52-556: The Cannock Mineral Railway was a railway company that built a line from Cannock to join the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) at Rugeley , in England. It was conceived and authorised as the Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Worcestershire Junction Railway, with the intention of connecting Dudley and Uttoxeter , but it was hopelessly undercapitalised and badly managed. As finally built it
104-522: A car or van, 76.1% of people in employment travelled to work by car or van. 75.5% of residents described their health as good or very good. The proportion who described themselves as White British was 95.6%, with all white ethnic groups making up 97.4% of the population. The ethnic make-up of the rest of the population was 1.0% mixed/multiple ethnic groups, 0.69% Indian /Pakistani/ Bangladeshi , 0.34% Chinese, 0.17% other Asian , 0.35% Black and 0.065% other. 3.1% of Cannock's residents were born outside
156-487: A community centre and library by McClean. The opening of St. Anne's Free Church, Chasetown in 1865, was a high-profile occasion for a modest building in a mining village. He was President of the Institution of Civil Engineers from 1864 to 1865. He unsuccessfully stood for Parliament as a Liberal Party candidate for Belfast at the 1857 general election , the second time he had been rejected by his native town. He
208-418: A mortgage or loan. Of the town's 23,717 residents in the 2011 census aged 16 and over, 33.5% were single (never married), 45.2% married, 0.15% in a registered same-sex civil partnership, 2.6% separated, 10.4% divorced and 8.2% widowed. 33.4% had no formal qualifications and 42.9% had level 2+ qualifications, meaning 5+ GCSEs (grades A*-C) or 1+ 'A' levels/ AS levels (A-E) or equivalent minimum. 72.7% of
260-559: A railway line serving two of the Marquis of Anglesey's pits on Cannock Chase , known then as the Hammerwich and Uxbridge pits, known more recently as Cannock Chase Colliery Nos. 1 and 2. Money invested by McClean, the Marquis and others helped to develop the Cannock Chase coalfield. The pits spawned the new communities of Chasetown and Chase Terrace, which were provided with schools, churches,
312-486: A sea-level canal without locks. Despite their recommendations being overruled, McClean's contributions highlight the significant engineering debates and considerations in the canal's early history. Boynton says "McClean was a talented civil engineer whose contribution to his profession deserves to be more widely recognised." When appointed as engineer to the South Staffordshire Railway, under constriction at
364-610: A small number of services while National Express West Midlands service X51 links Cannock with Birmingham via Walsall and Great Wyrley. No Chaserider buses operate on Sunday or bank holiday, however National Express service X51 does with funding from the McArthurGlen Designer outlet which the bus serves. Cannock Bus Station also has links to Hednesford, Rugeley, Stafford, Lichfield, Wolverhampton, Walsall, Brownhills in addition to smaller towns and villages like Great Wyrley, Chadsmoor and Norton Canes. Cannock Chase High School
416-472: A turntable had still not been provided at Rugeley. Despite this shortcoming, the Board of Trade permitted operation, and on 7 November 1859 the line opened. The first passenger train service consisted of three daily trains between Birmingham and Stafford. The 1895 edition of Bradshaw shows eight passenger trains each way daily at Cannock, with one additional on certain days of the week, and two on Sundays. In 1922
468-608: A typically half-hourly service operated by West Midlands Trains under the branding London Northwestern. An ambitious railway scheme called the Derbyshire, Staffordshire & Worcestershire Junction Railway was proposed during the Railway Mania period of 1846. It was intended to connect Uttoxeter to Dudley, and by running powers over the North Staffordshire Railway to connect to Manchester . The route had been surveyed by Sir John Rennie and George Remington; during
520-648: Is a non-denominational mixed comprehensive with just over 1000 pupils aged 11–18. Cardinal Griffin Catholic College is a voluntary aided Roman Catholic secondary school with around 950 pupils aged 11–18. Chase Grammar School (called Lyncroft House School 1980–1996 then Chase Academy until January 2013) is an independent co-educational boarding school with a day nursery and over 200 pupils up to age 19 including many international students. South Staffordshire College closed its Cannock Campus in July 2017, but reopened it
