CHESLYN HAY
The civil parish of Cheslyn Hay, formerly an extraparochial liberty, lies two miles south of Cannock,
and shares with it a boundary formed by the Wyrley
Brook. To the east and north-east it is bounded by
the neighbouring civil parish of Great Wyrley, the
boundary between them having been adjusted under
the Staffordshire Review Order of 1934 'to follow a
more satisfactory line'. The soil is light, with a subsoil of gravel and sand. In 1940, when the land was
held by many freeholders, the chief crops were
wheat, barley, oats, and turnips. (fn. 1) The farm land is
situated to the west and north-west of the village
which lies mainly along the south-eastern boundary
of the parish. There were ten persons chargeable for
the hearth tax here in 1666. (fn. 2) Before the inclosure
of 1797 Cheslyn Common had attracted numerous
squatters who lived in mud huts there, but the
opening of the mines in the district 'brought some
respectable inhabitants to the place who established
a plan for relieving the poor and . . . erected a
Methodist chapel and Sunday school'. Thus by 1834
the liberty of Cheslyn Hay was 'nearly as civilized
as its neighbours'. (fn. 3) The village, formerly known as
Wyrley Bank, was in 1834 inhabited mainly by
colliers and ling-besom makers, and then consisted
of many cottages 'from the clay-built shed to the
most convenient dwelling'. (fn. 4) The population was
443 in 1801, 2,560 in 1901, (fn. 5) and 3,130 in 1951. (fn. 6) The
area is 823 acres. (fn. 7)
Thomas Leveson in 1636 secured the right to
work the coal and lead mines in Cheslyn Hay and to
use a road through the Hay and Cannock Forest. (fn. 8)
In 1640 he granted to Andrew Giffard a rent charge
of £48 on the coal-and iron-mines here for twelve
years as the settlement of a debt. (fn. 9) In 1834 there was
one colliery in Cheslyn Hay, (fn. 10) but in 1851 Edward
Sayers, coalmaster, was working the Oldfalls and
the Coppice collieries. (fn. 11) The New Colliery owned by
Frederick Gilpin was in operation by 1868, (fn. 12) and
by 1872 there were still the Old Coppice Colliery,
worked by Joseph Hawkins, coalmaster, and the
Oldfalls Colliery, owned by Bagnall & Sons Ltd. (fn. 13)
A new shaft was sunk in 1877 at the Old Coppice
Colliery, (fn. 14) apparently the only survivor of these three
collieries in 1880, (fn. 15) and a further shaft was sunk c.
1920. (fn. 16) The output of the colliery in 1954 was only
180,000 tons a year owing to the complex geological
structure. (fn. 17) The Nook and Wyrley Colliery, a
smaller undertaking, was in operation from 1874 until
1949. (fn. 18) The other main industry since at least 1868
has been the manufacture of bricks and tiles. (fn. 19)
Thomas Leveson's attempt to inclose Cheslyn
Hay during Henry VIII's reign was forcibly opposed
by those with common rights there, (fn. 20) but 600 acres
were inclosed by an agreement of 1668 between
Robert Leveson and the freeholders and copyholders
of Great and Little Saredon (in Shareshill) and Great
Wyrley. (fn. 21) A further 311 acres of Cheslyn Common
were inclosed in 1797 following the Act of 1792, 55
acres being sold along with the allotments on Old
Falls in Great Wyrley to defray expenses. (fn. 22)
The original nucleus of the village appears to
have been near the east junction of High Street and
Low Street. In both these streets and in Cross Street
are a few buildings dating from before the middle
of the 19th century. The Red Lion Inn, a low brick
house now plastered externally, is probably of the
late 17th century. Many of the houses elsewhere
were built in the early years of the 20th century. The
fire station in Station Street, presented by Thomas
A. Hawkins in 1908, (fn. 23) was sold in 1952 after a reorganization of the fire service (fn. 24) and in 1956 was
being used as a garage. There is a council housing
estate near the west junction of High Street and Low
Street. A decontamination centre, standing west of
the recreation ground, dates from the Second World
War and was converted into a community centre
c. 1950. (fn. 25) Two police houses were built in Station
Street c. 1949. (fn. 26) The architecture of the Lodge Farm
is treated below.
