Blog: What does Staffordshire have to offer?

As we mark Staffordshire Day, We Are Staffordshire Board member Paul Williams reflects on the county’s rich heritage, cultural confidence and growing ambition. Challenging outdated perceptions of Staffordshire as merely a place to pass through, Paul explores what truly defines the county – its people, creativity, innovation and sense of belonging.

Few would dispute the importance of the UK’s number one theme park resort as a lodestone attraction, but when Matthew Engel visited Staffordshire as he journeyed to all of England’s historic counties, his assertion that the nation’s playground is ‘not a magnet of a county’ and is somewhere outsiders ‘rush through as fast as possible’ suggests a lamentable lack of awareness of a place described as the beating heart of the country.

In Engel’s England, he also whimsically suggests that the Staffordshire bull terrier, known as the ‘nanny dog’, might make a more appropriate county motif than the current three-looped heraldic Stafford Knot.

With an appointed Lord Lieutenant and High Sheriff, the ceremonial county of Staffordshire has a long and complex history. Although administratively and geographically it has occupied different areas over time with boundaries shifting to accommodate political change and population growth, today’s Staffordshire which is steeped in heritage and tradition retains its cultural importance and helps give people a sense of belonging, pride and community spirit.

A county day, according to the Historic Counties Trust, is a day to celebrate everything we love about a county, its history and heritage, its towns and villages, its landscapes and architecture, its arts and literature and, most of all, its people.

Launched in 2016 to commemorate the millennium of the first recorded mention of Staffordshire – a name derived from the old English for ‘ford by a landing place’ – in the ancient Anglo Saxon Chronicle, this year marks Staffordshire Day’s tenth anniversary. Celebrated annually on May 1, the date was chosen to commemorate Josiah Wedgwood’s founding of his eponymous pottery in 1759 and the recognition of Staffordshire in the Magna Carta.

Often cited as the father of modern marketing, Wedgwood would approve of We Are Staffordshire’s collaborative campaign ahead of this year’s Staffordshire Day to raise the county’s profile as a worldwide icon of engineering, art and inventiveness by showcasing Staffordshire’s place-based story in the heart of history.

Together with other cultural, heritage, tourism and civic leaders, I was invited to the prestigious Portcullis House to participate in a roundtable event where we set out a powerful case to the Minister of State and the Arts Council for more cultural investment to build on Staffordshire’s new-found energy, optimism and confidence.

Discussions focused on how culture is the sum of our collective creativity with potential to also deliver placemaking, wellbeing, social cohesion, learning, and other feel-good benefits. Recognising that culture lays the foundations to grow local visitor economies and build creative capacity, we explored the importance of building on the momentum of Burton, Leek, Longton and Newcastle-under-Lyme submitting aspirational, community-inspired bids to become the first UK Town of Culture.

With the arts and creative subjects back at the centre of the curriculum, and the government looking to implement the recommendations of Baroness Hodge’s review of the Arts Council and deliver its own ambitions for ‘opening up access to culture for everyone, everywhere’, the need for a cross-sector cultural compact partnership to elevate the role of culture across Staffordshire was also considered.

Following the roundtable it was time to cross over to the House of Commons to join over twenty exhibitors representing the county’s innovation, creativity, soft power and economic strengths just as the Chancellor of the Exchequer was bringing attention to Staffordshire Day during a debate on new government procurement rules

Proudly flying the ‘made in Staffordshire’ flag  in the iconic Palace of Westminster were: global manufacturing brands, world-class renewable energy experts, and material science consultancies; sustainable packaging and mobile technology businesses; award-winning craft ale brewers, artisan spirit distillers, chocolate and confectionary producers; outstanding university and college education providers; community interest companies; Europe’s first theatre-in-the-round, leisure attractions and hospitality venues; and the county’s treasured national football centre.

And of course, clay and ceramics companies from the World Craft City were also present with many parliamentarians keen to show their expertise at throwing a pot!

Beyond Staffordshire Day itself, the launch of a new ‘Staffy heritage trail’ and ‘Made in Staffordshire’ quality mark will provide further opportunities for people to become place storytellers and ambassadors to show the world that Staffordshire’s cultural and socio-economic credentials extend far beyond its magic-making theme parks.

Find out more about the House of Commons visit, including a full list of Staffordshire businesses exhibiting at the Marketplace here.