Brindley Heath

__NOTOC__Brindley Heath is an area of heath land on Cannock Chase situated between Hednesford and Rugeley, Staffordshire. The area also forms a civil parish.

History

There are remains of disused coal mines in a number of areas of Cannock Chase, including Brindley Heath.

The area has been used for many things including an RAF training camp which was set up in 1938 as home to the 6th Technical Training School [ [http://www.tackeroo.com/new_page_2.htm A Brief History ] ] [ [http://www.touruk.co.uk/staffordshire/Hednesford.htm Hednesford holiday and tourist travel guide from TourUK ] ] . In 1957 the camp was used to house around 900 Hungarian refugees. The camp was then demolished in 1960. The area was also used a tank training ground, leading to much soil disturbance.

A military hospital was built on the heath during World War I. After the hospital was closed in the 1920s, local miners moved onto the site and dubbed it Brindley Village. It was finally demolished around 1951, and the occupants moved to Hednesford. [ [http://www.search.staffspasttrack.org.uk/engine/resource/default.asp?theme=351&originator=%2Fengine%2Ftheme%2Fdefault%2Easp&page=&records=&direction=&pointer=902&text=0&resource=3982 Staffordshire Past Track] ] The parish electoral ward for the southern part of Brindley Heath parish is also named Brindley Village.

There was also a POW camp at Flaxley Green near Rugeley where the foundations can still be seen to this day.

Flora

Brindley Heath is home to a high concentration of the relatively rare hybrid bilberry [ [http://www.sbap.org.uk|Staffordshire Biodiversity page on the Hybrid Bilberry] ] .

External links

* [http://www.english-nature.org.uk/thh/?S|00090002 Summary information about Brindley Heath]

References