572-636: Is a paid-for local newspaper, published in Wolverhampton on weekdays. Regional TV news is provided by BBC West Midlands and ITV Central . Television signals can be received from either the Sutton Coldfield or The Wrekin TV transmitters. Cannock is served by the national radio stations, and West Midlands "regional" licences Greatest Hits Radio Birmingham & The West Midlands , Smooth West Midlands , Heart West Midlands and Capital Midlands . The town
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#1732848244651624-546: Is also covered by Hits Radio Black Country & Shropshire on 97.2 and BBC Radio WM on 95.6 FM. Cannock is served by its own community radio station, called Cannock Chase Radio FM , based in Wynns Venture Centre. The FM frequencies are 94fm for the Cannock and Hednesford area. 89.6 for Rugeley and Trent Valley and 89.8 For Lichfield and beyond. People can also listen back on their digital streaming devices. Cannock
676-841: Is located close to the M6 , M6 Toll and M54 motorways. The main A roads are the A5 (east-west) and A34 (north-south). Cannock railway station closed in 1965 as part of the Beeching cuts but reopened in 1989. It is part of the Rugeley ;– Cannock – Walsall – Birmingham line operated by West Midlands Trains . Over the years, usage of this station, and the line overall, have increased to unprecedented levels. Services initially were hourly services between Birmingham New Street and Stafford (cut back to Rugeley Trent Valley in 2008). By 2013, usage had become significant enough to warrant electrification of
728-606: Is served by a railway station on the Chase Line . The town comprises four district council electoral wards and the Cannock South ward includes the civil parish of Bridgtown , but the rest of Cannock is unparished . Cannock was in the Domesday Book of 1086. It was called Chnoc c.1130, Cnot in 1156, Canot in 1157, and Canoc in 1198. Cannock is probably Old English cnocc meaning ' hillock ', modified by Norman pronunciation by
780-666: The Cannock Mineral Railway Act 1855 ( 18 & 19 Vict. c. cxciv) of 14 August 1855. In the 1857 session of Parliament, the company was seeking a time extension, and altered the proposed connection at the northern extremity to join the North Staffordshire Railway at Colwich , and omit the previous plan to connect with the LNWR. With this connection, the NSR contemplated making a line from Colwich to Wolverhampton. However
832-568: The Commonwealth War Graves Commission . Cannock is on a south-west facing slope, falling from the highest point on Cannock Chase (244 m) at Castle Ring , to about 148 m in the town centre and 111 m near Wedges Mills. The soil is light with a gravel and clay subsoil , and there are extensive coal measures. Cannock has a moderate, temperate climate. See Penkridge weather station for details of average temperature and rainfall figures taken between 1981 and 2010 at
884-770: The Met Office weather station in Penkridge (around 5 miles (8 km) north-west of Cannock). Cannock is about 20 miles (30 km) by road north-north-west of Birmingham , 80 miles (130 km) south-south-east of Manchester and 130 miles (210 km) north-west of London. It is 9 to 10 miles (14 to 16 km) by road from many of the nearest towns and cities ( Aldridge , Lichfield , Stafford , Walsall , Willenhall and Wolverhampton ), but Hednesford (2 miles (3 km)), Burntwood and Penkridge (5 miles (8 km)), Bloxwich and Brownhills (6 miles (10 km)) and Rugeley (7 miles (11 km)) are nearer. In
936-438: The 10,509 men aged 16 to 74 were economically active, including 45.1% working full-time, 5.6% working part-time and 12.6% self-employed. The male unemployment rate ( Male unemployment )(of those economically active) was 9.9%. 60.7% of the 10,724 women aged 16 to 74 were economically active, including 26.8% working full-time, 23.5% working part-time and 3.1% self-employed. The female unemployment rate (of those economically active)
988-463: The 20th century and its slight fall since the 1981 census has been more than compensated for by house-building in the adjoining village of Heath Hayes. The last colliery to close in the town was Mid Cannock in 1967, and the last remaining colliery to close in the Cannock Chase area was Littleton (in Huntington ) in 1993. The total population of the built-up area defined in 2011 was 86,121, making it
1040-703: The Bank Buildings, One brother (Adam) was a Civil Engineer in Dublin, while another (Francis), became an eminent dentist, practicing at St Stephens Green, Dublin. John was educated at Belfast Academical Institution and University of Glasgow . Whilst still young, he offered himself as candidate for the Office of Engineer to the Belfast Harbour Commissioners, but was refused. Upon leaving the Board Room, he said to
