Hednesford

infobox UK place
country = England
official_name= Hednesford
latitude= 52.7115
longitude= -2.0006
population = 6,312 (2001 census)
shire_district= Cannock Chase
shire_county = Staffordshire
region = West Midlands
constituency_westminster= Cannock Chase
post_town= Walsall|postcode_district = WS12
postcode_area= WS |dial_code= 01543
os_grid_reference= SK000126

Hednesford (pronounced "Hensford") is a small town in Staffordshire, England, within Cannock Chase district. It adjoins Cannock Chase to the north, and the town of Cannock to the south.

Hednesford railway station opened in April 1989. It is on the Chase Line.

History

Hednesford was an important coal mining community for over a century. 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 troops 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 Russian invasion of Budapest, in 1956. The site is now a part of Cannock Chase Country Park.

Hednesford now spreads across a swathe of the northern fringe of Cannock, from Pye Green across to Heath Hayes. The commercial life of Hednesford has suffered a rapid decline since the 1980s as it lost out to larger towns and cities nearby. The main street of Hednesford, Market Street, has become particularly dilapidated over the 1990s despite attempts at cosmetic face lifts. Hednesford has recently become a town over-filled with industrial parks and small company headquarters with local property seemingly dominated by the [http://www.pritchardproperty.co.uk Pritchard] company. Plans are currently in the pipeline to carry out a major £5 million redevelopment of the town.

couting

Scouting comes to Hednesford.

Tom Patchett was only twenty years old in the summer of 1908 when he decided to start a Scout Troop. He began with a small group of boys from the Sunday School of the Congregational Church in Mount Street. They met in the schoolroom which was to be the Troop' a home for the next thirty-five years. The original troop was:- Scout Master - Thomas Patchett. Scouts - John Roadway, George Cullen, Fred Cullen, John Corns, George Corns, George Ball, Jim Ball, Percy Oswell, Ben Fowler.

The Scout Troop proved to be very popular and soon it was opened out to other boys and the original ones became Patrol Leaders and Seconds. The Troop was now open to all denominations, the only condition being that regular attendance at his own church was expected of each Scout.

The group is now in its centenary year and still running.

Beaver Scouts and Cub Scouts meet on Friday evenings, whilst the Scout Troop currently meets on Tuesdays.

port

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.

The town's semi-professional football team, Hednesford Town F.C., currently play in the Northern Premier League and won the FA Trophy in 2004.

The town's most prominent sportsperson is that of former footballer Brian Horton, who played for the Pitmen in the late sixties and early seventies. After a long professional career, he went on to manage Manchester City, Macclesfield Town and Port Vale amongst others, and is currently assistant manager of Barclays Premiership side Hull City

Education

The main school in the town is Kingsmead Technology College, a specialist school in technology. It is located on Kings Avenue, Hednesford, Staffordshire, England.

Blake Valley Technical College, which lies just north of Chadsmoor is located on Marston Road.