119-533: Monmore Green is an area of Wolverhampton , West Midlands , England . It is situated about 1 mile (1.6 km) to the south-east of the city centre, in the East Park ward . It is where Monmore Green Stadium is situated, which is home to the Wolverhampton Wolves speedway team and is also a venue for greyhound racing With Racing Manager Tony Williamson Managing the racing operation. The powerhouse of
238-542: A blue plaque was erected in memory of British immigrant rights activist Paulette Wilson , a member of the Windrush generation . The plaque was launched with campaigners including Patrick Vernon and Claire Darke at the Wolverhampton Heritage Centre. The Centre is a cornerstone of the area's local Caribbean community and was formerly the constituency office of Enoch Powell where his Rivers of Blood speech
357-411: A charter of 993, he stated that Æthelwold's death had deprived the country of one "whose industry and pastoral care administered not only to my interest but also to that of all inhabitants of the country." Ælfthryth enjoyed renewed status in the 990s, when she brought up his heirs and her brother Ordulf became one of Æthelred's leading advisers. She died between 1000 and 1002. Despite conflicts with
476-612: A market town specialising in the wool trade. In the Industrial Revolution , it became a major centre for coal mining, steel production, lock making, and automotive manufacturing. The economy of the city is still based on engineering, including a large aerospace industry, as well as the service sector . The city is named after Wulfrun , who founded the town in 985, from the Anglo-Saxon Wulfrūnehēantūn ("Wulfrūn's high or principal enclosure or farm"). Before
595-426: A metropolitan borough , transferring from Staffordshire into the newly formed West Midlands county. Wolverhampton was granted city status on 31 January 2001 – an honour that had been unsuccessfully applied for in 1953, 1966, 1977, 1985 and 1992 – making it one of three "Millennium Cities". Wolverhampton also made an unsuccessful application for a Lord Mayor in 2002. Many of the city centre's buildings date from
714-522: A municipal borough on 15 March 1848 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 before becoming a county borough in 1889. It was represented politically in Victorian times by Charles Pelham Villiers , a Liberal MP and 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
833-510: A Norwegian prince and already a baptised Christian, was confirmed as Christian in a ceremony at Andover ; King Æthelred stood as his sponsor. After receiving gifts, Olaf promised "that he would never come back to England in hostility." Olaf then left England for Norway and never returned, though "other component parts of the Viking force appear to have decided to stay in England, for it is apparent from
952-577: A branch of Safeway which Morrisons were forced to sell off as part of the acquisition of the supermarket chain, closed at the end of trading on 31 December 2020. The store was sold to Tesco which opened in June 2021. Aldi have two stores close to the city centre: one just off the A4123 Birmingham Road and a newer branch close to the former Wolverhampton Low Level railway station in Sun Street. In 2021,
1071-607: A brief period the Wolverhampton trolleybus system 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 lights could be seen in Princes Square in 1927. The modern traffic lights at this location have the traditional striped poles to commemorate this fact. Princes Square
1190-449: A century later, that Queen Ælfthryth had plotted her stepson's death. No one was punished for a part in the crime, and Æthelred, who was crowned a month after the murder, began to reign in an atmosphere of suspicion which destroyed the prestige of the crown. It was never fully restored in his lifetime. Nevertheless, at first, the outlook of the new king's officers and counsellors seems in no way to have been bleak. According to one chronicler,
1309-446: A city or a wapentake. And each of them, when they first choose to become a witness, shall give an oath that he will never, neither for wealth nor love nor fear, deny any of those things which he will be a witness to, and will not, in his capacity as a witness, make known any thing except that which he saw and heard. And let there be either two or three of these sworn witnesses at every sale of goods. The "legend" of an Anglo-Saxon origin to
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#17330852874871428-498: A gracious ( hold ) lord to them, and reform all the things which they hated; and all the things which had been said and done against him should be forgiven on condition that they all unanimously turned to him ( to him gecyrdon ) without treachery. And complete friendship was then established with oath and pledge ( mid worde and mid wædde ) on both sides, and they pronounced every Danish king an exile from England forever. Æthelred then launched an expedition against Cnut and his allies. Only
1547-450: A large stained glass rotunda in its foyer. It is among the few canal street factories in the "Black Country" that has been preserved. Wolverhampton's biggest public art display took place between July and September 2017; Wolves in Wolves saw the installation of 30 wolf sculptures in the city centre and West Park, with the sculptures auctioned off to raise money for charity. Ethelred
1666-622: A member of the Mander family , was Liberal MP for Wolverhampton East from 1929 to 1945, distinguished for his stance against appeasement and as a supporter of the League of Nations . He was known as "the last of the Midland radicals". More recent members have included the Conservative mavericks Enoch Powell and Nicholas Budgen . Powell was a member of Edward Heath 's Tory shadow cabinet from 1964, until he
1785-502: A range of topics. Notably, one of the members of his council (known as the Witan ) was Wulfstan II, Archbishop of York , a well-known homilist . The three latest codes from Æthelred's reign seemed to have been drafted by Wulfstan. These codes are extensively concerned with ecclesiastical affairs. They also exhibit the characteristics of Wulfstan's highly rhetorical style. Wulfstan went on to draft codes for King Cnut, and recycled there many of
