Jump to content

Cannock: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Content deleted Content added
m clean infobox entries after substitution
m External reference (first one on page!)
Line 114: Line 114:
==References==
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
{{reflist|2}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Cannock}}
*[http://www.cannockwolves.co.uk/ Cannock Wolves Supporters Club]


{{Staffordshire}}
{{Staffordshire}}

Revision as of 18:04, 10 September 2009

Cannock
Population28,435 (2001 Census).[1]
OS grid referenceSJ980101
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townCANNOCK
Postcode districtWS11
Dialling code01543
PoliceStaffordshire
FireStaffordshire
AmbulanceWest Midlands
UK Parliament
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.

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[citation needed] 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[citation needed] as many new residential developments are built as commuting areas for Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Walsall and Stafford.

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 the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

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.

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).

Nearby cities, towns and villages

Cities and towns are in upper case. Only a few of the nearest villages are shown.

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.

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] Although, the Cinema is planned to open temporarily, till land is licenced to begin constructing the multiplex, between September - November 2009.

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.

Notable people

Entertainment

Sport

Other

Sports

Cannock Hockey Club is one of the leading field hockey clubs in England, and supplies England internationals.[citation needed]

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.

Twin Town

References

  1. ^ a b 2001 Census - Social Profile for Wards in Cannock Chase
  2. ^ "Developer Hits Out At Obstacle". E&S Online. E&S. Retrieved 2007-10-26.