Wolverhampton is a
cityCity status in the United Kingdom is granted by the British monarch to a select group of communities. The holding of city status gives a settlement no special rights other than that of calling itself a "city". Nonetheless, this appellation carries its own prestige and, consequently, competitions...
and
metropolitan boroughA metropolitan borough is a type of local government district in England, and is a subdivision of a metropolitan county. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts, however all of them have been granted or regranted...
in the
West MidlandsThe West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
, England. For
EurostatEurostat is a Directorate-General of the European Commission located in Luxembourg. Its main responsibilities are to provide the European Union with statistical information at European level and to promote the integration of statistical methods across the Member States of the European Union,...
purposes
Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region (code UKG35) and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands"
NUTS 2 regionIn the NUTS codes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland , there are 38 level 2 statistical regions.-List of NUTS 2 statistical regions:-See also:* NUTS of the United Kingdom...
. In 2004, the local government district had an estimated population of 239,100; the wider Urban Area had a population of 251,462, which makes it the 13th most populous city in England.
HistoricallyThe historic counties of England are subdivisions of England established for administration by the Normans and in most cases based on earlier Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and shires...
a part of
StaffordshireStaffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, and forming part of the metropolitan county of the West Midlands from 1974, the city is commonly recognised as being named after
Lady WulfrunWulfrun was an Anglo-Saxon noble woman and landowner, who established a landed estate at Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England in 985. Contemporary knowledge of her comes from several text sources:...
, who founded the town in 985: its name coming from Anglo-Saxon
Wulfrūnehēantūn = "
Wulfrūn'sWulfrun was an Anglo-Saxon noble woman and landowner, who established a landed estate at Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England in 985. Contemporary knowledge of her comes from several text sources:...
high or principal enclosure or farm". Alternatively, the city may have earned its original name from
Wulfereēantūn = "
Wulfhere'sWulfhere was King of Mercia from the end of the 650s until 675. He was the first Christian king of all of Mercia, though it is not known when or how he converted from Anglo-Saxon paganism. His accession marked the end of Oswiu of Northumbria's overlordship of southern England, and Wulfhere...
high or principal enclosure or farm" after the Mercian King. Nevertheless, the name Wulfrun is commonly used in the city – for example, for the Wulfrun Centre or for Wulfrun Hall.
The city's name is often abbreviated to Wolvo "W'ton" or "Wolves". The city council's motto is "Out of darkness, cometh light". People from Wolverhampton are known as
Wulfrunians.
The city grew initially as a
market townMarket town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
with specialism within the
woollen tradeWool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
. During and after the
Industrial RevolutionThe Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
, the city became a major industrial centre, with mining (mostly
coalCoal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
,
limestoneLimestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
and
iron ore) as well as production of
steelSteel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
,
japanningJapanning describes the European imitation of Asian lacquerwork, originally used on furniture. The word originated in the 17th century.- Japanned :Japanned is most often a heavy black lacquer, almost like enamel paint...
,
locksA lock is a mechanical or electronic fastening device that is released by a physical object or secret information , or combination of more than one of these....
,
motorcycleA motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
s and
carsAn automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
– including the first vehicle to hold the
Land speed recordThe land speed record is the highest speed achieved by a wheeled vehicle on land. There is no single body for validation and regulation; in practice the Category C flying start regulations are used, officiated by regional or national organizations under the auspices of the Fédération...
at over 200 mph. Today, the major industries within the city are both
engineeringEngineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
based (including a large
aerospaceAerospace comprises the atmosphere of Earth and surrounding space. Typically the term is used to refer to the industry that researches, designs, manufactures, operates, and maintains vehicles moving through air and space...
industry) and within the service sector.
History
A local tradition states that King
Wulfhere of MerciaWulfhere was King of Mercia from the end of the 650s until 675. He was the first Christian king of all of Mercia, though it is not known when or how he converted from Anglo-Saxon paganism. His accession marked the end of Oswiu of Northumbria's overlordship of southern England, and Wulfhere...
founded an
abbeyAn abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...
of St Mary at Wolverhampton in 659. Proof of such an abbey has not been found to date.
Wolverhampton is recorded as being the site of a
decisive battleThe Battle of Tettenhall took place, according to the Anglo Saxon Chronicle near Tettenhall, on the 5 August 910. The allied forces of Mercia and Wessex met an army of Northumbrian Vikings in Mercia...
between the unified Mercian Angles and West Saxons against the raiding Danes in 910, although sources are unclear as to whether the battle itself took place in
WednesfieldWednesfield lies at , and is located to the northeast of Wolverhampton city centre on the northern fringe of the West Midlands conurbation...
or
TettenhallTettenhall is a historic part of the city of Wolverhampton, England. The name Tettenhall is probably derived from Teotta's Halh, Teotta being a person's name and Halh being a sheltered position...
. The Mercians and West Saxons claimed a decisive victory and the field of Woden is recognised by numerous place names in Wednesfield.
In 985, King
Ethelred the UnreadyÆthelred the Unready, or Æthelred II , was king of England . He was son of King Edgar and Queen Ælfthryth. Æthelred was only about 10 when his half-brother Edward was murdered...
granted lands at a place referred to as
Heantun to Lady Wulfrun by royal charter, and hence founding the settlement.
In 994, a
monasteryMonastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
was consecrated in Wolverhampton for which Wulfrun granted land at
Upper ArleyUpper Arley is a village is a village and civil parish near Kidderminster in the Wyre Forest District of Worcestershire, England. At the 2001 census it had a population of 645.- Amenities :...
in Worcestershire,
BilstonBilston is a town in the English county of West Midlands, situated in the southeastern corner of the City of Wolverhampton. Three wards of Wolverhampton City Council cover the town: Bilston East and Bilston North, which almost entirely comprise parts of the historic Borough of Bilston, and...
,
WillenhallWillenhall is a town in the Black Country area of the West Midlands of England, with a population of approximately 40,000. It is situated between Wolverhampton and Walsall, historically in the county of Staffordshire...
,
WednesfieldWednesfield lies at , and is located to the northeast of Wolverhampton city centre on the northern fringe of the West Midlands conurbation...
,
PelsallPelsall is an area of Walsall in the West Midlands, England. It is part of the Parliamentary Constituency of Aldridge-Brownhills.- History :Pelsall was first mentioned in a charter of 994, when it was amongst various lands given to the monastery at Heantune by Wulfrun, a Mercian noblewoman...
, Ogley Hay near
BrownhillsBrownhills is a town in the West Midlands, England. Located on the edge of Cannock Chase near the large artificial lake Chasewater, it is north-east of Walsall and a similar distance south-west of Lichfield. It is part of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall and the Aldridge-Brownhills...
, Hilton near
WallWall is a small village and civil parish in Staffordshire, England, just south of Lichfield. It lies on the site of the Roman settlement of Letocetum.The nearby junction of the A5 and A5127 roads and the M6 Toll motorway is often referred to as Wall junction....
, Hatherton, Kinvaston, Hilton near Wolverhampton, and
FeatherstoneFeatherstone is a small village in the district of South Staffordshire, England, near to the border with Wolverhampton. Originally a farming community consisting of a few scattered farms. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, and was owned by the Clergy of Wolverhampton Church...
. This became the site for the current
St. Peter's ChurchSt. Peter's Collegiate Church is located on the highest and the oldest developed site in central Wolverhampton, England. For many centuries it was a chapel royal, and from 1480 a royal peculiar, independent of the Diocese of Lichfield and even the Province of Canterbury. The collegiate church was...
. A statue of Lady Wulfrun, sculpted by
Sir Charles WheelerSir Charles Thomas Wheeler KCVO RA was a British sculptor, and the first sculptor to hold the Presidency of the Royal Academy ....
, can be seen on the stairs outside the church.
In 1179, there is mention of a market held in the town, and in 1204 it had come to the attention of
King JohnJohn , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
that the town did not possess a Royal Charter for holding a market. This charter for a weekly market held on a Wednesday was eventually granted on 4 February 1258 by
Henry IIIHenry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
.
It is held that in the 14th and 15th centuries that Wolverhampton was one of the "staple towns" of the woollen trade, which today can be seen by the inclusion of a woolpack on the city's coat of arms, and by the many small streets, especially in the city centre, called "Fold" (examples being Blossom's Fold, Farmers Fold, Townwell Fold and Victoria Fold), as well as Woolpack Street and Woolpack Alley.
In 1512, Sir
Stephen JenynsSir Stephen Jenyns was a wool merchant from Wolverhampton who became Lord Mayor of London.He was a Sheriff of London in 1499, before becoming Lord Mayor in 1509. He founded Wolverhampton Grammar School in 1512.-References:...
, a former Lord Mayor of London and a twice Master of the
Worshipful Company of Merchant TaylorsThe Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors is one of the 108 Livery Companies of the City of London.The Company, originally known as the Guild and Fraternity of St...
, who was born in the city, founded
Wolverhampton Grammar SchoolWolverhampton Grammar School is a co-educational independent school located in the city of Wolverhampton.Initially Wolverhampton Boys Grammar School, it was founded in 1512 by Sir Stephen Jenyns, a master of the ancient guild of Merchant Taylors, who was also Lord Mayor of London in the year of...
, one of the oldest active schools in Britain.
Wolverhampton suffered two Great Fires: the first in April 1590, and the second in September 1696. Both fires started in today's Salop Street. The first fire lasted for five days and left nearly 700 people homeless, whilst the second destroyed 60 homes in the first five hours. This second fire led to the purchase of the first fire engine within the city in September 1703.
From the 16th century onwards, Wolverhampton became home to a number of metal industries including lock and
keyA key is an instrument that is used to operate a lock. A typical key consists of two parts: the blade, which slides into the keyway of the lock and distinguishes between different keys, and the bow, which is left protruding so that torque can be applied by the user. The blade is usually intended to...
making and iron and
brassBrass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...
working. On 27 January 1606, two farmers, Thomas Smart and John Holyhead of
Rowley RegisRowley Regis is a town in the Sandwell metropolitan borough of the West Midlands county and a part of the Black Country in the United Kingdom. Being part of the Black Country, locals speak with the traditional dialect, though in a form regarded by many as the quickest and the hardest to...
, were executed on High Green, now Queen Square, for sheltering two of the
Gunpowder PlotThe Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was a failed assassination attempt against King James I of England and VI of Scotland by a group of provincial English Catholics led by Robert Catesby.The plan was to blow up the House of...
ters, Robert Wintour and Stephen Littleton, who had fled to the Midlands. The pair played no part in the original plot but nevertheless suffered a traitor's death of being
hanged, drawn and quarteredTo be hanged, drawn and quartered was from 1351 a penalty in England for men convicted of high treason, although the ritual was first recorded during the reigns of King Henry III and his successor, Edward I...
on butcher's blocks set up in the square a few days before the execution of
Guy FawkesGuy Fawkes , also known as Guido Fawkes, the name he adopted while fighting for the Spanish in the Low Countries, belonged to a group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605.Fawkes was born and educated in York...
and several other plotters in London.
19th century
In
Victorian timesThe Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
, Wolverhampton grew to be a wealthy town mainly due to the huge amount of industry that occurred as a result of the abundance of coal and iron deposits in the area. The remains of this wealth can be seen in local houses such as
Wightwick ManorWightwick Manor is a Victorian manor house located on Wightwick Bank, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England, and one of only a few surviving examples of a house built and furnished under the influence of the Arts and Crafts movement...
and The Mount (both built for the
Mander familyThe Mander family has held for over 200 years a prominent position in the Midland counties of England, both in the family business and public life....
, prominent varnish and paint manufacturers), and Tettenhall Towers. Many other houses of similar stature were built only to be demolished in the 1960s and 1970s.
In the 19th century the city saw much immigration from
WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and Ireland, following the Irish Potato Famine. Wolverhampton is home to a large proportion of the Sikh community, who settled there during the period (1940–1970) from the Indian state of
PunjabPunjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...
. Today, the Sikh community in Wolverhampton is roughly 8% of the city's population.
Wolverhampton gained its first parliamentary representation as part of the
Reform Act 1832The Representation of the People Act 1832 was an Act of Parliament that introduced wide-ranging changes to the electoral system of England and Wales...
, when it was one of 22 large towns that were allocated two Members of Parliament. It was incorporated as a
municipal boroughMunicipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002...
on March 15, 1848 under the
Municipal Corporations Act 1835The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 – sometimes known as the Municipal Reform Act, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in the incorporated boroughs of England and Wales...
before becoming a
County BoroughCounty borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control. They were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales, but continue in use for lieutenancy and shrievalty in...
in 1889. In 1974, as a result of local government reorganisation, it became a
metropolitan boroughA metropolitan borough is a type of local government district in England, and is a subdivision of a metropolitan county. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts, however all of them have been granted or regranted...
. The United Kingdom government announced on December 18, 2000 that Wolverhampton would be granted
city statusCity status in the United Kingdom is granted by the British monarch to a select group of communities. The holding of city status gives a settlement no special rights other than that of calling itself a "city". Nonetheless, this appellation carries its own prestige and, consequently, competitions...
, making it one of three "Millennium Cities", an honour that had been unsuccessfully applied for in 1953, 1966, 1977, 1985 and 1992. Wolverhampton also made an unsuccessful application for a Lord Mayor in 2002.
In 1866, a statue was erected in memory of Prince Albert (often referred to locally as "The Man on the Horse" or "MOTH" and is a common meeting place for the city's youths), the unveiling of which brought
Queen VictoriaVictoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
to Wolverhampton. The unveiling of the statue was the first public appearance Queen Victoria had made since the funeral of her husband the Prince Consort. A 40 feet (12 m) tall archway made of coal was constructed for the visit. The Queen was so pleased with the statue that she knighted the then-mayor, an industrialist named John Morris. Market Square, originally named High Green, was renamed Queen Square in honour of the visit. The statue replaced a Russian cannon captured from
SevastopolSevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....
during the
Crimean WarThe Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
in 1855, and remains standing in Queen Square.
The railways reached Wolverhampton in 1837, with the first station located at
Wednesfield HeathWednesfield Heath for Wolverhampton railway station was a station built on the Grand Junction Railway and opened on 4 July 1837. It served the city of Wolverhampton, and was located around a mile to the east of the city centre within the suburb of Heath Town, on Station Road...
, now Heath Town on the
Grand Junction RailwayThe Grand Junction Railway was an early railway company in the United Kingdom, which existed between 1833 and 1846 when it was merged into the London and North Western Railway...
. This station was demolished in 1965, but the area exists as a nature reserve just off Powell Street.
Wolverhampton Railway WorksWolverhampton railway works was in the city of Wolverhampton in the county of Staffordshire, England. It was almost due north of the city centre, and is commemorated with a small display of level crossing gates and a plaque...
was established in 1849 for the
Shrewsbury and Birmingham RailwayThe Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway opened on 12 November 1849. It merged with the Great Western Railway on 1 September 1854.The company formed originally as the Shrewsbury & Wolverhampton, Dudley & Birmingham Railway in 1844, it became Shrewsbury & Birmingham Railway in 1847.When the section...
and became the Northern Division workshop of the
Great Western RailwayThe Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
in 1854.
Since 1900
Wolverhampton High Level stationWolverhampton railway station in Wolverhampton, West Midlands is on the West Coast Main Line. It is served by London Midland, CrossCountry, Virgin Trains and Arriva Trains Wales.-History:...
(the current main railway station) opened in 1852, but the original station was demolished in 1965 and then rebuilt.
Wolverhampton Low Level stationWolverhampton Low Level was a railway station on Sun Street, in Springfield, Wolverhampton, England .It was built by the Great Western Railway, on their route from London to Birkenhead via Birmingham...
opened on the Great Western Railway in 1855. The site of the Low Level station, which closed to passengers in 1972 and completely in 1981, is currently undergoing redevelopment. Wolverhampton St George's (in the city centre) is now the northern terminus for the
Midland MetroThe Midland Metro is a light-rail or tram line in the West Midlands of England between the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton via West Bromwich and Wednesbury. It is owned and promoted by Centro, and operated by West Midlands Travel Limited, a subsidiary of the National Express Group , under...
light rail system. Wolverhampton was one of the few towns to operate surface contact trams and the only town to use the Lorain Surface Contact System.
TrolleybusA trolleybus is an electric bus that draws its electricity from overhead wires using spring-loaded trolley poles. Two wires and poles are required to complete the electrical circuit...
es appeared in 1923 and in 1930 for a brief period, the
Wolverhampton trolleybus systemThe Wolverhampton trolleybus system served the city of Wolverhampton, then in Staffordshire, England , for much of the twentieth century....
was the world's largest trolleybus system. The last Wolverhampton trolleybus ran in 1967, just as the railway line through the High Level station was converted to electric operation.
England's first automatic
traffic lightTraffic lights, which may also be known as stoplights, traffic lamps, traffic signals, signal lights, robots or semaphore, are signalling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings and other locations to control competing flows of traffic...
s could be seen in Princes Square, Wolverhampton in 1927. The modern traffic lights at this location have the traditional striped poles to commemorate this fact.
In 1918,
David Lloyd GeorgeDavid Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
, the British Prime Minister, announced he was calling a
General ElectionIn a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
at "The Mount" in
Tettenhall WoodTettenhall Wood is a suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is west of Wolverhampton city centre, within the Tettenhall Wightwick ward. It sits high on a relatively steep hill and it is claimed that the Malvern Hills can be seen from some of the houses located in the area. To its west...
. Lloyd George also made his "Homes fit for heroes" speech at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre in the same year. It was on the idea of "Homes fit for heroes" that Lloyd George was to fight the
1918 "Coupon" General ElectionThe United Kingdom general election of 1918 was the first to be held after the Representation of the People Act 1918, which meant it was the first United Kingdom general election in which nearly all adult men and some women could vote. Polling was held on 14 December 1918, although the count did...
.
Wolverhampton was represented
politicallyPolitics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
in Victorian times by the
LiberalThe Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
MPA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
Charles Pelham VilliersCharles Pelham Villiers was a British lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1835 to 1898, making him the longest-serving Member of Parliament .-Background and education:...
, a noted
free tradeUnder a free trade policy, prices emerge from supply and demand, and are the sole determinant of resource allocation. 'Free' trade differs from other forms of trade policy where the allocation of goods and services among trading countries are determined by price strategies that may differ from...
supporter, who was also the longest serving MP in parliamentary history.
Lord Wolverhampton, Henry Hartley FowlerHenry Hartley Fowler, 1st Viscount Wolverhampton PC , was a British solicitor and Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1880 until 1908 when he was raised to the peerage...
was MP for Wolverhampton at the turn of the century.
