Leek is a market town and civil parish in Staffordshire, England, on the River Churnet 10 miles north east of Stoke-on-Trent. It is an ancient borough and was granted its royal charter in 1214. It is the administrative centre for the Staffordshire Moorlands District Council. King John granted Ranulph de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester, the right to hold a weekly Wednesday market and an annual seven-day fair in Leek in 1207. Leek's coat of arms is a saltire shield.