1092-448: The CMR board, and they now all resigned, and the LNWR takeover of control was complete; the necessary Act for extension of time was passed on 27 July 1857. A new contractor T. R. Stephenson was appointed but he too was soon found wanting, and at the end of 1857 Thomas Brassey and Thomas Field were given the work. During the period of construction, an omnibus service was introduced, running from
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#17328482446511144-584: The Isthmus of Suez . In his 1864 presidential address to the Institution of Civil Engineers , he detailed his involvement and insights into the canal's construction. Alongside other British members of the Commission, McClean proposed a canal elevated twenty-five feet above sea level, utilising locks similar to those in the Caledonian Canal . This contrasted with the majority opinion on the commission, which favored
1196-544: The LNWR at Rugeley to the SSR, newly opened at Cannock, and operated on behalf of the CMR. There followed repeated erroneous predictions of when the line would be opened, culminating in a visit on 29 September 1959 by Colonel Yolland of the Board of Trade to pass the line for passenger operation; it was still deficient of requirements and he declined to do so. He made a re-inspection on 22 October, and found that things were better although
1248-471: The Marquis of Anglesey , a director of the LNWR and a substantial landowner, objected to the purchase of land for the bill, so the connection to the NSR could not be made. This all proved irrelevant as in March 1857 it became apparent that the CMR company did not even have the resources to proceed with the residual Bill. The NSR was evidently still keen on the idea, so it agreed to pay for the costs of progressing with
1300-496: The North Staffordshire Railway at Uttoxeter, and another at Cannock with the SSJR. The bill passed through Parliament, the Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Worcestershire Junction Railway Act 1847 ( 10 & 11 Vict. c. cx) receiving royal assent on 2 July 1847. The authorised share capital was £440,000, and the line was to be 18 miles in length. A contractor named George Mould was given
1352-616: The Parliament hearings, Rennie admitted that he had never laid a line through such a thinly populated district. This proved to be a fatal remark, as the South Staffordshire Junction Railway (SSJR) Bill was passed in Parliament at the same time. The SSJR scheme was for a railway linking Walsall and Dudley, and the DS&;WJR proposal included similar ground. Two new railways over a thinly populated terrain were unsustainable, and
1404-506: The SSJR scheme looked more fruitful; the DS&WJR Bill was thrown out by the Lords Committee. In the next session of Parliament, the SSJR was proposing an additional line, from Walsall to Cannock. The DS&WJR too was in Parliament in the next session with a revised scheme. Avoiding a second confrontation with the SSJR, it put forward a more modest proposal, a railway from Uttoxeter to Cannock. It proposed to make an end-on junction with
1456-472: The South Staffordshire Railway, but he was not interested. On 7 May 1855 the board agreed to abandon any intention of proceeding north of Rugeley, making the planned extent of the line 7 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles; and to reduce the share capital to £200,000 (later altered to £160,000). In addition the name of the company was to be changed to the Cannock Mineral Railway. The new company was authorised by
1508-848: The United Kingdom. Cannock had a free weekly local newspaper, the Cannock & Rugeley Chronicle (an edition of the Cannock & Lichfield Chronicle ). It ceased as a physical publication in October 2018 although it is still available as a paid-for subscription via the Express & Star website (see below) Another free weekly, the Chase Post (an edition of the Cannock Chase & Burntwood Post ), ceased publication in November 2011. The Express & Star
1560-479: The bill, but this idea came to nothing. The LNWR was evidently alarmed at the possibility of the North Staffordshire company forming this link up, and moved swiftly. On 3 June 1857 there was a CMR shareholders' meeting which approved leasing the line to the LNWR for £5,500 per annum and a guaranteed dividend of 5%. The parliamentary bill for the line to the NSR at Colwich was withdrawn. The NSR had directors on
1612-584: The construction to move forward. In 1852 Addison had prepared a scheme for an extension from Cannock to Wolverhampton via Four Ashes , connecting with the Great Western Railway . Further plans were made to join the GWR at Wednesbury instead, and a partnership with the GWR was proposed. Addison was instructed to approach Isambard Kingdom Brunel , the Engineer of the GWR, and on 16 July Addison reported that Brunel