Sir Geoffrey Le Mesurier ManderSir Geoffrey Le Mesurier Mander KB , was a Midland industrialist and chairman of Mander Brothers Ltd., paint and varnish manufacturers in Wolverhampton, England, an art collector and radical parliamentarian....
, a member of the
Mander familyThe Mander family has held for over 200 years a prominent position in the Midland counties of England, both in the family business and public life....
, was Liberal MP for
Wolverhampton EastWolverhampton East was a parliamentary constituency in the town of Wolverhampton in Staffordshire, England. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.-History:...
from 1929 to 1945, distinguished for his stance against
AppeasementThe term appeasement is commonly understood to refer to a diplomatic policy aimed at avoiding war by making concessions to another power. Historian Paul Kennedy defines it as "the policy of settling international quarrels by admitting and satisfying grievances through rational negotiation and...
and as a supporter of the
League of NationsThe League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
; known as "the last of the Midland radicals". More recent members have included the
ConservativeThe Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
mavericks
Enoch PowellJohn Enoch Powell, MBE was a British politician, classical scholar, poet, writer, and soldier. He served as a Conservative Party MP and Minister of Health . He attained most prominence in 1968, when he made the controversial Rivers of Blood speech in opposition to mass immigration from...
and
Nicholas BudgenNicholas William Budgen , often called Nick Budgen, was a British Conservative Party politician.Named after St...
. In 2005, former
BilstonBilston is a town in the English county of West Midlands, situated in the southeastern corner of the City of Wolverhampton. Three wards of Wolverhampton City Council cover the town: Bilston East and Bilston North, which almost entirely comprise parts of the historic Borough of Bilston, and...
councillor and MP for Wolverhampton South East,
Dennis TurnerDennis Turner, Baron Bilston is a Labour and Co-operative politician in the United Kingdom and was a Member of Parliament from 1987 until 2005.-Early life:...
entered the House of Lords as Lord Bilston.
Powell was a member of
Edward Heath'sSir Edward Richard George "Ted" Heath, KG, MBE, PC was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and as Leader of the Conservative Party ....
Tory shadow cabinet from 1964, until he was dismissed in April 1968 following his controversial
Rivers of Blood speechThe "Rivers of Blood" speech was a speech criticising Commonwealth immigration, as well as proposed anti-discrimination legislation in the United Kingdom made on 20 April 1968 by Enoch Powell , the Conservative Member of Parliament for Wolverhampton South West...
in which he warned of massive civil unrest if mass immigration of black and
AsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n
commonwealthCommonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has sometimes been synonymous with "republic."More recently it has been used for fraternal associations of some sovereign nations...
inhabitants continued.
Large numbers of black and Asian immigrants had settled in Wolverhampton in the 1950s and 1960s, mostly in the Whitmore Reans, Blakenhall, All Saints and Heath Town areas.
There was civil unrest in the centre of Wolverhampton in 1981 when a riot broke out on 12 July, at a time when numerous other cities and towns across the United Kingdom were being blighted by rioting. Racial tension was a factor in the riots, as well as the high unemployment and general social discontent which was affecting most of the country during the
recession of that timeThe early 1980s recession describes the severe global economic recession affecting much of the developed world in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The United States and Japan exited recession relatively early, but high unemployment would continue to affect other OECD nations through at least 1985...
; when two people accused of taking part in the riots appeared in court, there was a fierce battle to free the defendants and four people - reported to be Rastafarians - were arrested. The centre of Wolverhampton was scene of a second riot on 22 February 1987 when youths stoned police officers in response to the death of 23-year-old black man Clinton McCurbin, who died two days previously after being restrained by police officers who had arrested him for trying to use a stolen credit card at the Next clothing store. 21 arrests were made. There was a third riot in the city on 23 May 1989, when a raid on a public house in the Heath Town district sparked a riot in which some 500 people were involved. A newsagents shop in the district was looted and a local council office suffered fire damage.
Many of the city centre's buildings date from the early 20th century and before, the oldest buildings being
St Peter's ChurchSt. Peter's Collegiate Church is located on the highest and the oldest developed site in central Wolverhampton, England. For many centuries it was a chapel royal, and from 1480 a royal peculiar, independent of the Diocese of Lichfield and even the Province of Canterbury. The collegiate church was...
(which was built in the 13th century but has been largely extended and refurbished since the 15th century, situated on Lichfield Street) and a framed timber 17th century building on Victoria Street which is now one of just two remaining in the area which was heavily populated by them until the turn of the 20th century. This building was originally a residential property, but later became the Hand Inn public house. It was completely restored in 1981 after a two-year refurbishment project and has been used by various businesses since then – currently as a second hand book shop.
In 1960, plans were announced to build a ring road around the centre of Wolverhampton. By the end of the 1960s, more than half of the ring road had been completed, stretching from Snow Hill to Stafford Street (via Penn Road, Chapel Ash and Waterloo Road), followed a few years later by a section between Snow Hill and Bilston Street. However, the final section between Bilston Street and Stafford Street (via Wednesfield Road) was not completed until 1986.
The centre of Wolverhampton has been altered radically since the mid 1960s; with the Mander Centre (plans for which were unveiled on 15 April 1965)being opened in two phases, the first in 1968 and the second in 1971. Several refurbishments have taken place since.
The Wulfrun Centre, an open shopping area, was opened alongside the Mander Centre's first phase in 1968, but has been undercover since a roof was added in the late 1990s.
Central Wolverhampton police station was built just south of the city centre on Birmingham Road during the 1960s, but operations there were cut back in the early 1990s when a new larger police station was built on Bilston Street on land which became vacant a decade earlier on the demolition of a factory. This was officially opened by
Diana, Princess of WalesDiana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
, on 31 July 1992.
The town centre (as it was then) had several cinemas during the 20th century, the last of these was the ABC Cinema (formerly the Gaumont) on the corner of Garrick Street and Bilston Street, which closed on 17 October 1991 after 54 years. It has since been converted into a nightclub, with part of the site being converted into the offices of a recruitment agency in 2005.
A modern landmark in the town centre is the Crown Court on Bilston Street, which opened in 1990 as the town's first purpose built crown court.
Many department store chains including
BeattiesBeatties is a British department store group with 7 stores located primarily in the Midlands of England. In 2005 James Beattie was acquired by House of Fraser, then having 12 stores. On , the Birmingham store closed, due to the uneconomical aspects of having two similar House of Fraser owned stores...
, Marks and Spencer, British Homes Stores and Next have stores in the centre of Wolverhampton. Rackhams had a store on Snow Hill for some 25 years until 1992. This building was then divided between a
NettoNetto is Danish/Norwegian/Swedish/Dutch/German for "net" . In most European languages the word "netto" refers to net worth or net pay.It may also refer to:...
supermarket and the local archives service but by 2006 its future was under threat as part of the proposed Summer Row retail development. This led to the closure of the Netto supermarket in June 2007 and the closure of the archives service in October 2008. However, the Summer Row project has since fallen through and the building remains dormant.
In 2000 Wolverhampton was granted city status by Queen Elizabeth II as part of the millennium celebrations in 2000.
In August 2011, the city was the scene of one of many
riots which hit EnglandBetween 6 and 10 August 2011, several London boroughs and districts of cities and towns across England suffered widespread rioting, looting and arson....
, beginning on the afternoon of 9 August 2011 when gangs of youths began to congregate on the car park of the
AsdaAsda Stores Ltd is a British supermarket chain which retails food, clothing, general merchandise, toys and financial services. It also has a mobile telephone network, , Asda Mobile...
supermarket near the Wolverhampton Wanderers stadium. Missiles were later hurled at nearby Staveley Police Station in
Whitmore ReansWhitmore Reans is in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is situated to the north-west of the city centre, in the city council's Park and St Peter's wards.- History :...
before a firework was let off in Queen Square in the city centre, where unrest followed. Numerous shops were then vandalised and looted.
Art and culture
From the 18th century, Wolverhampton was well known for production of the japanned ware and steel jewellery. The renowned 18th and 19th century artists
Joseph BarneyJoseph Barney , was an English artist and engraver. He is usually described as a pupil of Antonio Zucchi and Angelica Kauffmann and as a fruit and flower painter to the Prince Regent...
(1753–1832),
Edward BirdEdward Bird was an English genre painter who spent most of his working life in Bristol, where the Bristol School of artists formed around him....
(1772–1819),
George WallisGeorge Wallis, FSA, , artist, museum curator and art educator, was the first Keeper of Fine Art Collection at South Kensington Museum .-Early years:...
(1811–1891)were all born in Wolverhampton and initially trained as japanned ware painters.
Wolverhampton Art GalleryWolverhampton Art Gallery is located in the City of Wolverhampton, in the West Midlands, United Kingdom. The building was funded and constructed by local contractor Philip Horsman , and built on land provided by the Council...
was established in 1884.
The School of Practical Art was opened in 1850s and eventually became a close associate of the Art Gallery. Among its students and teachers were Robert Jackson Emerson (1878–1944), Sir Charles Wheeler (Emerson's most famous pupil and the sculptor of the fountains in Trafalgar Square),
Sara PageSara Wells Page was a British female artist, portrait and figurative painter, of Victorian and Edwardian period. During her lifetime she widely exhibited at Parisian salons and British galleries, including Royal Academy of Art...
who established her studio in Paris, and many other artists and sculptors recognized locally and nationally.
Wolverhampton Grand TheatreThe Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, commonly known as The Grand is a theatre located in Lichfield Street, Wolverhampton,UK, designed in 1894 by Architect Charles J. Phipps. It is a Grade II Listed Building with a seating capacity of 1200.-1894 - 1939:...
was opened in 1894.
There is a thriving Creative Industries Quarter in Wolverhampton, easily accessible by public transport just off Broad Street. From the newly opened Slade Rooms, the art house cinema the
Light House Media CentreLight House Media Centre, often simply referred to as Light House, is a cinema, gallery and media hub for Wolverhampton and the surrounding area. Light House is located within the historic former Chubb Locks Factory in the city centre...
and the
University of WolverhamptonThe University of Wolverhampton is a British university located on four campuses across the West Midlands and Shropshire. The city campus is located in Wolverhampton city centre with a second campus at Compton Park, Wolverhampton; a third in Walsall and a fourth in Telford...
. All of these institutions are closely linked to the
City of Wolverhampton CollegeCity of Wolverhampton College is a further education college located in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England.It was formed in September 1999 as the result of a merger of Wulfrun College in Wolverhampton and Bilston Community College in Bilston....
's Creative Arts department.
Geography
Wolverhampton lies northwest of its larger near-neighbour
BirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, and forms the second largest part of the
West Midlands conurbationThe West Midlands conurbation is the name given to the large conurbation that includes the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton and the large towns of Dudley, Walsall, West Bromwich, Solihull, Stourbridge, Halesowen in the English West Midlands....
. To the north and west lies the
StaffordshireStaffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
and
ShropshireShropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
countryside.
Wolverhampton city centre falls outside of the area traditionally known as the
Black CountryThe Black Country is a loosely defined area of the English West Midlands conurbation, to the north and west of Birmingham, and to the south and east of Wolverhampton. During the industrial revolution in the 19th century this area had become one of the most intensely industrialised in the nation...
, although some districts such as Bilston and Heath Town and the Willenhall side of Wolverhampton fall within the Black Country
coalfieldA coalfield is an area of certain uniform characteristics where coal is mined. The criteria for determining the approximate boundary of a coalfield are geographical and cultural, in addition to geological...
s, leading to confusion as to whether the entire city falls within the region. Modern usage has tended towards using the term to refer to the western part of the
West Midlands countyThe West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
, excluding
BirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
,
SolihullThe Metropolitan Borough of Solihull is a metropolitan borough of the West Midlands, in west-central England. It is named after its largest town, Solihull, from which Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council is based. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary...
and
CoventryCoventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
. Examples would be UK Government regional bodies such as the
Black Country Development CorporationThe Black Country Development Corporation was established in May 1987 to develop land in the Metropolitan Boroughs of Sandwell and Walsall.Its flagship developments included the Black Country Spine Road. During its lifetime 11.9m sq.ft. of non-housing development and 3,774 housing units were built....
, under whose remit the city fell.
The city lies upon the
Midlands PlateauThe Midlands Plateau is a plateau covering approximately 3,200 km² in the Midlands of England, bounded by the Rivers Severn, Avon and Trent....
at approximately 120 m (394 ft) above sea level. There are no major rivers within the city, although the
River PenkThe River Penk is a small river flowing though Staffordshire, England. Its course is mainly within South Staffordshire, and it drains most of the northern part of that district, together with some adjoining areas of Cannock Chase, Stafford, Wolverhampton, and Shropshire...
and
River TameThe River Tame is the main river of the West Midlands, and the most important tributary of the River Trent. The Tame is about 40 km from source at Oldbury to its confluence with the Trent near Alrewas, but the main river length of the entire catchment, i.e...
(tributaries of the
River TrentThe River Trent is one of the major rivers of England. Its source is in Staffordshire on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through the Midlands until it joins the River Ouse at Trent Falls to form the Humber Estuary, which empties into the North Sea below Hull and Immingham.The Trent...
) rise in the city, as does
Smestow BrookThe Smestow Brook, sometimes called the river Smestow, is a small river that plays an important part in the drainage of Wolverhampton, South Staffordshire, and parts of Dudley in the United Kingdom, and has contributed to the industrial development of the Black Country...
, a tributary of the
River StourThe Stour is a river flowing through the counties of Worcestershire, the West Midlands and Staffordshire in the West Midlands region of England. The Stour is a major tributary of the River Severn, and it is about in length...
, and thence the
River SevernThe River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at about , but the second longest on the British Isles, behind the River Shannon. It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon, Ceredigion near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales...
. This means that the city lies astride the main east-west watershed (British usage, meaning drainage divide, of England.
The geology of the city is complex, with a combination of
TriassicThe Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...
and
CarboniferousThe Carboniferous is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Devonian Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya , to the beginning of the Permian Period, about 299.0 ± 0.8 Mya . The name is derived from the Latin word for coal, carbo. Carboniferous means "coal-bearing"...
geology; specifically
BunterBunter beds are sandstone deposits containing rounded pebbles, such as can notably be found in Warwickshire, Cheshire, Staffordshire, Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire, Devon and Dorset in England...
and
KeuperThe Keuper is a lithostratigraphic unit in the subsurface of large parts of west and central Europe. The Keuper consists of dolostone, shales or claystones and evaporites that were deposited during the Middle and Late Triassic epochs...
sandstoneSandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
, and Upper and Middle Coal measures. There is also an area of
doleriteDiabase or dolerite is a mafic, holocrystalline, subvolcanic rock equivalent to volcanic basalt or plutonic gabbro. In North American usage, the term diabase refers to the fresh rock, whilst elsewhere the term dolerite is used for the fresh rock and diabase refers to altered material...
intrusions.
Climate
Wolverhampton's climate is
oceanicAn oceanic climate, also called marine west coast climate, maritime climate, Cascadian climate and British climate for Köppen climate classification Cfb and subtropical highland for Köppen Cfb or Cwb, is a type of climate typically found along the west coasts at the middle latitudes of some of the...
(
KöppenThe Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
Cfb) and therefore quite temperate with average maximum temperatures in July being around 21 °C (70 °F) with the minimum daytime temperature in January being around 6.5 °C (43.7 °F).
The
Met OfficeThe Met Office , is the United Kingdom's national weather service, and a trading fund of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills...
's nearest observation station is at
PenkridgePenkridge is a market town and ancient parish in Staffordshire, England with a population of 7,836 . Many locals refer to it as a village, although it has a long history as an ecclesiastical and commercial centre. Its main distinction in the Middle Ages was as the site of an important collegiate...
, about 5 miles (8 km) north of the city.
Areas of the city
As with much of the locality, the majority of areas in Wolverhampton have names that are of Old English (
Anglo-SaxonAnglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
) origin, with a few exceptions such as Penn (pre-English
BrythonicThe British language was an ancient Celtic language spoken in Britain.British language may also refer to:* Any of the Languages of the United Kingdom.*The Welsh language or the Brythonic languages more generally* British English...
place name) and Parkfields, Park Village, Lanesfield etc. (modern place names of the last couple of hundred years).
See also List of areas in Wolverhampton
Localities in the City of Wolverhampton include:
- Aldersley
Aldersley is a small suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is north-west of Wolverhampton city centre, within the Tettenhall Regis ward...
- All Saints
All Saints is an inner city area of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is situated immediately to the south-east of the city centre, in the city council's Ettingshall ward....
- Ashmore Park
Ashmore Park is a large housing estate just outside of Wednesfield, in England. It is now in the city of Wolverhampton, West Midlands and was located within the historic county boundaries of Staffordshire...
- Bilbrook ††
- Bilston
Bilston is a town in the English county of West Midlands, situated in the southeastern corner of the City of Wolverhampton. Three wards of Wolverhampton City Council cover the town: Bilston East and Bilston North, which almost entirely comprise parts of the historic Borough of Bilston, and...
†
- Blakenhall
Blakenhall is a ward in Wolverhampton, England.-Toponymy and history:Blakenhall's name, according to topynmists comes from the Old English 'blæc', meaning 'black' or dark coloured, & 'halh' meaning 'nook' or 'corner'...
- Bradley
Bradley was originally a village in the Manor of Sedgley, England. Nowadays it is situated in the Bilston East ward of Wolverhampton City Council....
- Bradmore
Bradmore is a suburb of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands of England. It lies at the meeting point of the Graiseley, Park and Merry Hill wards of Wolverhampton City Council....
- Bushbury
Bushbury is a suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It lies two miles north-east of Wolverhampton city centre, divided between the Bushbury North and Bushbury South and Low Hill wards.- Place name and history :...
- Castlecroft
Castlecroft is a suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, located on the edge of the city, WSW of the city centre. It is situated where the Merry Hill, and Tettenhall Wightwick wards meet, and also borders South Staffordshire.-History:...
- Codsall
Codsall is a large village in the South Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England. It is situated north west of the city of Wolverhampton.-History:...
††
- Chapel Ash
Chapel Ash is a small area in Wolverhampton surrounded by the City Centre, Whitmore Reans & Merridale.The area is most noted for being the home of Marston's, where the Park Brewery produces the well-known Banks's range of ales-History:...
- Claregate
Claregate is a suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is north-west of Wolverhampton city centre, within the Tettenhall Regis ward....
- Compton
Compton is a suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is located to the west of Wolverhampton city centre on the A454, within the Tettenhall Wightwick ward.- History :...
- Dunstall Hill
Dunstall Hill is an inner-city area of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is located on the north of the city centre within the St Peter's ward.-Dunstall Park:...