1904-507: A reversal of this policy, with aristocrats recovering their lost properties or seizing new ones. This was opposed by Dunstan, but according to Cyril Hart, "The presence of supporters of church reform on both sides indicates that the conflict between them depended as much on issues of land ownership and local power as on ecclesiastical legitimacy. Adherents of both Edward and Æthelred can be seen appropriating, or recovering, monastic lands." Nevertheless, favour for Edward must have been strong among
2023-512: A truce for £24,000. Æthelred's frequent payments of immense Danegelds are often held up as exemplary of the incompetency of his government and his own short-sightedness. However, Keynes points out that such payments had been practice for at least a century, and had been adopted by Alfred the Great , Charles the Bald and many others. Indeed, in some cases it "may have seemed the best available way of protecting
2142-557: A twice Master of the Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors , who was born in the city, founded Wolverhampton Grammar School , one of the oldest active schools in Britain. From the 16th century onwards, Wolverhampton became home to a number of metal industries including lock and key making and iron and brass working. Wolverhampton suffered two Great Fires: the first in April 1590, and
2261-517: A wish to avenge her was a principal motive for Sweyn's invasion of western England the following year. By 1004, Sweyn was in East Anglia , where he sacked Norwich . In this year, a nobleman of East Anglia, Ulfcytel Snillingr met Sweyn in force, and made an impression on the until-then rampant Danish expedition. Though Ulfcytel was eventually defeated, outside Thetford , he caused the Danes heavy losses and
2380-455: A young man given to frequent violent outbursts – probably would have naturally succeeded to the throne of England despite his young age, had he not "offended many important persons by his intolerable violence of speech and behaviour." In any case, a number of English nobles took to opposing Edward's succession and to defending Æthelred's claim to the throne; Æthelred was, after all, the son of Edgar's last, living wife, and no rumour of illegitimacy
2499-510: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Wolverhampton Wolverhampton ( / ˌ w ʊ l v ər ˈ h æ m p t ə n / WUUL -vər- HAMP -tən ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands , England, 13 miles (21 km) northwest of Birmingham . The population in 2021 was 263,700. Historically in Staffordshire , the city grew as
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#17330852874872618-405: Is a large settlement of fifty households. In 1179, there is mention of a market held in the town, and in 1204 it had come to the attention of King John 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 III . It is held that in the 14th and 15th centuries that Wolverhampton
2737-463: Is certainly not as unflattering as it once was: "Æthelred's misfortune as a ruler was owed not so much to any supposed defects of his imagined character, as to a combination of circumstances which anyone would have found difficult to control." Æthelred has been credited with the formation of a local investigative body made up of twelve thegns who were charged with publishing the names of any notorious or wicked men in their respective districts. Because
2856-433: Is commonly translated into present-day English as "The Unready" (less commonly but more accurately "The Redeless"). The Anglo-Saxon noun unræd means "evil counsel", "bad plan", or "folly". It was most often used in reference to decisions and deeds, but once in reference to the ill-advised disobedience of Adam and Eve . The element ræd in unræd is the same element in Æthelred's name that means 'counsel' (compare
2975-550: Is given by William of Malmesbury (lived c. 1080 – 1143), who reports that Æthelred had defecated in the baptismal font as a child, which led St Dunstan to prophesy that the English monarchy would be overthrown during his reign. This story is, however, a fabrication and a similar story is told of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine Copronymus (the epithet means "dung-named"), another medieval monarch who
3094-403: Is known to have plagued Æthelred's birth, as it might have his elder brother's. Both boys, Æthelred certainly, were too young to have played any significant part in the political manoeuvring which followed Edgar's death. It was the brothers' supporters, and not the brothers themselves, who were responsible for the turmoil which accompanied the choice of a successor to the throne. Æthelred's cause
3213-416: Is my wish that each person be in surety , both within settled areas and without. And "witnessing" shall be established in each city and each hundred . To each city let there be 36 chosen for witnessing; to small towns and to each hundred let there be 12, unless they desire more. And everybody shall purchase and sell their goods in the presence of a witness, whether he is buying or selling something, whether in
3332-413: Is recorded as having taken place to the south-west, though here a famous battle was fought between the invaders and the thegns of Devon. Stenton notes that, though this series of isolated raids had no lasting effect on England itself, "their chief historical importance is that they brought England for the first time into diplomatic contact with Normandy ." Danish attacks started becoming more serious in
3451-447: Is seen in medieval records, e.g. in 1381. The Oxford English Dictionary includes the demonym Wulfrunian , defined as "An inhabitant of Wolverhampton", its earliest example of use being from 1959. A local tradition states that King Wulfhere of Mercia founded an abbey of St Mary at Wolverhampton in 659. Wolverhampton is recorded as being the site of a decisive battle between the unified Mercian Angles and West Saxons against
3570-464: Is thought that Olaf left to concentrate on raiding western Europe . In the same year, Cnut returned to find a complex and volatile situation unfolding in England. Æthelred's son, Edmund Ironside , had revolted against his father and established himself in the North, which was angry at Cnut and Æthelred for the ravaging of Lindsey and was prepared to support Edmund in any uprising against both of them. Over
