Cannock

‘The King holds Chenet (Cannock) Earl Elgar held it. 1 hide, with its dependencies. Land for 15 ploughs. 8 villagers and 3 small-holders with 3 ploughs. Woodland (b) 4 leagues wide and (a) 6 leagues long. Before 1066 it paid nothing; value now 20s.’ [The Domesday Book, England’s Heritage Then and Now]

In 1086 known as ‘Chenet’’ (The small hill, the hillock). [The Oxford Names Companion]

The parish became part of Penkridge Union following the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834.

“In Cannock village is an Independent Chapel, built by subscription in 1824, and a Wesleyan Chapel, built in 1842. The Plymouth Brethren have a preaching room here”. [History, Gazetteer and Directory of Staffordshire, William White, Sheffield, 1851]

In 1928 Cannock Workhouse, Clerk to the Guardians Albert Wing Carver M.B.E. The Poor Law Institution half a mile east from the Church was erected in 1872 and enlarged in 1886 and is now capable of containing 300 inmates. A new Infirmary was erected in 1902. John Alfred Brown, Master. [Kelly’s Directory of 1928]

“Cannock, a large and well built village, with about 1100 inhabitants, is pleasantly situated on the western verge of the extensive heath or chase from which it has its name, on the turnpike road between Walsall and Stafford, eight miles N by W of Walsall, and nine miles SSE of Stafford, and about four miles from the Spread Eagle, Brownhills, Four Ashes and Penkridge Railway Stations. Though not mentioned in Domesday book, it was a considerable village in the reign of King John. Dugdale asserts that Henry I had a summer residence here, and there are records of a castle having existed here, though no vestiges of it now remain. The parish of Cannock is very extensive, comprising about 20,000 acres, of which more than a third is uninclosed on Cannock Chase. It has a good light soil, well adapted to the growth of corn, turnips and grass. It contains only 2852 inhabitants, and is divided into the six liberties of Cannock, Great Wyrley, Huntington, Cannock Wood, Hednesford, and Leacroft. The whole parish, except Great Wyrley and Huntington, is in the manor of Cannock & Rugeley, of which the Marquis of Anglesey is lord. The greater part of this manor is held by copyholders, who pay chief rents and heriots. The manor includes the whole of Cannock Chase, which comprises 32,000 acres of heath, extending from the Trent, near Shugborough, southward nearly to Aldridge, a distance of twelve miles, and varying from one and a half to five miles in breadth. It was a celebrated forest during the Saxon heptarchy, being the favourite chase of the Mercian kings. At the north end, near Rugeley, and on parts of the western border, are several coal mines, in which is found a particular species of iron ore, called Cannock stone, which oxygenates so rapidly as to be capable of much useful application. Cannock church, St Luke, is an ancient structure, which has undergone many repairs. The south side was rebuilt in 1753, and in 1849 the north side was restored, and the body of the church repewed. Among its monuments are several memorials of the Walhouse family of Hatherton, the inhabitants of which used this church, though they are in Wolverhampton parish”. [From History, Gazetteer and Directory of Staffordshire, William White, Sheffield, 1851]

