Huntington, Staffordshire


Huntington is a civil parish and former mining village in Staffordshire, on the outskirts of Cannock Chase. It lies on the A34 road just north of Cannock and is surrounded by woodland. The village had an estimated population of 3,720 in 2004, increasing to 4,536 at the 2011 Census.

Coal mining

Huntington has a rich coal mining heritage that stretches back hundreds of years. The village sits on the Cannock Chase coalfield, an extension of the South Staffordshire coalfield, that clusters around Cannock Chase.
The main colliery in the village was Littleton. It was sunk in 1877 but the original sinkings were lost through flooding and new shafts were sunk between 1899 and 1902.
Despite its chequered start, the pit became one of the largest in the Midlands and the last colliery remaining on Cannock Chase. It was extensively modernised by the National Coal Board and in 1982 employed 1,900 miners, mining nearly a million tonnes of coal.
However, after the controversial pit closure programme of the early 1990s, Littleton closed in 1994, overturning a reprieval a year earlier.
The pit has now been completely demolished and the former spoil tip has been redeveloped as an area for walkers known as Littleton Leisure Park.

Village amenities

Huntington has a number of facilities, including two pubs, The Littleton Arms and The Barns, as well as a Mccolls store which includes a post office, and a Co-Op. There is also a Fish & Chip shop and Indian Restaurant.
The Littleton Arms used to be known as Coggers, where the miners used to go for a drink after work.
Littleton Green Community School caters for children aged 3–11. It opened on the site of the former Littleton Colliery on 9 November 2009. It replaces Huntington Community Primary School.

Notable People

The parish contains one listed building, Huntington Farmhouse, which is designated at Grade II, the lowest of the three grades, which is applied to "buildings of national importance and special interest". The farmhouse is in red brick with storey bands, a moulded eaves cornice and a tile roof. There are two storeys and an attic, and it consists of a central range and two projecting gabled cross-wings. The doorway has pilasters and a fanlight, and the windows are casements with segmental heads.