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1664-412: The contract to build from Rugeley to Cannock. However ten months later on 26 November 1852 the company's engineer John Addison reported that work had been suspended due to the very bad state of the weather, and the following year on 16 September 1853 he reported that little had been done since his last inspection. Addison was criticised by the board and was suspended, but a month later on 19 December 1853 he
1716-618: The costs. McClean became aware of the dreadful state of Walsall's water supply; cholera and typhoid outbreaks took place there at regular intervals. McClean observed that Lichfield's water was clean and pure; he secured the agreement of some powerful friends, including the Earl of Dudley, and the South Staffordshire Waterworks Company was formed in 1853. The company supplied Walsall and Dudley with Lichfield water, using Stowe and Minster pools as reservoirs. The pipe run
1768-536: The county of Staffordshire , England. It had a population of 29,018. Cannock is not far from the towns of Walsall , Burntwood , Stafford and Telford . The cities of Lichfield and Wolverhampton are also nearby. Cannock lies to the north of the West Midlands conurbation on the M6 , A34 and A5 roads and to the south of Hednesford and the Cannock Chase Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty . Cannock
1820-579: The decade to 2011 the number of dwellings rose by 7.8% to 13,152. The ward with the biggest increase (16.1%) was Cannock South. Of the town's 12,690 households in the 2011 census, 31.5% were one-person households including 13.9% where that person was 65 or over. 63.6% were one family with no others (9.0% all pensioners, 30.9% married or same-sex civil partnership couples, 12.3% cohabiting couples and 11.3% lone parents). 27.7% of households had dependent children including 5.5% with no adults in employment. 59.3% of households owned their homes outright or with
1872-459: The first individual to do so. He carried out philanthropic works including securing a fresh water supply to overcome persistent outbreaks of cholera, taking no salary for his work. He was born in the Bank Buildings, Belfast , and was the youngest of four sons of Francis McClean and Margaret McReyolds. Francis was an ironmonger, his shop being the centre one of three located on the ground floor of
1924-418: The following summer as the new Cannock Chase Skills and Innovation Hub with courses starting there from September 2018. Cannock is twinned with: John Robinson McClean John Robinson McClean CB FRS FRSA FRAS (21 March 1813 – 13 July 1873), was a British civil engineer and Liberal Party politician. He carried out many important works, and for a time was the sole owner of a main line railway,
1976-460: The insertion of a vowel to Canoc. The name may refer to Shoal Hill, north-west of the town. Cannock was a small rural community until mining increased heavily during the mid-to-late 19th century. The area then continued to grow rapidly with many industries coming to the area because of its proximity to the Black Country and its coal reserves. Cannock's population continued to increase steadily in
2028-568: The north, southbound trains operate to Birmingham International and London Euston . The journey time to Birmingham is around 36 minutes. On Sundays, trains operate as far south as Coventry . D&G Bus operate the majority of bus services around Cannock from a depot at Delta Way under the Chaserider brand. Arriva Midlands were previously the main operator around Cannock but their operations based at their Cannock depot were sold to D&G Bus during 2020. Select Bus Services also operate
2080-606: The railway line, which was completed in 2019. The Rugeley - Hednesford - Cannock - Walsall - Birmingham line operated by West Midlands Trains serves the three railway stations in the conurbation. These are at Hednesford , Cannock , and Landywood . There was also a service to Stafford on the Chase Line but this was cut back to Rugeley due to congestion on the West Coast Main Line. In May 2019, West Midlands Trains began operating electric trains from this station. The vast majority of services are to Rugeley Trent Valley in
2132-675: The second largest in Staffordshire if Swadlincote in Derbyshire is excluded from the Burton upon Trent Built-up Area (BUA). There is some green belt, particularly between the Cannock BUA and the much larger West Midlands BUA to the south. As well as the Lichfield , Stafford , East Staffordshire , and South Staffordshire Districts. A house known as The Green, which dated from the 1730s and which