- East Park
East Park is a park in Wolverhampton, England. Its name is also used for the East Park ward, which overs the Monmore Green and Deansfield areas....
- Ettingshall
Ettingshall is an area of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England, and is a ward of Wolverhampton City Council.-History:Ettingshall was mentioned as an ancient manor in the Domesday Book of 1086...
- Fallings Park
Fallings Park is a suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands and a ward of Wolverhampton City Council. It is situated in the north-east of the city, bordering South Staffordshire and the Wednesfield North, Heath Town, Bushbury South and Low Hill and Bushbury North wards. It forms part of the...
- Finchfield
Finchfield is a suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is located south-west of the city centre, within the Tettenhall Wightwick Ward between the Merry Hill and Tettenhall Regis Wards of Wolverhampton City Council. Many of the streets have Arboreal/Plant related...
- Featherstone
Featherstone is a small village in the district of South Staffordshire, England, near to the border with Wolverhampton. Originally a farming community consisting of a few scattered farms. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, and was owned by the Clergy of Wolverhampton Church...
††
- Fordhouses
Fordhouses is a suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is situated to the north of the city centre, adjacent to the border with Staffordshire, within the Bushbury North ward of Wolverhampton City Council...
- Goldthorn Park
Goldthorn Park is a suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands. It is situated to the south of the city centre within the Blakenhall ward.It mostly consists of nearly 2,000 private houses built in the 1920s and 1930s housing...
- Gorsebrook
Gorsebrook is an historic area of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, located alongside the Stafford Road between the areas of Dunstall, Oxley and Bushbury.-Place name and origins:...
- Graiseley
Graiseley is both an inner-city area of Wolverhampton, situated immediately to the south-west of the city centre, and the name of a ward of Wolverhampton City Council.-Place-name:...
- Heath Town
Heath Town is a district of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England, located ENE of the city centre. It is also a ward of Wolverhampton City Council. The ward forms part of the Wolverhampton North East constituency....
- Horseley Fields
Horseley Fields is an inner city area of Wolverhampton, situated to the east of the city centre, bordering Springfield, Heath Town, Eastfield, Monmore Green and All Saints.-Place name origins:...
- Lanesfield
Lanesfield is a district now within the boundaries of Wolverhampton, specifically in the city council's Spring Vale ward. Lanesfield lies within the Ancient Manor of Sedgley and was a rural village for many years until the growth of the Black Country's industries. Lanesfield's name originates from...
- Lower Penn
Lower Penn is a village in South Staffordshire, situated to the south-west of Wolverhampton, West Midlands.The Civil Parish covers the area of the historic Parish of Penn that is not now covered by the city of Wolverhampton and thus covers a wider area than that immediately surrounding the village...
††
- Low Hill
Low Hill is in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is north-east of Wolverhampton city centre, within the Bushbury South and Low Hill ward.- Place name & history :...
- Merridale
Merridale is an area of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is situated to the south-west of the city centre, on the border of the city council's Graiseley and Park wards.- Origins and history :...
- Merry Hill
Merry Hill is a suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands and a ward of Wolverhampton City Council. It is situated in the south-west of the city, bordering South Staffordshire and the Tettenhall Wightwick, Park, Graiseley and Penn wards...
- Monmore Green
Monmore Green is an area of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is situated about one mile to the south-east of the city centre, in the East Park ward....
- Newbridge
Newbridge is a suburb of the city of Wolverhampton, West Midlands in England. It is situated north-west of the city centre, on the A41 Tettenhall Road....
- Old Fallings
Old Fallings is a suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is north-east of Wolverhampton city centre, within the Fallings Park ward. It mostly consists of interwar council housing....
- Oxley
Oxley is a suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, and a ward of Wolverhampton City Council. Its area code is WV10. It is situated in the north of the city, bordering South Staffordshire and the Bushbury North, Bushbury South and Low Hill, St Peter's and Tettenhall Regis wards...
- Park Village
Park Village is an inner city area of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is situated in the north-east of the city on the A460 Cannock Road, which at that point is the border between the city council's Bushbury South and Low Hill and Heath Town wards....
- Pattingham
Pattingham is a village in South Staffordshire, close to the border with Shropshire. The village is seven miles to the west of Wolverhampton and seven and a half miles east of Bridgnorth....
††
- Pendeford
Pendeford is a suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is situated NNW of the city centre, adjacent to the border with Staffordshire, within the Oxley ward of Wolverhampton City Council.- Name and origins :...
- Penn
Penn is an area now divided between Wolverhampton in the West Midlands and South Staffordshire. Originally, it was a village in the historic county of Staffordshire. There is considerable confusion about exactly which areas fall within Penn...
- Penn Fields
Penn Fields is an area of the city of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, situated about one mile to the south-west of the city centre within the Graiseley ward. It lies on Penn Road, the A449 trunk road to Kidderminster. The housing stock varies from modest terraced homes to large detached residences....
- Portobello
Portobello is an area of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is situated to the east of the city centre and to the north of Bilston, in the Bilston North ward of the city council. It was formerly part of Willenhall Urban District....
- Perton
Perton is a large village and civil parish located in Staffordshire, England. It lies to the south of Codsall, and to the west of the city of Wolverhampton.-Perton:...
††
- Stowheath
Stow Heath is an area and ancient manor in the city of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, located in the east half of the city.-Place name and origins:...
- Tettenhall
Tettenhall is a historic part of the city of Wolverhampton, England. The name Tettenhall is probably derived from Teotta's Halh, Teotta being a person's name and Halh being a sheltered position...
- Tettenhall Wood
Tettenhall Wood is a suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is west of Wolverhampton city centre, within the Tettenhall Wightwick ward. It sits high on a relatively steep hill and it is claimed that the Malvern Hills can be seen from some of the houses located in the area. To its west...
- Wednesfield
Wednesfield lies at , and is located to the northeast of Wolverhampton city centre on the northern fringe of the West Midlands conurbation...
†
- Warstones
Warstones is a suburban area of Wolverhampton, England, situated to the south-west of the city centre.Warstones has three schools, within a half mile vicinity of each other:*Highfields Science Specialist School*Springdale*Warstones...
- Whitmore Reans
Whitmore Reans is in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is situated to the north-west of the city centre, in the city council's Park and St Peter's wards.- History :...
- Wightwick
Wightwick is a part of Tettenhall Wightwick ward in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is named after an ancient local family the "de Wightwicks". It is on the western fringe of Wolverhampton and borders the rural South Staffordshire area that includes neighbourhoods such as Perton.Of note...
- Willenhall
Willenhall is a town in the Black Country area of the West Midlands of England, with a population of approximately 40,000. It is situated between Wolverhampton and Walsall, historically in the county of Staffordshire...
†
- Wood End
- Woodcross
Woodcross is a residential area of Bilston, West Midlands, England. It is set within the borough of Wolverhampton, though the area existed within the boundaries of Sedgley and finally Coseley until 1966.History=...
Notes :†–Partial Urban Districts added to Wolverhampton County Borough in 1966. These Urban Districts were split between Wolverhampton and other County Boroughs. Those parts within the present City of Wolverhampton local authority area are considered by the ONS to be part of the Wolverhampton Urban Sub-Area.
- ††–Areas within the Wolverhampton Urban Sub-Area but administered by South Staffordshire
South Staffordshire is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. The district lies to the north and west of Wolverhampton and the West Midlands, bordering Shropshire to the west and Worcestershire to the south...
District Council.
Nearby places
Cities
- Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
- Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
- Lichfield
Lichfield is a cathedral city, civil parish and district in Staffordshire, England. One of eight civil parishes with city status in England, Lichfield is situated roughly north of Birmingham...
- Leamington Spa
Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or Leamington or Leam to locals, is a spa town in central Warwickshire, England. Formerly known as Leamington Priors, its expansion began following the popularisation of the medicinal qualities of its water by Dr Kerr in 1784, and by Dr Lambe...
- Stoke on Trent
- Worcester
Towns
- Bridgnorth
Bridgnorth is a town in Shropshire, England, along the Severn Valley. It is split into Low Town and High Town, named on account of their elevations relative to the River Severn, which separates the upper town on the right bank from the lower on the left...
- Cannock
Cannock is the most populous of three towns in the district of Cannock Chase in the central southern part of the county of Staffordshire in the West Midlands region of England....
- Dudley
Dudley is a large town in the West Midlands county of England. At the 2001 census , the Dudley Urban Sub Area had a population of 194,919, making it the 26th largest settlement in England, the second largest town in the United Kingdom behind Reading, and the largest settlement in the UK without...
- Newport
Newport is a market town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. It lies some north of Telford and some west of Stafford sitting on the Shropshire/Staffordshire border...
- Kidderminster
Kidderminster is a town, in the Wyre Forest district of Worcestershire, England. It is located approximately seventeen miles south-west of Birmingham city centre and approximately fifteen miles north of Worcester city centre. The 2001 census recorded a population of 55,182 in the town...
- Penkridge
Penkridge is a market town and ancient parish in Staffordshire, England with a population of 7,836 . Many locals refer to it as a village, although it has a long history as an ecclesiastical and commercial centre. Its main distinction in the Middle Ages was as the site of an important collegiate...
- Sedgley
Sedgley is an urban village within the West Midlands county of England. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Sedgley was formerly an ancient manor composed of several smaller villages, including Gornal, Gospel End, Woodsetton, Ettingshall, Coseley and Brierley...
- Stafford
Stafford is the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies approximately north of Wolverhampton and south of Stoke-on-Trent, adjacent to the M6 motorway Junction 13 to Junction 14...
- Stourbridge
Stourbridge is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the West Midlands of England. Historically part of Worcestershire, Stourbridge was a centre of glass making, and today includes the suburbs of Amblecote, Lye, Norton, Oldswinford, Pedmore, Wollaston, Wollescote and Wordsley The...
- Telford
Telford is a large new town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, approximately east of Shrewsbury, and west of Birmingham...
- Tipton
Tipton is a town in the Sandwell borough of the West Midlands, England, with a population of around 47,000. Tipton is located about halfway between Birmingham and Wolverhampton. It is a part of the West Midlands conurbation and is a part of the Black Country....
- Walsall
Walsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...
- Wednesbury
Wednesbury is a market town in England's Black Country, part of the Sandwell metropolitan borough in West Midlands, near the source of the River Tame. Similarly to the word Wednesday, it is pronounced .-Pre-Medieval and Medieval times:...
- West Bromwich
West Bromwich is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands, England. It is north west of Birmingham lying on the A41 London-to-Birkenhead road. West Bromwich is part of the Black Country...
Commuter villages
- Albrighton
Albrighton is a large village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is located to the northwest of Wolverhampton and is best described as a dormitory village for the city...
- Bilbrook
- Brewood
Brewood refers both to a settlement, which was once a town but is now a village, in South Staffordshire, England, and to the civil parish of which it is the centre. Located around , Brewood village lies near the River Penk, eight miles north of Wolverhampton city centre and eleven miles south of...
- Cheslyn Hay
Cheslyn Hay is a former mining village in south Staffordshire, between Cannock and Walsall.Station Street is the main street with some small shops.A major employer in the village is B.S. Eaton Ltd, a manufacturer of concrete products...
- Codsall
Codsall is a large village in the South Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England. It is situated north west of the city of Wolverhampton.-History:...
- Essington
Essington is a village and civil parish in South Staffordshire, England. It is considered by the Office for National Statistics to be part of the Wolverhampton Urban Subdivision, and is within the West Midlands conurbation....
- Featherstone
Featherstone is a small village in the district of South Staffordshire, England, near to the border with Wolverhampton. Originally a farming community consisting of a few scattered farms. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, and was owned by the Clergy of Wolverhampton Church...
- Kingswinford
Kingswinford is a suburban area in the West Midlands.Historically within Staffordshire, the area is mentioned in the Domesday Book its name relates to a ford for the King's swine - Latin Swinford Regis. The current significance is probably in tourism, education and housing...
- Pattingham
Pattingham is a village in South Staffordshire, close to the border with Shropshire. The village is seven miles to the west of Wolverhampton and seven and a half miles east of Bridgnorth....
- Tong
Tong is a village in Shropshire in England. It is near junction 3 of the M54 motorway near Albrighton.The village is remarkable mainly for its church, St Bartholomews, outside of which is the supposed grave of Little Nell, a fictional character in Charles Dickens book, The Old Curiosity Shop...
- Weston-under-Lizard
Weston under Lizard is a village in the South Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England. It constitutes a civil parish with Blymhill, called Blymhill and Weston-under-Lizard....
- Wheaton Aston
Wheaton Aston is a village in Staffordshire, England about 9 miles south west of Stafford and 7 miles west of Cannock. It is located beside Bridge 19 of the Shropshire Union Canal. The civil parish is called Lapley, Stretton and Wheaton Aston....
- Wombourne
Wombourne is a very large village and civil parish located in the district of South Staffordshire, in the county of Staffordshire, 4 miles south-west of Wolverhampton. Local affairs are run by a parish council. At the 2001 census it had a population of 13,691...
Government
The vast majority of Wolverhampton is governed locally by Wolverhampton City Council, although some small areas are governed by
South StaffordshireSouth Staffordshire is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. The district lies to the north and west of Wolverhampton and the West Midlands, bordering Shropshire to the west and Worcestershire to the south...
District Council.
The area administered by the City Council is represented in the national United Kingdom parliament by three MPs representing Wolverhampton South West, Wolverhampton South East and Wolverhampton North East constituencies, with the areas administered by South Staffordshire District Council being represented by South Staffordshire constituency. The entire city is part of the
West Midlands constituencyWest Midlands is a constituency of the European Parliament. For 2009 it elected 6 MEPs using the d'Hondt method of party-list proportional representation. The constituency will also elect a "virtual MEP" who will be able to sit in the Parliament if the Treaty of Lisbon comes into effect...
of the European Parliament.
Since the abolition of
West Midlands County CouncilThe West Midlands County Council was, from 1974 to 1986, the upper-tier administrative body for the West Midlands county, a metropolitan county in England....
in 1986, Wolverhampton City Council has been a
unitary authorityA unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...
. South Staffordshire District Council is a two-tier authority, with some services provided by
Staffordshire County CouncilStaffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
.
Civic history
Wolverhampton gained the beginnings of modern local government in 1777, when the Wolverhampton Improvement Act was passed by Parliament. This allowed for the establishment of 125 Town Commissioners who undertook a variety of local improvement work such as punishing bear baiting, improving drainage, widening streets and by the end of the century street lighting had been provided at every street corner and over the doorway of every inn, and water supply had been improved by the sinking of ten new wells and the provision of a great water tank in the market place. Policing had been improved with the appointment of ten watchmen and attempts were also made to regulate the markets and inspect hazardous food.
Wolverhampton parliamentary boroughWolverhampton was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Wolverhampton in Staffordshire. It elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.-History:...
was created by the
Reform Act 1832The Representation of the People Act 1832 was an Act of Parliament that introduced wide-ranging changes to the electoral system of England and Wales...
, which included areas currently located with the Metropolitan Boroughs of
DudleyThe Metropolitan Borough of Dudley is a metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It was created in 1974, and is made up of the towns of Dudley , Stourbridge , Halesowen, Brierley Hill, Amblecote, Sedgley and Coseley...
,
WalsallThe Metropolitan Borough of Walsall is a local government district in the Black Country part of the West Midlands, England, with the status of a metropolitan borough. It is named after its largest settlement, Walsall, but covers a larger area which also includes the towns of Aldridge, Brownhills,...
and
SandwellSandwell is a metropolitan borough of the West Midlands with a population of around 289,100, and an area of . The borough is named after Sandwell Priory, and spans a densely populated part of both the Black Country, and the West Midlands conurbation, encompassing the urban towns of Blackheath,...
such as
Wren's NestThe Wren's Nest is a National Nature Reserve located to the north west of the town centre of Dudley, West Midlands, England. Today, apart from the geological interest, the site is home to a number of species of birds and locally rare flora; the caverns also support large roosting populations of bats...
,
New InventionNew Invention is a small suburban commuter village three miles north of the town of Willenhall and four miles east of the city of Wolverhampton in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, West Midlands, although formerly South Staffordshire, England...
and
GornalSedgley is an urban village within the West Midlands county of England. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Sedgley was formerly an ancient manor composed of several smaller villages, including Gornal, Gospel End, Woodsetton, Ettingshall, Coseley and Brierley...
. It was one of 22 large towns that returned two Members of Parliament. Under the
Redistribution of Seats Act 1885The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equally populated constituencies, in an attempt to equalise representation across...
, the original borough was replaced by three new single-member constituencies:
Wolverhampton EastWolverhampton East was a parliamentary constituency in the town of Wolverhampton in Staffordshire, England. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.-History:...
,
Wolverhampton SouthWolverhampton South was a parliamentary constituency in the town of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands of England. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.-History:...
and
Wolverhampton WestWolverhampton West was a borough constituency in the town of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands of England. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.-History:...
.
In 1837, Wolverhampton Borough Police was formed. It was disestablished in 1966,and the larger
West Midlands ConstabularyThe West Midlands Constabulary was a police force in the West Midlands of England.It was created on April 1, 1966 under the Police Act 1964, with the re-organisation of the Black Country area as the five contiguous county boroughs of Dudley, Walsall, Warley, West Bromwich and Wolverhampton...
, which covered not only Wolverhampton but the County Boroughs of
WalsallWalsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...
,
DudleyDudley is a large town in the West Midlands county of England. At the 2001 census , the Dudley Urban Sub Area had a population of 194,919, making it the 26th largest settlement in England, the second largest town in the United Kingdom behind Reading, and the largest settlement in the UK without...
,
West BromwichWest Bromwich is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands, England. It is north west of Birmingham lying on the A41 London-to-Birkenhead road. West Bromwich is part of the Black Country...
and
WarleyWarley was a county borough and civil parish forming part of the West Midlands conurbation, England, and geographical county of Worcestershire. It was formed in 1966 by the combination of the existing county borough of Smethwick with the municipal boroughs of Oldbury and Rowley Regis Warley was a...
took over its duties and was headquartered in the city. This force was then replaced in 1974 with the West Midlands Police.
Wolverhampton was incorporated as a
municipal boroughMunicipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002...
in 1849 under the
Municipal Corporations Act 1835The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 – sometimes known as the Municipal Reform Act, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in the incorporated boroughs of England and Wales...
. The town was then made a
County BoroughCounty borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control. They were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales, but continue in use for lieutenancy and shrievalty in...
in 1889 under the
Local Government Act 1888The Local Government Act 1888 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which established county councils and county borough councils in England and Wales...
.
