Cannock
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Coordinates: 52°41′17″N 2°01′44″W / 52.688°N 2.029°W
| Cannock | |
  Cannock shown within Staffordshire |
|
| Population | 28,435 (2001 Census).[1] |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| District | Cannock Chase |
| Shire county | Staffordshire |
| Region | West Midlands |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | CANNOCK |
| Postcode district | WS11 |
| Dialling code | 01543 |
| Police | Staffordshire |
| Fire | Staffordshire |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| European Parliament | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | Cannock Chase |
| List of places: UK • England • Staffordshire | |
Cannock is the largest town within the Cannock Chase District in the county of Staffordshire in the West Midlands region of England.
Cannock lies to the north of the West Midlands conurbation on the M6, A34 and A5 roads, and to the south of Cannock Chase, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Cannock is served by a railway station on the Chase Line.
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[edit] History
Its name comes from the Celtic cnoc, meaning hill. It is first recorded in the unlikely form Chenet in the Domesday Book.
The town was small until coal mining increased heavily during the mid to late nineteenth century. The area then continued to grow rapidly with many industries coming to the area because of its proximity to the Black Country and because of its coal reserves. After the Second World War the town's population again increased and has kept on increasing ever since as many new residential developments are built as commuting areas for Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Walsall and Stafford.
[edit] Geography
Cannock is on a south-west facing slope, falling from the highest point on Cannock Chase (244m) at Castle Ring, to about 111m near Wedges Mills. The soil is light with a gravel and clay subsoil, and there are extensive coal measures.
Cannock is part of the largest urban area of Cannock Chase District. When defined as the ten district electoral wards which include Cannock, Hednesford, Heath Hayes, and Rawnsley, it had a population of 62,492 in the 2001 census.[1] This area includes Cannock Wood in the partly rural Rawnsley ward but does not include Norton Canes. It is the fifth largest settlement in Staffordshire[citation needed] behind Stoke on Trent, Tamworth, Newcastle-under-Lyme, and Stafford, but ahead of Burton-on-Trent.
[edit] Climate
Cannock has a moderate, temperate climate. See Penkridge weather station for details of average temperature and rainfall figures taken between 1971 and 2000 at the Met Office weather station in Penkridge (around 5 miles (8 km) north-west of Cannock).
[edit] Nearby cities, towns and villages
Cities and towns are in upper case. Only a few of the nearest villages are shown.
| Destinations from CANNOCK | |||||||||||
| PENKRIDGE | Huntington, STAFFORD |
HEDNESFORD, RUGELEY, Armitage | |||||||||
| Brewood, SHIFNAL, TELFORD |
|
Cannock Wood, BURNTWOOD, Hammerwich, LICHFIELD | |||||||||
| Featherstone, WOLVERHAMPTON | Great Wyrley, Cheslyn Hay, Landywood, BLOXWICH, WILLENHALL, WALSALL |
Norton Canes, BROWNHILLS, ALDRIDGE | |||||||||
[edit] Demographics
In recent years it has become far more affluent and seen a population and housing increase, such as the new apartments built by the railway station and the ongoing housing development on the Cannock/Heath Hayes boundary. In keeping with the national trend, Cannock's housing is increasingly of a post-fordist era style, although various other periods of architecture are sited around the town, such as Shoal Hill and Wolverhampton Road. The United Kingdom's second largest populated city, Birmingham, can be commuted to by train in around 40 minutes.
[edit] Amenities
Cannock has a reasonably sized town centre which includes some well known high street names. It also has outdoor and indoor markets and a shopping centre. However, some of Cannock's other shopping opportunities are to be found in out of town locations such as Longford Island Industrial Estate and the Orbital Industrial Estate.
Cannock has two significant nightclubs Silks and Stones. Other popular clubs/bars include Forge, Piques, Academy, Bar 77, Ubar and Bar Sport. It also has a wide variety of pubs and restaurants. Its largest nightclub, Maymies, shut down in November 2005.
Cannock has a swimming pool and leisure centre. It also has an ice rink, Silverblades, although this is a small rink compared to other larger rinks to be found at Telford and Solihull.
A multiplex cinema has been approved by local planning authorities, and is due to be constructed by the Pritchard group; however there have been several delays in the commencement of building.[2]
[edit] Transport
Cannock is located close to the M6, M6 toll and M54 motorways. There is an extensive network of local buses spanning out from Cannock town centre. The town's main bus operator is Arriva Midlands although other bus routes in Cannock are operated by National Express West Midlands and the Green Bus Service. Cannock railway station closed in 1965 as part of the Beeching Axe. It reopened in 1989 and is part of the Rugeley - Cannock - Walsall - Birmingham line operated by London Midland. There are two trains per hour from the station to Rugeley, Walsall and Birmingham.
[edit] Notable people
[edit] Entertainment
- Carole Ashby (born 1955), actress
- John Leon (born 1971), Glam rock superstar
- Steve Edge (born 1972), actor
- Mel Galley (1948-2008), former Whitesnake guitarist and songwriter
- Elgar Howarth (born 1935), conductor and composer
- Glenn Hughes (born 1951), former Deep Purple bassist/vocalist
- Robert Lloyd (born 1959), vocalist in The Prefects and The Nightingales
- Tiffany (born 1971), American pop singer now lives in the town, having married a local businessman
- Kate Walsh (born 1982), contestant in The Apprentice(UK), series 5
- Mike Lockley (born way back), Editor of the Cannock Chase Post
[edit] Sport
- Malcolm Beard (born 1942), retired footballer
- Stan Collymore (born 1971), retired footballer
- Mike Gosling (born 1972), winner of Britain's Strongest Man contest in 2005
- Richard Gosling (born 1974), winner of Britain's Strongest Man contest in 2003
- Deiniol Graham (born 1969), retired footballer
- Steve James (born 1961), snooker player
- Gordon Lee (born 1934), retired footballer/football manager
- Dave Norton (born 1965), retired footballer
- Geoff Palmer (born 1954), retired footballer
- Kevin Pietersen (born 1980), English cricketer played for Cannock Cricket Club
- Alec Talbot (1902-1975), footballer
[edit] Other
- Walter Colman (1600-1645), Franciscan friar
- Raymond Furnell (died 2006), curate of Cannock, later dean of York Minster
[edit] Sports
Cannock Hockey Club is one of the leading field hockey clubs in England, and supplies England internationals.[citation needed]
[edit] Education
Cannock Chase High School is a non-denominational mixed comprehensive with around 1600 pupils aged 11–18.
Cardinal Griffin Catholic High School is a voluntary aided Roman Catholic secondary school with around 950 pupils aged 11–18.
Chase Academy is an independent co-educational boarding school with a day nursery as well as over 200 pupils up to age 19.
South Staffordshire College is a further education college which provides courses to students from age 14 up to adults. It was created by a merger of Cannock Chase Technical College and centres of further education in Tamworth, Lichfield and Rodbaston.
[edit] Twin Town
Datteln, Germany, since 1971. See German page de:Datteln.
[edit] References
- ^ a b 2001 Census - Social Profile for Wards in Cannock Chase
- ^ "Developer Hits Out At Obstacle". E&S Online. E&S. http://www.expressandstar.com/2007/10/26/developer-hits-out-at-obstacle/. Retrieved on 2007-10-26.
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