The Rotary Club of Eccleshall Mercia

Eccleshall, a town in Staffordshire, is twinned with Sancerre in France.

According to the Domesday book, Eccleshall in 1086 was no more than a small village of about one hundred inhabitants and a few fragments of stone at the base of the tower of the present Parish Church of Holy Trinity suggest that a stone church was in existence about this time and the base of the 10th century cross still stands outside the church.

Eccleshall briefly played a part in the War of the Roses, when the castle was used as a base for the Lancastrian Queen Margaret of Anjou and her troops before and after her defeat at the battle of Blore Heath in 1459.

Eccleshall became important as a market town for the surrounding area. In 1153 it was granted the right to hold a weekly market and by 1259 had obtained a charter to hold an annual fair at Ascentiontide. Around the beginning of the 13th century the village had become a town with the granting of ‘Borough’ status.

Eccleshall High Street, with many Georgian and earlier buildings, is a conservation area. The town has been a regular winner in the Britain in Bloom competition and, in summer, the main parts of Eccleshall are bedecked with colourful floral baskets, organised by the town's civic group, the 'Ecclian Society'.