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Rugeley
stands on the south bank of the River Trent, to the east of
the forest and heathland of Cannock Chase.
The historic
market town, mentioned in the Domesday Book, lies roughly
midway between Cannock, Lichfield, Uttoxeter and Stafford.
In the
Middle Ages Rugeley was mostly agricultural but also thrived
on iron workings and the manufacture of glass. By 1259 Rugeley
was holding a weekly market and the town was also granted
permission to hold a fair on the 'eve, feast and morrow' of
St Augustine's Day. This later became the famous Rugeley
Horse Fair.
In the
19th century Rugeley developed from a market town to a busy
industrial town. Coal mining was Rugeley's main industry
but the town was also known for its ironworks. Coal mining
declined in the late-20th century and the Lea Colliery was
demolished in 1991.
The Rugeley
B coal-fired power station, which dominates the town's skyline,
once tooks its coal directly by conveyor belt from the neighbouring
colliery.
Rugeley
gained noterity in the mid-19th century when William Palmer,
a local doctor, was accused of murdering an acquaintance,
John Parsons Cook. Dr Palmer was also implicated in the deaths
of several other people, including his own wife and brother.
In 1856 Dr Palmer (The Rugeley Poisoner) was found guility
at the Old Bailey in London and publically hanged outside
Stafford Gaol.
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Rugeley