3689-741: The Angevin practice of conducting inquests using bodies of sworn, private witnesses. Wormald has gone as far as to present evidence suggesting that the English practice outlined in Æthelred's Wantage Code is at least as old as, if not older than, 975, and ultimately traces it back to a Carolingian model (something Brunner had done). However, no scholarly consensus has yet been reached. The twelfth century English chronicler, John of Worcester , describes Æthelred as "elegant in his manners, handsome in visage, glorious in appearance". No contemporary descriptions of Æthelred's appearance survive. The thirteenth-century Icelandic text, Gunnlaugs saga Ormstungu , preserves
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3808-644: The Great Western Railway in 1854. In the 19th century, the city saw much immigration from Wales and Ireland , the latter following the Great Famine . In 1866, a statue was erected in memory of Prince Albert the Prince Consort , the unveiling of which brought Queen Victoria back to Wolverhampton. The unveiling of the statue was the first public appearance Queen Victoria made after the funeral of her husband. A 40-foot-tall (12 m) archway made of coal
3927-568: The Gunpowder Plotters , Robert Wintour and Stephen Littleton , who had fled to the Midlands. The pair played no part in the original plot nevertheless suffered a traitor's death of being hanged, drawn and quartered on butcher's blocks set up in the square a few days before the execution of Guy Fawkes and several other plotters in London. There is also evidence that Wolverhampton may have been
4046-562: The Norman Conquest , the area's name appears only as variants of Heantune or Hamtun ; the prefix Wulfrun or similar appearing in 1070 and thereafter. Alternatively, the city may have earned its original name from Wulfereēantūn (" Wulfhere's high or principal enclosure or farm") after the Mercian King, who according to tradition established an abbey in 659, though no evidence of an abbey has been found. The variation Wolveren Hampton
4165-610: The World War I . New estates at Parkfields (near the border with Coseley ) and Birches Barn (near Bantock Park in the west of Wolverhampton) gave the city some 550 new council houses by 1923, although this was a fraction of the number of new council houses required. The first large council housing development in Wolverhampton was the Low Hill estate to the north-east of the city, which consisted of more than 2,000 new council houses by 1927 and
4284-462: The cognate in the German word Rat and Dutch raad ). Thus Æþelræd Unræd is an oxymoron : "Noble counsel, No counsel". The nickname has also been translated as "ill-advised", "ill-prepared", thus "Æthelred the ill-advised". Because the nickname was first recorded in the 1180s, more than 150 years after Æthelred's death, it is doubtful that it carries any implications as to the reputation of
4403-555: The jury was first challenged seriously by Heinrich Brunner in 1872, who claimed that evidence of the jury was only seen for the first time during the reign of Henry II , some 200 years after the end of the Anglo-Saxon period, and that the practice had originated with the Franks, who in turn had influenced the Normans, who thence introduced it to England. Since Brunner's thesis, the origin of
4522-694: The 1950s and 1960s, mostly settling in the Blakenhall , All Saints , Whitmore Reans and Heath Town areas. Wolverhampton is home to a large proportion of the Pakistani and the Sikh community, who settled there during the period (1935–1975) from the Indian state of Punjab . Today, the Sikh community in Wolverhampton is roughly 9.1% of the city's population. In 1974, as a result of local government reorganisation, Wolverhampton became
4641-510: The 1960s and 1970s. Wolverhampton gained its first parliamentary representation as part of the Reform Act 1832 , when it was one of 22 large towns that were allocated two members of parliament. A local mob attacking electors who voted or intended to vote for the Tory candidate led to the 1835 Wolverhampton riot , with dragoons being called in to end the intimidation. Wolverhampton was incorporated as
4760-458: The 20th century, several older parts of the town were redeveloped for new council housing during the 1960s and early 1970s. The most notable example is the Heath Town area, where almost all of the 19th-century buildings were demolished during the 1960s and replaced by four tower blocks and several blocks of maisonettes. However, the state housing at Heath Town quickly became unpopular and by the 1980s
4879-490: The British Prime Minister David Lloyd George announced a General Election. He 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 Election . Mass council housing development in Wolverhampton, to rehouse families from slum housing, began after the end of
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4998-668: The Danes throughout his reign, Æthelred's reign of England saw expansion in England's population, trade and wealth. England had experienced a period of peace after the reconquest of the Danelaw in the mid-10th century by King Edgar , Æthelred's father. However, beginning in 980, when Æthelred could not have been more than 14 years old, small companies of Danish adventurers carried out a series of coastline raids against England. Hampshire , Thanet and Cheshire were attacked in 980, Devon and Cornwall in 981, and Dorset in 982. A period of six years then passed before, in 988, another coastal attack
5117-522: The English and Norman courts, and word of their enmity eventually reached Pope John XV . The pope was disposed to dissolve their hostility towards each other, and took steps to engineer a peace between England and Normandy , which was ratified in Rouen in 991. In August 991, a sizeable Danish fleet began a sustained campaign in the south-east of England. It arrived off Folkestone , in Kent , and made its way around
5236-459: The English had refused in this latest wave of attacks to acquiesce to the Danish demands for gafol or tribute, which would come to be known as Danegeld , 'Dane-payment'. This sudden relief from attack Æthelred used to gather his thoughts, resources, and armies: the fleet's departure in 1000 "allowed Æthelred to carry out a devastation of Strathclyde , the motive for which is part of the lost history of
5355-407: The English jury has been much disputed. Throughout the 20th century, legal historians disagreed about whether the practice was English in origin, or was introduced, directly or indirectly, from either Scandinavia or Francia . Recently, the legal historians Patrick Wormald and Michael Macnair have reasserted arguments in favour of finding in practices current during the Anglo-Saxon period traces of
