Chasetown

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Chasetown
St Anne's Church Chasetown.jpg
St Anne's Church
Staffordshire UK location map.svg
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Chasetown
Location within Staffordshire
Population3,885 (2011.Ward) [1]
OS grid reference SK055085
  London 127 miles (204 km)
District
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town BURNTWOOD
Postcode district WS7
Dialling code 01543
Police Staffordshire
Fire Staffordshire
Ambulance West Midlands
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Staffordshire
52°40′N1°55′W / 52.67°N 1.92°W / 52.67; -1.92 Coordinates: 52°40′N1°55′W / 52.67°N 1.92°W / 52.67; -1.92

Chasetown is a village in the town of Burntwood in Staffordshire, England. It is split between the civil parishes of Burntwood and Hammerwich.

Contents

History

Chasetown developed in the mid 19th century as a coal mining village. At first the village was simply known as Cannock Chase due to its proximity to the nearby forest, it was known as Chasetown by 1867. The first pit was sunk by the Marquess of Anglesey in 1849, when the Hammerwich Colliery opened at the base of Chasewater reservoir. [2] Cannock Chase Collieries No.2 and No.9 opened in the 1850s to the west of the village where the Rugby club is sited today.

As a result of the mining industry, housing for the miners began to be developed around High Street, Church Street and Queen Street. Three pairs of cottages were built on the north side of Church Street in 1854, and the adjoining Uxbridge Arms existed by 1856. By 1860 two shopkeepers, three beer retailers (besides the landlord of the Uxbridge Arms), a builder, a drill owner, a shoemaker, and a market gardener were listed at the village of Cannock Chase. [3] St Anne's Church was built by 1865 and by 1883 the village had spread as far north as Hill Street. [3]

After World War II the village began to grow eastwards when the Oakdene estate began to be built. [3] The estate was still expanding by 1958 when it became the largest council estate in Lichfield district. [3] The last mine closed in 1959 but the village continued expanding as it became an overspill area for people from the Black Country. The rural green spaces between Burntwood and Chasetown were developed by the early 1970s which effectively joined the two villages.

There is today little evidence of the mining industry left in the area other than Chasewater reservoir which provided water for the canals that were used to transport coal to Birmingham and the Black Country, and Chasewater Light Railway which has been restored for leisure use. St Anne's Church was the first church in England to have electric lights.

Sport

Chasetown Football Club, Burntwood Rugby Club, Chasewater Watersports Centre and Erasmus Darwin Academy are also based here.

Related Research Articles

Cannock Human settlement in England

Cannock is a town and the administrative centre of the Cannock Chase district, as of the 2011 census, it has a population of 29,018, and is one the most populous towns in the district of Cannock Chase in the county of Staffordshire in the West Midlands region of England.

Rugeley Town in Staffordshire, England

Rugeley is an industrial and market town within Cannock Chase District, Staffordshire, England.

Brownhills Human settlement in England

Brownhills is a town and former administrative centre situated in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, West Midlands, England. Located a few miles south of Cannock Chase and close to the large Chasewater reservoir, it is 6 miles (9.7 km) northeast of Walsall, a similar distance southwest of Lichfield and 13 miles north-northwest of Birmingham. It is part of the Aldridge-Brownhills parliamentary constituency and neighbours the large suburban villages of Pelsall and Walsall Wood. Before boundary changes in 1974, it was in the county of Staffordshire and is now situated within 1.5 miles of the county border.

Burntwood Human settlement in England

Burntwood is a former mining town and civil parish, it is now a suburban town of the Lichfield District in Staffordshire, England, approximately 4 miles (6 km) west of Lichfield and north east of Brownhills. The town had a population of 43,623 at the time of the 2020 census and forms part of Lichfield district. The town forms one of the largest urbanised parishes in England. Samuel Johnson opened an academy in nearby Edial in 1736. The town is home to the smallest park in the UK, Prince's Park, which is located next to Christ Church on the junction of Farewell Lane and Church Road. The town expanded in the nineteenth century around the coal mining industry.

Chasewater A lake in Staffordshire, England

Chasewater is a reservoir located in the parish of Burntwood and the district of Lichfield in Staffordshire, England. Originally known as Norton Pool and Cannock Chase Reservoir, it was created as a canal feeder reservoir in 1797. The reservoir was created to directly supply the Wyrley and Essington Canal and maintain levels in the 160-mile (260 km) Birmingham Canal Network. During a period of great industrial growth in the Black Country region the maintenance of water levels in canal infrastructure was essential and Chasewater was in great demand. As canals became less essential for transport of goods during the mid-20th century, the reservoir diversified and became a popular public amenity with activities such as water-skiing, sailing, wakeboarding and cycling. Chasewater is the third largest reservoir by volume in the county of Staffordshire and the largest canal feeder reservoir in the West Midlands.

