Burton Upon Trent

Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a town straddling the River Trent in the east of Staffordshire, England. The demonym for residents of the town is "Burtonian". Burton, which had an estimated population of 43,784 (2001 Census), lies within the National Forest.

Burton is best known for its brewing industrial heritage, home to over a dozen breweries in its heyday. Beer is still brewed in the town. The town originally grew up around Burton on Trent Abbey, which was the most important religious centre in medieval Staffordshire. Burton Bridge also became an important crossing point of the Trent and was the site of two battles, first in 1322 when Edward III defeated the rebel Earl of Lancaster and also in 1643 when the royalists captured the town during the First English Civil War. Sir William Paget and his descendents were responsible for extending the manor house within the abbey grounds and facilitating the extension of the River Trent Navigation to Burton. Burton had grown into a busy market town by the early modern period.

There is some confusion as to whether Burton is based in the West Midlands or the East Midlands, even though all of the urban centre is southwest of the River Dove, which forms the Derbyshire/Staffordshire boundary. This is probably because it was formerly within the East Midlands Utility (electricity/gas) areas, and has Derby postcodes (DE13-DE15). It could also be due to the fact that the local vernacular shares more similarities with that of East Midlands English than West Midlands English. The town is served by the BBC Midlands (West Midlands) region, based in Birmingham and before consolidation exercises formed part of the ITV Central (West) region, again based in Birmingham The town is served by Burton-on-Trent railway station.