5474-401: The English ranks were broken. What gives enduring interest to the battle is the superb courage with which a group of Byrhtnoth's thegns, knowing that the fight was lost, deliberately gave themselves to death in order that they might avenge their lord." In the aftermath of Maldon , it was decided that the English should grant the tribute to the Danes that they desired, and so a gafol of £10,000
5593-463: The Horse". The Stafford Street drill hall was completed in 1890. Wolverhampton had a prolific bicycle industry from 1868 to 1975, during which time a total of more than 200 bicycle manufacturing companies existed, none remaining today. These manufacturers included Viking, Marston, Sunbeam, Star, Wulfruna and Rudge. The last volume manufacturers of bicycles left Wolverhampton during the 1960s and 1970s –
5712-685: The House of Lords as Lord Bilston. After the end of World War II in 1945, the council erected 400 prefabricated bungalows across Wolverhampton, and built its first permanent postwar houses at the Underhill Estate near Bushbury in the late 1940s. The 1950s saw many new houses and flats built across Wolverhampton as the rehousing programme from the slums continued, as well as the local council agreeing deals with neighbouring authorities Wednesfield Urban District and Seisdon Rural District which saw families relocated to new estates in those areas. The 1960s saw
5831-525: The Unready Æthelred II ( Old English : Æþelræd , pronounced [ˈæðelræːd] ; Old Norse : Aðalráðr ; c. 966 – 23 April 1016), known as Æthelred the Unready , was King of the English from 978 to 1013 and again from 1014 until his death in 1016. His epithet comes from the Old English word unræd meaning "poorly advised"; it is a pun on his name, which means "well advised". Æthelred
5950-470: The Urban Districts of Wednesfield and Tettenhall and parts of Willenhall , Sedgley and Coseley , almost a third of Wolverhampton's population lived in council housing, but since that date social housing has been built on a minimal scale in the area, and some of the 1919–1975 developments have since been demolished. As well as the many new council estates which sprang up around Wolverhampton during
6069-427: 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 prominent varnish and paint manufacturers, the Mander family ) as well as Tettenhall Towers. All three are located in the western fringe of Wolverhampton, in the areas known as Wightwick and Tettenhall. Many other houses of similar stature were demolished in
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#17330852874876188-594: The area was plagued with crime and unemployment. The first regeneration projects on the estate began during the 1990s, and in 2017 some of the maisonette blocks were demolished. A similar redevelopment took place around the same time in Blakenhall, where new shops and five tower blocks were built in a 1960s redevelopment area. However, all of these buildings were demolished between 2002 and 2011 and have since been replaced with new private and social housing. Large numbers of black and Asian immigrants settled in Wolverhampton from
6307-427: The causeway. But three of Byrhtnoth's retainers held it against them, and at last they asked to be allowed to cross unhindered and fight on equal terms on the mainland. With what even those who admired him most called 'over-courage', Byrhtnoth agreed to this; the pirates rushed through the falling tide, and battle was joined. Its issue was decided by Byrhtnoth's fall. Many even of his own men immediately took to flight and
6426-584: The century. The railways reached Wolverhampton in 1837, with the first station located at Wednesfield Heath , now Heath Town, on the Grand Junction Railway . This station was demolished in 1965, but the area exists as a nature reserve just off Powell Street. Wolverhampton railway works was established in 1849 for the Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway and became the Northern Division workshop of
6545-532: The city centre) is now the northern terminus for the West Midlands Metro light rail system. An extension to the railway station opened in 2023, the opening being delayed until the new railway station was completed. Wolverhampton was one of the few towns to operate surface contact trams and the only town to use the Lorain Surface Contact System. Trolleybuses appeared in 1923, and in 1930 for
6664-623: The city. The site is now home to a relocated outdoor market. Following the closure of the Mander Centre branch of Tesco and relocation of Sainsbury's , the only remaining supermarket in the central shopping area was Iceland . In September 2023 a Tesco Express convenience store opened in Dudley Street replacing a branch of Clinton Cards. Outside the Ring Road were major branches of Sainsbury's , Asda and Waitrose . The Waitrose store, originally
6783-465: The coronation of Æthelred took place with much rejoicing by the councillors of the English people. Simon Keynes notes that " Byrhtferth of Ramsey states similarly that when Æthelred was consecrated king, by Archbishop Dunstan and Archbishop Oswald , "there was great joy at his consecration", and describes the king in this connection as "a young man in respect of years, elegant in his manners, with an attractive face and handsome appearance". Æthelred
6902-710: The country beyond the Thames . However, Edmund died on 30 November, and Cnut became king of the whole country. Æthelred was buried in Old St Paul's Cathedral , London. The tomb and his monument in the quire at Old St Paul's Cathedral were destroyed along with the cathedral in the Great Fire of London in 1666. A modern monument in the crypt lists his among the important graves lost. Æthelred's government produced extensive legislation, which he "ruthlessly enforced". Records of at least six legal codes survive from his reign, covering
7021-755: The country, forcing Æthelred into exile in Normandy . But the situation changed suddenly when Sweyn died on 3 February 1014. The crews of the Danish ships in the Trent that had supported Sweyn immediately swore their allegiance to Sweyn's son Cnut the Great , but leading English noblemen sent a deputation to Æthelred to negotiate his restoration to the throne. He was required to declare his loyalty to them, to bring in reforms regarding everything that they disliked and to forgive all that had been said and done against him in his previous reign. The terms of this agreement are of great constitutional interest in early English history as they are
