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Wolverhampton is an industrial, commercial and university
city and metropolitan
borough in the English West Midlands, traditionally part of the county of Staffordshire. In 2003 the city had a population of 256,000, making it
one of the largest cities in England.
The city was named after Lady
Wulfruna, who founded the city in 985. The name literally comes from Wulfruna's town on
the hill (heaneton meaning town on the hill). It is often abbreviated to "W'ton" or "Wolves". The motto of the city is "Out of
darkness, cometh light".
The United Kingdom government announced on December 18, 2000 that Wolverhampton would be granted city status, making it one of a few "Millennium Cities" [1]
.
Geography
Wolverhampton lies northwest of its larger, neighbouring city Birmingham,
and forms the second largest part of the West
Midlands conurbation. However, it is also near to Staffordshire and
Shropshire, making the countryside less than five miles away. It is part of the
traditional county of Staffordshire.
It is the 13th largest town or city in England, although its local authority boundaries are drawn much more tightly than most
other authorities, and includes no other towns of major size. Unlike most metropolitan authorities, Wolverhampton did not
increase its population in the major 1974 reorganisation of local government (which
included the creation of Metropolitan Counties), as it already met the target population size of 250,000 people. This means that
many other authority areas, whilst being traditionally much smaller, show up as 'larger' in most population size listings.
The traditional area associated with the city extends far outside its local authority boundaries, including areas of Walsall, Sandwell and Dudley metropolitan boroughs, plus areas of South Staffordshire district. In fact, were the 19th Century boundaries in effect today, Wolverhampton
would have a similar population to that of Manchester.
Districts within the city include Bilston, Wednesfield, Tettenhall, Bushbury, Heath Town, Compton, Blakenhall and Oxley. In
addition to this, areas within the traditional districts of Willenhall, Coseley and Sedgley are to be found within the city
boundaries.
History
A monastery existed in Wolverhampton in Saxon times (being consecrated in 994), this was founded by Lady Wulfruna. This became the site for
the new St. Peter's Church in 1425. A statue of Lady Wulfruna sculpted by Sir Charles
Wheeler can be seen on the stairs outside St. Peter's Church. By the 13th
century Wolverhampton had grown to become a thriving market town. The
city was famous for its part in the woolen trade, a fact that can be seen by the inclusion of a wollpack 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, Victoria Fold
and Townwell Fold).
From the 16th century onwards Wolverhampton became home to a number of
metal industries including lock and key making and
iron and brass working.
In the 19th century the area to the south-east of the city became known
as the Black Country because, for a short period during the Victorian era, the output of the coal
mines in the area was greater than that of the rest of the world combined. In Victorian times, Wolverhampton grew to be a
wealthy town mainly due to the huge amount of industry that occurred in the town due to the abundance of coal and iron deposits in the area. The remains of this wealth can be seen
in local houses such as Wightwick Manor and The Mount (both built for the Mander family) and Tettenhall Towers. Many other houses
of similar stature were built only to be demolished in the 1960s and 1970s. In addition, there was much immigration from Wales
and Ireland into the city during the 19th century, a process that has continued from
them, and continues today, with immigrants from the Carribean, South Asia, Africa and eastern Europe and their descendants
forming a valuable part of the city's life.
In 1866, a statue was erected in memory of Prince Albert, the unveiling of which
brought Queen Victoria to Wolverhampton.[2] The statue stands in Queen Square,
previously known as Market Square, and is referred to by many locals as simply "the Man on the Horse". The unveiling of the
statue was the first public appearance Queen Victoria had made since the funeral of her husband the Prince Consort. A 40ft 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 Sir John Morris.
The world's first automatic traffic lights could be seen in Princes
Square, Wolverhampton in 1927. The modern traffic lights have the traditional striped poles
to commemorate this fact.
The railways reached Wolverhampton in 1837, with the first station located at
"Wednesfield Heath", now Heath Town. This station was sadly demolished in 1965, but the
area exists as a nature reserve just off Powell Street. Wolverhampton High Level station (the current main rail station) opened
in 1852, but the original station was demolished in 1965 and then rebuilt. Wolverhampton Low Level station opened on the Great Western Railway in 1855. The Low Level station still exists, although it is currently disused, having closed to passengers in
1972, and completely in 1981. It is supposedly the
best preserved example of a large Victorian station in the UK. Wolverhampton St George's (in the city centre) is now the northern
terminus for the Midland Metro light rail system.
