I.

Introduction

Staffordshire (abbreviation, Staffs), county, west Midlands of England, bounded by Cheshire to the north, Derbyshire and Warwickshire to the east, Worcestershire and the unitary authorities of West Midlands metropolitan county to the south, and Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin to the west. Staffordshire today is geographically a largely rural county, except for a concentration of industry around Stoke-on-Trent. In the local government reorganization of 1974 the county lost Wolverhampton, Walsall, and West Bromwich, and their surrounds, to the new metropolitan county of West Midlands. In a new round of local government reforms, implemented on April 1, 1997, Stoke-on-Trent was administratively separated from Staffordshire (see Stoke-on-Trent (borough)). However, Stoke-on-Trent remains part of Staffordshire geographically, and for ceremonial and related purposes. Staffordshire has a geographical area of 2,716 sq km (1,049 sq mi); the area administered by the county council (that is, excluding Stoke-on-Trent) is 2,623 sq km (1,013 sq mi).