Spennymoor Human settlement in England

Spennymoor is a town and civil parish in County Durham, England. It stands above the Wear Valley about 7 mi (11 km) south of Durham. The town was founded over 160 years ago. The Town Council area, which includes the villages of Kirk Merrington, Middlestone Moor, Byers Green and Tudhoe, has a population of about 20,000.

Lichfield District Non-metropolitan district in England

Lichfield is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. It is administered by Lichfield District Council, based in Lichfield.

Chasewater Railway

The Chasewater Railway is a former colliery railway running round the shores of Chasewater in Staffordshire, England. It is now operated as a heritage railway.

Middleton, Leeds Suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England

Middleton is a largely residential suburb of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England and historically a village in the West Riding of Yorkshire. It is situated on a hill 4 miles (6 km) south of Leeds city centre and 165 miles (266 km) north north-west of London.

Chasetown F.C. Association football club in England

Chasetown Football Club is an English football club based in the Chasetown area of Burntwood, Staffordshire. The club plays in the Northern Premier League Division One South East and is nicknamed The Scholars, having been formed by affiliates of nearby Chase Terrace High School in the Chase Terrace area of Burntwood.

Huntington, Staffordshire Village in Staffordshire, England

Huntington is a civil parish and former mining village in Staffordshire, on the outskirts of Cannock Chase. It lies on the A34 road just north of Cannock and is surrounded by woodland. The village had an estimated population of 3,720 in 2004, increasing to 4,536 at the 2011 Census.

Cwmdare Human settlement in Wales

Cwmdare is a village very close to Aberdare, in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. The village's history is intertwined with coal-mining, and since the decline of the industry in the 1980s, it has become primarily a commuter base for the larger surrounding towns of Aberdare and Merthyr Tydfil and Pontypridd, as well as the cities of Cardiff and Swansea.

Norton Canes Human settlement in England

Norton Canes is an industrial village, civil parish and ward of Cannock Chase District, in Staffordshire, England.

Hammerwich Human settlement in England

Hammerwich is a small village and civil parish in Lichfield District, Staffordshire, England, south-east of Burntwood.

Brownhills Watling Street railway station

Brownhills Watling Street railway station was a station on the Midland Railway in England. It was opened in 1884, closed in March 1930 for passenger use and the track was closed in 1960.

Wattstown Human settlement in Wales

Wattstown is a village located in the Rhondda Valley in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Located in the Rhondda Fach valley it is a district of the community of Ynyshir. Prior to mid 19th century industrialisation the area was once little more than a wooded area, sparsely populated by farmsteads. With the coming of the coal industry Wattstown became a busy, densely populated village, but with the closure of the collieries Wattstown suffered an economic downturn that still affects the village today.

Chasetown is a heritage railway station on the Chasewater Railway. It is the north-eastern terminus of the line and consists of a single platform with a run-round loop. The station was constructed in 2000 as part of the extension of the line, that was undertaken following the construction of the M6 Toll Motorway. There are no station buildings.

Angelsea Sidings


The Angelsea Sidings is a former sidings terminal located on the South Staffordshire Line and served for a time as an oil terminal. The sidings are located on the other end of the A5 Watling Street in Brownhills near the border of Lichfield.

Cannock Chase Railways

The Cannock Chase Railways were mineral lines which served the collieries and many parts of Staffordshire. The branch lines and sidings branched off the local mainlines including the Grand Junction Railway, Chase Line, South Staffordshire Line and Rugby–Birmingham–Stafford line. The main junction on the railways was Norton Junction. This junction connected the lines from Walsall and Hednesford to Wolverhampton and Rugeley Trent Valley for the local collieries and the mines in the towns of Brownhills, Burntwood, Chasetown, Penkridge and Cannock.

Hazelslade

Hazelslade is a former mining village in Staffordshire, England. It is now part of Cannock Chase District. The village is located between Hednesford and Rugeley. It has been built into the Rawnsley area of Hednesford and is now effectively a suburban village of Hednesford. The village has a post office, a freehouse and housing estates. There was also a former mineral railway which ran from Hednesford to Burntwood. It can be seen from Google Maps as rows of trees curving around the former mining village and parts of Cannock Chase District to the Chase Line. There is also a bus service which connects the village to Cannock and Burntwood. The nearest mainline railway station is Hednesford. The pub is also named the Hazelslade. The nearest churches are in Church Hill and Hednesford.

References

  1. "Burntwood Ward population 2011" . Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  2. Burntwood Town Council - Chasetown History
  3. 1 2 3 4 British History Online - Townships:Burntwood

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Chasetown at Wikimedia Commons