Wolverhampton was represented politically in Victorian times by the Liberal MP Charles Pelham
Villiers, a noted free trade supporter, who was also the longest serving MP
in parliamentary history. Lord Wolverhampton, Henry Hartley
Fowler was MP for Wolverhampton at the turn of the century. He was followed in more recent times by Conservative mavericks Enoch Powell and Nicholas Budgen.
Music and arts
The rock group Slade and the one
hit wonder Babylon Zoo came from Wolverhampton, as do soul/ R&B singer
Beverley Knight and
Drum n Bass guru Goldie. Wolverhampton has a number of live music venues: the biggest is
technically the football ground, the Molineux stadium, but the biggest indoor venue is the Wolverhampton Civic Hall, with a standing capacity of
3,000. Second to that is the Wulfrun
Hall which has a standing capacity of just over 1,100 and is part of the same complex as the Civic Hall; both are owned and
run by the city council. There are also a number of smaller venues with capacities between 100 and 250: the Little Civic and the Wolverhampton Varsity being the most longstanding of these. The
city is also home to Regent Records, a choral and organ music recording
company.
The Grand Theatre and the
Arena Theatre are located in
the city centre, with a multiplex Cineworld cinema located at Bentley Bridge, Wednesfield, and a smaller cinema, The Lighthouse, housed in the old
Chubb Buildings in the city centre. While Cineworld caters mainly for popular tastes, showing Hollywood films and other big-budget films as well as some Bollywood films, The Lighthouse shows a range of older and foreign language films as well as some new releases.
The Lighthouse has also played host to art shows and incorporates a café and bar. For art, there is also the Wolverhampton Art
Gallery, run by the council, which now houses Englands biggest Pop Art
collection, and Eagleworks
Studio in Chapel Ash, run by a small artist group, which has periodic exhibitions and group shows.
Sport
Wolverhampton was represented in the football Premier League by Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. during the 2003-04 season. However their poor form has seen them relegated to the Coca-Cola Football Championship (previously known
as Division 1) for 2004-05.
"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 3 League Championships and 2 FA
Cups, 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 Honved of Hungary. They were also the first English team to play
in the Soviet Union. In total, they have won three League Championships,
four FA Cups, have two League Cup victories and many other minor honours,
including reaching the UEFA Cup Final in 1972. They are also the only club to have won five different league titles (Division 1, Division 2, Division 3,
Division 4 and Division 3 (North)).
Wolverhampton is also home to Wolverhampton & Bilston Athletic Club and Wolverhampton Wolves, one of the leading Speedway
clubs in the UK.
Wolverhampton Racecourse is located at Dunstall Park, just to the north of the city centre. This was one of the first
all-weather horse racing courses in the UK. There is also greyhound racing at Monmore Green. West Park, a large park near the centre, was
converted from a racecourse.
People
The following people were born in Wolverhampton (source: The Book of British Birthplaces, A.J. & Marilyn Mullay,
2002):
- Frances Barber
- Sir William
Maddock Bayliss
- Alfred Noyes
- Tessa Sanderson - Gold
medallist, javelin, 1984 Olympic Games
- Billy Wright - the Northern Irish
"loyalist" terrorist leader (not the Wolves footballer of the same name!)
- Sir Charles Wheeler -
sculptor and former president of the Royal Academy
- Sir Jack Hayward, OBE - Son of Wolverhampton factory owners. Self made
millionaire. Great benefactor of many charities. Fighter pilot in the Second World War.
- Meera Syal - Actress and comedian
- David Wright - Former UK Ambassador to Japan
- Rachael
Heyhoe-Flint - Captain of the England Women's World Cup for Cricket team
1973.
- Hugh Porter - Olympic cyclist, broadcaster and media personality.
- Jonathan Wild - Self-penned
Chief Thieftaker General of Great Britain and Ireland
- Sir Charles Pelham Villiers - Member of Parliament for sixty three years, Charles Pelham Villiers
holds the record for being the longest serving MP in Parliamentary history. A statue of him stands in West Park in
Wolverhampton.
External links
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