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The ground around Stafford is very marshy and the river Sow would have formed islands in this marsh area. In the 8 th Century an Anglo-Saxon hermit named Bertelin, son of an Anglo-Saxon King created a hermitage on one of these islands which was named BETHNEI or BETHNEY (the island of Bertelin). In 705 Bertelin was expelled from his hermitage and moved to Illam in Derbyshire where he died. After his expulsion several houses were built on the island which was to form the origin of the present town. This hermit was later to become Saint Bertelin.
In 913 Ethelfleda (Countess of Mercia) Lady of the Mercians, daughter of King Alfred the Great, widow of Ethelred, Earl of Mercia, built a fortress on this island and created the Burh (fortified town) of Staithford. Ethelfleda led the military resistance against the Vikings who were travelling from the northern part of England on behalf of her father. The fortress constructed by Ethelfleda was a castle on the north side of the river and walls and a fosse surrounding the rest of the town. The only remains of this fortress today are a small piece of wall near Eastgate Street. Ethelfleda ruled her kingdom for approximately 8 years from her fortress at Stafford. In the Domesday Book Stafford is one of only 7 towns that were walled.
The town was defended by a wall and three gates. On the south the walls extended from Greengate Street where the South Gate was situated, along the south side of Mill bank to a short distance east of the site of the corn-mill mill wheels. At this point the wall ended and a ditch and the River Sow formed the defence. From the South Gate the wall ran east along the south side of Backwalls South to Eastgate Street, where the East gate and Mill were situated, then for a short distance along the east side of Backwalls North. The walls here giving way to a stockade of wooden pales, the Kings Pools lying wide and perhaps deep or muddy beyond, the wall beginning again before reaching the corner of the old House of Correction in Gaol Square. From there it ran in a northerly direction towards Foregate Street, where the North Gate was situated. This gate was a narrow arch between two towers, separated by a curtain wall. From here, back along the opposite side of the Square to Bull Hill and along the north side of the latter to a short distance of where the gasworks were situated (Sainsburys car park) where the double or fortified wall appears to have ended. From this point a single or low wall ran through part of the old gasworks along Chell Road and Broad Eye to the New Bridge over the Sow.
The town walls were raised to the ground during the Civil War by Sir William Brereton after taking the town in 1643, the three gates were left standing. The three gates were called South Gate (Greengate), North Gate and East Gate. West Gate was not actually a gate but an outlet and inlet at the New Bridge (Broadeye) over the Sow. South Gate (Greengate) was situated between the river Sow and the junction of Greengate Street, Bridge Street, Backwalls South and Mill Bank and was taken down in 1780. The North gate was situated in the centre of Gaol Square and was in ruins by 1680, but was rebuilt in 1700 and used as a prison. In 1794 it was taken down during town improvements. The East Gate was situated at the east end of Eastgate Street between Backwalls North and Backwalls South, until 1800 this was still standing and was an arch and on one side there was a grove for a portcullis. Although Stafford is not mentioned in any Anglo Saxon charter it was an Anglo Saxon mint town and early forms of the name have been preserved on coins. Museums in Stockholm and Copenhagen have examples of silver coins minted in Stafford. The mint existed from the reign of Aethelstan to Henry II. Some of these coins are:
Broadeye Shortly after the Norman Invasion in 1066, William the Conqueror had a crude timber and earthen castle hastily built on the same island that Ethelfleda used for her fortress. It is possible that William used existing defences put up by Ethelfleda in its construction. William considered the Stafford area was critical for the defence of his kingdom. It was near to the Welsh Marches, and was part of a group of castles provided to protect England from Welsh invaders. William commanded one of his knights, Robert de Toeni to be governor of this castle; he later changed his name to Robert de Stafford. He was given a garrison of 60 knights to serve him at the castle. In 1069 the Battle of Stafford took place when Robert de Stafford with the help of King William held off and defeated invading Welshmen who had allied themselves with rebellious residents who were still loyal to their former Anglo-Saxon leaders.
In Domesday the castle is recorded as being destroyed by 1086.The castle was rebuilt by 1102 and latterly used as a prison. It was disused and in ruins by 16 th C. The castle was known as Kings Castle and in some historical documents was known as Broadeye. No remains exist of this castle today. The location of this castle was near to the site now occupied by the stone windmill (corn mill) at Broadeye. The windmill was built in 1796 and it is said it stands on the foundations of the castle keep. The actual castle was probably where the College of Further education is at Tenterbanks. Further evidence of this came to light when the college had an extension built recently. During the clearance of the ground for the new building they came across ancient stonework that turned out to be a guard robe (a mediaeval toilet) which was mostly found in castles.