The Hay
CHESLYN HAY, a division of the
royal forest of Cannock, had passed by 1236 from the
king to Bishop Alexander Stavensby (1224–38), who
annexed it with other parts of the forest to the manors
of Cannock and Rugeley (fn. 27) restored to him in 1230. (fn. 28)
The king had recovered it by 1250 and retained the
lordship until 1550. (fn. 29) The keepership of the Hay
was farmed for 1 mark a year in 1236 by Robert
Trumwyn who held the office like his ancestors
before him, possibly since the reign of the Conqueror. (fn. 30) It descended with lands in Cannock, held
by this service of keeping Cheslyn Hay, until at least
1590 (fn. 31) and remained in the Leveson family until at
least 1621. (fn. 32) The annual value of the Hay was given
as 100s. in 1293 (fn. 33) but as only 13s. 4d. in 1318. (fn. 34)
The king granted Cheslyn Hay to John Dudley,
Earl of Warwick, and his heirs in 1550. (fn. 35) His widow
held it from 1554 until her death in 1555, (fn. 36) and in
1563 it was part of the possessions of their son
Ambrose Dudley, (fn. 37) who had been restored in blood
in 1558 and in 1561 given some of his father's titles. (fn. 38)
In 1563 Ambrose granted timber from the Hay, and
in 1569 land there, to John Leveson (fn. 39) who had an
interest in the keepership (see above). (fn. 40) John's son
Thomas, who succeeded him in 1575, (fn. 41) held free
warren in the Hay in 1593 (fn. 42) and held both Hay and
keepership at his death in 1594. (fn. 43) His son and heir
Walter (fn. 44) was holding the Hay, with free warren
there, at his death in 1621 when he was succeeded by
his son Thomas. (fn. 45) A royalist colonel, Thomas died
an exile in France, (fn. 46) and Cheslyn Hay, although
sequestered along with his other possessions and sold
by the Treason Trustees in 1652 to John Baker and
Edward Stephens, (fn. 47) was held by Thomas's son,
Robert, by 1655 (fn. 48) and was still in his hands in 1680. (fn. 49)
Robert was succeeded by his daughter Sarah, wife
of Charles Fowler of Pendeford (in Tettenhall,
Seisdon hundred), (fn. 50) who was described as lord of
Cheslyn Hay in 1711 (fn. 51) and whose granddaughter
Sarah, coheir of his son Richard, married John
Lane of King's Bromley (Offlow hundred). (fn. 52) The
Lodge Farm mentioned in 1817 (fn. 53) was owned by
J. N. Lane of King's Bromley in 1834 and 1851,
when it occupied much of Cheslyn Hay. (fn. 54) The farmhouse is of brick, dating from c. 1800 and, with the
farm, is now the property of the National Coal Board.
Church
Cheslyn Hay was joined to Great Wyrley
in 1846 to form the new ecclesiastical parish of St.
Mark. (fn. 55) The mission chapel of St. Peter in Pinfold
Lane was opened c. 1950 (fn. 56) in the former National
school buildings. (fn. 57) One of the two cemeteries in
the parish of St. Mark (fn. 58) is situated in Cheslyn Hay
between Pinfold Lane and the Wolverhampton road
and has a small mortuary chapel.