7140-541: The culprits is in fact one of the most important sources for the history of the period, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , which, as it reports events with a retrospect of 15 years, cannot help but interpret events with the eventual English defeat a foregone conclusion. Yet, as virtually no strictly contemporary narrative account of the events of Æthelred's reign exists, historians are forced to rely on what evidence there is. Keynes and others thus draw attention to some of
7259-501: The doomed but heroic attempt of Byrhtnoth to defend the coast of Essex against overwhelming odds. This was the first of a series of crushing defeats felt by the English: beaten first by Danish raiders, and later by organised Danish armies. Stenton summarises the events of the poem: For access to the mainland they (the Danes) depended on a causeway , flooded at high tide, which led from Northey to
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#17330852874877378-417: The early 20th century and before, the oldest buildings being St Peter's Church (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
7497-494: The early 990s, with highly devastating assaults in 1006–1007 and 1009–1012. Tribute payments by Æthelred did not successfully temper the Danish attacks. Æthelred's forces were primarily composed of infantry, with substantial numbers of foreign mercenaries. He did not have substantial numbers of trained cavalry forces. During this period, the Normans offered shelter to Danes returning from raids on England. This led to tension between
7616-554: The early 990s. Following the Battle of Maldon in 991, Æthelred paid tribute, or Danegeld , to the Danish king . In 1002, Æthelred ordered what became known as the St Brice's Day massacre of Danish settlers. In 1013, King Sweyn Forkbeard of Denmark invaded England , as a result of which Æthelred fled to Normandy in 1013 and was replaced by Sweyn. After Sweyn died in 1014, Æthelred returned to
7735-409: The elements æðele 'noble', and ræd 'counsel', is typical of the compound names of those who belonged to the royal House of Wessex , and it characteristically alliterates with the names of his ancestors, like Æthelwulf 'noble-wolf', Ælfred 'elf-counsel', Eadweard 'rich-protection', and Eadgar 'rich-spear'. Æthelred's notorious nickname, Old English Unræd ,
7854-576: The first recorded pact between a King and his subjects; they are also widely regarded as showing that many English noblemen had submitted to Sweyn simply because of their distrust of Æthelred. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle : they [the counsellors] said that no lord was dearer to them than their natural ( gecynde ) lord, if he would govern them more justly than he did before. Then the king sent his son Edward hither with his messengers and bade them greet all his people and said that he would be
7973-433: The flats along the southern margin of the estuary. Before they (the Danes) had left their camp on the island[,] Byrhtnoth, with his retainers and a force of local militia, had taken possession of the landward end of the causeway. Refusing a demand for tribute, shouted across the water while the tide was high, Byrhtnoth drew up his men along the bank, and waited for the ebb. As the water fell the raiders began to stream out along
8092-628: The former Wolverhampton Power Station (decommissioned 1976) remains standing in Commercial Road. The Midland Metro runs through the area along Bilston Road ( A41 ) with stops at The Royal and Priestfield where the tramline drops down to the former GWR railway track. The main bus route is National Express West Midlands service 79 between Wolverhampton and West Bromwich which operates every 10 minutes. 52°34′40″N 2°06′10″W / 52.57778°N 2.10278°W / 52.57778; -2.10278 This West Midlands location article
8211-408: The government created a new fleet of warships, organised on a national scale, but this was weakened when one of its commanders took to piracy, and the king and his council decided not to risk it in a general action. In Stenton's view: "The history of England in the next generation was really determined between 1009 and 1012 ... the ignominious collapse of the English defence caused a loss of morale which
8330-445: The inevitable snares of investigating the history of a man whom later popular opinion has utterly damned. Recent cautious assessments of Æthelred's reign have more often uncovered reasons to doubt, rather than uphold, Æthelred's later infamy. Though the failures of his government will always put Æthelred's reign in the shadow of the reigns of kings Edgar, Æthelstan, and Alfred, historians' current impression of Æthelred's personal character
8449-495: The king in the eyes of his contemporaries or near contemporaries. Sir Frank Stenton remarked that "much that has brought condemnation of historians on King Æthelred may well be due in the last resort to the circumstances under which he became king." Æthelred's father, King Edgar , had died suddenly in July 975, leaving two young sons behind. The elder, Edward (later Edward the Martyr ),
8568-536: The largest and best-known of which was Viking Cycles Ltd, whose team dominated the UK racing scene in the 1950s (Viking's production of hand-built lightweight racing and juvenile bicycles exceeded 20,000 units in 1965). Closures of other smaller cycle makers followed during the 1980s including such well-known hand-builders as Percy Stallard (the former professional cyclist) and Jack Hateley. Wolverhampton High Level station (the current main railway station) opened in 1852, but
8687-579: The laws which were used in Æthelred's codes. Despite the failure of his government in the face of the Danish threat, Æthelred's reign was not without some important institutional achievements. The quality of the coinage, a good indicator of the prevailing economic conditions, significantly improved during his reign due to his numerous coinage reform laws. Later perspectives of Æthelred have been less than flattering. Numerous legends and anecdotes have sprung up to explain his shortcomings, often elaborating abusively on his character and failures. One such anecdote
8806-406: The location of the first working Newcomen Steam Engine in 1712. A few years before she began her reign, Queen Victoria visited Wolverhampton in the 1830s and described it as "a large and dirty town" but one which received her "with great friendliness and pleasure". In Victorian times , Wolverhampton grew to be a wealthy town mainly due to the huge amount of industry that occurred as a result of
