Shakespeare is known for his sonnets and plays such as 'Romeo and Juliet' and 'Hamlet'. The Royal Shakespeare Company performs his plays in the Royal Shakespeare Theater and adjacent Swan Theater on the banks of the River Avon.

.The Gunpowder Plot. Sir Hugh Clapton, responsible for the building of Clapton Bridge ( Stafford's main bridge over the River Avon ) and New Place.

. The Michaelmas funfair (known locally as The Mop) is a two day event that takes place in October. Historically the local children got the day off from school as the traffic made it hard for school buses to drive through the town – although that’s a pretty thinly veiled excuse for teachers just getting a day off isn’t it… The local mayor used to open the fair and was offered a free ride on anything that he or she wanted to go on. But the canny youths of the town soon cottoned on that if they followed the dignitary around then they too got a free ride, so the mayor was usually mobbed by lunchtime!