Cannock

Coordinates: 52°41′17″N 2°01′44″W / 52.688°N 2.029°W / 52.688; -2.029

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 Chase

Cannock Chase (grid reference SK000165) is a mixed area of countryside in the county of Staffordshire, England. The area has been designated as the Cannock Chase Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Chase gives its name to the Cannock Chase local government district. It is a former Royal forest.

Landscape, flora and fauna

Cannock Chase is located between Cannock, Lichfield, Rugeley and Stafford. It comprises a mixture of natural deciduous woodland, coniferous plantations, open heathland and the remains of early industry, such as coal mining. The landscape owes much to the underlying Triassic bunter formations. Cannock Chase was designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) on 16 September 1958 and is the smallest area so designated in mainland Britain, covering 68 km² (26 sq mi). Much of the area is also designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Despite being relatively small in area, the chase provides a remarkable range of landscape and wildlife, including a herd of around 800 fallow deer and a number of rare and endangered birds, not least migrant nightjars. A feeding station at the Marquis Drive Visitors' Centre, sponsored by the West Midland Bird Club, attracts many species, including brambling, yellowhammer and bullfinch. Efforts are underway to increase the amount of heathland on the chase, reintroducing shrubs such as heather in some areas where bracken and birch forest have crowded out most other plants. The local flora also includes several species of Vaccinium, including the eponymous Cannock Chase berry (Vaccinium ×intermedium Ruthe). In January 2009, an outbreak of the plant pathogen Phytophthora ramorum was discovered on the chase, at Brocton Coppice. Various restrictions were put in place in an attempt to prevent its spread.