Roman Catholicism
By 1907 the Cheslyn
Hay and Wyrley Mission Station, served from
Cannock, had been opened in Cheslyn Hay. (fn. 59)
Known as St. George's Mission Hall by 1908, it
continued in use until at least 1912. (fn. 60)
Protestant Nonconformity
Methodism in this parish owes its origin to the opening of
neighbouring coal-mines which drew to the village
of Wyrley Bank (now Cheslyn Hay) 'respectable
inhabitants' who in about 1788 built a chapel and
Sunday school, (fn. 61) later belonging to the Methodist
New Connexion. (fn. 62) The chapel was rebuilt on the
old site in 1819 and in 1851 seated 250. (fn. 63) This
chapel, now called Salem, was rebuilt in the High
Street in 1855 and enlarged in 1898; in 1940 it seated
460. (fn. 64) A library of about 2,000 volumes was opened
in connexion with this chapel in February 1924. (fn. 65)
A small brick building in Station Street with an
almost illegible inscription above the door is probably
the chapel and Sunday school dating from 1819. It
is now used as part of a carpenter's shop. Salem
Chapel is a large building with an imposing front of
1898, having two semicircular turrets and a scrolled
parapet. The body of the building and the cast-iron
railings date from 1855. The Sunday school, built in
1889, (fn. 66) stands immediately to the east.
In 1851 there was a smaller Methodist New Connexion preaching place near Wedges Mills, closely
connected with the Wyrley Bank chapel, James
Lawson being secretary to the trustees of both. This
had been converted into a chapel in 1845, and seated
90 people, but by 1851 the congregation was small. (fn. 67)
It had ceased to exist by 1872. (fn. 68)
Primitive Methodism was introduced into this
area by David Buxton who, having come under the
influence of Hugh Bourne at Ramsor (in Ellastone,
Totmonslow hundred), invited him to Wyrley.
Bourne first came there in July 1810 (fn. 69) and in succeeding years preached frequently in the neighbourhood. (fn. 70) Eventually, in 1848, a Primitive Methodist
chapel was established at Wyrley Bank. (fn. 71) There
were then 100 sittings, 70 of them free. (fn. 72) The present
chapel, named Mount Zion and built in 1880, (fn. 73) lies
in Cross Street and in 1940 seated 250. (fn. 74) It has a
rough-cast front with pointed windows.
Schools
A British and Foreign Society school
was set up in Cheslyn Hay before 1839 and received
a Treasury grant of £100 a year. (fn. 75) In June 1840 it
was transferred to new buildings. (fn. 76) It was still in
existence in 1884 when it was receiving a parliamentary grant (fn. 77) but cannot be traced after this date.
In 1880 it was run by a master. (fn. 78) Attendance in 1871
was about 74 boys and girls. (fn. 79)
Already by 1818 the Methodists had a Sunday
school in Cheslyn Hay in which an average of 100
children were taught and which was supported
solely by an annual sermon. (fn. 80) This was still a Sunday
school in 1851, (fn. 81) but by 1868 this Methodist New
Connexion school seems to have become a day school
and was taught by a master. (fn. 82) It was again described
as a Sunday school in 1884. (fn. 83)
The Primitive Methodists were said to have a
school here for children of both sexes, supported by
voluntary contributions and school pence, by 1876
and until at least 1880. (fn. 84)
A National school was opened in Cheslyn Hay in
1875 on a site in Pinfold Lane given in 1871 by
Lord Hatherton. (fn. 85) It was in receipt of a parliamentary grant by 1882 when attendance averaged
101 pupils. (fn. 86) The school had been closed by 1892. (fn. 87)
In 1882 a board school was founded in Cheslyn
Hay for 250 children, (fn. 88) and was enlarged in 1895. (fn. 89)
Attendance in 1883, when the school was also in
receipt of an annual parliamentary grant, averaged
209 pupils. (fn. 90) In 1909 the old National school
buildings were leased to the Local Education
Authority and were subsequently used as an
extension of the council school to take 126 boys,
attendance at the school in 1910 averaging 422 older
children and 166 infants. (fn. 91) In 1925 they were found
to have developed a serious crack, and in 1930 it was
decided to vacate them immediately. (fn. 92) The boys' and
girls' departments were amalgamated from January
1931 under the headmaster. (fn. 93) The schools have been
reorganized as Cheslyn Hay County Primary School
for junior boys and girls and infants. (fn. 94) They stand on
a site adjoining the old National school buildings
with their frontage facing Hatherton Street.
A school for educationally sub-normal boys and
girls, the William Baxter School, has been maintained since 1951 by the Staffordshire Education
Committee (fn. 95) in the buildings formerly occupied by
the Isolation Hospital.