88-549: Birmingham Snow Hill may refer to: Birmingham Snow Hill railway station , in Birmingham, England Snowhill , mixed use development in Birmingham, England Snow Hill Tunnel (Birmingham) , railway tunnel in Birmingham, England Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Birmingham Snow Hill . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
176-559: 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
264-426: 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
352-567: A multi-storey car park stands over the main platform area, meaning artificial lighting is required on the platforms. Like its predecessor, the main entrance is on Colmore Row . Some parts of the original station are still visible (notably the now-sealed entrance, with GWR crest, in Livery Street). Initially only local stopping services to Leamington Spa and Stratford-upon-Avon used the new station. Services at Moor Street, where these services had previously terminated, were switched from
440-538: 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
528-405: A 10 platform station. The line north from Snow Hill towards Hockley was quadrupled at the same time, however the cost of widening the twin track Snow Hill tunnel at the southern end was considered prohibitive. There was not enough capacity through the tunnel to accommodate all of the services, and so, as a solution, Birmingham Moor Street was built as an "overflow" station at the opposite end of
616-596: 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,
704-627: 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
792-476: A dedicated embankment for trams alongside the station and included a new through stop serving Snow Hill. The site of the station was formerly occupied by Oppenheim's Glassworks. This was demolished, but many parts of the building and machinery are believed to be buried underneath the station and car park, and during recent development work alongside the station the area was designated as a site of archaeological importance by Birmingham City Council . The station
880-529: A former Lord Mayor of London and 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:
968-641: 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
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#17327941191611056-501: A new Snow Hill station, the present incarnation, was built; it reopened in 1987. Today, most of the trains using Snow Hill are local services on the Snow Hill Lines , operated by West Midlands Railway , serving Worcester Shrub Hill , Kidderminster , Stourbridge Junction , Stratford-upon-Avon and Solihull . The only long-distance service using Snow Hill is to and from London Marylebone , operated by Chiltern Railways via
1144-422: A projected cost of £9.94 million, but due to Centro's failure to apply for planning permission, and severe technical difficulties, the cost rose to at least £17 million. Although construction and interior finishes' works were largely complete by December 2010, legal disputes between London Midland, Network Rail and Centro caused delay to the opening of the entrance by over a year. The former tram terminus platform
1232-668: Is a railway station in Birmingham City Centre . It is one of the three main city-centre stations in Birmingham, along with Birmingham New Street and Birmingham Moor Street . Snow Hill was once the main station of the Great Western Railway in Birmingham and, at its height, it rivalled New Street station with competitive services to destinations including London Paddington , Wolverhampton Low Level , Birkenhead Woodside , Wales and South West England . The station has been rebuilt several times since
1320-436: 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 Jenyns ,
1408-448: Is intended to be returned for use for mainline trains as a fourth platform. However as of September 2020, little work has been conducted other than disconnecting and partial lifting of the former tram line. The fourth platform is now expected to be completed by 2026. In remembrance of a cat kept at the station before its closure, a memorial tile was installed during the works for the reopening. During later refurbishment works in 2014 care
1496-585: 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 . 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
1584-636: The Chiltern Main Line . The present Snow Hill station has three platforms for National Rail trains. When it was originally reopened in 1987, it had four, but one was later converted in 1999 for use as a terminus for West Midlands Metro trams on the line from Wolverhampton . This tram terminus closed in October 2015, in order for the extension of the West Midlands Metro through Birmingham city centre to be connected; this included
1672-594: 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
1760-585: 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
1848-457: The Snowhill development to carry the tram lines into the city centre. This allows platform 4 to be returned to main line use in the future. The new Snow Hill through stop was opened on 2 June 2016, two days after the full opening of the city-centre extension to New Street. However, the necessary works to allow passenger access to the stop from the street or adjacent railway station had not at
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#17327941191611936-627: 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
2024-717: 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
2112-520: 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
2200-411: The 1970s, a project which was completed in two phases. The first phase was completed on 5 October 1987, when the newly rebuilt Snow Hill station opened for services to the south, along with Snow Hill tunnel . The rebuilt station is on a smaller scale than its Edwardian predecessor, built with two island platforms , giving four platform faces. The station's architecture is functional rather than ornate,
2288-464: 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
2376-506: 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
2464-467: 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 –
2552-697: 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
2640-552: 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 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
2728-561: The Unready granted lands at a place referred to as Heantun to Lady Wulfrun by royal charter, and hence founding 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
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2816-477: 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
