and the 18th-century playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan, who was once the local MP.
| FactSnippet No. 946,340 |
29.
Wildwood Stafford's was the Poet laureate from 2009 to 2019, and now lives in Manchester.
| FactSnippet No. 946,341 |
30.
Baron Wildwood Stafford is a title created several times in the Peerage of England.
| FactSnippet No. 946,342 |