8925-1120: The lord of that district, and half to the wapentake. But the wording here suggests that Æthelred was perhaps revamping or re-confirming a custom which had already existed. He may actually have been expanding an established English custom for use among the Danish citizens in the North (the Danelaw ). Previously, King Edgar had legislated along similar lines in his Whitbordesstan code: ic wille, þæt ælc mon sy under borge ge binnan burgum ge buton burgum. & gewitnes sy geset to ælcere byrig & to ælcum hundrode. To ælcere byrig XXXVI syn gecorone to gewitnesse; to smalum burgum & to ælcum hundrode XII, buton ge ma willan. & ælc mon mid heora gewitnysse bigcge & sylle ælc þara ceapa, þe he bigcge oððe sylle aþer oððe burge oððe on wæpengetace. & heora ælc, þonne hine man ærest to gewitnysse gecysð, sylle þæne að, þæt he næfre, ne for feo ne for lufe ne for ege, ne ætsace nanes þara þinga, þe he to gewitnysse wæs, & nan oðer þingc on gewitnysse ne cyðe buton þæt an, þæt he geseah oððe gehyrde. & swa geæþdera manna syn on ælcum ceape twegen oððe þry to gewitnysse. It
9044-871: The members of these bodies were under solemn oath to act in accordance with the law and their own good consciences, they have been seen by some legal historians as the prototype for the English grand jury . Æthelred makes provision for such a body in the Wantage Code ( III Æthelred ), promulgations enacted at Wantage in 997, which states: þæt man habbe gemot on ælcum wæpentace; & gan ut þa yldestan XII þegnas & se gerefa mid, & swerian on þam haligdome, þe heom man on hand sylle, þæt hig nellan nænne sacleasan man forsecgean ne nænne sacne forhelan. & niman þonne þa tihtbysian men, þe mid þam gerefan habbað, & heora ælc sylle VI healfmarc wedd, healf landrican & healf wæpentake. that there shall be an assembly in every wapentake , and in that assembly shall go forth
9163-415: 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
9282-546: The monastic communities. When Edward was killed at Æthelred's estate at Corfe Castle in Dorset in March 978, the job of recording the event, as well as reactions to it, fell to monastic writers. Stenton offers a summary of the earliest account of Edward's murder, which comes from a work praising the life of St Oswald : On the surface his [Edward's] relations with Æthelred his half-brother and Ælfthryth his stepmother were friendly, and he
9401-400: The next few months Cnut conquered most of England, while Edmund rejoined Æthelred to defend London when Æthelred died on 23 April 1016. The subsequent war between Edmund and Cnut ended in a decisive victory for Cnut at the Battle of Assandun on 18 October 1016. Edmund's reputation as a warrior was such that Cnut nevertheless agreed to divide England, Edmund taking Wessex and Cnut the whole of
9520-429: The north of Wolverhampton, and later moved over Wolverhampton city centre and surrounding suburbs, causing some damage. The Wolverhampton Ring Road circumnavigates the city centre linking the majority of the city's radial routes. It was constructed in sections between 1960 and 1986, and carries the number A4150, although this is only marked on one road sign. The centre of Wolverhampton has been altered radically since
9639-511: The north." In 1001, a Danish fleet – perhaps the same fleet from 1000 – returned and ravaged west Sussex . During its movements, the fleet regularly returned to its base in the Isle of Wight . There was later an attempted attack in the south of Devon , though the English mounted a successful defence at Exeter . Nevertheless, Æthelred must have felt at a loss, and, in the Spring of 1002, the English bought
9758-580: The original station was demolished in 1965 and then rebuilt. Wolverhampton Low Level station 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, has since been redeveloped with much of the original station incorporated into a hotel. An Aldi store opened nearby in 2019. In 1918 at "The Mount" in Tettenhall Wood ,
9877-435: The ornate cast iron safe painting industry from the Victorian era. Numerous companies, such as Chubb Lock and Safe Company , expanded their artistic status to international reputation, whereby a safe became a work of art with fine script and hand-painted designs. The Chubb Building was converted into a National Historic Registered Landmark Treasure in 1992, which now houses a cinema, art galleries, nightclub, business offices and
9996-407: The people against loss of life, shelter, livestock and crops. Though undeniably burdensome, it constituted a measure for which the king could rely on widespread support." Æthelred ordered the massacre of all Danish men in England to take place on 13 November 1002, St Brice 's Day. Gunhilde , sister of Sweyn Forkbeard , King of Denmark , was said to have been among the victims. It is likely that
10115-702: The people of the Kingdom of Lindsey (modern North Lincolnshire) supported Cnut. Æthelred first set out to recapture London, apparently with the help of the Norwegian Olaf Haraldsson . According to the Icelandic historian Snorri Sturluson , Olaf led a successful attack on London Bridge with a fleet of ships. He then went on to help Æthelred retake London and other parts of the country. Cnut and his army decided to withdraw from England in April 1014, leaving his Lindsey allies to suffer Æthelred's revenge. In about 1016, it
10234-578: The raiding Danes in 910, although sources are unclear as to whether the battle itself took place in Wednesfield or Tettenhall . Both places have since been incorporated into Wolverhampton. 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 Unready granted lands at a place referred to as Heantun to Lady Wulfrun by royal charter, and hence founding
10353-518: The rehousing programme continue, with multi-storey blocks being built on a large scale across Wolverhampton at locations including Blakenhall , Whitmore Reans and Chetton Green . The later part of the decade saw the Heath Town district almost completely redeveloped with multi-story flats and maisonette blocks. By 1975, by which time Wolverhampton had also taken in the majority of the Borough of Bilston ,
10472-515: 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. On 27 January 1606, two farmers, Thomas Smart and John Holyhead of Rowley Regis , were executed on High Green, now Queen Square, for sheltering two of
