The View From Above

Landscape research 1600 to 1970

Much of the Chase is assumed to have undergone changes at a much higher rate since the beginning of industrialization from the 17th C.

The project will examine the landscape, how it was managed, what activities were carried out and for how long over some 400 years.

These changes can be discovered within the archives and records offices, where documents and maps may hold clues to the use of the land in the past.

It is anticipated that this project will provide a clear state of knowledge for the Cannock chase AONB and allow partners to make strategic decisions regarding the investigation, management and interpretation of the area’s historical character in the future.

The project aims to develop an understanding of man’s influence on the development of the Cannock Chase landscape between 1600-1970 to answer the question

‘By 1950 why did the Chase look like it did?’”

Archives and records office training and workshops

Archives are about people – both the researchers in the present and the men and women who wrote or handled the documents in the past. It is the interplay of the present and the past that makes the study of documentary evidence so rewarding.

History generally comes from written and visual records; deeds, maps, grants, court records, wills, judgments, photographs, artwork and other historical documents and records from the past. Many official documents reside in the county record offices and other state and family archives.

The stories that develop have been rooted in the LiDAR findings and follow on from the archaeological narratives we uncover.

The resources – the records include the following libraries and archives

The Archive and Heritage Service comprises:
Staffordshire County Museum
Staffordshire Record Office
Stoke on Trent City Archives
Lichfield Record Office
William Salt Library
Burton Family and Local History Centre

The Archive and Heritage Service includes the Archive Service, jointly funded and managed by Staffordshire County Council and Stoke on Trent City Council, and the County Museum Service funded and managed by Staffordshire County Council.

The William Salt Library is a charitable library owned and managed by the William Salt Library Trust.

The County Council delivers the service and maintains the library building on behalf of the Trust. Together we care for the historic collections of the county and city.


All volunteers will receive training and support on accessing these records through workshop opportunities. They will be contributing to work being carried out by the projects historians and historic landscape specialists.