Extensive Urban Survey Project
The Staffordshire Extensive Urban Survey (EUS) project forms part of a national programme of Extensive Urban Surveys initiated and supported by English Heritage (now Historic England) and held on the Archaeological Data Service (ADS) website.
The project now covers 24 towns of medieval origin within Staffordshire, and intends to increase and synthesise our knowledge and understanding of the heritage assets that contribute to the development and character of these towns.
Identifying our medieval towns
The term 'town' in the context of the EUS relates specifically to those settlements which were clearly established as towns during the medieval period.
An assessment was carried out upon documentary sources and previous assessments by historians to establish which settlements within Staffordshire qualified as medieval towns.
Some of the medieval towns are still clearly important economic centres in the modern landscape, including:
- Stafford,
- Tamworth,
- Newcastle
- and Lichfield.
Others however, have reverted to villages some of which, like Church Eaton, merely comprise a handful of houses with few services.
You can download reports for each of the towns covered by the Staffordshire Extensive Urban Survey below:
Final report
A final summary report is also available, providing an overview of the findings of the EUS and comparing and contrasting what is currently known about Staffordshire's medieval towns.
This document establishes a clear research framework with key questions to be considered when a requirement for archaeological work has been requested during the planning process.
The results of any such archaeological work will, in time, feed into the Historic Environment Record (HER) and further our understanding of the history and development of the towns. The final section of the document sets out the ways in which the EUS can inform the planning process, both through policy and development management and in fulfilment of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).
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EUS guide
To accompany the final report is a guide to the EUS, aimed at helping planners and developers understand how the EUS can contribute to the planning process and to policy development: by providing a sound evidence base for the identification of the historic character, archaeological potential and the significance of the historic environment within Staffordshire's historic towns.
Please note: The pdfs above may not open in Internet Explorer. To view them, right-click on the link and save the documents by selecting 'save target as'. Then open them from the place you have saved them.
Further information
For more information on the Extensive Urban Survey or historic landscape and characterisation in general please contact our Historic Environment Team.