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2184-413: The service had risen to ten each way with three on Sundays, and by 1938 this had further risen to 23 weekdays and eight on Sundays. The LNWR lease of the CMR was to run for a period of 999 years from its opening date, but Brassey suggested that the LNWR might prefer to acquire the CMR outright. The Directors announced on 28 February 1862 that this was to take place, but once again matters dragged on, and it
2236-593: The then 'Secretary of the Belfast Harbour Board' Mr Edmund Getty , (an old family friend) "that he would let the Commissioners yet see what a man they had lost". With his partner, Francis Croughton Stileman, he founded McClean & Stileman, engineering consultants of Great George St, Westminster. Some of his positions were: McClean was a member of the International Commission for the piercing of
2288-528: The time in October 1846, he was already working for four other railway companies. Earlier, when apprenticed to a firm of civil engineers in London, he had prepared surveys and detailed drawings for the Victoria Embankment and the new Westminster Bridge . When new sewers were needed for the capital and the commissioners invited plans, his were the best of 116 submitted and the only ones which gave an estimate of
2340-552: Was 7.5%. Of people in employment aged 16 to 74, 13.5% worked in basic industries (ONS categories A, B, and D-F including 11.1% in construction), 14.2% in manufacturing, and 72.2% in service industries (ONS categories G-U including 19.5% in wholesale and retail trade and vehicle repair, 11.6% in health and social work, 7.4% in education, 6.2% in transport and storage, 5.8% in public administration, 5.6% in accommodation and catering, and 4.7% in administrative and support service activities). While 27.7% of households did not have access to
2392-595: Was elected at the 1868 general election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for East Staffordshire , and held the seat until his death in 1873. He was also Lieutenant-Colonel of the Engineer and Railway Staff Corps , a volunteer corps whose members serve as engineering advisors to the British Army . He died in 1873 aged 60, and is buried with his wife Anna, on the edge of the main path at Kensal Green Cemetery , London. He
2444-400: Was favourably disposed to the idea. However, the London and North Western Railway was dominant in the area and was known to be hostile; the scheme would need Parliamentary approval, and it was expected that the LNWR would be able to frustrate the GWR alliance. There was now desperation to find a well-funded partner. In 1854 and 1855 approaches were made for help to John McClean , the lessee of
2496-416: Was installed alongside the railway. Parts of Walsall were connected by 1858 but it took fifteen years to complete the scheme. McClean was engineer to the waterworks company, but drew no salary. After an Act of Parliament was passed to allow it, he took a 25-year lease on the railway, thus becoming the first person to be the sole owner of a railway. By 1853 he was also busying himself with mining, completing
2548-426: Was only on 12 July 1869 that Parliament authorised it. The share swap was £55 of Ordinary LNWR Stock or £70 of LNWR 5 per cent Perpetual Preference Stock to replace every £100 of CMR shares, with an alternative of £7 in cash for every £10 CMR share. The last Board Meeting of the CMR was held on 21 August 1869 at Euston. Cannock Cannock ( / ˈ k æ n ə k / ) is a town in the Cannock Chase district in
2600-518: Was reinstated. The parliamentary powers for construction of the line were time limited, and by now there were only six months left. At the Annual General Meeting on 25 February 1854 it was agreed to seek an extension of time. More significantly it was recognised that a lack of sufficient share take-up meant that the company had little money to proceed with the project, and a major partner would be required, with enough financial backing to enable
2652-481: Was seven miles in length, and joined the South Staffordshire Railway (SSR) at Cannock. It was leased to, and then absorbed by the LNWR, and with the SSR it simply formed part of the LNWR network in the district, chiefly serving extractive industries. It opened to passenger and goods traffic in 1859. Passenger traffic was discontinued in 1965, but was resumed in 1989 and is still (2022) in operation, with
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#17328482446512704-457: Was the home of Sir Robert Fisher, 4th Baronet , became the headquarters of Cannock Urban District Council in 1927. It was converted into offices in the 1980s, initially for Cannock Chase Technical College but, in 2016, it was refurbished for private use. Cannock Chase German war cemetery is located nearby containing 4,885 German military dead from the First and Second World Wars. It is managed by
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