The area now known as Chasetown was developed by the Marquess of Anglesey, who lived at Beaudesert Hall on Cannock Chase.  He owned much of the land in the area.  A map drawn for the Marquess in 1820 showed the area to comprise of farm and common land.  The only houses were a few farms and a house called Lamb Lodge.

Coal was mined to the south of Cannock Chase.  Coal measures in the Black Country lay at fairly shallow depths (about 800 feet, or 250 metres) and were easily obtainable with the contemporary technology.

However, in the Chasetown area, coal was far more difficult to obtain, being twice as deep at 1600 feet or 500 metres. The demand for coal in the mid 1800's meant that new areas had to be exploited to supply all the needs.  Test borings were made in 1846 near to Chasewater, and in 1849 Hammerwich Colliery, or "The Marquess" as the colliers called it, was sunk.  The Anglesey branch canal was cut to serve the colliery, and later railways were built to enable coal to be transported to the large towns south of the Watling Street.  The Marquess of Anglesey gave up his interest in mining in 1854, and leased the mines to Mr John Robinson MacClean and Richard Croft Chawner.  Mr MacClean later became MP for East Staffordshire and Mr Chawner was chairman of the Waterworks, a magistrate, and Lord Lieutenant of the county. 

By 1872, the Cannock Chase Colliery Company employed well over 2000 men.  At nationalisation in 1947, only four pits remained in the area, the last of which shut in 1961.  Coal Mining still continues in the area, though, in the form of the Bleak House open cast site.

At the time of the 1861 census, Chasetown had no proper name.  All the houses, with the exception of those at the Triangle and Paviers Row were merely described as Cannock Chase.  A Mr Elijah Wills, who arrived at Chasetown to be the schoolmaster in 1863, is thought to be the first to describe the area as Chasetown.  At the time of the census, Chasetown was divided between Hammerwich and Burntwood.  The population of Hammerwich increased from under 800 in 1851, to over 1600 in 1861, an increase due entirely to mining. The population of Burntwood increased from 4,525 in 1871 to 8,195 in 1901.                                              Continued