In 1933, the boundaries of the borough expanded, taking in areas from
Cannock Rural DistrictCannock was a rural district in Staffordshire, England from 1894 to 1974.It was created by the Local Government Act 1894, based on the Cannock rural sanitary district, and has the town of Cannock on its eastern border...
and
Seisdon Rural DistrictSeisdon was a rural district in Staffordshire, England from 1894 to 1974. It lay west of Wolverhampton and was formed under the Local Government Act 1894 based on the Seisdon rural sanitary district....
, with very little of the surrounding urban area being affected, with only
Heath TownHeath Town is a district of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England, located ENE of the city centre. It is also a ward of Wolverhampton City Council. The ward forms part of the Wolverhampton North East constituency....
Urban District being abolished.
The bulk of the formerly independent
urban districtIn the England, Wales and Ireland, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected Urban District Council , which shared local government responsibilities with a county council....
s of Bilston (a borough itself after 1933),
TettenhallTettenhall is a historic part of the city of Wolverhampton, England. The name Tettenhall is probably derived from Teotta's Halh, Teotta being a person's name and Halh being a sheltered position...
and
WednesfieldWednesfield lies at , and is located to the northeast of Wolverhampton city centre on the northern fringe of the West Midlands conurbation...
were added to the borough in 1966, along with part of the urban district of
CoseleyCoseley is a town located mostly within the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the English West Midlands. Part of the Black Country, it lies south east of Wolverhampton and north of Dudley....
and small parts from
SedgleySedgley is an urban village within the West Midlands county of England. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Sedgley was formerly an ancient manor composed of several smaller villages, including Gornal, Gospel End, Woodsetton, Ettingshall, Coseley and Brierley...
and
WillenhallWillenhall is a town in the Black Country area of the West Midlands of England, with a population of approximately 40,000. It is situated between Wolverhampton and Walsall, historically in the county of Staffordshire...
.
Wolverhampton was one of only two County Boroughs (the other being
LiverpoolLiverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
) to have no changes made to the boundary during the
1974 reorganisation of local governmentThe Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....
, the borough already having a population larger than the 250,000 required for education authorities. This contrasted with both the
Redcliffe-Maud ReportThe Redcliffe–Maud Report is the name generally given to the report published by the Royal Commission on Local Government in England 1966–1969 under the chairmanship of Lord Redcliffe-Maud.-Terms of reference and membership:...
, and the initial White Paper for the 1974 reforms where large areas of the present
South StaffordshireSouth Staffordshire is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. The district lies to the north and west of Wolverhampton and the West Midlands, bordering Shropshire to the west and Worcestershire to the south...
district were to be added to the borough. During the 1974 reforms it was placed within the
West Midlands Metropolitan CountyThe West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
.
Wolverhampton was also a
Royal PeculiarA Royal Peculiar is a place of worship that falls directly under the jurisdiction of the British monarch, rather than under a bishop. The concept dates from Anglo-Saxon times, when a church could ally itself with the monarch and therefore not be subject to the bishop of the area...
covering a large area.
Wolverhampton City Council
The council offices are located in the Civic Centre, which is located in St. Peter's Square in the city centre.
The
Labour PartyThe Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
currently control the council and have been in majority on the council since 1974, with the exceptions of 1978–1979, 1987, 1992–1994 and 2008–2010.
Councillor Malcolm Gwinnett is
MayorIn many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Wolverhampton for 2010–11.
Wolverhampton City Council was assessed by the
Audit CommissionThe Audit Commission is a public corporation in the United Kingdom.The Commission’s primary objective is to improve economy, efficiency and effectiveness in local government, housing and the health service, directly through the audit and inspection process and also through value for money...
and judged to be "improving well" in providing services for local people; this rating was given to 59% of local authorities. Overall, the council was awarded "three star" status meaning it was "performing well" and "consistently above minimum requirements", similar to 46% of all local authorities. It was noted that it was rated as "good" for children's and young people's services; whilst the Supporting People programme was judged to be "poor".
The councils Housing stock is managed by
Wolverhampton HomesWolverhampton Homes is an Arms Length Management Organisation which manages properties owned by Wolverhampton City Council, in Wolverhampton, England. It was established in 2005 and is a registered member of the National Federation of ALMOs...
.
The Vision Statement for the council is "Wolverhampton City Council, Leading, Supporting and Inspiring our City. Proud to be of service today and rising to the challenges of tomorrow."
Party political make-up of Wolverhampton City Council
| |
Party |
Seats |
Current Council (2008–10) |
| 2007 |
2008 |
| |
Labour The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
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ConservativeThe Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
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Independent In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
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Wards
There are 20 wards of Wolverhampton City Council:
| Ward name |
Area (ha The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
)/mi2 |
Population
(2001 census) |
Population density (people per hectare) |
Ref. |
| Bilston East Bilston East is a ward of Wolverhampton City Council, West Midlands. It covers the southern and eastern parts of the town of Bilston, as well as Bradley. It borders the Spring Vale, Ettingshall, and Bilston North wards, as well as the Metropolitan Boroughs of Walsall, Sandwell, and Dudley...
|
384 hectares (1.5 sq mi) |
10,741 |
27.97 |
|
| Bilston North Bilston North is a ward of Wolverhampton City Council, West Midlands. As its name suggests, it covers the northern parts of the town of Bilston, such as Bunkers Hill, Stowlawn and Portobello. It borders the Bilston East, Ettingshall and East Park wards, and the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall...
|
290 hectares (1.1 sq mi) |
13,527 |
46.58 |
|
| Blakenhall Blakenhall is a ward in Wolverhampton, England.-Toponymy and history:Blakenhall's name, according to topynmists comes from the Old English 'blæc', meaning 'black' or dark coloured, & 'halh' meaning 'nook' or 'corner'...
|
342 hectares (1.3 sq mi) |
11,301 |
33.09 |
|
| Bushbury North Bushbury North is a ward of Wolverhampton City Council, West Midlands, England. It is situated to the north of the city centre, on the city's border with South Staffordshire....
|
481 hectares (1.9 sq mi) |
12,021 |
25.00 |
|
| Bushbury South and Low Hill Bushbury South and Low Hill is a ward of Wolverhampton City Council, West Midlands, England. It is situated to the north of the city centre, bordering the Bushbury North, Fallings Park, Heath Town, St Peter's and Oxley wards, and forms part of the Wolverhampton North East constituency.It contains...
|
342 hectares (1.3 sq mi) |
14,103 |
41.24 |
|
| East Park East Park is a park in Wolverhampton, England. Its name is also used for the East Park ward, which overs the Monmore Green and Deansfield areas....
|
342 hectares (1.3 sq mi) |
10,452 |
30.59 |
|
| Ettingshall Ettingshall is an area of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England, and is a ward of Wolverhampton City Council.-History:Ettingshall was mentioned as an ancient manor in the Domesday Book of 1086...
|
417 hectares (1.6 sq mi) |
10,839 |
26.00 |
|
| Fallings Park Fallings Park is a suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands and a ward of Wolverhampton City Council. It is situated in the north-east of the city, bordering South Staffordshire and the Wednesfield North, Heath Town, Bushbury South and Low Hill and Bushbury North wards. It forms part of the...
|
244 hectare (0.942089266965785 sq mi) |
10,996 |
45.13 |
|
| Graiseley Graiseley is both an inner-city area of Wolverhampton, situated immediately to the south-west of the city centre, and the name of a ward of Wolverhampton City Council.-Place-name:...
|
225 hectare (0.868729856833204 sq mi) |
11,691 |
52.07 |
|
| Heath Town Heath Town is a district of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England, located ENE of the city centre. It is also a ward of Wolverhampton City Council. The ward forms part of the Wolverhampton North East constituency....
|
270 hectares (1 sq mi) |
10,876 |
40.29 |
|
| Merry Hill Merry Hill is a suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands and a ward of Wolverhampton City Council. It is situated in the south-west of the city, bordering South Staffordshire and the Tettenhall Wightwick, Park, Graiseley and Penn wards...
|
246 hectare (0.949811310137636 sq mi) |
11,893 |
48.36 |
|
| Oxley Oxley is a suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, and a ward of Wolverhampton City Council. Its area code is WV10. It is situated in the north of the city, bordering South Staffordshire and the Bushbury North, Bushbury South and Low Hill, St Peter's and Tettenhall Regis wards...
|
421 hectares (1.6 sq mi) |
12,848 |
30.54 |
|
| Park Park ward is a ward of Wolverhampton City Council, West Midlands. It is located to the west of the city centre, and covers parts of the suburbs Bradmore, Compton, Finchfield, Merridale, Newbridge and Whitmore Reans. It borders the St Peter's, Graiseley, Merry Hill, Tettenhall Wightwick and...
|
385 hectares (1.5 sq mi) |
12,844 |
33.37 |
|
| Penn Penn is an area now divided between Wolverhampton in the West Midlands and South Staffordshire. Originally, it was a village in the historic county of Staffordshire. There is considerable confusion about exactly which areas fall within Penn...
|
308 hectares (1.2 sq mi) |
12,392 |
40.19 |
|
| St Peter's St Peter's is a ward of Wolverhampton City Council, West Midlands. It has two parts: the city centre , and the inner-city areas immediately to the north and north-west, including Dunstall Hill and part of Whitmore Reans.It is bordered by the wards of Bushbury South and Low Hill, Heath Town, East...
|
496 hectares (1.9 sq mi) |
14,472 |
29.18 |
|
| Spring Vale Spring Vale is a ward of Wolverhampton City Council, West Midlands, England. It is situated SSE of the city centre, on the city's border with the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley.-Geography:...
|
327 hectares (1.3 sq mi) |
12,588 |
38.45 |
|
| Tettenhall Regis Tettenhall Regis is a ward of Wolverhampton City Council, West Midlands.-Geography:It is one of two wards covering the Tettenhall area, the other being Tettenhall Wightwick. It is situated on the western edge of the city, bordering South Staffordshire and the Oxley, St Peter's, Park and Tettenhall...
|
457 hectares (1.8 sq mi) |
12,000 |
26.24 |
|
| Tettenhall Wightwick Tettenhall Wightwick is a ward of Wolverhampton City Council, West Midlands.-Geography:It is one of two wards covering the Tettenhall area, the other being Tettenhall Regis. It is situated on the western edge of the city, bordering South Staffordshire and the Tettenhall Regis, Park and Merry Hill...
|
436 hectares (1.7 sq mi) |
10,832 |
24.83 |
|
| Wednesfield North Wednesfield North is a ward of Wolverhampton City Council, West Midlands. As the name suggests, it covers the northern parts of the town of Wednesfield. It borders the Wednesfield South, Heath Town and Fallings Park wards, as well as South Staffordshire and the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall...
|
210 hectare (0.810814533044324 sq mi) |
10,978 |
52.22 |
|
| Wednesfield South Wednesfield South is a ward of Wolverhampton City Council, in the English county of West Midlands. It covers the southern and eastern parts of the town of Wednesfield, as well its town centre. It borders the East Park, Heath Town and Wednesfield North wards, as well as the Metropolitan Borough of...
|
437 hectares (1.7 sq mi) |
11,195 |
25.62 |
|
| Wolverhampton City Council area |
6944 hectares (26.8 sq mi) |
236,582 |
34.07 |
|
A map showing the ward boundaries is available
here.
Coat of arms
The coat of arms of Wolverhampton Council was granted on 31 December 1898, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the council.
The various symbols within the arms are representative of the history of the city. The book represents the education within the city, specifically the 16th century
Wolverhampton Grammar SchoolWolverhampton Grammar School is a co-educational independent school located in the city of Wolverhampton.Initially Wolverhampton Boys Grammar School, it was founded in 1512 by Sir Stephen Jenyns, a master of the ancient guild of Merchant Taylors, who was also Lord Mayor of London in the year of...
; the woolpack represents the mediaeval woollen trade within the city; the column is a representation of the
SaxonAnglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
pillar that can be found within the churchyard of
St. Peter's Collegiate ChurchSt. Peter's Collegiate Church is located on the highest and the oldest developed site in central Wolverhampton, England. For many centuries it was a chapel royal, and from 1480 a royal peculiar, independent of the Diocese of Lichfield and even the Province of Canterbury. The collegiate church was...
in the city centre; whilst the keys are representative of the church itself and its dedication to St. Peter. The padlock represents one of the major industries of the area at the time of the granting of the arms – that of lock-making; whilst the brazier at the top is indicative of the general metal-working industries in the area. The cross is ascribed to King Edgar.
The motto on the coat of arms is 'Out of Darkness Cometh Light'.
Prior to 1898 there was a former coat of arms that had been in use since 1848, though these arms were never officially granted.
Demographics
| Wolverhampton Compared |
| 2001 UK Census A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
|
Wolverhampton (urban) |
Wolverhampton (borough) |
West Midlands conurbation The West Midlands conurbation is the name given to the large conurbation that includes the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton and the large towns of Dudley, Walsall, West Bromwich, Solihull, Stourbridge, Halesowen in the English West Midlands....
|
England |
| Total population |
251,462 |
236,582 |
2,284,093 |
49,138,831 |
| White |
78.9% |
77.8% |
79.6% |
90.9% |
| Asian |
13.6% |
14.3% |
13.5% |
4.6% |
| Black |
4.4% |
4.6% |
3.9% |
2.3% |
| Source: Office for National Statistics |
The
2001 CensusA nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
gives the Wolverhampton Urban Subdivision as the second largest in the
West Midlands conurbationThe West Midlands conurbation is the name given to the large conurbation that includes the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton and the large towns of Dudley, Walsall, West Bromwich, Solihull, Stourbridge, Halesowen in the English West Midlands....
. The figure given for Wolverhampton is 251,462 which also includes areas outside the borough (236,582). By this reckoning it is the 13th largest city in England.
Wolverhampton has a relatively old population, with the proportion of the population aged 60 and over being larger than the proportion of children aged 15 or under. The proportion of young people in the city has decreased between the
1991 CensusA nationwide census, commonly known as Census 1991, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday 21 April 1991. This was the 19th UK census....
and the 2001 Census by 7.4%, compared with an England and Wales average increase of 1.7%. The proportion of females within the city (51%) is slightly higher than that of males (49%).
Of adults aged over 16, 31.3% were single, 43.4% were married for the first time, 7.7% divorced and 9.6% were widowed.
Wolverhampton is an ethnically diverse city, with nearly a quarter (24.6%) of the population being of black or minority ethnic (BME) origin and 22.2% of residents classifying themselves as non-white in the 2001 Census, with the largest non-white category being Indian at 12.3%, which compares with a West Midlands average of 6.2% and an England and Wales average of 2.1%.
Wolverhampton's multi-cultural nature is reflected in an above–average level of non-
ChristianChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
religions (13.6% of people, compared with 5.5% for England and Wales), with
SikhsSikhism is a monotheistic religion founded during the 15th century in the Punjab region, by Guru Nanak Dev and continued to progress with ten successive Sikh Gurus . It is the fifth-largest organized religion in the world and one of the fastest-growing...
accounting for 7.6% of Wolverhampton's population, the fourth largest Sikh community in England and Wales. The number of
HindusHinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
is also higher than the England and Wales average (Wolverhampton 3.9%, England and Wales 1.1%), while the proportion of people following
JudaismJudaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
and
IslamIslam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
was below the average for England and Wales. The figure for
BuddhismBuddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
is in line with the England and Wales average.
| Religion within Wolverhampton |
| 2001 UK Census A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
|
Wolverhampton (urban) |
Wolverhampton (borough) |
West Midlands conurbation The West Midlands conurbation is the name given to the large conurbation that includes the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton and the large towns of Dudley, Walsall, West Bromwich, Solihull, Stourbridge, Halesowen in the English West Midlands....
|
England |
| Total population |
251,462 |
236,582 |
2,284,093 |
49,138,831 |
ChristianChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
|
67.4% |
66.5% |
67.0% |
71.7% |
SikhSikhism is a monotheistic religion founded during the 15th century in the Punjab region, by Guru Nanak Dev and continued to progress with ten successive Sikh Gurus . It is the fifth-largest organized religion in the world and one of the fastest-growing...
|
7.2% |
7.6% |
3.4% |
0.6% |
HinduHinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
|
3.7% |
3.9% |
1.8% |
1.1% |
MuslimIslam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
|
1.6% |
1.7% |
7.9% |
3.0% |
| No religion |
11.3% |
11.3% |
11.5% |
14.8% |
| Not stated |
8.2% |
8.4% |
7.8% |
7.7% |
| Source: Office for National Statistics |
According to the 2001 Census, 62.2% of the population of the city between the ages of 16 and 75 are considered to be economically active, with 37.5% holding full time employment, 11.3% part time employment, 5.4% self-employed and 2.6% being full-time students with other employment.
Of those who are economically inactive, 14.4% were retired, 7.1% were looking after homes or families, whilst 5.1% were full-time students without other employment.
Degree-level qualifications (or above) were held by 13.6% of the population (compared with 19.8% in England and Wales), while 40.7% possessed no qualifications (compared with 29.1% across England and Wales).
Wolverhampton is within the top 11% of local authority areas in England and Wales (excluding London Boroughs) for public transport use for travelling to work at 16% of the total. 63% used private transport, either as a driver or passenger, 13% cycled or travelled on foot, whilst 8% worked from home.
Car ownership is lower than the average for England and Wales with 35.2% of households not owning a car, compared with 26.8% nationally. Single car ownership is in line with national averages (Wolverhampton 42.9%, England and Wales 43.8%), while the proportion of households owning more than one car is lower than the national average.
According to the 2001 Census, Wolverhampton is one of the 243
Travel to Work AreaA Travel to Work Area or TTWA is a statistical tool used by UK Government agencies and local authorities, especially by the Department for Work and Pensions and Job Centres, to indicate an area where the population would generally commute to a larger town, city or conurbation for the purposes of...
s in the United Kingdom. There were 163,378 people resident within the TTWA who were in employment, and 157,648 jobs. The TTWA extends outside the city itself into the local authority districts of
DudleyThe Metropolitan Borough of Dudley is a metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It was created in 1974, and is made up of the towns of Dudley , Stourbridge , Halesowen, Brierley Hill, Amblecote, Sedgley and Coseley...
,
WalsallThe Metropolitan Borough of Walsall is a local government district in the Black Country part of the West Midlands, England, with the status of a metropolitan borough. It is named after its largest settlement, Walsall, but covers a larger area which also includes the towns of Aldridge, Brownhills,...