Castletown There is a house in Castletown that has large and old stones used in the building of the corner areas of the house. One of these stones has a carving of the Stafford Knot in it, a relic of the original castle? The wall outside the house also contains a large number of old stones, again relics from the original castle?
Kings Pools In the year 1281 The Queen of Edward I took up her abode in Rhuddlan Castle to be near her husband who was at war with the Welsh. On several occasions the Queen sent members of her retinue to Stafford to obtain fish from the King’s Pools. It is known that King’s Pool was utilized by the Plantagenet Sovereign’s as a resource for their own tables. It furnished bream and pike to King John when at Brewood and to King Henry III when at Kenilworth. By 1611 the Pool had been drained and converted into meadow land. These marshy meadows still exist today and can be found between the Uttoxeter Road, Queensway and the old St. George’s Hospital.
Victoria Park Victoria Park has been improved and redeveloped several times. It is being improved again to provide flood protection from the River Sow. Victoria Park provides the perfect place to sit and watch the river, to relax and enjoy yourself.
Mill Wheels. The two water mill wheels that are outside the gates to Victoria Park date from 1834. It is always been assumed that these mill wheels were sited near to the original mill mentioned in the Domesday Survey. During modernisation of this area the timber foundations of a massive two-wheeled medieval watermill was found underneath the site of the 19 th and 20 th century mill. The remaining timbers were very well preserved, some being 2ft square. One mill would have been used to grind corn and the other used for cloth fulling (see details for Walk Mill).
Tenterbanks The grassed area outside of the College Of Further Education sloping down towards the river is known as Tenterbanks. In the medieval period this was used for the drying of cloth. The drying was part of a process known as Fulling, after fulling the cloth was dried on tenter-frames. This was where large tenting frames were used for stretching and drying cloth was sited. The tenting frames consisted of upright wooden posts with a fixed upper rail and a lower rail whose position was adjusted by pegs or wedges. Both rails were fitted every two or three inches with "tenter-hooks", L-shaped double-pointed nails. For a full description of this process see the entry under Walk Mill.
St. Chads The exact date when St. Chad’s was built is not known, it is believed it was built around the year 1100. It has been heavily restored but is still the oldest building in Stafford. The church is reputed to have been built by the Biddulph family who employed Saracen carvers. In Tudor times the north transept was destroyed and in 1622 the aisles were swept away and the whole interior plastered and whitewashed. The Norman nave arches were blocked also the Norman chancel windows. Restoration was stared in 1854 and was completed in 1886. During the restoration the impressive west front was completely rebuilt. St. Chad’s is the only church building in Stafford where you can find carvings of the ‘Green Man’ the Spirit of the Woodland.
St. Mary’s Church A church existed before St. Mary’s on the same site which was separate from St. Bertelin’s chapel. The existence of this church is mentioned in the Domesday Survey. By the beginning of Stephen’s reign the church of Stafford was held in chief by Jordan, clerk to Roger de Fecamp, probably by grant of Henry I. The church was given by Stephen in 1136 to the bishop of Coventry and Lichfield.
St. Mary’s was a Royal chapel and was returned to the Crown under Henry II. It is said that King John was the founder of St. Mary’s, although canons and deans of Stafford are known before his time. King John endowed a College of priests at St. Mary’s to pray for living and departed members of the Royal Family. The earlier parts of the church date from the 12 th century. St. Mary’s was thoroughly restored in 1841-44. The nave originally had a pitched roof and evidence of this can clearly be seen on the tower wall. In 1843 part of the church collapsed and was restored in 1850. The tower is one of the few octagonal towers in the country, originally there was a spire but this was blown down in a gale in 1593. A grim reminder of how the Dean and Chapter administered justice. In 1250 the Dean and Chapter had the right to hold their own courts and to have their own gallows for hanging men (and a pit for drowning women) in St. Mary’s churchyard and were located in the North-East corner, where the shops are today.
A Saxon church dedicated to St Bertelin was attached to the west end of St Mary’s, it was demolished in 1802. It was not until 1954 that its foundations were re-discovered, an ancient timber cross was also discovered and is thought to have been St Bertelin’s original preaching cross. Ancient High House. Stafford 's Ancient High House is the largest timber framed building in the country. Its late Elizabethan architecture makes it particularly distinctive among its 20th century neighbours. Rooms are displayed in period settings illustrating the varied history of the house. The Dorrington family had the house built in 1595 of oak believed to have come from Doxey Woods. It had an important role when King Charles I and his nephew Prince Rupert stayed here in 1642 at the start of the Civil War. Whilst staying at the Ancient High House Prince Rupert shot the weather cock on top of St. Mary’s church twice to the enjoyment of those watching. In 1643 when Stafford was taken over by the Parliamentarians, it became a prison for Royalist Officers. When the weather cock was taken down recently for repair two muskets ball marks were found on it.
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