Published: Monday, 2nd November 2026
The second series of the Cannock Chase Collections Podcast launched last week with a Halloween special, bringing together ghostly tales from Four Crosses, the Palmer poisonings and a 19th-century local murder.
Produced by the Council’s Community Wellbeing Team, the new, six-episode series builds on the success of the first, using interviews, archive material and local knowledge to explore the people, places and events that have shaped the district.
The series also includes:
• Beaudesert Hall, where volunteers share stories of the Dancing Marquis
• Hednesford Town Football Club, with the club’s commentator on its history and memories
• The Commonwealth War Graves on Cannock Chase, across two episodes, including young people who help look after the site and the pride the district can take in them
• Caring for the collections, where the team goes behind the scenes to share their favourite objects and the stories behind them
The podcast is part of the team’s work to open up the district’s heritage collections and find new ways to tell Cannock Chase’s story. By bringing together different voices and memories, it offers the chance to see familiar places from a new perspective.
Alongside the podcast, the team is working with community-managed libraries across the district to create special Remembrance displays exploring local war memorials and the people commemorated on them. The displays will be in libraries from November.
Councillor Mark Deakin, Portfolio Leader for Leisure, Culture and Heritage said: “The podcasts are a new way to help people discover the stories from our district. They show how we are caring for our collections and sharing them in ways that connect with people where they already are, in their local library and on their phones through the podcast. Projects like this help us reach new audiences and make sure the history of Cannock Chase is understood and valued by future generations.”
The first series is available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other podcast platforms.
To find out more, visit the Creative Chase website at www.creativechase.co.uk