Rent Houses Cannock Staffordshire

Approximate Population: 92,500

Cannock is a town in Staffordshire, England, just north of the West Midlands conurbation. It sits to the south of Cannock Chase, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and is administered as part of the Cannock Chase district. With a population of 92,500 people at the 2001 census, Cannock is the second largest town in the ceremonial county, after Stoke on Trent.

Cannock lies on the M6 Toll, A34 and A5 roads, to the north of the Black Country (about 11 kilometres (6.8 mi)) and south of Stafford (about 13 kilometres (8.1 mi)). It is served by a railway station on the Chase Line. The post town of Cannock includes Bridgtown, Heath Hayes, Hednesford, and Norton Canes. Other nearby towns and villages include Burntwood (which includes Chase Terrace and Chasetown), Cannock Wood, Cheslyn Hay, Great Wyrley, Huntington, Penkridge, and Rugeley.

Its name comes from the Celtic cnoc, meaning hill. It is first recorded in the unlikely form Chenet in the Domesday Book, probably due to the information being written down by a Norman scribe with less than perfect knowledge of English.

The town was very small until coal mining increased heavily during the mid to late nineteenth century. The area then continued to grow rapidly with many industries coming to the area because of its proximity to the Black Country and because of its coal reserves. After the Second World War the town’s population again increased and has kept on increasing ever since as many new residential developments are built as commuting areas for Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Walsall and Stafford.

Rent Houses Cannock Staffordshire

Related posts

• No related posts.

Rent Houses

Halifax West Yorkshire

Approximate Population: 82,056

Halifax was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1848 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, and with the passing of the Local Government Act 1888 became a County Borough in 1889.   Since 1974, Halifax has been the administrative centre of the Metropolitan District of Calderdale, part of the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire.

North Halifax is noted for its local support of the far-right British National Party; the suburb of Mixenden became the first area in West Yorkshire to popularly vote in a BNP councillor, with Illingworth soon to follow.

Topographically, Halifax is located in the south-eastern corner of the moorland region called the South Pennines. Halifax is situated about 4 miles (6.4 km) from the M62 motorway close to Bradford, Huddersfield and Rochdale.   The Tees-Exe line passes through the A641 road, which links nearby Brighouse with Bradford and Huddersfield, The town lies 65 miles (105 km) from Kingston upon Hull and Liverpool, and about 200 miles (320 km) from the cities of London, Edinburgh, Belfast, Dublin and Cardiff as the crow flies. The major waterway is the River Calder.

Rent Houses Halifax West Yorkshire

Related posts

• Halifax (0)

Rent Houses

Chester Cheshire

Approximate Population: 77,040

A considerable amount of land in Chester is owned by the Duke of Westminster who owns an estate – Eaton Hall – near the village of Eccleston. He also has vast London properties in Mayfair.   Indeed, the clock tower which houses Big Ben was copied on the Duke’s estate home of Eaton Hall and can be seen from the road from Aldford to Chester today.

Grosvenor is the Duke’s family name, which explains such features in the City such as the Grosvenor Bridge, the Grosvenor Hotel, and Grosvenor Park. Much of Chester’s architecture dates from the Victorian era, many of the buildings being modelled on the Jacobean half-timbered style and designed by John Douglas, who was employed by the Duke as his principal architect. He had a trademark of twisted chimney stacks, many of which can be seen on the buildings in the city centre.

Douglas designed amongst other buildings the Grosvenor Hotel and the City Baths.   In 1911, Douglas’ protégé and city architect James Strong designed the then active fire station on the west side of Northgate Street.   Another feature of all buildings belonging to the estate of Westminster is the ‘Grey Diamonds’ – a weaving pattern of grey bricks in the red brickwork laid out in a diamond formation.

Rent Houses Chester Cheshire

Related posts

• Chester (0)

Rent Houses

Warrington Cheshire

Approximate Population: 195,200

Warrington is a large town, borough and unitary authority area in Cheshire, England.   It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley.   The population of the borough of Warrington, including its 18 civil parishes, is around 194,000.   Its population has more than doubled since its designation as a New Town in 1968.

Historically a part of Lancashire, Warrington was founded by the Romans at an important crossing place on the River Mersey.   A new settlement was established by the Saxons and by the Middle Ages, Warrington had emerged as a market town at an important bridging point.   A local tradition of textile and tool production dates from this time.

