Chasewater from past to present: a little bit of history

Chasewater Country Park is situated in Staffordshire, on the border of Burntwood and Brownhills. The park covers a total of 300 hectares, including some 90 hectares of water, in a picturesque countryside setting.

Chasewater was created in the late 18th Century as a reservoir feed for the Wyrley and Essington Canal system. The remaining land was further moulded through the years of coal mining that followed the construction of the reservoir.

When coal mining ceased in the 1960's, the site became wasteland, with pitheads and workings from local coalmines.

The spoil mounds were re-shaped through extensive reclamation schemes. The grassland and heath areas surrounding the reservoir are now home to a variety of rare flora and fauna.

For this reason, Chasewater Heaths was designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1988, consisting of four main blocks, and the remaining land was declared a County SBI.

Chasewater has been managed as a leisure resource, and the recent increase in importance of its countryside and environmental role led to its naming as a Country Park in 1998.

Chasewaters extension of SSSI

Cows on Chasewater In September 2011, the sites of special scientific interest (SSSI) at Chasewater Country Park were extended to include nearly the entire park. This means more of our rare heathland habitat is protected by law, so it must be managed to conserve its wildlife and habitats.

Thanks to funding from Natural England, Lichfield District Council works to encourage the restoration of heathland through careful land management, including grazing some areas with cattle. The areas on the north shore of Chasewater are in the final stages of being prepared, before cattle are brought in to these areas for the first time.

For more information about the recent designation, please contact the Countryside team on countryside@lichfielddc.gov.uk or 01543 308164 or visit their webpage.

The history of The Eastern Dam Wall (1797 - Present Day)

1797: The dam wall was originally built

1799: In May, following a heavy storm, the dam wall burst, flooding nearby villages, killing livestock and damaging properties up to four miles away!

1800: In January, after restoration work, the dam was again deemed 'fit for purpose

2010: Having stood for over 200 years it was decided that restoration works needed to be carried out on the structure to prevent a re-run of 1799. As part of these works the lake was considerably lowered. Chasewaters history proved to be very interesting, revealing various household objects, old army bombs, derelict boats and a trumpet!