Records of the Cannock Chase and Wolverhampton Railway Company Limited

Records comprising Company minutes, 1864-1946; cash book, 1864-1873; statements of accounts, 1868-1945; company articles of agreement, 1864-late 19th century; registers of bondholders shareholders, and shares, 1865-1923; miscellaneous records relating to the Company and affairs of individuals associated with the Company including correspondence and general papers, 1852-1889; parliamentary papers and their accompanying plans and sections, 1862-late 19th century; and notices to treat, 1865. In addition there is associated material either relating to, or acquired by, individiuals associated with the Company, 1857-1946.

Administrative/Biographical History

The Cannock Chase and Wolverhampton Railway Company was incorporated by the powers of the 1864 Cannock Chase and Wolverhampton Railway Act. This Act authorised the construction of a line to link the Great Western Railway at Cannock Road to the private Cannock Chase Railway at Burntwood (a hamlet 3.5 miles west of Lichfield). A branch was later to join the Cannock Chase Extension Railway. The company was further empowered by Parliament in 1866 to build a five mile extension to South Staffordshire at Hednesford (the Hednesford Railway was completed in 1868), and an extension of the Company's line to the Midland Railway at Wichnor. The date of the Company's dissolution is not known.

Reference: University of Birmingham, Special Collections Department, Online Archive Catalogue ( http://calmview.bham.ac.uk/ ). Accessed May 2002.

The collection originally formed part of a business records collection in the department. Where relevant, these previous finding numbers have been noted in the Physical Description field of records. The collection is arranged into series of minutes, cash books, statements of accounts, agreements, registers of bondholders, shareholders, shares, and share transfers, share ledgers, correspondence and miscellaneous records, and associated material.

Access Conditions

Open. Access to all registered researchers.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The provenance of the papers is unknown. It is thought that they were acquired by the University of Birmingham in the 1960s-1970s.

See full catalogue for more information.

Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the University Archivist, Special Collections. Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Special Collections will assist where possible with identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material.

Records of the Cannock Chase Colliery Company Limited contain material relating to the Cannock Chase and Wolverhampton Railway Company. See GB 150 MS35.