The expansion and urbanisation of Warrington largely coincided with the Industrial Revolution, particularly after the Mersey was made navigable in the 18th century.   The West Coast Mainline runs north to south through the town, and the Liverpool to Manchester railway (the Cheshire Lines route) west to east.   The Manchester Ship Canal cuts through the south of the borough (west to east).   The M6, M56 and M62 motorways form a partial box around the town.

Rent Houses Warrington Cheshire

Related posts

• Warrington (0)

Rent Houses Truro Cornwall

Approximate Population: 20,920

During the Civil War in the 17th century, Truro raised a sizable force to fight for the King and a royalist mint was set up in the town.   However, defeat to the Parliamentary troops came in 1646 and the mint was moved to Exeter. Further disheartenment came later in the century when Falmouth was awarded its own charter giving it rights to its harbour, starting a long rivalry between the two towns.   The dispute was eventually settled in 1709 with control of the River Fal being divided between Truro and Falmouth.

Truro prospered greatly during the 18th and 19th centuries.   Industry flourished thanks to improved mining methods and higher prices for tin, and the town soon became the place to be for wealthy mine owners.   Elegant Georgian and Victorian townhouses were built—such as those seen today on Lemon Street, named after the mining magnate and local MP Sir William Lemon—and Truro became the centre for high society in the county, being mentioned as “the London of Cornwall”.

Throughout these prosperous times Truro remained a social centre and many notable people hailed from it.   One of the most noteworthy residents was Richard Lander, an explorer who discovered the source of the River Niger in Africa and was awarded the first gold medal of the Royal Geographical Society.   Others include Humphry Davy, educated in Truro and inventor of the miner’s safety lamp, and Samuel Foote, an actor and playwright from Boscawen Street.

Rent Houses Truro Cornwall

Related posts

• No related posts.

Rent Houses Cardiff Wales

Approximate Population: 317,500

In 1536, the Act of Union between England and Wales led to the creation of the shire of Glamorgan, and Cardiff was made the county town.   Around this same time the Herbert family became the most powerful family in the area.

In 1538, Henry VIII closed the Dominican and Franciscan friaries in Cardiff, the remains of which were used as building materials.  A writer around this period described Cardiff: “The River Taff runs under the walls of his honours castle and from the north part of the town to the south part where there is a fair quay and a safe harbour for shipping.”

Cardiff had become a Free Borough in 1542.  In 1573, it was made a head port for collection of customs duties, and in 1581, Elizabeth I granted Cardiff its first royal charter.  Pembrokeshire historian George Owen described Cardiff in 1602 as “the fayrest towne in Wales yett not the welthiest.”  The town gained a second Royal Charter in 1608.

During the Second English Civil War, St. Fagans just to the west of the town, played host to the Battle of St. Fagans.   The battle, between a Royalist rebellion and a New Model Army detachment, was a decisive victory for the Parliamentarians and allowed Oliver Cromwell to conquer Wales.  It is the last major battle to occur in Wales, with about 200 (mostly Royalist) soldiers killed.

Rent Houses Cardiff Wales

Related posts

• No related posts.

Rent Houses Newport Wales

Approximate Population: 140,100

In 1402 Rhys Gethin, General for Owain Glyndwr, forcibly took Newport Castle together with those at Cardiff, Llandaff, Abergavenny, Caerphilly, Caerleon and Usk.  During the raid the town of Newport was badly burned and St. Woolos church destroyed.

A second charter establishing the right of the town to run its own market and commerce came from Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham in 1426. By 1521 Newport was described as having “….a good haven coming into it, well occupied with small crays [merchant ships] where a very great ship may resort and have good harbour.  ” Trade was thriving with the nearby ports of Bristol and Bridgewater and industries included leather tanning, soap making and starch making.  The town’s craftsmen included bakers, butchers, brewers, carpenters and blacksmiths. A further charter was granted by James I in 1623.

In 1648 Oliver Cromwell’s troops camped overnight on Christchurch Hill overlooking the town before their attack on the castle the next day. A cannon-ball dug up from a garden in nearby Summerhill Avenue, dating from this time, now rests in Newport Museum.

As the Industrial Revolution took off in Britain in the 19th century, the South Wales Valleys became key suppliers of coal from the South Wales coalfield, and iron: these were transported down local rivers and the new canals to ports such as Newport, and Newport Docks grew rapidly as a result. Newport became one of the largest towns in Wales and the focus for the new industrial towns of the eastern valleys of South Wales.