,
South StaffordshireSouth Staffordshire is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. The district lies to the north and west of Wolverhampton and the West Midlands, bordering Shropshire to the west and Worcestershire to the south...
and
BridgnorthBridgnorth District was, between 1974 and 2009, a local government district in Shropshire, England. Its main town was Bridgnorth and other towns in its area were Much Wenlock, Shifnal and Broseley. The villages of Albrighton and Sheriffhales as well as RAF Cosford were also in the district.The...
and has an area of 405 km
2 (156 sq mi).
According to
EurostatEurostat is a Directorate-General of the European Commission located in Luxembourg. Its main responsibilities are to provide the European Union with statistical information at European level and to promote the integration of statistical methods across the Member States of the European Union,...
data, Wolverhampton has its own Larger Urban Zone, which had a total resident population in 2004 of 344,400.
Population change
The tables below detail the population change since 1750, separating that of the city itself and the geographical area now administered by Wolverhampton City Council.
| Historical population of Wolverhampton |
| Year |
1750 |
1801 |
1811 |
1821 |
1831 |
1841 |
1851 |
1861 |
1871 |
1881 |
1891 |
| Population |
7,454 |
20,710 |
29,253 |
35,816 |
46,937 |
68,426 |
90,301 |
111,033 |
68,291 |
75,766 |
82,662 |
|
| Year |
1901 |
1911 |
1921 |
1931 |
1939 |
1951 |
1961 |
1971 |
1981 |
1991 |
2001 |
| Population |
94,107 |
95,328 |
102,342 |
133,212 |
143,213 |
162,172 |
150,825 |
269,168 |
265,631 |
257,943 |
251,462 |
| Issac Taylor's Map 1750 Township 1801–1881 Urban Sanitary District 1891 County Borough 1901–1971 Urban Subdivision 1981–2001 |
| Historical population of area now administered by Wolverhampton City Council |
| Year |
1750 |
1801 |
1811 |
1821 |
1831 |
1841 |
1851 |
1861 |
1871 |
1881 |
1891 |
| Population |
no data |
11,786 |
15,597 |
19,012 |
23,067 |
54,365 |
70,112 |
87,254 |
104,395 |
121,537 |
130,868 |
|
| Year |
1901 |
1911 |
1921 |
1931 |
1939 |
1951 |
1961 |
1971 |
1981 |
1991 |
2001 |
| Population |
145,645 |
162,098 |
178,068 |
195,621 |
214,359 |
234,893 |
251,435 |
269,166 |
252,474 |
248,454 |
236,573 |
| Source: Vision of Britain |
Economy
Traditionally, Wolverhampton's economy has been dominated by
engineeringEngineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
and
manufacturingManufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
industries. However, in 2008 the economy is dominated by the service sector, with 74.9% of the city's employment being in this area. The major subcomponents of this sector are in public administration, education and health (32.8% of the total employment), while distribution, hotels and restaurants take up 21.1%, and finance and IT takes up 12.7%. The largest non-service industry is that of manufacturing (12.9%), whilst 5.2% of the total employment is related to the tourism industry.
The largest single employer within the city is Wolverhampton City Council. which has over 12,000 staff Other large employers within the city include:
- Banking: Birmingham Midshires
Birmingham Midshires is a commercial bank in the United Kingdom, a division of Bank of Scotland plc . It is headquartered at Pendeford Business Park, Wolverhampton, England and has 67 offices throughout England...
(headquarters)
- Education: University of Wolverhampton
The University of Wolverhampton is a British university located on four campuses across the West Midlands and Shropshire. The city campus is located in Wolverhampton city centre with a second campus at Compton Park, Wolverhampton; a third in Walsall and a fourth in Telford...
and City of Wolverhampton CollegeCity of Wolverhampton College is a further education college located in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England.It was formed in September 1999 as the result of a merger of Wulfrun College in Wolverhampton and Bilston Community College in Bilston....
- Construction: Tarmac
Tarmac is a company that is based in Wolverhampton in the United Kingdom and operates internationally. The company produces aggregates and road-surfacing materials, including tarmacadam, from which the company's name is derived...
, Carillion (headquarters) & Carvers
- Brewing: Marston's
Marston's is the colloquial name for the brewer and pub operator Marston's plc . The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index...
, formerly Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries
- Aerospace: H S Marston, MOOG
Moog is a surname.People bearing the name include:* Andy Moog , former NHL goaltender and current assistant coach of the Dallas Stars* Peter Moog , schizophrenic outsider artist* Philipp Moog , German television actor...
and Goodrich Actuation Systems a part of Goodrich Corporation
- Retail: Beatties
Beatties is a British department store group with 7 stores located primarily in the Midlands of England. In 2005 James Beattie was acquired by House of Fraser, then having 12 stores. On , the Birmingham store closed, due to the uneconomical aspects of having two similar House of Fraser owned stores...
(now owned by House of FraserHouse of Fraser is a British department store group with over 60 stores across the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was established in Glasgow, Scotland in 1849 as Arthur and Fraser. By 1891 it was known as Fraser & Sons. The company grew steadily during the early 20th century, but after the Second...
)
- Manufacturing: Chubb Locks
Chubb Locks is a brand name of the Mul-T-Lock subsidiary of the Assa Abloy Group, which manufactures high security locking systems for residential, secure confinement and commercial applications.-History:...
- National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
, New Cross HospitalNew Cross Hospital is a hospital in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is located to the east of the city centre in Wednesfield....
Wolverhampton is one of the major retail centres in the
West Midlands RegionThe West Midlands is an official region of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It contains the second most populous British city, Birmingham, and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which includes the city of Wolverhampton and large towns of Dudley,...
, being placed at fourth largest in 2006, with an annual turnover of £384 million. It is expected to become the second largest retail centre within the region by 2015.
Many of the traditional industries in the city have closed or dramatically downsized. Famous companies once based in the city include:
- Steel manufacturing; British Steel
British Steel was a major British steel producer. It originated as a nationalised industry, the British Steel Corporation , formed in 1967. This was converted to a public limited company, British Steel PLC, and privatised in 1988. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index...
, later known as Corus. Wolverhampton was one of Britain's top three ironIron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
and steelSteel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
producing centres. Most of the steel industry no longer exists in this city, but remnants of the areas numerous old steel works still exist.
- Vehicle manufacturers and Motor Industry: AJS
AJS was the name used for cars and motorcycles made by the Wolverhampton, England, company A. J. Stevens & Co. Ltd, from 1909 to 1931, by then holding 117 motorcycle world records, and after the firm was sold the name continued to be used by Matchless, Associated Motorcycles and Norton-Villiers on...
, ClynoDeveloping from a motorcycle manufacturer, the Clyno Engineering Company Ltd, founded by Frank Smith, became the surprise success of British car manufacturing in the 1920s becoming the country's third largest car manufacturer in 1926...
, Guy MotorsGuy Motors was a British company based in Fallings Park, Wolverhampton that made cars, lorries, buses, and trolleybuses.-History:Guy Motors Ltd was founded in 1914 by Sydney Guy who had been the Works Manager of nearby Sunbeam. A factory was built on the site at Fallings Park, Wolverhampton...
, Henry MeadowsHenry Meadows of Wolverhampton, England were major suppliers of engines and transmissions, to the smaller companies in the British motor industry...
, Kieft CarsKieft Cars founded by Cyril Kieft was a British car company that built Formula Three racing cars and some road going sports cars in a factory in Derry St, Wolverhampton.Cyril Kieft was born in Swansea and spent his early working life in the steel industry...
, Norton-VilliersNorton-Villiers was a British motorcycle manufacturer formed in the 1960s following the collapse of Associated Motorcycles. With the general decline of the British motorcycle industry it was combined with the remnants of BSA to form Norton-Villiers-Triumph....
, Sunbeam, Sunbeam MotorcyclesSunbeam was a British manufacturing marque that produced bicycles and motorcycles from 1912 to 1956. Originally independent, it was ultimately owned by BSA...
- Aerospace: Boulton Paul Aircraft
Boulton Paul Aircraft Ltd was a British aircraft manufacturer that was created in 1934, although its origins lay in 1914, and lasted until 1961...
- Tyres: Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company was founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling. Goodyear manufactures tires for automobiles, commercial trucks, light trucks, SUVs, race cars, airplanes, farm equipment and heavy earth-mover machinery....
- Paint, varnish, printing inks and property: Mander Brothers
Mander Brothers was a major employer in the city of Wolverhampton, in the English Midlands, a progressive company founded in 1773. In the 19th century the firm became the Number One manufacturers of varnishes, paints and later printing inks in the British Empire...
Goodyear opened a large factory on Stafford Road,
FordhousesFordhouses is a suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is situated to the north of the city centre, adjacent to the border with Staffordshire, within the Bushbury North ward of Wolverhampton City Council...
, in 1927. However, it was decided in December 2003 that tyre production at the plant would be discontinued with the loss of more than 400 jobs. This came after some 2,000 job losses at the plant since 1997. The end of production came in 2004 but the factory remains open for tyre moulding and tractor tyre production.
Unemployment within the City Council area at November 2007 was 4.7%, which varied across wards, with three wards having rates of over 7% (being
EttingshallEttingshall is an area of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England, and is a ward of Wolverhampton City Council.-History:Ettingshall was mentioned as an ancient manor in the Domesday Book of 1086...
,
St Peter'sSt Peter's is a ward of Wolverhampton City Council, West Midlands. It has two parts: the city centre , and the inner-city areas immediately to the north and north-west, including Dunstall Hill and part of Whitmore Reans.It is bordered by the wards of Bushbury South and Low Hill, Heath Town, East...
and
Heath TownHeath Town is a district of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England, located ENE of the city centre. It is also a ward of Wolverhampton City Council. The ward forms part of the Wolverhampton North East constituency....
), and three wards with rates less than 3% (
PennPenn is an area now divided between Wolverhampton in the West Midlands and South Staffordshire. Originally, it was a village in the historic county of Staffordshire. There is considerable confusion about exactly which areas fall within Penn...
,
Tettenhall WightwickTettenhall Wightwick is a ward of Wolverhampton City Council, West Midlands.-Geography:It is one of two wards covering the Tettenhall area, the other being Tettenhall Regis. It is situated on the western edge of the city, bordering South Staffordshire and the Tettenhall Regis, Park and Merry Hill...
and
Tettenhall RegisTettenhall Regis is a ward of Wolverhampton City Council, West Midlands.-Geography:It is one of two wards covering the Tettenhall area, the other being Tettenhall Wightwick. It is situated on the western edge of the city, bordering South Staffordshire and the Oxley, St Peter's, Park and Tettenhall...
).
Regeneration
In recent years, Wolverhampton City Council has embarked on several city improvement and regeneration schemes. One such project was
Summer Row, a new £300 million retail quarter for Wolverhampton city centre. The project, which was to be undertaken by
Multi Development, would involve clearing of existing buildings, and in 2006 a compulsory purchase order was issued to over 200 owner / occupiers in the surrounding area, including Cleveland Street. Construction of Summer Row was originally earmarked for 2008, with a completion date listed as 2010, but the 2008 recession put the project on hold.
In January 2011, the Summer Row project was officially declared dead as the government permission for the compulsory purchase order expiry date rolled round without the council having found the necessary financial backing for the project.
DebenhamsDebenhams plc is a British retailer operating under a department store format in the UK, Ireland and Denmark, and franchise stores in other countries. The Company was founded in the eighteenth century as a single store in London and has now grown to around 160 shops...
however, who were listed as the anchor store of the Summer Row project, have revealed that they are still interested in opening a store in Wolverhampton.
Road
Wolverhampton is near to several motorways, with the following being within 7 miles (11 km) of the city centre:
- M6
The M6 motorway runs from junction 19 of the M1 at the Catthorpe Interchange, near Rugby via Birmingham then heads north, passing Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester, Preston, Carlisle and terminating at the Gretna junction . Here, just short of the Scottish border it becomes the A74 which continues to...
linking the city with the north-west of England (including ManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
and LiverpoolLiverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
), ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and London via the M1The M1 is a north–south motorway in England primarily connecting London to Leeds, where it joins the A1 near Aberford. While the M1 is considered to be the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom, the first road to be built to motorway standard in the country was the...
. This section opened between 1966 and 1970. The section of M6 motorway nearest to the city is one of the busiest within the UK.
- M5
The M5 is a motorway in England. It runs from a junction with the M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Bromwich and west of Birmingham through Sandwell Valley...
connecting with the south-west of England, and London via the M40The M40 motorway is a motorway in the British transport network that forms a major part of the connection between London and Birmingham. Part of this road forms a section of the unsigned European route E05...
(opened 1970)
- M6 Toll
The M6 Toll , connects M6 Junction 4 at the NEC to M6 Junction 11A at Wolverhampton with of six-lane motorway. The weekday cash cost is £5.30 for a car and £10.60 for a HGV...
which bypasses the busiest section of the M6 near the city (opened 2003)
- M54
The M54 is a 23 mile east-west motorway in the English counties of Shropshire and Staffordshire. It is also referred to as the Telford Motorway, after the road's primary westbound destination, the new town of Telford...
linking the city with TelfordTelford is a large new town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, approximately east of Shrewsbury, and west of Birmingham...
, ShrewsburyShrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
and WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
There have also been several motorways proposed near to the city that have not been constructed, or have been constructed to a lower standard:
- Western Orbital or Wolverhampton Western Bypass. First proposed in the 1970s, and cancelled in the 1990s
- Bilston Link Motorway. First proposed in 1960s, built in the 1990s as the Black Country Route
The Black Country Route is a road in the West Midlands region of England.The plans for a motorway were drawn up in 1962 to ease congestion in the Black Country towns of Bilston and Willenhall, as well as giving the residents of Dudley, Coseley and Sedgley a more direct link with the M6 motorway...
- M54 to M6 / M6 (Toll) Link Road. Proposed in 2000s to relieve the overloaded section of A460 near the city
The main roads radiating from the city centre meet the city's
Ring RoadThe city of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England has a Ring Road which encircles the city centre. It is just over in circumference. Technically, the route is listed as "Inner Ring Road", although only a tiny section of the "Outer Ring Road" was ever constructed, and only a single of the two...
, which is acts to keep through traffic out of the city centre itself.
Other major roads passing through the city include:
- A41
The A41 is a formerly-major trunk road in England that links London and Birkenhead, although it has now largely been superseded by motorways. It passes through or near various towns and cities including Watford, Hemel Hempstead, Aylesbury, Solihull, Birmingham, West Bromwich, Wolverhampton,...
between London and BirkenheadBirkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...
- A449
The A449 is a major road in the United Kingdom. It runs north from junction 24 of the M4 motorway at Newport in South Wales to Stafford in Staffordshire....
between South Wales and StaffordStafford is the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies approximately north of Wolverhampton and south of Stoke-on-Trent, adjacent to the M6 motorway Junction 13 to Junction 14...
- A454
The A454 is a major road in England. Starting from Bridgnorth, Shropshire, it runs eastwards, crossing a narrow part of Staffordshire, to Wolverhampton, West Midlands. It then by-passes Willenhall where it becomes the eastern section of "The Black Country Route" before meeting the M6 motorway at...
between BridgnorthBridgnorth is a town in Shropshire, England, along the Severn Valley. It is split into Low Town and High Town, named on account of their elevations relative to the River Severn, which separates the upper town on the right bank from the lower on the left...
and Sutton ColdfieldSutton Coldfield is a suburb of Birmingham, in the West Midlands of England. Sutton is located about from central Birmingham but has borders with Erdington and Kingstanding. Sutton is in the northeast of Birmingham, with a population of 105,000 recorded in the 2001 census...
- A4123
The A4123, also known as the Birmingham New Road, is a major road in the West Midlands linking Wolverhampton with Birmingham. It was one of the first major new roads constructed for use by motor traffic, and was designed as an unemployment relief project....
between Wolverhampton and Birmingham. Constructed in 1927, it was the first purpose built inter-city road in the United Kingdom within the 20th century, and was said to be the longest stretch of new road in Britain since the RomansThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
. It took just three years to complete and cost £600,000.
Public transport
The city's
railway stationWolverhampton railway station in Wolverhampton, West Midlands is on the West Coast Main Line. It is served by London Midland, CrossCountry, Virgin Trains and Arriva Trains Wales.-History:...
is served by the
West Coast Main LineThe West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...
. It has regular rail services to London,
BirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
and
ManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, as well as many other major cities in the UK. The Wrexham, Shropshire and Marylebone Railway has started itsailway station is due for redevelopment, with the main station buildings being demolished in a project called Wolverhampton Interchange. It is due to open in 2012.
There are many local services, including those on the
Cambrian LineThe Cambrian Line is a railway from Shrewsbury to Welshpool, Aberystwyth and Pwllheli. The railway runs first through the central part of Wales and then along the coast of Cardigan Bay....
, the
Walsall to Wolverhampton LineThe Walsall to Wolverhampton Line is a railway line in the West Midlands, England. It connects the town of Walsall to the city of Wolverhampton. For most of its length, it follows the part of the route of the original Grand Junction Railway....
, the
Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury LineThe Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury Line is the railway line from Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury via Wellington; it was originally built by the Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway. The line is double track throughout, with rarely used relief sidings at Cosford and 4 tracks through Wellington station...
and the
Rugby-Birmingham-Stafford LineThe Rugby–Birmingham–Stafford Line is a railway line in central England. It is a loop off the West Coast Main Line between Rugby and Stafford via the West Midlands cities of Coventry, Birmingham and Wolverhampton.-Places served:The cities, towns and villages served by the line are listed...
. There are also many closed stations within the city, including
Wolverhampton Low LevelWolverhampton Low Level was a railway station on Sun Street, in Springfield, Wolverhampton, England .It was built by the Great Western Railway, on their route from London to Birkenhead via Birmingham...
, which was the most northerly
broad gaugeBroad-gauge railways use a track gauge greater than the standard gauge of .- List :For list see: List of broad gauges, by gauge and country- History :...
station on the
Great WesternThe Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
network.
Buses
The city's bus station is situated at Piper's Row, near to the railway station, providing an interchange between the two modes of transport. Buses in the city are regulated by
West Midlands Passenger Transport ExecutiveThe West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive , sometimes known as Centro, is a local government organisation responsible for certain transport services in the West Midlands county in England....
and the largest provider of services is
West MidlandsThe West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
.
The station has recently had a complete rebuild. Its previous Piper's Row incarnation opened on 26 October 1986, just six years after its predecessor of 1981. The station underwent a further upgrade in 1990 which saw the grade two listing Queen's Building incorporated into the bus station. A mild refurbishment took place in 2005/06 with new toilets and the addition of a coach stand. In July 2009 plans were unveiled for a complete rebuild of the bus station to form part of a new bus and rail interchange. The development will also see the train station rebuilt and new flats and shops built nearby. The bus station closed in April 2010 and was demolished almost immediately, with the new £22.5 million station opening on Sunday 24 July 2011.
