Description:This image is very likely to be of Cannock Wood House, which stood near the junction of Cannock Wood Street and Littleworth Road, Rawnsley. Family provenance and the existence of an attached glasshouse which appears on the 25" 1892 OS map supports this identification. This photograph probably shows the house being remodelled rather than demolished.
Cannock Wood House was owned by The Cannock & Rugeley Colliery Company and used as the home of its General Manager. It had been enlarged in the 1860s to accommodate the newly appointed Manager, John Williamson and his family, and was close to the newly opened Cannock Wood Colliery. It is thought that this photograph dates from shortly after the house was gutted by a fire in 1903 when it was the home of John Willamson's son, Colonel R.S. Williamson, who had recently taken over the General Manager's position on his father's retirement. It was rebuilt by 1905, the costs having been covered by insurance. The house appears to have been renamed as The Grange at the time of the rebuild. Today (2026) it is The Grange residential care home.
Image kindly contributed by Mr Richard Astbury.