We found these sites useful
UK and Ireland Genealogy - GENUKI - got us off to a good start.
Census information - all you need to know about UK censuses from the National Archives
Registration Districts - a page within GENUKI, but I think it is worth bookmarking it separately.
Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent Archive Service and also here from CPHC
Staffordshire County Council Heritage and Archives
Custom Search IGI Page easy to use and invaluable
Rootsweb - part of Ancestry.com but free and loads of people willing to share their research
Ancestry.co.uk - large searchable data collection, requires subscription
Ancestry collection - Court, Government & Criminal Records
Ancestry collection - Birth, Marriage & Death Records
Ancestry collection - Military Records
Find My Past - Extensive collection of useful databases; requires subscription or pay as you go credits
The Genealogist lots of indexes and databases, requires subscription
Geography of family names - from Spacial-Literacy.org
General help and guidance from British Genealogy
Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet
Genealogy guide - part of the guides network, useful for beginners
The Origins Network - for British and Irish genealogy. Needs subscription; some overlap with ancestry.co.uk but some different databases and alternative search engines. Good for researching ancestors from London area
The Bradbury Site - contains popular message board run by a Bradbury expert.
Wishful Thinking's GENUKI pages - Memorial inscriptions and photos from parishes around the UK
Staffordshire Past Track - cultural identity and social history of Staffordshire
Victoria County History Staffordshireand Victoria County History of the counties of England
A Vision of Britain through Time land use and social trends in Britain