n.
Town and borough (pop., 2001: 120,653), county seat of Staffordshire , west-central England.
Founded by the daughter of Alfred the Great, the town had its own mint from the reign of Aethelstan to that of Henry II . After being chartered in 1206, it grew as a market town. Parliamentarians demolished its 11th-century walls and castle in 1643 during the English Civil Wars . It is situated on the London-Birmingham-Manchester road and rail routes; its industries include electrical and mechanical engineering. It was the birthplace of Izaak Walton , and its Swan Hotel was associated with Charles Dickens . The borough of Stafford includes a large rural agricultural area and the towns of Stone and Stafford.