History and heritage

Cannock Chase has a rich history, whose layers in the landscape can be experienced first-hand, including the Iron Age Hillfort at Castle Ring; the remnants of a medieval hunting landscape; historic houses and parklands; historic field patterns; the rich heritage of iron and glass working and coal mining; the Staffordshire and Worcestershire and Trent and Mersey Canals; and military camps and cemeteries from the two World Wars.

It includes historic parklands, ornamental landscapes, and the relationships between them, often associated with fine houses and landed estates, such as those at Shugborough, Beaudesert, Teddesley, Wolseley and Hatherton.

Common land on the Chase, which has an ancient history providing grazing for local farms and smallholdings, including the commons of Cannock Chase, Haywood Warren, Brindley Heath, Penkridge Bank, Shoal Hill and Gentleshaw.