2904-516: The West Country, Stourbridge and Shrewsbury were diverted to New Street, and the branch to Dudley was closed. All that was left was a shuttle service of four trains per day using Class 122 railcars to Langley Green , along with six daily stopping services to Wolverhampton Low Level . With this, as most passenger facilities in the station were withdrawn and virtually the entire site became disused save for one bay platform, Snow Hill then acquired
2992-559: The West Midlands Railway brand. There are four West Midlands Railway trains per hour (tph) serving Snow Hill in each direction, running as follows: Eastbound: Westbound: From 1999 until 2015, Snow Hill was the terminus of the Midland Metro Line 1 from Wolverhampton . Opening on 31 May 1999, it occupied the space previously used by platform 4 of the main line station. The stop had two platforms, and
3080-427: 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
3168-600: 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
3256-608: 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
3344-553: 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
3432-642: 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
3520-568: The decision was taken to end main line services through Snow Hill once electrification of the WCML was complete, and divert most of its remaining services through New Street. Long-distance services through Snow Hill ceased in March 1967. Snow Hill tunnel closed to all traffic the following year, with the last train running on 2 March 1968. Local trains towards Leamington Spa and Stratford upon Avon were then terminated at Moor Street. Services to London,
3608-417: 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
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3696-527: The extension was brought into service as far as Bull Street on 6 December 2015. As part of the extension, a new through Snow Hill stop at a different location opened outside the station and further west, on the existing viaduct near the Livery Street entrance. Funding for this was confirmed in the October 2010 Comprehensive Spending Review . A new viaduct was built alongside the station as part of
3784-601: 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. 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
3872-485: The first station at Snow Hill, a temporary wooden structure, was opened in 1852; it was rebuilt as a permanent station in 1871 and then rebuilt again on a much grander scale during 1906–1912. The electrification of the main line from London to New Street in the 1960s saw New Street favoured over Snow Hill, most of whose services were withdrawn in the late 1960s. This led to the station's eventual closure in 1972 and its demolition five years later. After fifteen years of closure,
3960-411: The former terminal platforms, which then closed, on to two newly built through platforms, at the southern end of Snow Hill tunnel, making a through station adjacent to the tunnel mouth. In May 1993 Network SouthEast reintroduced limited-stop services to London, initially on a two-hourly frequency, routed to Marylebone instead of the pre-closure destination of Paddington. The service proved popular and
4048-539: 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
4136-528: The line between Smethwick West and Snow Hill, along with three new stations ( Smethwick Galton Bridge , The Hawthorns and Jewellery Quarter ). In 1999, the line to Wolverhampton was reopened as a light rail (tram) line, the Midland Metro . Work began on a new entrance on Livery Street to give commuters access to the lower Snow Hill and Jewellery Quarter part of the city centre in 2005, but it did not open for business until March 2011. The work had
4224-456: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Birmingham_Snow_Hill&oldid=891906233 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Birmingham Snow Hill railway station Birmingham Snow Hill , also known as Snow Hill station ,
4312-406: 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
4400-480: The mid-1960s Snow Hill was still a major station handling millions of passengers annually; in 1964 Snow Hill handled 7.5 million passengers, compared to 10.2 million at New Street. However the electrification of the rival West Coast Main Line into New Street, meant that British Railways decided to concentrate all services into Birmingham into one station, and Snow Hill was seen as being an unnecessary duplication. In 1966
4488-415: 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
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#17327941191614576-429: 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
4664-601: 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 ,
4752-435: 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
4840-408: The platforms. In 1871 it was rebuilt, and replaced with a permanent structure. The 1871 station had two through platforms, and bay platforms at the Wolverhampton end, covered by an arched roof. Access to the station was from Livery Street from the side. Trains from the south arrived through Snow Hill Tunnel , built by the cut-and-cover method, and in a cutting from Temple Row to Snow Hill. The cutting
4928-404: The railway station, and the closer proximity of Bull Street stop. The stop is now advertised as an alternate interchange to the mainline station with Bull Street being the main interchange. In December 2018 it was announced that a new entrance would be constructed at Snow Hill station, by opening up an arch in the railway viaduct. This will allow direct interchange between St Chads tram stop and
5016-546: The railway station. The work is due to begin in Summer 2019. In October 1854, a derailed engine fell into Great Charles Street, below the station. 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
5104-475: The railway was prevented from reaching its original intended terminus at Curzon Street ; London and North Western Railway's engineer Robert Stephenson and solicitor Samuel Carter argued in Parliament that there would be safety risks in rival companies sharing the congested connection into their station. The original station was a simple temporary wooden structure, consisting of a large wooden shed covering
5192-529: 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 ,
5280-535: The site for the current St. Peter's Church . A statue of Lady Wulfrun, sculpted by Sir Charles Wheeler , can be seen on 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