Along with the rebuild, buses for Wolverhampton and the west of Walsall were renumbered, with several re-routed, though this has not proved popular with some residents.
As well as serving suburbs of the city, buses from the centre of Wolverhampton also provide a direct link with the city of Birmingham, and nearby towns including Dudley, West Bromwich, Walsall, Sedgley, Bilston, Willenhall and Bloxwich. Several companies also run buses from the city centre to more distant towns outside the West Midlands conurbation, including Bridgnorth, Telford and Cannock.
Metro
The Midland Metro, a
light railLight rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
system, currently connects Wolverhampton St. George's to
Birmingham Snow Hill stationBirmingham Snow Hill is a railway station and tram stop in the centre of Birmingham, England, on the site of an earlier, much larger station built by the former Great Western Railway . It is the second most important railway station in the city, after Birmingham New Street station...
via
West BromwichWest Bromwich is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands, England. It is north west of Birmingham lying on the A41 London-to-Birkenhead road. West Bromwich is part of the Black Country...
and
WednesburyWednesbury is a market town in England's Black Country, part of the Sandwell metropolitan borough in West Midlands, near the source of the River Tame. Similarly to the word Wednesday, it is pronounced .-Pre-Medieval and Medieval times:...
, mostly following the former
Birmingham Snow Hill-Wolverhampton Low Level LineThe Birmingham Snow Hill to Wolverhampton Low Level Line was part of the Great Western Railway's London Paddington to Birkenhead Woodside route. As the name suggests, it ran between Birmingham Snow Hill and Wolverhampton Low Level in England...
. There are plans for further lines within the city, with both a city centre loop and a line to
WalsallWalsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...
via
WednesfieldWednesfield lies at , and is located to the northeast of Wolverhampton city centre on the northern fringe of the West Midlands conurbation...
and
WillenhallWillenhall is a town in the Black Country area of the West Midlands of England, with a population of approximately 40,000. It is situated between Wolverhampton and Walsall, historically in the county of Staffordshire...
, mostly following the route of the closed
Wolverhampton and Walsall RailwayThe Wolverhampton and Walsall Railway was incorporated in 1865 in order to connect the city of Wolverhampton, England with nearby towns such as Walsall, Willenhall and Wednesfield.-The route:...
.
the station was formed in 1999
Air
Wolverhampton's original
airportAn airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
was at
PendefordPendeford is a suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is situated NNW of the city centre, adjacent to the border with Staffordshire, within the Oxley ward of Wolverhampton City Council.- Name and origins :...
, opened in 1938 and closed on 31 December 1970. The current
Wolverhampton AirportWolverhampton Halfpenny Green Airport , formerly Halfpenny Green Airport and Wolverhampton Business Airport, locally Bobbington Airport, is a small, airport situated near the village of Bobbington, South Staffordshire...
, renamed from Halfpenny Green, is a small general aviation airfield located 8 miles (12.9 km) southwest of the city. Expansion of the airport has been suggested, but this has been successfully resisted by local residents.
The nearest major airport is
Birmingham International AirportBirmingham Airport , formerly Birmingham International Airport is an airport located east southeast of Birmingham city centre, at Bickenhill in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull within the West Midlands, England...
, approximately 25 miles (40.2 km) away. The airport is easy to reach by train, with a direct express service to it. By car, it can actually sometimes be quicker to reach Manchester Airport instead, due to traffic delays on the M6 eastbound motorway towards Birmingham International.
Waterways
There are no navigable rivers within the city, but there are many miles of canal network: the
Birmingham Main Line CanalThe BCN Main Line, or Birmingham Canal Navigations Main Line describes the evolving route of the Birmingham Canal between Birmingham and Wolverhampton in England....
, the
Staffordshire and Worcestershire CanalThe Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal is a narrow navigable canal in the English Midlands, passing through the counties of Staffordshire and Worcestershire....
, the
Shropshire Union CanalThe Shropshire Union Canal is a navigable canal in England; the Llangollen and Montgomery canals are the modern names of branches of the Shropshire Union system and lie partially in Wales....
and the Wyrley & Essington Canal are all to be found.
Cycling
Most places in the borough and some of the neighbouring villages in South Staffordshire are within easy reach by pedal cycle of the city centre and terrain is moderately hilly. Climbs tend to be of two to three minutes duration. Cycling benefits from the 20 miles per hour (32 km/h) city centre within the Ring Road and a number of routes that use quieter roads and paths to avoid the ten 'A' roads that radiate from the Ring Road. Wolverhampton is on the Smethwick to Telford section of
SustransSustrans is a British charity to promote sustainable transport. The charity is currently working on a number of practical projects to encourage people to walk, cycle and use public transport, to give people the choice of "travelling in ways that benefit their health and the environment"...
National Cycle NetworkThe National Cycle Network is a network of cycle routes in the United Kingdom.The National Cycle Network was created by the charity Sustrans , and aided by a £42.5 million National Lottery grant. In 2005 it was used for over 230 million trips.Many routes hope to minimise contact with motor...
Route 81. This follows the
Birmingham Main Line CanalThe BCN Main Line, or Birmingham Canal Navigations Main Line describes the evolving route of the Birmingham Canal between Birmingham and Wolverhampton in England....
towpath from
SmethwickSmethwick is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands of England. It is situated on the edge of the city of Birmingham, within the historic boundaries of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire....
to Broad Street Basin, Wolverhampton where the route splits in two. The choice here is between riding the 21 locks section of the
Birmingham Main Line CanalThe BCN Main Line, or Birmingham Canal Navigations Main Line describes the evolving route of the Birmingham Canal between Birmingham and Wolverhampton in England....
to Aldersley Junction or taking the Cross-City route braid in order to visit the city centre, West Park or
Smestow Valley Leisure RideSmestow Valley Leisure Ride is an approximately long cycle path linking Aldersley Leisure Village in Aldersley, Wolverhampton following the route of the disused Wombourne Branchline to the disused Wombourne railway station. From Wombourne station, the route follows the Staffordshire and...
before returning to Aldersley Junction. NCN81 continues to Autherley Junction along the towpath of the
Staffordshire and Worcestershire CanalThe Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal is a narrow navigable canal in the English Midlands, passing through the counties of Staffordshire and Worcestershire....
and then along the east bank towpath of the
Shropshire Union CanalThe Shropshire Union Canal is a navigable canal in England; the Llangollen and Montgomery canals are the modern names of branches of the Shropshire Union system and lie partially in Wales....
as far as Pendeford Mill Lane before turning to Bilbrook in Staffordshire. The lanes of nearby South Staffordshire and east Shropshire provide ideal cycle touring conditions.
Music
The rock groups
SladeSlade are an English rock band from Wolverhampton, who rose to prominence during the glam rock era of the early 1970s. With 17 consecutive Top 20 hits and six number ones, the British Hit Singles & Albums names them as the most successful British group of the 1970s based on sales of singles...
,
SahotasSahotas were a U.K. based Bhangra/Rock/World music band. The band, started in Wolverhampton in the mid-1980s, had a line-up of five brothers. The band's music is very different from conventional Punjabi music. They have released music in both English and Punjabi...
,
CornershopCornershop are a British indie rock band formed in 1991 by Wolverhampton-born Tjinder Singh , his brother Avtar Singh , David Chambers and Ben Ayres , the first three having previously been members of Preston-based band General Havoc, who released one single in 1991...
,
The Mighty Lemon DropsThe Mighty Lemon Drops were an English rock group active from 1985 to 1992.-Biography:Originally called the Sherbet Monsters, the quartet first formed in the spring of 1985 in Wolverhampton, in The Black Country...
,
Ned's Atomic DustbinNed's Atomic Dustbin are an English rock band formed in Stourbridge in West Midlands in November 1987. The band took their name from an episode of The Goon Show. The band were unusual for using two bass players in their lineup: Alex Griffin played melody lines high up on one bass, and Mat Cheslin...
and
Babylon ZooBabylon Zoo were a British rock band of the mid-1990s from Wolverhampton, England, fronted by Jas Mann. They were best known for the song "Spaceman", which on its release on 21 January 1996, went straight to #1 on the UK Singles Chart, selling 418,000 copies in the first week of...
came from Wolverhampton, as do
soulSoul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
/
R&BRhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
singer
Beverley KnightBeverley Knight MBE is a British soul and R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer who released her debut album in 1995. Heavily influenced by soul greats such as Sam Cooke and Aretha Franklin, Knight has released six studio albums to date...
and
Drum and bassDrum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
guru
GoldieClifford Joseph Price, better known as Goldie is an English electronic music artist, disc jockey, visual artist and actor. He is well known for his innovations in the jungle and drum and bass music genres, having previously gained exposure for his work as a graffiti artist...
as well as
roots reggaeRoots reggae is a subgenre of reggae that deals with the everyday lives and aspirations of the artists concerned, including the spiritual side of Rastafari and with the honoring of God, called Jah by rastafarians. It also is identified with the life of the ghetto sufferer, and the rural poor...
maestro
Macka BMacka B is a British-born reggae artist, performer and activist with a career spanning thirty years in the United Kingdom and Jamaica. According to AllMusic.com “Macka B was one of Britain's most influential dancehall toasters.”...
. Musician
JameliaJamelia Niela Davis , best known mononymously as Jamelia, is an English singer-songwriter, model, entertainer, television presenter and actress. She is most famous for her use of a cappella and prolific work in the R&B genre...
, also lives in Wolverhampton with her mother and daughter.
Wolverhampton has a number of live music venues; the biggest is technically the football ground,
Molineux StadiumMolineux Stadium is a Premier League football stadium situated in Whitmore Reans, Wolverhampton, England. It has been the home ground of Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club since 1889, and has a long and illustrious history as the first 'new build' stadium in Football League history, one of the...
, which was used for a
Bon JoviBon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...
concert in 2003, but the biggest indoor venue is
Wolverhampton Civic HallWolverhampton Civic Hall is a music venue in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It has been one of the most important live music venues in the county for several decades. It is part of a complex also including Wulfrun Hall and the newer Little Civic...
, with a standing capacity of 3,000. Second to that is Wulfrun Hall (part of the same complex as the Civic Hall, which is owned and operated by the City Council) which has a standing capacity of just over 1,100. There are also a number of smaller venues with capacities between 100 and 250: the Little Civic and the Wolverhampton Varsity being the most long-standing of these. The 18th century church of St John's-in-the-Square is a popular venue for smaller scale classical concerts. The city is also home to Regent Records, a choral and organ music recording company.
The city's main choral groups include the City of Wolverhampton Choir, (a choral society founded as the Wolverhampton Civic Choir in 1947) and the Choir of
St. Peter's Collegiate ChurchSt. Peter's Collegiate Church is located on the highest and the oldest developed site in central Wolverhampton, England. For many centuries it was a chapel royal, and from 1480 a royal peculiar, independent of the Diocese of Lichfield and even the Province of Canterbury. The collegiate church was...
.
Arts and museums
The
Grand TheatreThe Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, commonly known as The Grand is a theatre located in Lichfield Street, Wolverhampton,UK, designed in 1894 by Architect Charles J. Phipps. It is a Grade II Listed Building with a seating capacity of 1200.-1894 - 1939:...
on Lichfield Street is Wolverhampton's largest theatre, opening on 10 December 1894. It was designed by C. J. Phipps and completed within six months. Included amongst the people to have appeared at the theatre are
Henry IrvingSir Henry Irving , born John Henry Brodribb, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility for season after season at the Lyceum Theatre, establishing himself and his company as...
,
Charlie ChaplinSir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
and
Sean ConnerySir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy...
. It was also used by politicians including
Winston ChurchillSir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
and
David Lloyd GeorgeDavid Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
. The theatre was closed between 1980 and 1982.
The Arena Theatre on Wulfruna Street, within the
University of WolverhamptonThe University of Wolverhampton is a British university located on four campuses across the West Midlands and Shropshire. The city campus is located in Wolverhampton city centre with a second campus at Compton Park, Wolverhampton; a third in Walsall and a fourth in Telford...
is the secondary theatre, seating 150. It hosts both professional and amateur performances.
CinemaA movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
is catered for by a multiplex
CineworldCineworld Group plc is a cinema chain operating in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Jersey. The chain consists of 78 cinemas; 76 of which are located in the UK and one each in Ireland and Jersey. It is the second-largest cinema operator in the UK with 801 screens, and the owner of...
located at Bentley Bridge,
WednesfieldWednesfield lies at , and is located to the northeast of Wolverhampton city centre on the northern fringe of the West Midlands conurbation...
, and a smaller cinema,
Light House Media CentreLight House Media Centre, often simply referred to as Light House, is a cinema, gallery and media hub for Wolverhampton and the surrounding area. Light House is located within the historic former Chubb Locks Factory in the city centre...
, housed in the former
Chubb BuildingsChubb Locks is a brand name of the Mul-T-Lock subsidiary of the Assa Abloy Group, which manufactures high security locking systems for residential, secure confinement and commercial applications.-History:...
on Fryer Street. Cineworld caters mainly for popular tastes, showing
HollywoodHollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...
films and other big-budget films as well as some
BollywoodBollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
films whilst Light House shows a range of older and subtitled films as well as some selected new releases. Light House has also played host to visual art shows, an
International Animation FestivalFLIP, is an animation festival primarily hosted by the Light House Media Centre in Wolverhampton, UK. It is one of two festivals hosted by Light House, the other of which is Deaffest. Official literature for the festival says that FLIP occurs annually at the beginning of November and attracts...
and incorporates a small café.
The City's Arts & Museums service, run by the council, covers three sites:
Wolverhampton Art GalleryWolverhampton Art Gallery is located in the City of Wolverhampton, in the West Midlands, United Kingdom. The building was funded and constructed by local contractor Philip Horsman , and built on land provided by the Council...
, home to England's biggest
Pop artPop art is an art movement that emerged in the mid 1950s in Britain and in the late 1950s in the United States. Pop art challenged tradition by asserting that an artist's use of the mass-produced visual commodities of popular culture is contiguous with the perspective of fine art...
collection after that held at the
Tate-Places:*Tate, Georgia, a town in the United States*Tate County, Mississippi, a county in the United States*Táté, the Hungarian name for Totoi village, Sântimbru Commune, Alba County, Romania*Tate, Filipino word for States...
;
Bantock HouseBantock House Museum and Park, is a museum of Edwardian life and local history, with of surrounding parkland in Wolverhampton, England. It is named after Alderman Baldwin and Kitty Bantock who once lived there. It is run by Wolverhampton City Council's Arts and Museums service.-History:The house...
, a fine historic house with Edwardian interior with a museum of Wolverhampton located within Bantock Park;
Bilston Craft GalleryBilston Craft Gallery is the largest dedicated craft venue in the West Midlands, located at Mount Pleasant, Bilston, near Bilston town centre.-Building:...
with exhibitions of contemporary crafts.
The
Black Country Living MuseumThe Black Country Living Museum is an open-air museum of rebuilt historic buildings, located in Dudley in the West Midlands of England. The museum occupies a urban heritage park in the shadow of Dudley Castle in the centre of the Black Country conurbation...
, situated in nearby
DudleyDudley is a large town in the West Midlands county of England. At the 2001 census , the Dudley Urban Sub Area had a population of 194,919, making it the 26th largest settlement in England, the second largest town in the United Kingdom behind Reading, and the largest settlement in the UK without...
, has a large collection of artefacts and buildings from across the
Black CountryThe Black Country is a loosely defined area of the English West Midlands conurbation, to the north and west of Birmingham, and to the south and east of Wolverhampton. During the industrial revolution in the 19th century this area had become one of the most intensely industrialised in the nation...
, including an extensive collection associated with the city.
Eagle Works Studios and Gallery situated in
Chapel AshChapel Ash is a small area in Wolverhampton surrounded by the City Centre, Whitmore Reans & Merridale.The area is most noted for being the home of Marston's, where the Park Brewery produces the well-known Banks's range of ales-History:...
, is a self run artists' group. It provides studio accommodation for eighteen visual artists, mostly painters. Its small gallery holds a regular programme of exhibitions to show and promote contemporary art in the city.
The
National TrustThe National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
owns two properties on the edge of the city that are open to the public:
Wightwick ManorWightwick Manor is a Victorian manor house located on Wightwick Bank, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England, and one of only a few surviving examples of a house built and furnished under the influence of the Arts and Crafts movement...
, which is a
VictorianThe Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
manor houseA manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
and one of only a few surviving examples of a house built and furnished under the influence of the
Arts and Crafts movementArts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
, and
Moseley Old HallMoseley Old Hall is a National Trust property located in Fordhouses, north of Wolverhampton in the United Kingdom. It is famous as one of the resting places of Charles II of England during his escape to France following defeat at the Battle of Worcester in 1651.-Background:The Hall was built in...
, which is famous as one of the resting places of
Charles II of EnglandCharles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
during his
escape to FranceThe Escape of Charles II from England in 1651 is a key episode in his life. Although it took only six weeks, it had a major effect on his attitudes for the rest of his life.-The fugitive king:...
following defeat at the
Battle of WorcesterThe Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 at Worcester, England and was the final battle of the English Civil War. Oliver Cromwell and the Parliamentarians defeated the Royalist, predominantly Scottish, forces of King Charles II...
in 1651.
English HeritageEnglish Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
owns
Boscobel HouseBoscobel House is a building in the parish of Boscobel in Shropshire, as is clear from all Ordnance Survey maps, although the boundary of the property is contiguous with the county's boundary with Staffordshire, and it has a Stafford post code. It is near the city of Wolverhampton...
, anther refuge of Charles II.
Nearby museums also include the Royal Air Force Museum, at RAF Cosford, the
Boulton Paul AssociationBoulton Paul Aircraft Ltd was a British aircraft manufacturer that was created in 1934, although its origins lay in 1914, and lasted until 1961...
at
PendefordPendeford is a suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is situated NNW of the city centre, adjacent to the border with Staffordshire, within the Oxley ward of Wolverhampton City Council.- Name and origins :...
and the RAF Fire Service Museum at
Wolverhampton AirportWolverhampton Halfpenny Green Airport , formerly Halfpenny Green Airport and Wolverhampton Business Airport, locally Bobbington Airport, is a small, airport situated near the village of Bobbington, South Staffordshire...
., whilst
Chillington HallChillington Hall is a Georgian country house near to Brewood, Staffordshire, four miles northwest of Wolverhampton, England. It is the residence of the Giffard family. The Grade I listed house was designed by Francis Smith in 1724 and John Soane in 1785...
