HUNTINGTON
Huntington, a civil parish within Cannock Rural
District and formerly a township and constablewick
within the ancient parish of Cannock, lies on either
side of the Stafford-Walsall road to the north of
the town of Cannock. The ground slopes from over
700 ft. on Cannock Chase in the north-east to some
400 ft. in the south-west, while Shoal Hill in the
south rises to 656 ft. Much of the land is now agricultural or held by the Forestry Commission, but the
chief occupation is mining. There were 46 households within the constablewick in 1666, (fn. 1) and the
population was 114 in 1801, 195 in 1891, 351 in 1901, (fn. 2)
922 in 1921, (fn. 3) and 1,816 in 1931, (fn. 4) the sharp increase
being due to the development of the Littleton
Colliery here after 1897. (fn. 5) By 1951 the population had
fallen to 1,587. (fn. 6) The area is 1,303 acres. (fn. 7)
Huntington Farm dates from the 18th century,
and a few cottages at the north end of Huntington
were part of the original hamlet. Most of the terrace
houses, in pairs and groups of four, date from the
rapid expansion of the mining village in the early
20th century. The pumping station of the South
Staffordshire Waterworks, dating from between
1876 (fn. 8) and 1880, (fn. 9) is an impressive tall red-brick building with detail similar to that used on the former
Local Board Offices in Cannock. (fn. 10) At the north end
of the built-up area there are two police-houses and
a post-1945 council housing estate. The pit-head
baths were built between 1939 and 1941. (fn. 11)
Manor
The 'Estendone' where Richard the
forester held 1 hide of waste in 1086 (fn. 12) may possibly
be identified with HUNTINGTON where by 1198
Henry de Brok, lord of Pillaton (in Penkridge), was
holding a carucate of land of the king by some
service in the forest of Cannock and a rent of 2
marks. (fn. 13) It is possible that Henry's predecessors in
Huntington were Alfred de Huntedon and Alfred's
brother Brun, father-in-law to Henry, both of whom
had held Pillaton before Henry succeeded to it. (fn. 14)
Henry was still living in 1205 (fn. 15) but seems to have
been succeeded by his son Robert by 1214. (fn. 16) In 1236
Robert de Brok was holding the vill of Huntington
of Bishop Alexander Stavensby, (fn. 17) but by 1250 the
king had regained the overlordship since in that year
Robert's son and heir Robert was fined for the
alienation during his father's lifetime of part of the
land in Huntington held by the service of keeping
the hay of Teddesley. (fn. 18) The alienation was confirmed, Robert continuing to pay the fine annually
and performing the service for the remaining land. (fn. 19)
Robert de Brok was still living in 1254, (fn. 20) but was
dead by 1264, (fn. 21) when his kinsman, Walter de
Elmedon, did homage for the bailiwick of Teddesley. (fn. 22) In 1272 he was holding the vill of Huntington
by the service of keeping this bailiwick. (fn. 23) In 1294
Walter's brother, (fn. 24) Stephen de Elmedon, successfully sued him for a messuage and a virgate of land
in Huntington with other lands and rent there, (fn. 25)
and in 1300 Stephen was holding the vill of the
king. (fn. 26) At his death in 1302 his lands in Huntington
passed with the serjeanty to his son William, (fn. 27) who
died at some time after 1342 and was succeeded
by his son William de 'Pylatenhale'. (fn. 28) This younger
William died in 1349, (fn. 29) and the issues of Huntington
and the bailiwick of Teddesley Hay were held until
1363 by Sir Hugh de Wrottesley, (fn. 30) to whom they
had been granted during the minority of the heirs
by the king in 1349. (fn. 31) One coheir, John, son of
William's sister Margaret, of full age and more in
1363, then succeeded to a moiety of Huntington, but
William, son of the other sister Joan, was then aged
only fifteen, (fn. 32) and Hugh de Wrottesley still had an
interest in Huntington in 1366. (fn. 33) William succeeded
to his half share in 1370 (fn. 34) and held the whole from
1382 after the death of his cousin John. (fn. 35) Huntington then descended with Pillaton, (fn. 36) some 25 acres
here being sold by the 3rd Lord Hatherton in 1920
and a further 152 acres by the 5th Lord Hatherton
in 1947. (fn. 37)
The tenement was described as a messuage and a
'carucate' of land in 1363 (fn. 38) and 1370. (fn. 39) By 1502 the
messuage was in ruins and worth nothing, while the
'virgate' was assessed at 6s. 8d., (fn. 40) a valuation which
was given again in 1529 (fn. 41) and also in 1559 when the
virgate was called 'Romeshurst'. (fn. 42) Huntington was
described as a manor in 1573. (fn. 43)
Courts were held at Huntington by 1285. (fn. 44)
Huntington was within the leet of Cannock by 1341,
being represented by two frankpledges, (fn. 45) and it was
paying 6d. in frithsilver to the lord of Cannock in at
least 1740, 1762, and 1764. (fn. 46) It was still within the
leet in 1805. (fn. 47) The free tenants of Sir Edward Littleton in Huntington were paying the lord of Cannock
6d. on each messuage for common in 'Cannock
woods' by 1595. (fn. 48)
Attached to the vill of Huntington, itself still
within the Teddesley Hay division of Cannock Forest
