Hednesford
| Hednesford | |
| Staffordshire | |
|---|---|
 Market Street, Hednesford | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SK000126 |
| Location: | 52°42’41"N, 2°0’2"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 17,343 (2011) |
| Post town: | Cannock |
| Postcode: | WS12 |
| Dialling code: | 01543 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Cannock Chase |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Cannock Chase |
Hednesford is a small town in Staffordshire. It adjoins Cannock Chase to the north, and the town of Cannock to the south.
History
Hednesford was an important coal mining community for over a century. This is commemorated in the town centre, where a Miner's Lamp has been erected, surrounded by a wall with individual bricks giving the names of former miners. The oldest sections of the town surround the hilltop areas of the existing town; however, the lower part of the town became the focal point as the community grew with the mining industry.
Between 1914 and 1918 two huge army training camps were built in the area and over a quarter of a million British and Commonwealth soldiers passed through destined for the Western Front. In 1938 a Royal Air Force training camp was established to train technicians in maintenance and repair of airframes and engines. No. 6 School of Technical training became better known as RAF Hednesford. The camp was later used for resettlement of Hungarian refugees fleeing from the Soviet invasion of Budapest, in 1956. The site is now a part of Cannock Chase Country Park.
The urban area of Hednesford now spreads across a swathe of the northern fringe of Cannock, from Pye Green across to Heath Hayes, and is the southern gateway to Cannock Chase "Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty". Economically Hednesford has suffered since the 1980s as more people travel to the larger towns and cities nearby and due to the absence of redevelopment it retains a traditional street scene with many sole traders operating speciality shops. However, the area around Anglesey Square has been landscaped to provide a pleasant public space with a public clock as a central feature.
Currently, a £50 million regeneration of the town centre is taking place, with an 80,000 sq ft supermarket as the centre piece. Also, a new drill hall for the local Army Cadet Detachment, shops and bingo hall have been constructed, the former called Victoria Shopping Park and the latter Chase Gateway.
Sport
The town is best known for Hednesford Hills Raceway, the stock car track built on the site of a disused reservoir, which has brought tens of thousands of race fans to the area since the mid-1950s and still attracts crowds of several thousand to its major events.
- Football: Hednesford Town FC