Cannock

Cannock
Market Place
Cannock  Cannock shown within Staffordshire
Area	9.24 km2 (3.57 sq mi)
Population	29,018 (2011 Census)
– density	3,140/km2 (8,100/sq mi)
OS grid reference	SJ980101
District	Cannock Chase
Shire county	Staffordshire
Region	West Midlands
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	CANNOCK
Postcode district	WS11
Dialling code	01543
Police	Staffordshire
Fire	Staffordshire
Ambulance	West Midlands
EU Parliament	West Midlands
UK Parliament	Cannock Chase
List of places UK England Staffordshire

Cannock (/ˈkænək/) population 29,018 at the 2011 census, is the most populous of three towns in the district of Cannock Chase in the central southern part of 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. 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 forms part of the Cannock Built-up Area (population 86,121 in the 2011 census) which also includes Cheslyn Hay, Great Wyrley, Hednesford, Huntington, Heath Hayes and Wimblebury.

History

Cannock was called Chenet 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 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 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. There is now no heavy industry in the area, and Cannock is home to many commuters working in the surrounding towns and cities.

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 (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.

Climate

Cannock has a moderate, temperate climate. See Penkridge weather station for details of average temperature and rainfall figures taken between 1981 and 2010 at the Met Office weather station in Penkridge (around 5 miles (8 km) north-west of Cannock).

Location

Cannock is about by road north-north-west of Birmingham, south-south-east of Manchester and 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 (), Burntwood and Penkridge (), Bloxwich and Brownhills () and Rugeley (7 miles (11 km)) are nearer.

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

Demography

In 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 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 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) 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 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 the United Kingdom.

The responses to the voluntary question "What is your religion?" were 'No religion' (24.8%), Christian (68.3%), Buddhist (0.13%), Hindu (0.10%), Jewish (0.02%), Muslim (0.26%), Sikh (0.36%), and other religion (0.24%). 5.8% gave no answer.

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 facilities are to be found in out of town locations such as Longford Island Retail Estate and the Orbital Retail Park.

Cannock has a choice of nightclubs and bars, including Missoula (formerly Stones), Silks, Bank Bar & Lounge, Piques, Courtyard (formerly Academy), Bar 77, Ubar, and Bar Sport, as well as several traditional pubs dotted around the town centre including the White Hart, The Royal Oak and Wetherspoons. There are also many restaurants, gastro pubs, and fast food establishments offering a wide choice of food.

Cannock has a leisure centre which contains a swimming pool and other sporting facilities. 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. It also has a two-screen cinema which was renovated several years ago as part of an ongoing attempt at redeveloping this part of the town centre, and again in 2013 following a change of ownership.

Media

Cannock has a free weekly local newspaper, the Cannock & Rugeley Chronicle (an edition of the Cannock & Lichfield Chronicle). Another free weekly, the Chase Post (an edition of the Cannock Chase & Burntwood Post), ceased publication in November 2011.

The Express & Star is a paid-for local newspaper, published in Wolverhampton on weekdays.

Hyperlocal website ConnectCannock delivers local news via the internet, and also provides a business directory

Televised local news is provided through Midlands Today and Central Tonight, which also serve the wider area of the West Midlands.

Cannock is served by the national radio stations, and West Midlands "regional" licences Planet Rock, Smooth Radio West Midlands and Heart West Midlands. The town is also covered by Free Radio Black Country and Shropshire on 97.2 and BBC WM on 95.6 FM.

Cannock is also served by its own community radio station, called Cannock Radio, based in Kingston Court in the town.

Transport

Cannock is located close to the M6, M6 toll and M54 motorways. There is an extensive network of local buses radiating out from Cannock town centre. The town's main bus operator is Arriva Midlands, who operate the majority of services to and from Cannock bus station.

Cannock railway station closed in 1965 as part of the Beeching Axe. It reopened in 1989 under British Rail 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. The journey time to Birmingham is around 45 minutes.

