Hixon History Society

The November meeting was a talk on Cannock Chase and its Hidden History given by Steve Booth. Cannock Chase is the oldest ‘Area of Natural Beauty’ in the country and also the most popular with 2.5million visitors each year.

It is also the smallest, covering just 17,000 acres, of which 63% is forest.

Here are a few facts from the presentation:

Castle Ring is a Hill Fort and was occupied by Celtic tribes until it was attacked in 48ad by the Romans who had traveled from London along Watling Street (A5). The fort was so well defended, took 2½ years to capture.

Beaudesert Hall was built in 1292 and later owned by the Bishop of Lichfield and used as a hunting lodge. Sir William Paget – the 1st Baron Paget of Beaudesert was born in Wednesbury in 1506 and became an MP for Lichfield and held various Government roles. He was an Advisor to Henry VIII when the catholic monasteries were destroyed and purchased Beaudesert for £575 in 1546. The Paget family were involved in ‘nail making’ and the Chase contained ironstone and shallow coal seams which could be accessed from the surface by Bell Pits. A furnace was built in the Rising Brook valley, and later, Thomas Chetwyn took over the nail making and built a forge at Slitting Mill. The hall underwent rebuilding and remodelling until November 5th 1909 when it caught fire and was eventually demolished in 1935.

Hagley Hall was formerly a country house on the outskirts of Rugeley, built in 1636. It was later bought by the Curzon family, the estate became known as Hagley Park. There was also a folly under the house of several chambers leading to a basilica cut into the sandstone, probably used for worship.

The Bloody Steps at Brindley Bank, was where the body of Christina Collins was carried up by locals, who discovered her in the canal in June 1839. She had been traveling on a Pickford’s narrow-boat carrying freight (and also whisky) from Liverpool to London. Two of the crew were later convicted of her murder and were hanged in Stafford.

The Tackeroo Railway was constructed to link the two army camps,

Rugeley and Brocton. A power station, water tower and a hospital were also built.

The last meeting this year will be on 2nd December at 8-00pm and includes a ‘Magic Lantern’ Show. 

The first meeting of the history society in 2026 will be on 3rd February with a talk by Bob Marsh on The History of Beaudesert.

The fee is £2-00 per person. All welcome. 

John Egginton