The county day of Staffordshire is May 1st. This date was chosen in a July 2015 poll organised by the local tourist department “Enjoy Staffordshire”
to commemorate the county’s 1,000th birthday in 2016, its first recorded mention being in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
in the year 1016. Enjoy Staffordshire’s tourism and marketing team leader Graeme Whitehead was inspired by a similar vote in Lancashire, “We want Staffordshire Day to create the same excitement and pride in our county, on a date which the whole of Staffordshire can get behind.”
Five possible dates reflecting a significant moment in the region’s history were selected as candidates in the poll;
May 1 – the founding of Josiah Wedgwood and Sons
which took place in 1759;
July 5 – the anniversary of the discovery of the Staffordshire Hoard
, which was uncovered in 2009;
September 6 – on that day in 1651 King Charles II hid in an oak tree
in South Staffordshire;
September 18 – this was the birth date of Doctor Samuel Johnson
who was born on this date in Lichfield in 1709;
September 27 – renowned engineer James Brindley,
who lived in Leek, passed away on this date in 1772.
with May 1st winning the poll.
The Wedgewood company’s Staffordshire presence is celebrated on this picture card.