, which boasts of grounds designed by
Capability BrownLancelot Brown , more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English landscape architect. He is remembered as "the last of the great English eighteenth-century artists to be accorded his due", and "England's greatest gardener". He designed over 170 parks, many of which still endure...
and
Himley HallHimley Hall is a country house situated in Staffordshire, England. It is situated in the south of the county near the villages of Wombourne and Kingswinford, and the town of Sedgley...
are nearby examples of houses open to the public.
Libraries
Located on the corner of Garrick Street and St George's Parade, Wolverhampton Central Library is a
Grade II listed building, designed by architect Henry T. Hare and opened in 1902. It was originally commissioned to commemorate
Queen Victoria'sVictoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
Diamond Jubilee using funds raised by the Mayor, Alderman S Craddock, and by a grant of £1,000 from
Andrew CarnegieAndrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...
. This new library improved public access to information and reading material, replacing its cramped predecessor in the old Garrick Street Police Station.
The terricota exterior has a tripartite theme of related, but distinct façades. The entrance façade is the architect's centrepiece and is decorated with a frieze under the triple window which carries the Royal Coat of Arms and the Wolverhampton Coat of Arms. The other two façades celebrate English literary giants;
ChaucerGeoffrey Chaucer , known as the Father of English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and was the first poet to have been buried in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey...
,
DrydenJohn Dryden was an influential English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden.Walter Scott called him "Glorious John." He was made Poet...
,
PopeAlexander Pope was an 18th-century English poet, best known for his satirical verse and for his translation of Homer. He is the third-most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, after Shakespeare and Tennyson...
,
ShelleyPercy Bysshe Shelley was one of the major English Romantic poets and is critically regarded as among the finest lyric poets in the English language. Shelley was famous for his association with John Keats and Lord Byron...
,
ByronGeorge Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, later George Gordon Noel, 6th Baron Byron, FRS , commonly known simply as Lord Byron, was a British poet and a leading figure in the Romantic movement...
and
SpenserEdmund Spenser was an English poet best known for The Faerie Queene, an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is recognised as one of the premier craftsmen of Modern English verse in its infancy, and one of the greatest poets in the English...
on one side and
MiltonJohn Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
and
ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
on the other. An extension for a newsroom and a students’ room was added in 1936 followed by a small brick and concrete extension at the rear in the 1970s.
Wolverhampton City Council also operate 14 branch libraries within the city.
Media
Wolverhampton is home to the
Express & StarThe Express & Star is an evening newspaper based in Wolverhampton, England, published Monday to Saturday in nine different editions covering the Black Country, Birmingham and the wider West Midlands area from Tamworth to Kidderminster. It as widely perceived as being moderately right-wing...
newspaper, which boasts of having the largest circulation of any provincial daily evening newspaper in the UK.
The city is also home to four radio stations,
WCR FM101.8 WCRFM - Wolverhampton City Radio, broadcasts 24/7 on the FM frequency of 101.8 under an Ofcom - Community Radio license, from the centre of Wolverhampton. It's a vibrant and informative station that provides the City with an alternative Public Broadcasting Service that compliments the other...
,
107.7 The Wolf107.7 The Wolf is a British Independent Local Radio station based in Wolverhampton that serves the city and its surrounding area. The studios and transmitter are at Mander House in the centre of Wolverhampton...
, Beacon Radio and
Classic Gold WABCClassic Gold WABC was a United Kingdom radio station, broadcasting to much of Wolverhampton and Shropshire from studios in Dunstable. Regional news, weather, events and community information, local advertising and a four-hour live weekday regional programme came from a studio centre in...
.
In December 2005, the BBC commissioned the poet Ian McMillan to write a poem about Wolverhampton, along with four other towns which "had a reputation they didn't deserve".
Education
The
University of WolverhamptonThe University of Wolverhampton is a British university located on four campuses across the West Midlands and Shropshire. The city campus is located in Wolverhampton city centre with a second campus at Compton Park, Wolverhampton; a third in Walsall and a fourth in Telford...
is the main provider of higher education in the city. The university currently has more than 23,000 students. The main university campus is in the city centre, with other campuses at
ComptonCompton is a suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is located to the west of Wolverhampton city centre on the A454, within the Tettenhall Wightwick ward.- History :...
, and in the nearby towns of
WalsallWalsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...
and
TelfordTelford is a large new town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, approximately east of Shrewsbury, and west of Birmingham...
. In 1835, the Wolverhampton Mechanics' Institute was founded, and its lineage can be traced via the Wolverhampton and Staffordshire Technical College (1935), to The Polytechnic, Wolverhampton (1969) to today's
University of WolverhamptonThe University of Wolverhampton is a British university located on four campuses across the West Midlands and Shropshire. The city campus is located in Wolverhampton city centre with a second campus at Compton Park, Wolverhampton; a third in Walsall and a fourth in Telford...
, given university status in 1992.
Wolverhampton Girls' High SchoolWolverhampton Girls' High School is a selective, single-sex school for girls at Wolverhampton in the West Midlands of England.-Overview:Wolverhampton Girls' High School, founded in 1911, educates girls from the age of 11 to 18. Its students are led by a headmistress along with a Board of Governors....
is a well known selective school which was has produced top of league table results within Wolverhampton. Notable old girls include the former English Women's Cricket Captain
Rachael Heyhoe-FlintRachael Heyhoe Flint, Baroness Heyhoe-Flint, OBE, DL is probably the best known female cricketer in England. She was a member of the English women's cricket team from 1960 to 1982. She was captain of England from 1966 to 1978, and was unbeaten in six Test series...
and
Baroness HaymanHelene Valerie Hayman, Baroness Hayman, PC was Lord Speaker of the House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. As a member of the Labour Party she was a Member of Parliament from 1974 to 1979, and became a Life Peer in 1996...
, first
Lord SpeakerThe Lord Speaker is the speaker of the House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The office is analogous to the Speaker of the House of Commons: the Lord Speaker is elected by the members of the House of Lords and is expected to be politically impartial.Until July 2006, the role of...
of the
House of LordsThe House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
.
Wolverhampton Grammar SchoolWolverhampton Grammar School is a co-educational independent school located in the city of Wolverhampton.Initially Wolverhampton Boys Grammar School, it was founded in 1512 by Sir Stephen Jenyns, a master of the ancient guild of Merchant Taylors, who was also Lord Mayor of London in the year of...
was founded in 1512, making it one of the oldest active schools in the UK. Old boys include
Mervyn KingAn ex-officio member of the Bank's interest-rate setting Monetary Policy Committee since its inception in 1997, Sir Mervyn is the only person to have taken part in every one of its monthly meetings to date. His voting style is often seen as "hawkish", a perspective that emphasises the dangers of...
, Governor of the
Bank of EnglandThe Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694, it is the second oldest central bank in the world...
since July 2003, and
Sir David WrightSir David John Wright GCMG LVO is a former British diplomat who served as British Ambassador to Japan 1996-1999.-Early life:David Wright was educated at Wolverhampton Grammar School, and at Peterhouse, University of Cambridge....
, former British Ambassador to Japan.
Wolverhampton, unlike a number of nearby areas such as
DudleyDudley is a large town in the West Midlands county of England. At the 2001 census , the Dudley Urban Sub Area had a population of 194,919, making it the 26th largest settlement in England, the second largest town in the United Kingdom behind Reading, and the largest settlement in the UK without...
and
South StaffordshireSouth Staffordshire is a local government district in Staffordshire, England. The district lies to the north and west of Wolverhampton and the West Midlands, bordering Shropshire to the west and Worcestershire to the south...
, has always had traditional age range schools; 5-7 infants, 7-11 juniors and 11-16/18 secondary schools. Some secondary schools have sixth form facilities for children aged 16+.
Other notably historic schools include The Royal Wolverhampton School (founded in 1850), St Peter's Collegiate School (founded in 1847) and
Tettenhall CollegeTettenhall College is a mixed independent school located in the Wolverhampton suburb of Tettenhall.-History:The College was founded in 1863 by a group of prominent local businessmen and industrialists, most of who were associated with the Queen Street Congregational Church. Tettenhall Towers was...
(1863), which educated the winner of Nobel Prize for Chemistry, Professor Sir
Arthur HardenSir Arthur Harden FRS was an English biochemist. He shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1929 with Hans Karl August Simon von Euler-Chelpin for their investigations into the fermentation of sugar and fermentative enzymes....
.
City of Wolverhampton CollegeCity of Wolverhampton College is a further education college located in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England.It was formed in September 1999 as the result of a merger of Wulfrun College in Wolverhampton and Bilston Community College in Bilston....
is the main
further educationFurther education is a term mainly used in connection with education in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is post-compulsory education , that is distinct from the education offered in universities...
college in the city.
Sport
Football
Wolverhampton is represented in the Premier League by
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...
"Wolves", as they are known, are one of the oldest English football clubs, and were one of the 12 founder members of the Football League. Their most successful period was the 1950s, where they won three Football League Championships (then the highest division) and two
FA CupThe Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
s, and were involved in the earliest European friendlies. They were hailed by the press as "The Unofficial World Champions" after one of their most famous victories, against
Budapest Honvéd FCBudapest Honvéd FC |football]] team. "Honved" means the Homeland Defense. Originally formed as Kispest AC, they became Kispest FC in 1926 before reverting to their original name in 1944. The team enjoyed a golden age during the 1950s when it was renamed Budapest Honvéd SE and became the Hungarian...
of Hungary. They were also the first English team to play in the Soviet Union. These victories instigated the birth of the European Cup competition which later evolved into the UEFA Champions' League (see
European Cup and Champions League historyThe history of the European Cup and Champions League is long and remarkable, with fifty years of competition finding winners and losers from all parts of the continent....
). The team also participated in the original
United Soccer AssociationThe United Soccer Association is a former professional soccer league featuring teams from the United States and Canada. The league survived only one season before merging with the National Professional Soccer League to form the North American Soccer League. All the teams in the league were imported...
(progenitor of the
NASLNorth American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...
) in the United States in 1967. The team was based in Los Angeles as the
Los Angeles WolvesLos Angeles Wolves are a former United States professional soccer team, owned by Jack Kent Cooke, that played for two seasons during the 1960s...
, and won the league's championship that year.
In total, they have won three Football League titles (prior to the top division becoming the Premier League), four FA Cups, have two
League CupThe Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
victories and many other minor honours, including reaching the
UEFA CupThe UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
Final in 1972, and appearances in the last eight of both the
UEFA European CupThe UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
, and the European
Cup Winners' CupThe UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a football club competition contested annually by the most recent winners of all European domestic cup competitions. The cup is one of the many inter-European club competitions that have been organised by UEFA. The first competition was held in the 1960–61 season—but...
, but spent just one season in the top division between 1984 and 2009. They are also the only club to have won five different league titles; they have championed all four tiers of the professional English league, as well as the long-defunct northern section of the Third Division.
The club has been represented by numerous high profile players of the years, including Billy Wright,
Bert WilliamsBert Frederick Williams MBE is a former English international football goalkeeper. Nicknamed The Cat, he spent the majority of his playing career at Wolverhampton Wanderers where he won the League Championship and FA Cup....
,
Johnny HancocksJohnny Hancocks was an English footballer, most associated with Wolverhampton Wanderers.-Career:A diminutive figure, standing just 5' 4" with size 3 boots, Hancocks played in the Wrekin Schools team before making his debut for hometown club Oakengates Town in the Birmingham League, aged just 15...
,
Dicky DorsettRichard "Dicky" Dorsett was an English footballer, who played as a striker. Dorsett was sometimes known as "the Brownhills Bomber" after his birthplace of Brownhills, West Midlands....
,
John RichardsJohn Peter Richards is a former English international footballer, most associated with Wolverhampton Wanderers.-Career:...
,
Geoff PalmerGeoff Palmer is a former professional footballer, who spent almost his entire career with .-Career:...
,
Emlyn HughesEmlyn Walter Hughes, OBE was an English footballer who captained both the England national team and the much-decorated Liverpool F.C. team of the 1970s.- From Blackpool to Liverpool :...
,
Wayne ClarkeWayne Clarke is a former professional football player from England. During his career he made nearly 450 appearances in the Football League, playing as a striker for several different clubs including Wolverhampton Wanderers, Birmingham City, Everton and Manchester City. He scored nearly 150 goals...
,
Steve BullStephen George "Steve" Bull, MBE, is an English former footballer who is best remembered for his 13-year spell at Wolverhampton Wanderers...
and academy products
Robbie KeaneRobert David "Robbie" Keane is an Irish association football player who plays as a striker for Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer and captains the Irish national football team....
,
Joleon LescottJoleon Patrick Lescott is an English footballer who currently plays for Manchester City. He plays as a centre-back, though he has played in various other positions across the defensive line, in particular left-back....
and
Wayne HennesseyWayne Robert Hennessey is a Welsh international footballer who plays for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers as a goalkeeper.-Early career:...
. Notable managers include
Stan CullisStanley Cullis was a professional footballer and manager, most notably for Wolverhampton Wanderers. During his term as manager between 1948 and 1964 Wolves became one of the strongest teams in the British game, winning the league title on three occasions, and playing a series of high-profile...
(who was once a player at the club),
Bill McGarryWilliam Harry "Bill" McGarry was an English international football player and manager.A right-half as a player, he joined Port Vale following the end of World War II, and spent the next six years with the club. He then moved on to Huddersfield Town in 1951, where he would spend the next ten years...
,
John BarnwellJohn Barnwell is an English former football player and manager. He was until recently the chief executive of the League Managers Association....
,
Tommy DochertyThomas Henderson "Tommy" Docherty , commonly known as "The Doc", is a Scottish former footballer and football manager.-Playing career:...
,
Graham TurnerGraham John Turner is an English former footballer who became a manager. He is currently manager of League Two club Shrewsbury Town. His son Mark was also a professional footballer....
, Graham Taylor, Dave Jones,
Glenn HoddleGlenn Hoddle is an English former footballer and manager who played as an attacking midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur, AS Monaco, Chelsea and Swindon Town and at international level for England....
and
Mick McCarthyMichael Joseph "Mick" McCarthy is an English-born former Irish international footballer who is currently the manager of Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers, where he has been in charge since July 2006....
. Taylor and Hoddle had both managed the
England national football teamThe England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
while McCarthy had managed the
Republic of IrelandThe Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which opened in May 2010....
before their respective arrivals at Wolves.
Several other Wolverhampton based clubs play in the West Midlands (Regional) League, notably
Wolverhampton Casuals F.C.Wolverhampton Casuals F.C. are a football club based in Wolverhampton, England. They were established in 1899. They have played in the West Midlands League since 1982, and in the 1989-90 season they reached the 1st round of the FA Vase. For the 2011-12 season, they are members of the West Midlands...
, AFC Wulfrunians,
Wednesfield F.C.Wednesfield F.C. are a football club based in Wednesfield, West Midlands, England. They were established in 1961. They have reached the 3rd round of the FA Vase twice in their history. For the 2011-12 season, they are members of the West Midlands League Premier Division.-History:The club was...
,
Goodrich F.C.Goodrich F.C. are a football club based in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. They joined the West Midlands League Division One North in 1997, having emerged from local works football...
, Wolverhampton Sporting Community F.C. and
Bilston Town F.C.Bilston Town Football Club is an English association football club based in Bilston, West Midlands. In the 2011–12 season they are playing in the West Midlands League Division One...
.
Athletics
Wolverhampton's Aldersley Leisure Village is also home to
Wolverhampton & Bilston Athletics ClubWolverhampton & Bilston Athletics Club was formed in 1967 and has its home ground at Aldersley Leisure Village formally Aldersley Stadium in Aldersley, Wolverhampton, England...
, which was formed in 1967 with a merger between Wolverhampton Harriers and Bilston Town Athletic Club. They have won the National League Division One for men from 1975 to 1982, and the Men's National Cup finals in 1976, 1977, 1979 and 1980. It also represented Britain in the European Clubs Cup from 1976 to 1983 with the best finishing position of third.
Olympic Medallists in athletics
Denise LewisDenise Lewis OBE is a retired British athlete who specialised in the heptathlon. She won the gold medal in the heptathlon at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.-2000 Olympics:...
,
Tessa SandersonTheresa Ione Sanderson CBE is a former British javelin thrower and heptathlete who competed in the javelin competition in every one of the six Olympics from 1976–1996 winning the Gold medal in 1984...
, Kathy Smallwood-Cook,
Garry CookGarry Cook is a former British athlete, who competed mainly in the 800 metres with a best time of 1:44.55.He competed for Great Britain in the 1984 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles, United States in the 4 x 400 metre relay where he won the Silver medal with his team mates Kriss Akabusi, Todd...
and
Sonia LannamanSonia May Lannaman is a British athlete who competed mainly in the 100 metres.She competed in her first Olympics in 1972 where she set a British junior record of 11.45 sec. In 1973 she became European junior champion winning gold in the 100 metres followed by a bronze in the 4 x 100 metres relay...
all lived within the city.
Cycling
Wolverhampton Wheelers is the city's oldest cycling club (formed in 1891), and was home to
Hugh PorterHugh Porter MBE is one of Britain's greatest former professional cyclists, winning four world titles in the individual pursuit as well as a Commonwealth Games gold medal in 1966...
who won four world championship pursuit medals; and
Percy StallardPercy Thornley Stallard was an English racing cyclist who reintroduced massed-start road racing on British roads in the 1940s....
who has been credited with bringing cycle road racing to Britain when he held the Llangollen to Wolverhampton race on June 7, 1942. Wolverhampton Wheelers make extensive use of the velodrome at Aldersley Stadium.
Wolverhampton has also hosted the
Tour of BritainThe Tour of Britain is a cycle race, conducted over several stages, in which participants race from place to place across parts of Great Britain....
, with a stage start in 2006, a stage finish in 2007 and a sprint finish in 2008.
It is also home to Wednesfield Aces cycle speedway who are based on Ashmore Park.
Horse and greyhound racing
Wolverhampton RacecourseWolverhampton Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. The track was the first to be floodlit in Britain and often holds meetings in the evening....
is located at Dunstall Park, just to the north of the city centre. This was one of the first all-weather
horse racingHorse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
courses in the UK and is Britain's only floodlit horse race track. There is also
greyhound racingGreyhound racing is the sport of racing greyhounds. The dogs chase a lure on a track until they arrive at the finish line. The one that arrives first is the winner....
at Monmore Green. West Park, a large park near the city centre, was converted from a racecourse.