Rent Houses Newport Wales

Related posts

• No related posts.

Rent Houses King’s Lynn Norfolk

Approximate Population: 34,564

King’s Lynn is a town and port in Norfolk, England. Over the years, the town has been known variously as Bishop’s Lynn and Lynn Regis, while it is frequently referred to by locals as simply Lynn, the Celtic word for lake.

King’s Lynn is the third largest settlement in Norfolk after the city of Norwich and the town of Great Yarmouth. Sandringham House, the Norfolk residence of the British Royal Family, is 6 miles (9.7 km) north-east of King’s Lynn. It is best known as the birthplace of Captain George Vancouver RN (June 22, 1757 – May 12, 1798) an officer in the Royal Navy who was the first to explore the Pacific coast of the modern day Canadian province of British Columbia and the American states of Alaska, Washington and Oregon and also the southwest coast of Australia. It is also the place of the first school attended by Diana, Princess of Wales.

While it is believed there has been some form of habitation at King’s Lynn for well over a thousand years, it was not until St Margaret’s Church was founded in 1101 by Bishop Herbert de Losinga that the town started appearing on records. The town would originally have been named something like Llyn, after the Brythonic (Celtic) for ‘lake’. Later, it acquired the prefix ‘Bishop’s’ as the town was part of the manor of the Bishop of Norwich in the 12th century.

By the 14th century, the town ranked as the third port of England – and is considered as important to England in Medieval times as Liverpool was during the Industrial Revolution. It retains two buildings that were warehouses of the Hanseatic League that were in use between the 15th and 17th centuries. They are the only remaining building structures of the Hanseatic league in England.

Rent Houses King’s Lynn Norfolk

Related posts

• No related posts.

Rent Houses Wandsworth Greater London

Approximate Population: 280,500

Wandsworth is a town (an inner suburb) on the south bank of the River Thames in south-west London.   Wandsworth takes its name from the River Wandle, which enters the Thames at Wandsworth.

Wandsworth appears in Domesday Book of 1086 as Wandesorde and Wendelesorde.   It was held partly by William, son of Ansculf and partly by St Wandrille’s Abbey.   Its domesday assets were: 12 hides. It had 5½ ploughs, 22 acres of meadow.  

It rendered £9. Since at least the early 16th century, Wandsworth has offered accommodation to consecutive waves of immigration; from Protestant Dutch metalworkers fleeing persecution in the 1590s, to recent Eastern European members of the European Union.

An influx of French Huguenot refugees in the early 17th century is remembered in many local street names.   There is a band of small and expensive terraced housing (known as The Tonsleys) behind Old York Road — the former centre of old Wandsworth — rising to an area of grander, terraced, semi-detached and detached housing along the roads bounded by West Side Wandsworth Common, Earlsfield Road and East Hill.   In contrast, at the base of East Hill is a collection of high-rise council blocks.

Rent Houses Wandsworth Greater London

Related posts

• Wandsworth (0)
• Westminster (0)
• Westminster (0)
• London (0)
• Lewisham (0)

Rent Houses Paisley Scotland

Approximate Population: 74,000

The Piazza Shopping Centre, based in the heart of Paisley, has forged many links within the community and is the town’s busiest centre.   Featuring household names such as Somerfield, Subway, New Look, The Carphone Warehouse, The Piazza is also home to one of the Top 50 Post Office branches in the UK – one of two Scottish flagship stores, it was made a Crown Post Office in 2007.   The Piazza has also recently launched a Student Card, providing a range of discounts for the thousands of students that pass through Paisley every year.

The Paisley Centre is a three floored centre including a department store, an indoor market and over 50 shopping units including Marks and Spencer, Boots, Superdrug, Vodafone, Thorntons, The Body Shop and T-Mobile as well as many local outlets including Baru.

In recent years, however, the quality and variety of shopping has declined, with many of Paisley’s inhabitants choosing to shop at the Braehead Shopping Centre opened in 1998 and lying within Renfrewshire’s boundaries. The Silverburn Centre in the Pollok area of Glasgow also attracts much of Paisley’s custom. Through this competition and high tax rates for local businesses, many stores have been forced to close their doors.

Despite a poor perception, however, many retailers are still thriving in Paisley’s shopping centres, and adding colour to the town is the variety of busy continental and farmers’ markets which often take place in the town.

Rent Houses Paisley Scotland

Related posts

• No related posts.