10591-506: The settlement. In 994, a monastery was consecrated in Wolverhampton for which Wulfrun granted land at Upper Arley in Worcestershire, Bilston , Willenhall , Wednesfield, Pelsall , Ogley Hay near Brownhills , Hilton near Wall , Hatherton , Kinvaston , Hilton near Wolverhampton, and Featherstone . This became the site for the current St. Peter's Church . A statue of Lady Wulfrun, sculpted by Sir Charles Wheeler , can be seen on
10710-527: The south-east coast and up the River Blackwater , coming eventually to its estuary and occupying Northey Island . About 2 kilometres (1 mile) west of Northey lies the coastal town of Maldon , where Byrhtnoth , ealdorman of Essex , was stationed with a company of thegns . The battle that followed between English and Danes is immortalised by the Old English poem The Battle of Maldon , which describes
10829-560: The stairs outside the church. Wolverhampton is recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086 as being in the Hundred of Seisdon and the county of Staffordshire . The lords of the manor are listed as the canons of St Mary (the church's dedication was changed to St Peter after this date), with the tenant-in-chief being Samson , William the Conqueror 's personal chaplain. Wolverhampton at this date
10948-816: The then Secretary of State, Robert Jenrick officially opened its new Wolverhampton offices at the recently completed i9 office development on 10 September 2021. At the opening of the new office development the Secretary of State was joined by the leader of City of Wolverhampton Council Ian Brookfield and the West Midlands Mayor, Andy Street . From the 18th century, Wolverhampton was well known for production of japanned ware and steel jewellery. The renowned 18th- and 19th-century artists Joseph Barney (1753–1832), Edward Bird (1772–1819), and George Wallis (1811–1891) were all born in Wolverhampton and initially trained as japanned ware painters. The School of Practical Art
11067-502: The throne, but he died just two years later. Æthelred's 37-year combined reign was the longest of any Anglo-Saxon English king and was only surpassed in the 13th century, by Henry III . Æthelred was briefly succeeded by his son Edmund Ironside , but Edmund died after a few months and was replaced by Sweyn's son Cnut . Another of Æthelred's sons, Edward the Confessor , would become king of England in 1042. Æthelred's first name, composed of
11186-469: The town's first purpose-built crown court. A few department store chains including Marks & Spencer and Next have stores in the centre of Wolverhampton. Beatties , a House of Fraser store, was announced to close in 2019. Debenhams opened a 3-floor department store in the Mander Centre in 2017, but has now closed. Rackhams had a store on Snow Hill for some 25 years until 1992. This building
11305-638: The treaty that some had chosen to enter into King Æthelred's service as mercenaries, based presumably on the Isle of Wight." In 997, Danish raids began again. According to Keynes, "there is no suggestion that this was a new fleet or army, and presumably the mercenary force created in 994 from the residue of the raiding army of 991 had turned on those whom it had been hired to protect." It harried Cornwall , Devon, western Somerset and south Wales in 997, Dorset, Hampshire and Sussex in 998. In 999, it raided Kent, and, in 1000, it left England for Normandy, perhaps because
11424-403: The twelve eldest thegns and the reeve along with them, and let them swear on holy relics , which shall be placed in their hands, that they will never knowingly accuse an innocent man nor conceal a guilty man. And thereafter let them seize those notorious [lit. "charge-laden"] men, who have business with the reeve, and let each of them give a security of 6 half-marks, half of which shall go to
11543-552: Was also the location of the United Kingdom's first pedestrian safety barriers, which were erected in 1934. On 2 November 1927, the A4123 New Road was opened by the then-Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII ) linking the city with Birmingham . The New Road was designed as an unemployment relief project and was the United Kingdom's first purpose-built intercity highway of the twentieth century. Sir Geoffrey Le Mesurier Mander ,
11662-423: Was between nine and twelve years old when he became king and affairs were initially managed by leading councillors such as Æthelwold, bishop of Winchester, Queen Ælfthryth and Dunstan, archbishop of Canterbury. Æthelwold was especially influential and when he died, on 1 August 984, Æthelred abandoned his early councillors and launched on policies which involved encroachment on church privileges, to his later regret. In
11781-425: 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 Wales , on 31 July 1992. The city centre had several cinemas during the 20th century. The last of these
11900-527: Was constructed for the visit. The Queen was so pleased with the statue that she knighted Wolverhampton's mayor at the time, 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 during the Siege of Sevastopol in 1855, and remains standing in Queen Square. The statue is known locally as "The Man on
12019-493: Was crowned king at Kingston upon Thames before the year was out. Edward reigned for only three years before he was murdered by members of his brother's household. Though little is known about Edward's short reign, it is known that it was marked by political turmoil. Edgar had made extensive grants of land to monasteries which pursued the new monastic ideals of ecclesiastical reform, but his doing so disrupted aristocratic families' traditional patronage. The end of his firm rule saw
12138-560: Was dismissed in April 1968 following his controversial Rivers of Blood speech in which he warned of massive civil unrest if mass immigration of black and Asian commonwealth inhabitants continued. At the same period, Sikh bus drivers and conductors were demonstrating in Wolverhampton against the Transportation Committee's regulations requiring uniform caps and thus prohibiting turbans. In 2005, former Bilston councillor and MP for Wolverhampton South East , Dennis Turner entered
12257-585: Was established in 1884, whilst Wolverhampton Grand Theatre was opened in 1894. There is a Creative Industries Quarter in Wolverhampton, just off Broad Street, with facilities ranging from the newly opened Slade Rooms , to the art house cinema the Light House Media Centre (closed in 2022) and the Arena Theatre, which is part of the University of Wolverhampton . Wolverhampton has a strong history in
