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History
of Wolverhampton
Prince
Albert's Statue
A statue of Prince Albert (shown above) in full
military uniform mounted on a horse was unveiled
in 1866 on High Green, renamed Queen's Square
after this illustrious occasion: the first public
appearance of the monarch since her consorts death.
The statue replaced a Russian cannon captured
from Sebastopol in the Crimea in 1855. Interestingly
the metal used to strike the Victoria Cross (awarded
to only 1,351 men) comes from Russian guns seized
at Sebastopol.
Central
Library
The present building stands at the junction off
Garrick Street and Cleveland Road and dates from
the turn of the last century it's dedication reading:
'To Commemorate the 60th Year of Queen Victoria's
Reign'. The exterior features the names of such
literary luminaries as Chaucer, Dryden, Pope,
Shelley and Shakespeare. The building rests on
the site of the old Theatre Royal.
Art
Gallery
Erected in 1884 in Lichfield Street it houses
over 12,000 items and was the recipient of three
major bequests: Sidney Cartwright, tinsmith and
magistrate donated over two hundred works of mostly
British art from the eighteenth and nineteenth
century. Industrialist Paul Lutz. And Philip Horman,
the founder of the gallery, which cost him £8,500.
A fountain celebrating his gift stands in front
of St Peter's. The gallery also hosts temporary
exhibitions and has a significant collection of
modern popular art.
Grand
Theatre.
First opened on 10 December 1894 and at one time
the last surviving theatre in the Black Country
leading on from the fall of vaudeville and the
rise of cinema and TV. Funded by the National
Lottery and partnership funding for the European
Regional Development fund at a 'grand' total of
eight million pounds, refurbishment began in 1998.
It currently has a seating capacity of 1,200.
Charlie Chaplin made one of his first stage appearances
at the Grand as Dr Watson's pageboy in Sherlock
Holmes. Churchill has spoken there, and David
Lloyd George.
Bantock
House
A grade II listed building built between 1734-88
and known originally as Merridale Farm; Baldwin
Bantock inherited it from his father in 1896.
It reopened in May 1999 with money from the Heritage
Lottery fund enabling the gardens to be re-created
to Baldwin Bantock's (he was a keen gardener)
original designs. The first floor is devoted to
a comprehensive history of the district.
Wightwick
Manor
Samuel Theodore Mander (1853-1900) of the paint
and varnish firm constructed a mock-Tudor building
to house his collection of Arts and Crafts furnishings,
stained glass, and works of art by such as Burne-Jones,
even Walter Swinburne's bed. Sir Geoffrey Mander
donated the estate to the National Trust in 1937.
Beatties
Began as a corner shop on Victoria Street in 1877
its two staff living on the premises. By 1895
staff levels had increased to forty and went on
to comprise nine stores nationwide; part of the
secret of Beatties success was experimenting with
opening hours for example opening late, a move
which proved popular with the public.
Conclusion
In 1872 the Report of the Medical Officer of Health
supported the construction of a public park. There
had been epidemics of typhoid, cholera and small
pox due to lack of sanitation and it was felt
beneficial to public health for an area of space
to be laid aside where residents might breath
clean air away from the town's open sewers. West
Park was opened in 1881, East Park following in
1896. Today there are over 1,400 acres of parks
and public spaces. Wolverhampton is home to Wolverhampton
Wanderers, formed in 1880 and one of the founders
of the Football League. It also has the only surviving
West Midlands racecourse, Dunstall Park, which
has recently undergone a £15.7 million overhaul
thanks to funding from City Challenge. Impressive
floodlighting and an all-weather surface greet
the ardent race-goer. There are the recently refurbished
Mander and Wufrun shopping centres; an award-winning
market (est. in the thirteenth century); a new
bus station, police station and county court,
and in 1998 Midland Metro (Line 1) from Birmingham
opened proving the ability and adaptability of
Wolverhampton to move with the times just as it
did when it boasted ownership of the country's
first automatic traffic lights in 1927. Wolverhampton
became a borough on 15 March 1848. And in 2000,
in honour of the Millennium and the Queen's Golden
Jubilee, was made a city. Wolverhampton's crowning
moment in a long and distinguished history.
Wolverhampton then, and now, welcomes you.
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