Cannock (St. Luke), a parish in the union of Penkridge, E. division of the hundred of Cuttlestone, S. division of the county of Stafford, 8 miles (N. by W.) from Walsall; containing the townships of Cannock-Wood, Hednesford cum Leacroft, Huntington and Great Wyrley, 2852 inhabitants, of whom 1125 are in the township of Cannock. The place was a forest or chase belonging to the Mercian kings, and is supposed to have derived its name from Canute, the first Danish king of England. The parish is situated on the road between Walsall and Stafford, and comprises by computation 20, 000 acres, about half of which is still unenclosed on Cannock Chase, a heath about 12 miles long, and from 3 to 5 wide. Of the tithable lands, 4497 acres are arable, 1830 meadow and pasture, 668 wood, and 2993 common: in Cannock township are 1510a. 3r. 26p. There are collieries at Wyrley, Churchbridge, and other places, in some of which is found a peculiar description of ironstone, called Cannock stone, which oxygenates so rapidly as to be capable of much useful application; and a fine white gravel is found, excellently to ornamental walks. The Liverpool and Birmingham railway passes through Penkridge, about four miles from the village of Cannock; and a canal has been cut at great expense, by Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal Company, from Churchbridge, to meet the canal at Galey, three miles off. The village is supplied by water by means of a conduit, and leaden pipes from Leacroft, about a mile distant, constructed by Bishop Hough. There is a manufactory for edge-tools at Wedges-Mill, which affords employment to about 100 persons; the coal used is from the immediate neighbourhood. A market was formerly held on Tuesday, but is discontinued; fairs, however, are held on May 8th, August 24th, and October 18th, principally for cattle and sheep. The living is perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield, and has a net income, of £144: the tithes have been commuted for £1217.6.; a good glebe house was built in 1842, and attached to it is half an acre of glebe land. The church is a very ancient edifice of stone, in the early English style, with a square tower. The parish is remarkable as having been the first curacy held by the famous Dr. Sacheverell. At Wyrley is a living in the gift of the Incumbent of Cannock. There are places of worship for Independents and Wesleyans. A school founded by John Wood was, in 1827, enfeoffed by Thos. Wood with land, the income of which is £8 per annum; and John Biddulph Esq., gave a meadow for the use of the master. In 1725, Mrs. M. Chapman bequeathed a small sum for education; the endowment altogether produces about £20 per annum, with a house and two acres of land. A national school was endowed by Mrs. Walhouse (mother of Lord Hatherton), who died in 1843. Castle Ring situated on the summit of Castle Hill, near Beaudesert Park, the seat of the Marquess of Anglesey, part of which is in the township of Cannock, is supposed to have been a British encampment: it is nearly a circular area of eight or ten acres, surrounded by a double trench occupying three or four acres more; and near it are the remains of a moat enclosing an oblong of about three acres, named the Old Nunnery, where a Cistercian Abbey was founded in the reign of Stephen, which was shortly after removed to Stoneleigh, in Warwickshire. A similar enclosure at a small distance is called the Moat Bank. At Leacroft was formally a mineral spring of great repute. [Samuel Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England 1859]

Cannock, a village, a parish, a subdistrict, ancient forest, and two railways in Staffordshire. The village stands adjacent to the Walsall and Stafford railway, near Watling-street, 7¾ miles NNW of Walsall; and has a station on the railway, a post office under Stafford, public rooms, a banking office, and fairs on 8 May, 24 Aug., and 18 Oct. The public rooms were erected in 1862; and include a large hall for lectures or concerts, a room for magistrates' meetings, and a reading room. [John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales 1870 - 1872]

Is your ancestor buried in Cannock Cemetery? Check through this list of some of the memorial Inscriptions provided by Wishful Thinking

Did your ancestor work on the Cannock Extension Canal? If so, you may see some of his handy work here

Learn all about the coal mining industry with The Coalmining History Resource Centre

Learn all about the coal mining industry on the Cannock Chase with the Cannock Chase Mining Historical Society

Staffordshire Record Office holds the original registers of Hightown Methodist Church Baptism Registers (1873 – 1972)

Staffordshire Records Office holds the original registers of the Independent Church Births and Baptism Registers (1816 – 1837)

Staffordshire Records Office holds the original registers of the Mill Street Primitive Methodist Church Marriage Registers (1913 - 1986)

Keep up to date with all the local news with the local newspaper

Do you have an ancestor living in Cannock in 1834? If so, you may find them in the Parish Directory (Cannock) 1834

Burntwood Family History Group has transcribed the parish records for Saint Luke's Church and are available to purchase

The Church of England website for Saint Luke's Church

The Staffordshire Records Office holds the original registers of Saint Luke’s Bishops Transcripts for the period (1659 – 1867) with gaps 1672 to 1683, 1686 to 1690 and 1858 to 1865

Staffordshire Records Office holds the original registers of Saint Luke’s Church which commence in 1744. Baptism Registers (1744 – 1949), Banns (1809 – 1914), Marriage Registers (1744 – 1929) and Burial Registers (1744 – 1929) Earlier Parish Registers were destroyed by fire in 1958.

Staffordshire Records Office holds the original registers of Saint Mark's Bishops Transcripts Baptisms and Burials (1848 – 1857)

The Roman Church website for Saint Mary and Saint Thomas More Church


Registers of the Roman Catholic Church of St Mary, which commence in 1873 and include Hatherton Hall (a domestic chapel of the Clifford family) remain with the parish priest. Earlier Cannock entries may be found in Bloxwich or Rugeley registers

Staffordshire Records Office holds the original registers of Trinity Wesleyan Methodist Church Baptism Registers (1857 – 1958)

Staffordshire Records Office holds the original registers of Trinity Wesleyan Methodist Church Baptism Registers (1857 – 1958)

Staffordshire Records Office holds the original registers of Wesleyan Methodist Church Baptism Registers (1813 – 1815)