Template:Wp-Stapleford, Nottinghamshire-Brief history

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The place-name is first attested in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears, unusually, spelt as now, and in the Pipe Rolls of 1197 . The name means "ford marked by a post or posts".

Stapleford's origins can be traced to before the Norman Conquest. In the churchyard of St Helen's church is the Stone Cross which is Saxon and believed to be the oldest Christian monument in the Midlands. Stapleford owed its development in part to its closeness to the River Trent and the River Erewash as the town became a point of trade. The antiquary John Weever defined an staple town "to be a place, to which by the prince's authority and privilege wool, hides of beasts, wine, corn or grain, and other exotic or foreign merchandize are transferred, carried or conveyed to be sold." The area also expanded in the late 18th century when the stocking hose trade thrived in the Midlands. Evidence of this history can be found today with the original Stocking Knitters' Houses still standing alongside more modern properties and shops such as on Nottingham Road. The main crossroads in Stapleford at the junction of Nottingham Road, Derby Road, Toton Lane and Church Street is called The Roach. The name is from the time when French prisoners from the Napoleonic Wars were set the task of cutting through rock to create roads and this was referred to as La Roche.

Stapleford is also home to the Hemlock Stone on Stapleford Hill. It is approximately 200 million years old, dating to the Triassic Period.

In 2006, a new NHS Health Centre and Walk-In Centre opened in the town, but has since closed and has been succeeded by a large multi use healthcare centre with a mental health unit and cafe on site. Sainsbury's local was opened on the site of the former Total petrol station in 2007.

Stapleford is the home of the Full Mash microbrewery.