Sports

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

Education

Cannock Chase High School is a non-denominational mixed comprehensive with just over 1000 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 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 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 in 2009 by a merger of Cannock Chase Technical College and centres of further education in Tamworth, Lichfield and Rodbaston.

Notable people

Entertainment

• Carole Ashby (born 1955), actress
• Mark Atkin (born 1974), actor/stunt performer
• Balaam and the Angel, Gothic rock group
• Ritch Battersby (born 1968), drummer in The Wildhearts and Grand Theft Audio
• Emily Dormer (born 1980), actress
• Steve Edge (born 1972), actor
• Andy French (born 1957), radio presenter and magician
• Mel Galley (1948–2008), former Whitesnake guitarist and songwriter
• Jenny Hinks, made it to the West End Musical Hairspray as part of the ensemble and understudying roles
• Russell Brown, Contestant on 'Deal or no Deal' who won £12335 in April 2015
• 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
• Helen Norgrove (born 1973), first £125,000 winner on TV game show 'Don't Forget The Lyrics'
• David St John (born 1948), current world record holder with the most TV quiz appearances as a contestant

Sport

• Malcolm Beard (born 1942), former professional footballer who played mostly for Birmingham City
• Andy Bishop (born 1982), professional footballer
• Luke Chapman (born 1991), professional footballer
• Stan Collymore (born 1971), former professional footballer
• Billy Gallier (1932–2011), footballer/football manager
• Mick Gosling (born 1972), winner of Britain's Strongest Man contest in 2005
• Richard Gosling (born 1974), his brother, winner of Britain's Strongest Man contest in 2003
• Deiniol Graham (born 1969), professional footballer/football manager
• Jared Hodgkiss (born 1986), professional footballer
• Bobby Hosker (born 1955), former professional footballer
• Steve James (born 1961), former professional snooker player
• Harry Kinsell (1921-2000), professional footballer who played mostly for West Bromwich Albion and West Ham United
• Gordon Lee (born 1934), former professional footballer/football manager
• Liam McAlinden (born 1993), (Cannock-born) Irish footballer
• Dave Norton (born 1965), former professional footballer
• Geoff Palmer (born 1954), former professional footballer who played mostly for Wolves
• Kevin Pietersen (born 1980), South African-born English cricketer who played for Cannock Cricket Club in 2000
• Jim Rhodes (1946–2015), professional golfer
• Alec Talbot (1902–1975), professional footballer who played for Aston Villa
• Kris Taylor (born 1984), professional footballer
• Arthur Wharton (1865–1930), England's first black professional footballer, trained as a missionary at a school in Cannock

Other

• John Kerr Butter (1856–1920), Scottish physician, police surgeon and zoologist who kept a menagerie of exotic animals at his home in Wolverhampton Road
• Walter Colman (1600–1645), Franciscan friar
• Raymond Furnell (1936–2006), curate of Cannock 1965-69, later dean of York Minster
• Jennie Lee (1904–1988), MP for Cannock 1945-1970 who, as Minister in the Department of Education and Science, became the driving force for the creation of the Open University
• Jed Mercurio (born 1966), BAFTA-nominated author, TV & Film Producer. Created popular television series "Cardiac Arrest" and "Bodies". Recent novel "American Adulterer" presented fictional focus on the life of assassinated US president John F Kennedy
• Vernon Rylands Parton (1897-1974), prolific inventor of chess variants, including Alice Chess
• William Henry Robinson (1847-1926), novelist and publisher
• Henry Sacheverell (1674-1724), onetime Rector of Cannock, polemical preacher
• Frank Edward Tylecote CBE (1879–1965), physician, Professor of Medicine at Manchester University, and early researcher into link between smoking and lung cancer
• Tom Wakefield (1935-1996), novelist

Twin town

• Datteln, Germany, since 1971. See German page de:Datteln.

External links

• BBC Domesday Reloaded - Domesday Reloaded - Overview of Cannock
• Cannock Wolves Supporters Club
• ConnectCannnock - Hyperlocal blog for the area