in 1300, (fn. 49) was woodland which was formerly part
of the royal forest of Cannock and for which Robert
de Brok in 1262 paid a fine of ½ mark to the forest
justices. (fn. 50) Robert's successor Walter de Elmedon
paid a similar fine in 1271 (fn. 51) and 1286. (fn. 52) Four inclosures made by Walter's tenants at Huntington
and presented by the reguardors of Cannock Forest
in 1286 were of 2 acres, 1 acre, ½ acre, and 1 acre,
each being surrounded by a ditch and a 'dead'
hedge. (fn. 53)
There were two common fields in Huntington in
1654, Pitch Field and Lightwood Field, and possibly
a third, Birchin Field. (fn. 54) These had been inclosed by
1754. (fn. 55)
The inhabitants of Huntington still enjoyed common rights in Teddesley Hay in 1718. (fn. 56) They paid
11s. rent for other common rights to the lord of
Cannock in 1740 (fn. 57) and 10s. 6d. in 1778. (fn. 58) Huntington Common and Huntington Heath were inclosed
in 1827 under an Act of 1814. (fn. 59)
Church
The site of a former chapel exists west
of Huntington Farm (fn. 60) but has been obliterated by
colliery workings. The chapel may have been the
chapel of St. Margaret within Cannock parish
mentioned in 1548. (fn. 61)
Licence was given in 1871 for the holding of
divine service in the schoolroom at Huntington. (fn. 62)
The church of ST. THOMAS, built in 1872 and
enlarged in 1879, (fn. 63) consists of an aisled nave, chancel,
and transepts. The walls are of stone rubble with
blue-brick dressings, and the windows of the transepts and chancel have plate tracery. It is within the
parish of St. Luke, Cannock, and held by a curatein-charge. (fn. 64) In 1957 the plate consisted of a silver
chalice and paten. (fn. 65)
Nonconformity
In 1818 the house of Mrs.
Wright in Huntington was registered as a meetinghouse for Protestant dissenters. (fn. 66) A small Wesleyan
chapel was built there in 1847. (fn. 67) The building was
not used exclusively as a chapel in 1851, (fn. 68) and the
meetings probably lapsed soon afterwards. (fn. 69)
A Primitive Methodist chapel was erected at
Huntington in 1925 and in 1940 seated 218. (fn. 70) It is
built of red brick and lies in Stafford Road.
Primary Schools
In 1871 a Church of
England day school, founded at the expense of Lord
Hatherton, was opened in the school-church erected
by him at Huntington in that year and enlarged in
1879. (fn. 71) The attendance in 1874 had averaged 40
boys and girls (fn. 72) and c. 1892 was 60 children, under a
mistress. (fn. 73) A separate school building opposite the
church was erected by the 3rd Lord Hatherton in
1898. (fn. 74) By 1916 this building was overcrowded, with
96 children in the schoolroom, 33 in the classroom,
and 40 in the infants' room, and Lord Hatherton
agreed to extend it. (fn. 75) In 1919 he decided that he
could not carry out the enlargement (fn. 76) but in 1925
and 1926 added two classrooms each for 40 children. (fn. 77) Meanwhile a public elementary school was
opened in 1921 on a site north of the church bought
from Lord Hatherton, (fn. 78) and this building also was
enlarged in 1926. (fn. 79)
In 1928 because of overcrowding at both schools
it was proposed to rent the Church Institute as a
schoolroom. (fn. 80) By this date the public elementary
school had been confined to infants. (fn. 81) In 1931
attendance at the church school was 260 and at the
council infants' school, 188. (fn. 82) In 1934 the church
school was transferred to the Local Education
Authority and amalgamated with the Infants'
school. (fn. 83) Under the 1944 Education Act the buildings of the former church school are used for a
County Secondary Modern school, and the Junior
and Infants' school, now known as Huntington
County Primary School, Junior Mixed and Infants,
is housed in the public elementary school buildings
next to the church.
The 1898 block used by the present Secondary
Modern school is a white stucco building with
leaded windows and stone dressings and has flanking
wings in the same style, added in 1925 and 1926.
Charities for the Poor
At some time
before 1786 Hugh Gratley left £5, the interest
whereon (5s.) was to be distributed to the poor of
Huntington. By 1823 the 5s. was issuing from land
in Huntington formerly belonging to Gratley. (fn. 84)
John Staley by will dated 1690 gave £20, and his
mother Ann Staley added another £10, the whole
being laid out in that year in land in Huntington to
produce a rent of 20s. which was to be distributed to
the poor of the township. (fn. 85) Frances Stubbs by will
of unknown date gave £10 which by 1786 was
producing interest of 8s. but by 1824 seems to have
been laid out in a meadow in Huntington called
Widows Meadow charged with a rent of 8s. (fn. 86) An
unknown donor at some time before 1786 gave a rent
charge of 20s. from land in Hatherton. (fn. 87) By 1823 all
these four charities were distributed at Christmas
to poor widows of Huntington and other poor there
with large families, in sums of 7s. or under, the
largest doles going to those who tried to avoid becoming a charge on the parish. (fn. 88) The total income
was still £2 13s. in 1949, (fn. 89) but the charities seem to
have lapsed by 1956. (fn. 90)