A horse by the name of Wolverhampton was among the leading contenders for the
1849 Grand NationalThe 1849 Grand National Steeplechase was the eleventh official annual running of a handicap steeplechase horse race at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool on Wednesday, February 28. It attracted a field of twenty-four competitors for a prize valued at £825....
at
AintreeAintree is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside. It lies between Walton and Maghull on the A59 road, about north of Liverpool city centre, in North West England....
but did not complete the course.
Motor sports
Le Mans 24 HoursThe 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
winner
Richard AttwoodRichard James David "Dickie" Attwood is a British former motor racing driver. During his career he raced for the BRM, Lotus and Cooper Formula One teams. In his whole F1 career he achieved one podium and scored a total of 11 championship points...
is from the city.
Sunbeam built many early
Grand PrixGrand Prix motor racing has its roots in organised automobile racing that began in France as far back as 1894. It quickly evolved from a simple road race from one town to the next, to endurance tests for car and driver...
cars and was the only British make to win a Grand Prix in the first half of the 20th century. Sunbeam also built several holders of the
Land speed recordThe land speed record is the highest speed achieved by a wheeled vehicle on land. There is no single body for validation and regulation; in practice the Category C flying start regulations are used, officiated by regional or national organizations under the auspices of the Fédération...
, including the first vehicle to travel at over 200 miles per hour (322 km/h), the
Sunbeam 1000 hpThe Sunbeam 1000 HP Mystery, or "The Slug", is a land speed record-breaking car built by the Sunbeam car company of Wolverhampton that was powered by two aircraft engines. It was the first car to travel at over 200 mph. The car's last run was a demonstration circuit at Brooklands, running at...
.
Kieft CarsKieft Cars founded by Cyril Kieft was a British car company that built Formula Three racing cars and some road going sports cars in a factory in Derry St, Wolverhampton.Cyril Kieft was born in Swansea and spent his early working life in the steel industry...
built
Formula ThreeFormula Three, also called Formula 3 or F3, is a class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers...
cars in the early 1950s. Their best known driver was
Stirling MossSir Stirling Craufurd Moss, OBE FIE is a former racing driver from England...
.
AJSAJS was the name used for cars and motorcycles made by the Wolverhampton, England, company A. J. Stevens & Co. Ltd, from 1909 to 1931, by then holding 117 motorcycle world records, and after the firm was sold the name continued to be used by Matchless, Associated Motorcycles and Norton-Villiers on...
was heavily involved in motorcycle racing either side of World War II, which included winning the
1949 World ChampionshipThe 1949 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the inaugural F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix season. The season consisted of six Grand Prix races in five classes: 500cc, 350cc, 250cc, 125cc and Sidecars 600cc...
in the 500cc category.
Wolverhampton WolvesThe Wolverhampton Wolves are a British Speedway team based in Wolverhampton, England. They are sponsored by Parry's International Travel, and have signed a new deal with owner Dave Parry for the 2008 season onwards. The team is managed by Peter Adams and the promoter of the club is Chris Van...
, one of the leading
SpeedwayMotorcycle speedway, usually referred to as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. Speedway motorcycles use only one gear and have no brakes and racing takes place on a flat oval track usually...
clubs in the UK represents the city, participating in the
Elite LeagueThe Elite League is the top division of Speedway league competition in the United Kingdom and is governed by the Speedway Control Bureau , in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association . It is sponsored by Sky Sports...
at the Monmore Green stadium. Wolverhampton Speedway is one of the oldest speedway tracks in the world that is still in operation being first used, albeit briefly in 1928. The track re-opened in 1950 for a single meeting and in 1952 the Wasps competed in the Third Division on the National League. The track closed early in 1954 and did not re-open until 1961 when the Wolves were introduced to the Provincial League. The track has almost been an ever present ever since and currently operates in the British Elite League. Ole Olsen (in 1971 and 1975) and
Sam ErmolenkoGuy Allen 'Sudden Sam' Ermolenko is a former Speedway rider. In 1993 he won the Speedway World Championship in Pocking, Germany. He is the older brother of Charles 'Dukie' Ermolenko who also rode in the UK....
(in 1993) were riders for the club when they became
World Speedway ChampionsThe World Championship of Speedway is an international competition between the highest ranked motorcycle speedway riders of the world. Today, it is organised as a series of Speedway Grand Prix events, where points are awarded according to performance in the event and tallied up at the end of each...
.
Places of interest
St. Peter's Collegiate ChurchSt. Peter's Collegiate Church is located on the highest and the oldest developed site in central Wolverhampton, England. For many centuries it was a chapel royal, and from 1480 a royal peculiar, independent of the Diocese of Lichfield and even the Province of Canterbury. The collegiate church was...
is located at the highest point within the city centre, and is the leading church of the Parish of Central Wolverhampton. The Grade I
listed building, much of which dates from the 15th century, is of significant architectural and historical interest; and is the seat of the
Bishop of WolverhamptonThe Bishop of Wolverhampton is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands...
. The earliest part of the church dates from 1205. The former grounds of the church (known as St. Peter's Gardens) contain several artifacts: the Horsman Fountain, the Harris Memorial, a Saxon Pillar and Bargaining Stone. The Horsman Fountain dates from 1896, and commemorates Philip Horsman, a local businessman who founded Wolverhampton Art Gallery, and the Wolverhampton & Staffordshire Eye Infirmary; whilst the Harris Memorial commemorates a wireless operator in World War I who, whilst posted to an Italian ship, continued to send messages whilst under heavy fire until he was killed by shrapnel on 15 May 1917.
The church of St. John in the Square is located on the southern side of the city centre, and is a Grade II* listed building. It opened in 1760, although it was only given its own parish in 1847. It contains a
Renatus HarrisRenatus Harris was a master organ maker in England in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.During the period of the Commonwealth, in the mid seventeenth century, Puritans controlled the country and organ music was banned in churches. Many organ makers left England for the continent,...
organ, of which there is a local story that it was played by
HandelGeorge Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
during the first performance of
MessiahMessiah is an English-language oratorio composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel, with a scriptural text compiled by Charles Jennens from the King James Bible and the Book of Common Prayer. It was first performed in Dublin on 13 April 1742, and received its London premiere nearly a year later...
, prior to its installation in the church. The church was endowed by
Sir Samuel HellierThe Wodehouse is a country house near Wombourne, Staffordshire, notable as the seat of the Georgian landscape designer and musicologist Sir Samuel Hellier and, a century later, Colonel Thomas Bradney Shaw-Hellier, director of the Royal Military School of Music. For almost 200 years the family...
, guardian of the
Hellier StradivariusThe Hellier Stradivarius of circa 1679 is a violin made by Antonio Stradivari of Cremona, Italy. It derives its name from the Hellier family, who might well have bought it directly from the luthier himself....
and known to scholars of the organ.
Wightwick ManorWightwick Manor is a Victorian manor house located on Wightwick Bank, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England, and one of only a few surviving examples of a house built and furnished under the influence of the Arts and Crafts movement...
is a
VictorianThe Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
manor houseA manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
located on Wightwick Bank on the western side of the city and one of only a few surviving examples of a house built and furnished under the influence of the
Arts and Crafts movementArts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
. Wightwick Manor was built by Theodore Mander, of the
Mander familyThe Mander family has held for over 200 years a prominent position in the Midland counties of England, both in the family business and public life....
, who were successful 19th-century industrialists in the area, and his wife Flora, daughter of
Henry Nicholas PaintHenry Nicholas Paint was a Canadian politician, shipowner and merchant.-Career:Henry Paint was the son of Nicholas Paint, JP, by Mary Le Messurier, both of old Guernsey families which had been trading with Nova Scotia since at least the mid-18th century; a 'Paint Island', off Canso, is recorded in...
, member of Parliament in Canada. It was designed by
Edward OuldEdward Augustus Lyle Ould was an English architect.Ould was a son of the rector of Tattenhall, Cheshire. He became a pupil of the Chester architect John Douglas and in 1886 he joined in partnership with the Liverpool architect G. E. Grayson. His early work was influenced by Douglas,...
of
LiverpoolLiverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
in two phases; the first was completed in 1887 and the house was extended with the Great Parlour wing in 1893. It is a Grade I listed building. The nearby Old Malhouse is a Grade II listed building.
The
Molineux HotelThe Molineux Hotel in Wolverhampton is an 18th century former mansion house known as Molineux House, which later served as a hotel and currently, following restoration serves as a local authority facility...
is a former mansion house originally known as Molineux House, which later served as an hotel and is planned to be the home of the city's archive service in March 2009. It is a Grade II* listed building, and stands in the city centre. It was constructed in about 1720, with extensions throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. In 1860 the grounds were opened to the public as Wolverhampton's first public park, whilst several years later the park was leased out to Wolverhampton Wanderers FC, for the
Molineux StadiumMolineux Stadium is a Premier League football stadium situated in Whitmore Reans, Wolverhampton, England. It has been the home ground of Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club since 1889, and has a long and illustrious history as the first 'new build' stadium in Football League history, one of the...
. The hotel was closed in 1979, and restoration work started in 2005.
The statue of
Prince AlbertPrince Albert was the husband and consort of Queen Victoria.Prince Albert may also refer to:-Royalty:*Prince Albert Edward or Edward VII of the United Kingdom , son of Albert and Victoria...
that stands in Queen Square was erected in 1866, and is one of the most recognised landmarks within the city. It is colloqually known as "The Man on the Horse", and was unveiled by Queen Victoria, on what is reputed to be her first public engagement after the death of Prince Albert.
Famous residents
There are a number of notable people who are associated with Wolverhampton.
Political figures include
Enoch PowellJohn Enoch Powell, MBE was a British politician, classical scholar, poet, writer, and soldier. He served as a Conservative Party MP and Minister of Health . He attained most prominence in 1968, when he made the controversial Rivers of Blood speech in opposition to mass immigration from...
MP, Sir
Charles Pelham VilliersCharles Pelham Villiers was a British lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1835 to 1898, making him the longest-serving Member of Parliament .-Background and education:...
MP – who holds the record for the longest serving MP,
Helene Hayman, Baroness HaymanHelene Valerie Hayman, Baroness Hayman, PC was Lord Speaker of the House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. As a member of the Labour Party she was a Member of Parliament from 1974 to 1979, and became a Life Peer in 1996...
who was the first
Lord SpeakerThe Lord Speaker is the speaker of the House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The office is analogous to the Speaker of the House of Commons: the Lord Speaker is elected by the members of the House of Lords and is expected to be politically impartial.Until July 2006, the role of...
within the
House of LordsThe House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
, former Cabinet minister
Stephen ByersStephen John Byers is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for North Tyneside from 1997 to 2010; in the previous parliament, from 1992, he represented Wallsend...
,
David WrightSir David John Wright GCMG LVO is a former British diplomat who served as British Ambassador to Japan 1996-1999.-Early life:David Wright was educated at Wolverhampton Grammar School, and at Peterhouse, University of Cambridge....
, a former UK Ambassador to Japan and
Button GwinnettButton Gwinnett was an English-born American political leader who, as a representative of Georgia to the Continental Congress, was the second of the signatories on the United States Declaration of Independence...
, who was a signatory of the US
Declaration of IndependenceA declaration of independence is an assertion of the independence of an aspiring state or states. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another nation or failed nation, or are breakaway territories from within the larger state...
and briefly served as Governor of Georgia.
There are many sportspeople associated with the city, with footballers such as Billy Wright,
Steve BullStephen George "Steve" Bull, MBE, is an English former footballer who is best remembered for his 13-year spell at Wolverhampton Wanderers...
,
Bert WilliamsBert Frederick Williams MBE is a former English international football goalkeeper. Nicknamed The Cat, he spent the majority of his playing career at Wolverhampton Wanderers where he won the League Championship and FA Cup....
and Jimmy Mullen; along with
Percy StallardPercy Thornley Stallard was an English racing cyclist who reintroduced massed-start road racing on British roads in the 1940s....
and
Hugh PorterHugh Porter MBE is one of Britain's greatest former professional cyclists, winning four world titles in the individual pursuit as well as a Commonwealth Games gold medal in 1966...
within the world of cycling, the Olympic medallist swimmer Anita Lonsbrough, professional darts player
Wayne JonesWayne Alan Jones is an English darts player who plays in Professional Darts Corporation tournaments. He uses the nickname The Wanderer for his matches....
, racing driver and winner of the
24 hours of Le MansThe 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
Richard AttwoodRichard James David "Dickie" Attwood is a British former motor racing driver. During his career he raced for the BRM, Lotus and Cooper Formula One teams. In his whole F1 career he achieved one podium and scored a total of 11 championship points...
as well as athletes such as
Tessa SandersonTheresa Ione Sanderson CBE is a former British javelin thrower and heptathlete who competed in the javelin competition in every one of the six Olympics from 1976–1996 winning the Gold medal in 1984...
and
Denise LewisDenise Lewis OBE is a retired British athlete who specialised in the heptathlon. She won the gold medal in the heptathlon at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.-2000 Olympics:...
and
cricketerA cricketer is a person who plays the sport of cricket. Official and long-established cricket publications prefer the traditional word "cricketer" over the rarely used term "cricket player"....
Vikram SolankiVikram Singh Solanki is an Indian-born English cricketer, who plays county cricket for Worcestershire. In 2007, he became the 24th Worcestershire batsman to pass 10,000 career runs for the county. He also captained Worcestershire from 2005 to 2010, before resigning mid-season...
who grew up here and played for Wolverhampton Cricket Club before joining
WorcestershireWorcestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Worcestershire...
.
Entertainers include actors
Nigel BennettNigel Bennett is an English actor/director/writer who has been based in Canada since 1986. He is best known for playing the vampire patriarch Lucien LaCroix in the TV series Forever Knight, for which he won the Canadian Gemini Award for best supporting actor in a dramatic series.-Life and...
,
GoldieClifford Joseph Price, better known as Goldie is an English electronic music artist, disc jockey, visual artist and actor. He is well known for his innovations in the jungle and drum and bass music genres, having previously gained exposure for his work as a graffiti artist...
,
Frances BarberFrances Barber is an Olivier Award-nominated English actress with a long and distinguished stage career. She has also appeared in numerous television productions...
,
Meera SyalMeera Syal MBE is a British comedienne, writer, playwright, singer, journalist, producer and actress. She rose to prominence as one of the team that created Goodness Gracious Me and became one of the UK's best-known Indian personalities portraying Sanjeev's grandmother, Ummi, in The Kumars at No...
and
Eric IdleEric Idle is an English comedian, actor, author, singer, writer, and comedic composer. He was as a member of the British comedy group Monty Python, a member of the The Rutles on Saturday Night Live and author of the play, Spamalot....
; and musicians
Noddy HolderNeville John "Noddy" Holder MBE is an English musician and actor. He was the lead vocalist and guitarist with the rock band Slade....
,
Dave HillDave Hill is an English musician, who is the lead guitarist and backing vocalist in the English glam rock group, Slade. The music journalist, Stuart Maconie, commented "he usually wore a jumpsuit made of the foil that you baste your turkeys in and platforms of oil-rig-derrick height...
,
JameliaJamelia Niela Davis , best known mononymously as Jamelia, is an English singer-songwriter, model, entertainer, television presenter and actress. She is most famous for her use of a cappella and prolific work in the R&B genre...
,
Beverley KnightBeverley Knight MBE is a British soul and R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer who released her debut album in 1995. Heavily influenced by soul greats such as Sam Cooke and Aretha Franklin, Knight has released six studio albums to date...
,
Dave HollandDave Holland is an English jazz double bassist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has lived in the United States for 40 years....
,
Maggie TeyteDame Maggie Teyte DBE was an English operatic soprano and interpreter of French art song.-Early years:Margaret Tate was born in Wolverhampton, England, one of ten children of Jacob James Tate, a successful wine and spirit merchant and proprietor of public houses and later lodgings. Her parents...
,
Edward ElgarSir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet OM, GCVO was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos...
,
Mitch HarrisMitch Harris is an American guitarist, born in New York then moving to Las Vegas, currently living in Birmingham, England. He started his career in the Grindcore band Righteous Pigs. He did a side project with Mick Harris - then the drummer of grindcore band Napalm Death, called Defecation...
,
Robert PlantRobert Anthony Plant, CBE is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career...
, and Paul Raven; whilst television presenters
Suzi PerrySuzi Perry is an English television presenter, best known for covering MotoGP for the BBC for 13 years and The Gadget Show.-Early life:...
,
Mark RhodesMark Thomas Rhodes is an English singer and television presenter.-Career:...
, the late
Mark SpeightMark Warwick Fordham Speight was an English television presenter, best known as the host of children's art programme SMart. Speight grew up in Tettenhall, Wolverhampton, and left school at 16 to become a cartoonist...
and Liam Payne from the band
One DirectionOne Direction are a British-Irish boy band, consisting of members Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson. They finished third on the seventh series of The X Factor. Following The X Factor, the group signed a record contract with Syco Music.One Direction's debut single...
are also associated.
Within the area of commerce and industry, Sir
Alfred HickmanSir Alfred Hickman was an industrialist and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1885 and 1906....
(first Chairman of
TarmacTarmac is a company that is based in Wolverhampton in the United Kingdom and operates internationally. The company produces aggregates and road-surfacing materials, including tarmacadam, from which the company's name is derived...
), Sir Geoffrey Mander, John Marston (founder of the
SunbeamSunbeam was a British manufacturing marque that produced bicycles and motorcycles from 1912 to 1956. Originally independent, it was ultimately owned by BSA...
company),
John 'Iron Mad' WilkinsonJohn "Iron-Mad" Wilkinson was an English industrialist who pioneered the use and manufacture of cast iron and cast-iron goods in the Industrial Revolution.-Early life:...
(pioneer of
Cast IronCast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
) and
Mervyn KingAn ex-officio member of the Bank's interest-rate setting Monetary Policy Committee since its inception in 1997, Sir Mervyn is the only person to have taken part in every one of its monthly meetings to date. His voting style is often seen as "hawkish", a perspective that emphasises the dangers of...
Governor of the
Bank of EnglandThe Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694, it is the second oldest central bank in the world...
are amongst the most notable.
Sister cities
SuboticaSubotica is a city and municipality in northern Serbia, in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina...
,
SerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
Klagenfurt-Name:Carinthia's eminent linguists Primus Lessiak and Eberhard Kranzmayer assumed that the city's name, which literally translates as "ford of lament" or "ford of complaints", had something to do with the superstitious thought that fateful fairies or demons tend to live around treacherous waters...
,
AustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
VeniceVenice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
,
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
JalandharJalandhar is a city in Jalandhar District in the state of Punjab, India. It is located 144 km northwest of the state capital, Chandigarh...
,
IndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
BuffaloBuffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
,
New YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
External links