CANNOCK

'Cannock' is a town in Staffordshire, England, just north of the West Midlands conurbation. It sits to the south of Cannock Chase, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and is administered as part of Cannock Chase district.
Cannock lies on the M6 Toll, A34 and A5 roads, to the north of the Black Country (about 11 km) and south of Stafford (about 13 km). It is served by a railway station on the Chase Line. Its nearest towns and villages include Hednesford, Heath Hayes, Rugeley, Norton Canes, Great Wyrley, Cannock Wood, Bridgtown and Burntwood.

Contents

History

Demographics

Notable people

Sports

Culture

Education

History

Its name comes from the Celtic cnoc, meaning hill. It is first recorded in the unlikely form Chenet in the Domesday Book, probably due to the information being written down by a Norman scribe with less than perfect knowledge of English.
The town was very 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.

Demographics

In recent years it has become far more affluent and seen a population and housing increase. 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. The United Kingdom's second largest populated city, Birmingham, can be commuted to by train in around 40 minutes. Cannock should properly be described as a market town.

Notable people

Famous people from Cannock include footballer Stan Collymore, Richard Gosling (Strongest Man in Britain), Mel Galley (former Whitesnake guitarist/vocalist), Glenn Hughes (former Deep Purple bassist/vocalist), Robert Lloyd (vocalist in The Prefects and The Nightingales).
The American pop singer Tiffany now lives in the town, having married a local businessman.
The Mother of the actor Roger Moore used to live in the Shoal Hill area of Cannock Chase
Steve Bull, the veteran Wolverhampton Wanderers striker, lived in Cannock during his marriage.

Sports

Cannock Hockey Club was once one of the leading field hockey clubs in the country, and once supplied England internationals.

Culture

The Cannock Highland Pipe Band [1] are a band set up to give everyone the chance to hear and even play the Scottish Highland Bagpipes.

Education

Cannock Chase Technical College is based in Cannock.