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Coordinates: 52°45'36?N 1°56'20?W? / ?52.7599, -1.9388
Rugeley is a historic market town in the county of Staffordshire, England. It lies on the northern edge of Cannock Chase, and is situated roughly midway between the towns of Stafford, Cannock, Lichfield, and Uttoxeter. The population as at the 2001 census was 22,724 (including the Brereton and Etchinghill wards).[1]
The town was a centre of coal mining until 1991, when the Lea Hall colliery was demolished. The Rugeley B coal-fired power station dominates the skyline where a Flue Gas Desulfurization plant is currently being constructed. This will allow it to continue to generate electricity and comply with environmental legislation. The former Rugeley A station took its fuel directly from the neighbouring mine by conveyor belt. This was the first such arrangement in Britain.
Rugeley is twinned with the town of Western Springs, Illinois.
[edit] Transport
Rugeley has two railway stations, Rugeley Town and Rugeley Trent Valley, which lie on the Chase Line connecting Stafford, Walsall, and Birmingham. Rugeley Trent Valley also lies on the West Coast Main Line, although very few trains stop there.
The major roads into Rugeley are the A460 from Cannock, and the A51 Lichfield to Stone. A new eastern bypass was opened in 2007 to take the A51 through traffic out of the congested town centre.
The River Trent and the Trent and Mersey Canal both pass through the town.
[edit] History
The town, historically known as Rudgeley, is listed in the Domesday Book. This name is thought to be derived from 'Ridge lee', or 'the hill over the field'. In the mediaeval period, it thrived on iron workings and was also a site of glass manufacturing. Rugeley has recently had some new, modern pubs including the Glass Works (Brewery St) and Wetherspoons. There is a charter fair that occurs during the first weekend in June, which is a huge attraction with most people from the town joining in-a fireworks display follows. There is a christmas lights switchon during December, which also includes a market and late night opening of shops.
St. Augustine Church in Rugeley has memorials to the Levett family, who live at nearby Milford Hall and who established the Rugeley Home and Cottage Hospital on Church Street in 1866.[2][3]
[edit] William Palmer
In 1855, the town gained notoriety when a local doctor, William Palmer, was accused of murdering an acquaintance, John Parsons Cook (who is buried in a still visible grave in the local St Augustine's churchyard). It was claimed that Cook had been poisoned, and in the months that followed, Palmer was implicated in the deaths of several other persons, including his own wife and brother, and possibly even some of his own children. He was put on trial for the murder of Cook in 1856, and an Act of Parliament was passed to allow the trial to be held at the Old Bailey, London, as it was felt that a fair jury could not be found in Staffordshire. Palmer was found guilty of murder, and hanged publicly outside Stafford gaol on June 14, 1856. Local legend has is that, on being instructed to step on to the gallows trap-door he asked the now famous question "Is it safe?". Furthermore, following the uproar surrounding the discovery of Palmer's activities, the town put in a special request to the Prime Minister requesting that they be permitted to change the name of the town to disassociate themselves from the murders. Unfortunately, the Prime Minister at the time was Lord Palmerston , who agreed to the request only on the condition that the town be named after him. For obvious reasons the locals declined this offer.
The story of Palmer was told in 'The life and crimes of William Palmer' (1998), starring Keith Allen in the role of the infamous doctor. It is also thought that the phrase 'What's your poison?' originated from the Palmer murders.[citation needed]
[edit] George Edalji
George Ernest Thompson Edalji (March 1876 – June 17, 1953) was famously and wrongly convicted of the 'Great Wyrley Outrages', but cleared as the result of an investigation by Arthur Conan Doyle. Julian Barnes' 2005 novel Arthur & George (ISBN 0-224-07703-1) recounts the entire episode in great detail. He was educated at a Rugeley school in the 1880s.
[edit] Christina Collins
The body of Christina Collins was discovered in the Trent and Mersey canal in Rugeley on 17th June 1839. She was believed to have been raped and murdered by Shale who had agreed to transport her from Liverpool to London to join her husband. The steps which she was carried up are still known as the 'bloody steps' to this day. Although, as they are made from sandstone, the steps have no doubt been replaced several times, local legend has it that they sometimes ooze blood and her ghost appears upon them. Christina's grave can still be seen today in the churchyard at St Augustine's church. Three of the four bargemen were charged with her murder. The story of her murder was the inspiration for an Inspector Morse mystery first broadcast in 1998, entitled 'The Wench is Dead'.
[edit] Nearby places
[edit] Towns and cities
[edit] Villages
[edit] References
- , Rugeley Online - Statistics
- , Rugeley, A History of the County of Stafford, Victoria County History, L. Margaret Midgley, British History Online, 1959
- , Rugeley, Churches, A History of the County of Stafford, Victoria County History, L. Margaret Midgeley, 1959, British History Online
[edit] External links
(Source: Wikipedia) |