12376-450: Was irreparable." The Danish army of 1009, led by Thorkell the Tall and his brother Hemming, was the most formidable force to invade England since Æthelred became king. It harried England until it was bought off by £48,000 in April 1012. Sweyn then launched an invasion in 1013 intending to crown himself king of England. By the end of 1013, English resistance had collapsed and Sweyn had conquered
12495-465: Was led by his mother and included Ælfhere, Ealdorman of Mercia and Bishop Æthelwold of Winchester , while Edward's claim was supported by Dunstan , the Archbishop of Canterbury and Oswald , the Archbishop of York among other noblemen, notably Æthelwine, Ealdorman of East Anglia , and Byrhtnoth , ealdorman of Essex . In the end, Edward's supporters proved the more powerful and persuasive, and he
12614-522: Was nearly able to destroy their ships. The Danish army left England for Denmark in 1005, perhaps because of the losses they sustained in East Anglia, perhaps from the very severe famine which afflicted the continent and the British Isles in that year. An expedition the following year was bought off in early 1007 by tribute money of £36,000, and for the next two years England was free from attack. In 1008,
12733-409: 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 Jenyns , a former Lord Mayor of London and
12852-462: Was one of the largest housing estates in Britain at the time. Mass council housing development in Wolverhampton continued into the 1930s, mostly in the north of the city in the Oxley and Wobaston areas and on the new Scotlands Estate in the north-east. However, council house building halted in 1940 following the outbreak of World War II in September the previous year. Wolverhampton St George's (in
12971-573: Was opened in the 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 Page who established her studio in Paris, and many other artists and sculptors recognised locally and nationally. Wolverhampton Art Gallery
13090-507: Was originally a residential property, but later became the Hand Inn public house. Later becoming Lindy Lou's children’s shop and still called Lindy Lou's by locals. It was completely restored in 1981 after a two-year refurbishment project and has been used by various businesses since then including as a second-hand book shop. On 23 November 1981, an F1/T2 tornado touched down in Fordhouses to
13209-498: Was paid them for their peace. Yet it was presumably the Danish fleet that had beaten Byrhtnoth at Maldon that continued to ravage the English coast from 991 to 993. In 994, the Danish fleet, which had swollen in ranks since 991, turned up the Thames estuary and headed toward London. The battle fought there was inconclusive. It was about this time that Æthelred met with the leaders of the Danish fleet and arranged an uneasy accord. A treaty
13328-420: Was probably illegitimate, and was "still a youth on the verge of manhood" in 975. The younger son was Æthelred, whose mother, Ælfthryth , Edgar had married in 964. Ælfthryth was the daughter of Ordgar , ealdorman of Devon , and widow of Æthelwald, Ealdorman of East Anglia . At the time of his father's death, Æthelred could have been no more than 10 years old. As the elder of Edgar's sons, Edward – reportedly
13447-430: Was signed that provided for seemingly civilised arrangements between the then-settled Danish companies and the English government, such as regulation of settlement disputes and trade. But the treaty also stipulated that the ravaging and slaughter of the previous year would be forgotten, and ended abruptly by stating that £22,000 of gold and silver had been paid to the raiders as the price of peace. In 994, Olaf Tryggvason ,
13566-680: Was the ABC Cinema (formerly the Savoy), which closed in 1991 after 54 years. It was then converted into a nightclub, with part of the site being converted into the offices of a recruitment agency in 2005. The building was demolished in 2019 to make way for an extension to the City of Wolverhampton College 's Metro One campus. A modern landmark in the city centre is the Wolverhampton Combined Court Centre on Pipers Row, which opened in 1990 as
13685-448: Was the son of King Edgar and Queen Ælfthryth . He came to the throne at about the age of 12, following the assassination of his elder half-brother, King Edward the Martyr . The chief characteristic of Æthelred's reign was conflict with the Danes . After several decades of relative peace, Danish raids on English territory began again in earnest in the 980s, becoming markedly more serious in
13804-595: Was then divided between a Netto 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 relocation of the archives service to the Molineux Hotel building in 2008. The building has since been demolished toward a development push from the Local Authority at various sites around
13923-407: Was unpopular among certain of his subjects. Efforts to rehabilitate Æthelred's reputation have gained momentum since about 1980. Chief among the rehabilitators has been Simon Keynes , who has often argued that our poor impression of Æthelred is almost entirely based upon after-the-fact accounts of, and later accretions to, the narrative of events during Æthelred's long and complex reign. Chief among
14042-444: Was visiting them informally when he was killed. [Æthelred's] retainers came out to meet him with ostentatious signs of respect, and then, before he had dismounted, surrounded him, seized his hands, and stabbed him ... So far as can be seen the murder was planned and carried out by Æthelred's household men in order that their young master might become king. There is nothing to support the allegation, which first appears in writing more than
14161-606: Was written. On 20 February 2021, it was announced as part of the government's levelling up strategy, that the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (now the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government ) would be the first government department to have a headquarters based outside of London. Five hundred posts, including those of senior civil servants, will be moving to Wolverhampton by 2025. As DLUHC looks set to relocate some 500 members of staff to Wolverhampton,
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