A new travelling exhibition is bringing Staffordshire's rural heritage to library doors across the county. "Among the Footpaths and Fields" launched in Kinver in June and will visit nine libraries over the next 12 months, finishing in Leek next summer. The exhibition showcases hundreds of years of village and countryside life through historic records, photographs, and objects from local collections.
The exhibition will stop at Perton, Codsall, Wombourne, Brewood, Blythe Bridge, Cheadle, Werrington, and Biddulph across South Staffordshire and the Moorlands. Each library visit gives Stafford residents a chance to explore items that tell the story of everyday people who shaped their communities. The collection includes a coachbuilder's traveller, a horse hair clipper, and vintage milk cans that reveal how rural life operated across generations.
Hayley Coles, Deputy Leader at Staffordshire County Council, described the travelling exhibition as offering residents a "unique window into our shared heritage." The initiative aims to help people connect with local history and discover the untold stories of Stafford's villages and countryside that have shaped the county's identity.
Residents across Stafford can check the full schedule and find out when the exhibition arrives at their nearest library by visiting the Staffordshire History Centre website. This is an opportunity to explore your area's past without travelling far from home.