Wolverhampton, Staffordshire Genealogy

Guide to Wolverhampton history, family history, and genealogy: parish registers, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.



History
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, 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"). Prior to 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 tradition tells us established an abbey in 659, though no evidence of an abbey has been found.

Wolverhampton is recorded as being the site of a decisive battle 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 Wednesfield or Tettenhall. The Mercians and West Saxons claimed a decisive victory, and the field of Woden is recognized by numerous place names in Wednesfield.

Wolverhampton is recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086 as being in the Hundred of Seisdon and the county of Staffordshire. 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 was one of the "staple towns" of the woolen 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 center, called "Fold" (examples being Blossom's Fold, Farmers Fold, Townwell Fold and Victoria Fold), as well as Woolpack Street and Woolpack Alley.

From the 16th century onward, Wolverhampton became home to a number of metal industries including lock and key making and iron and brass working.

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. In Victorian times, 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.

Wolverhampton had a prolific bicycle industry from 1868 to 1975, during which time a total of more than 200 bicycle manufacturing companies existed there, but today none exist at all. These manufacturers included Viking, Marston, Sunbeam, Star, Wulfruna and Rudge. The last volume manufacturers of bicycles left Wolverhampton during the 1960s and 1970s – the largest and best-known of which was Viking Cycles Ltd.

England's first automatic traffic lights 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. Princes Square was also the location of the United Kingdom's first pedestrian safety barriers, which were erected in 1934.

In 1974, as a result of local government reorganization, Wolverhampton became a metropolitan borough. The United Kingdom government announced on 18 December 2000 that Wolverhampton would be granted city status – an honor that had been unsuccessfully applied for in 1953, 1966, 1977, 1985 and 1992 – making it one of three "Millennium Cities".

Cemeteries (Civil)
Wolverhampton has 4 civil cemeteries. They follow:

Bushbury Cemetery 86 Underhill Ln Wolverhampton WV10 8NS Phone: +44 1902 556070

Merridale Cemetery 56 Jeffcock Rd Wolverhampton WV3 7A

Bilston Cemetery Cemetery St Bilston WV14 6BN Phone: +44 1902 554992

Danescourt Cemetery 5 Coppice Ln Wolverhampton WV6 9BS

Parishes
Wolverhampton has a number of Anglican churches. A list follows:

All Saints All Saints Rd Wolverhampton WV2 1EL Phone: +44 1902 422642

Christ Church, Tettenhall Wood Coniston House, 9 Church Rd Wolverhampton WV6 8LJ Phone: +44 1902 751116

St Jude's St Jude's Rd Wolverhampton WV6 0EB Phone: +44 1902 753360

St Leonard's Walsall St Bilston WV14 0AT Phone: +44 1902 491560

St Luke's 122 Goldthorn Hill Wolverhampton WV2 3HU Phone: +44 1902 340261

St Martin of Tours *Dixon Street Parkfields, Wolverhampton WV2 2BG Phone: +44 1902 341030

St Nicholas Church Rd Codsall, Wolverhampton WV8 1EH Phone: +44 1902 842168

St Philips's 128 Church Rd Wolverhampton WV3 7EN Phone: +44 1902 341943

Non Conformists
There are many other christian denominations represented in Wolverhampton. A list of the major denominations follows:


 * Baptists
 * Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
 * Evangelical
 * Orthodox
 * Jehovah's Witnesses
 * Methodist
 * Pentecostal
 * Penn Christian Church
 * Seventh Day Adventist

Non Christian communities include:


 * Buddhist
 * Hindu
 * Jewish
 * Muslim
 * Shinto
 * Sikh
 * Taoist

Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the government, from July 1837 to the present day. The following article civil registration tells more about these records.

BMD records for the Wolverhampton area can be found at the following:


 * Wolverhampton Council
 * West Midlands BMD
 * UK BMD, Staffordshire

Local Histories

 * Wolverhampton History.org
 * Local Histories: Wolverhampton
 * A History of Wolverhampton by Chris Upton
 * Wolverhampton: A Century of Change by Alec Brew

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Old Maps of Wolverhampton
 * Michelin map of Wolverhampton
 * England Maps: Wolverhampton
 * A Gazetteer of lock and key makers
 * History and Gazetteer of Staffordshire

Newspapers

 * The Express and Star
 * The Birmingham Mail
 * The Wolverhampton West Magazine

Occupations
The economy of Wolverhampton is now dominated by the service sector, with 74.9% of the city's employment being in this area. The major sub-components of this sector are public administration, education and health. These contribute 32.8% of the total employment opportunities in the city.

Distribution, the Hotel Sector, and Restaurants are the next largest provider of occupations, with 21.1% of all employment positions.

Finance and IT contribute to 12.7% of the employment field.

There are still some specialty engineering and aerospace companies providing services and employment opportunities.

Societies

 * Wolverhampton Civic and History Society
 * Family History Society of Cheshire and Staffordshire
 * genuki: Staffordshire
 * Birmingham and Midlands Genealogy Org.

Archives

 * Wolverhampton City Archives
 * The National Archives: Wolverhampton
 * Black Country History: Wolverhampton Archives
 * Staffordshire Archives

Websites

 * Wolverhampton City Council


 * wikipedia; Wolverhampton