5368-575: The station and platform 3 is used for trains going south. Occasional steam-hauled special trains use the station. Snow Hill is served by Chiltern Railway services to and from London Marylebone . Some Chiltern services continue beyond Birmingham to Stourbridge Junction . The typical Chiltern service pattern is as follows: Local services from Snow Hill, like most local services in the West Midlands, are supported by Transport for West Midlands . They are operated by West Midlands Trains using
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#17327941191615456-508: The tenant-in-chief being Samson , William the Conqueror 's personal chaplain. Wolverhampton at this date 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
5544-830: 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
5632-415: The time been completed, meaning passengers could only access the stop by a walkway alongside the tracks from the city centre. Stairs and a lift connecting the stop to the street below were completed in September 2017. In January 2017, the stop was renamed St Chads as the name Snow Hill was considered misleading for passengers using the mainline station due to the new stop's lack of direct interchange with
5720-547: The town in 985, from the Anglo-Saxon Wulfrūnehēantūn ("Wulfrūn's high or principal enclosure or farm"). Before 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
5808-476: 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
5896-514: The tunnel to take terminating local trains towards Leamington Spa and Stratford-upon-Avon. The Great Western Hotel was closed at the same time (as guests complained of being kept awake by goods trains running underneath) and converted into railway offices, and a passenger entrance was provided on Colmore Row , which became the station's main entrance. At its height, many trains that now run into New Street station ran into Snow Hill, along with some that no longer run. Services included: As late as
5984-473: The unfortunate title of "the largest unstaffed railway halt in the country". In March 1972 these last services were withdrawn and the station closed entirely, along with the lines through to Smethwick and Wolverhampton, with the exception of a single line from Smethwick West for Coopers Scrap Metal Works in Handsworth (the works is still in operation to this day). Following closure, the derelict station
6072-562: Was 263,700. Historically in Staffordshire , the city grew as 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
6160-566: 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 ,
6248-399: Was approached by a short section of single track. The Snow Hill terminus was officially closed on 24 October 2015, and the approach line disconnected, in order to allow the new extension into Birmingham City Centre to be connected to the existing line. It is therefore the only Midland Metro stop so far to have been permanently closed. Trams terminated at St Paul's until the first part of
6336-425: 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
6424-537: 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
6512-413: Was covered by a large glass and steel overall roof. It consisted of two large Island platforms , containing four through platforms, and four bay platforms for terminating trains at the northern end. The through platforms were long enough to accommodate two trains at a time, and scissors crossings allowed trains to pull in front, or out from behind of other trains stood in a platform, effectively creating
6600-570: 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
6688-608: 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
6776-564: Was increased to an hourly frequency the following year. Chiltern Railways took over the service after privatisation. The second phase of the Snow Hill reopening project was completed on 24 September 1995, when the Birmingham to Worcester via Kidderminster Line was reopened to Snow Hill. This allowed the resumption of services to Worcester Shrub Hill via Stourbridge Junction and Kidderminster. The "Jewellery Line" project involved reopening
6864-466: 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
6952-483: Was opened in 1852 on the Great Western Railway (GWR) main line from London Paddington to Wolverhampton Low Level and Birkenhead Woodside . Originally called Birmingham Station, its name was changed to Great Charles Street station, and then Livery Street Station. It was finally renamed Snow Hill in 1858, and the Great Western Hotel was added in 1863. It was never intended to be the main station, but
7040-591: 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
7128-518: 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
7216-514: Was revealed. The ironwork of the station roof was badly corroded in several places, and the unstable ground and foundations on which the station had been built were causing it to slide downhill. A few items, including the original gates and booking hall sign, were saved and later used in the Moor Street restoration. The West Midlands Passenger Transport Authority had adopted a policy to restore cross-city rail services through Snow Hill since
7304-490: Was roofed over in 1872 and the Great Western Arcade built on top. To cope with expanding traffic. Snow Hill station was rebuilt again on a much larger scale between 1906 and 1912. The new station building was intended to compete with New Street. The rebuilt station contained lavish facilities, such as a large booking hall with an arched glass roof, and lavish waiting rooms with oak bars. The main platform area
7392-486: Was taken that the tile would stay in situ. The station is managed by West Midlands Trains and services are provided by West Midlands Trains and Chiltern Railways. There is a small set of sidings at the Hockley end of the station, which can be reached from Platform 1 only. All platforms can be used in either direction; generally platforms 1 or 2 are used for trains heading north, platform 2 is used for trains terminating at
7480-708: 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
7568-613: 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
7656-403: Was used for several years as a car park. It enjoyed a brief moment of fame in 1976 when it was the setting for a fight scene in the locally set BBC TV drama series Gangsters . However, despite a public outcry, the Snow Hill building was not preserved. The Colmore Row façade was demolished in 1969, and the rest of the station largely demolished in 1977, when the dangerous state of the building
7744-617: 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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