Location
Penkridge is situated in the district of South Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire. It is located between Stafford which is five miles (8 km) to the north and Wolverhampton, approximately ten miles to the south, and lies on the River Penk. For many years it was commonly thought that the town derived its name from the river, but archaeological research indicates that the opposite is likely the case.
The development of Penkridge has been closely linked to its relationship to major routes. The town of Penkridge lies on the medieval route between the county towns of Stafford and Worcester, which also passed through Wolverhampton. The Penkridge section became part of the major stagecoach routes linking London and Birmingham with Manchester and Liverpool and is now subsumed into the A449 road. Just to the south, at Gailey, this route crosses the historically still more important Watling Street, now the A5 road, which linked London to Chester, Wales, and ultimately Ireland. The town was also bisected by the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal from 1770. Today Penkridge is grazed on its eastern side by the M6 motorway, the main route between London and the north-west of England and Glasgow.
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