Welcome to the Lido Working Mens Club: Serving Norton Canes Since 1889

A brief history of Norton Canes

Norton Canes is situated in a slightly elevated position south-east of Cannock and just north of Watling Street. Little Wyrley adjoins it to the south-east. From the mid 19th century Norton Canes was largely a colliery village but it has a much older history.

The first element of the name ‘Norton Canes’ possibly means North Town because of its location in the north side of Watling Street. The second element is more difficult to explain. It may derive from the fact that its southern boundary in medieval times was the Gains Brook. There are later references to ‘Gaynes’ or ‘Gains’ in the area and this in itself may come from the name of a local landowner. Another view is that is a corruption of ‘Cannock’. In the Domesday Book of 1086 it was called Nortone and was then part of the lands of the Bishop of Lichfield.

In 1380, 37 people were assessed for the payment of the poll tax in Norton Canes (then called Norton iuxta Cannock or Norton next to Cannock) and in Wyrley. Among the farmers, servants, labourers and their wives is also recorded a cooper. By 1666 when the Hearth Tax was assessed, 27 households were recorded in Norton and 23 in Wyrley. A further 11 households were not assessed for the tax. The largest house in Norton Canes belonged to the minister and the largest in Little Wyrley to the Fowke family. This would have been Little Wyrley Hall. By 1851, 755 persons were recorded in Norton Canes and Little Wyrley

Little Wyrley Hall has a timber-framed core which is early Tudor in date. The house was later encased in brick and was added to in 1660 and in 1691. There was later work in 1820 on some features such as windows and gables. The house has many fine architectural features. Its architectural history was featured in two consecutive articles in “Country Life” in February 1952 which are available for consultation in the William Salt Library, Stafford.

The parish church at Norton Canes is dedicated to St James the Great. The mediaeval church building appears to have been rebuilt in the late 17th century. This was replaced in 1832. There is a drawing of the 1832 church in the William Salt Library. An extensive restoration and extension of the church was begun during the 1870s but this was subsequently destroyed in a fire very soon after completion. The walls were re-used when the church was quickly rebuilt in 1888 in stone with a red tiled roof. The cost of rebuilding was £2,478. The bells survived the fire. Five of these were presented by Miss Hussey in 1887 and a sixth was added by Mrs MacPherson of Wyrley Grove in 1906.

In addition there were also Primitive Methodist chapels and a Wesleyan Methodist chapel in the village.

From the mid 19th century there was considerable development of coal mining on the Cannock Chase coalfield. For Norton Canes this meant the rapid development of communications in the vicinity as both canal and railway engineers struggled to keep up with the need to shift very large coal output from the coalfield. In 1840 the Anglesey Branch of the Wyrley and Essington Canal was built while in 1858 the Norton branch of the South Staffordshire Railway was constructed to carry ‘ mineral products’ from the coalfield to the South Staffordshire towns and to Birmingham. The Cannock Extension Canal was also built in the late 1850s. Further railway development saw the building of the Norton branch of the LNWR in 1879 and increased production at Conduit No 3 Colliery after 1894 was to lead to the construction of a loop to Norton Canes in 1895.