Tettenhall is a historic village within the City of Wolverhampton, in the county of the West Midlands, England. Historically in the county of Staffordshire, Tettenhall became part of Wolverhampton district in 1966, along with Bilston, Wednesfield and parts of Willenhall, Coseley and Sedgley.

History

Tettenhall's name derives from the Old English Teottanhalh, meaning "nook of land belonging to a man named Teotta". The original halh was likely situated in the sheltered area below the ridge where the church stands. This area, around Lower Green, was the original inhabited area of Tettenhall. In early English (Anglo-Saxon) times, as the place name evidence tells us, there were many cleared woodland areas – areas where field and settlement would have been commonplace. These can be seen today by the place name ending "ley", from early English "lēah", meaning woodland clearing; Wrottesley being one such example in the local area. Where most of the land was wooded, below the ridge ran, as it does today, the river Smestow - though at this time, it was a larger stream than it is today, running through extensive marshy ground. It saw the crushing defeat of the last of the large Danish Viking armies to ravage England, including the deaths of the Danish Kings, Eowils and Healfdan. In more recent times, the north part of the village became known as "Danescourt".

Tettenhall has an old parish church, St Michael and All Angels, located at the base of the ridge, leading off Lower Green. An exact founding date for it is not known, though records of a fourteenth-century dispute over village land tell us that the church had been founded during the reign of King Edgar, at some point between 959 and 975 AD. The Domesday Book of 1086 informs that before the Norman Conquest, Tettenhall was held by three Englishmen – Hunta, Wulfstan, and Godwin. Of course, as with the majority of England, post-conquest, William the Conqueror gave the land to his followers.

There is a variety of pear known as 'Tettenhall Dick', named after Tettenhall, originally found in the hamlet of Perton and dating to earlier than the 18th century. These small, dry pears are traditionally used for the making of perry. The Bees & Trees charity began a scheme to plant 2,000 Tettenhall Dick trees across the Midlands in a bid to save them, as very few of them existed any more. These trees were grafted from existing Tettenhall Dick trees, and the scheme has proven to be a success, with trees being planted in a variety of different locations. The variety is now part of the National Fruit Collection at Brogdale in Kent.

The original route of the London to Holyhead road ran through Tettenhall, though on a different course from the current A41 Tettenhall Road. The road, when heading north east from Wolverhampton, ran behind the shops at Newbridge, on bridges over the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (when built in 1772) and the river Smestow, then across to Old Hill, where there was a steep climb for any carriages on route. The road then cut across Upper Green, swayed left into Wrottesley Road as far as Woodthorne Road, and then continuing on as the present Wergs Road.

Village greens

thumb|The Swan Hotel, Lower Street, Tettenhall

Tettenhall is one of the few places in England to have two village greens. Tettenhall Upper Green is situated on high ground near the edge of a ridge that runs in a broadly east–west direction, from Aldersley to Perton. The Upper Green has a large paddling pool, an extensive open grass area, a cricket pitch, practice nets and the Wolverhampton Cricket Club Ground, where W. G. Grace visited and played. The area is common land that was donated by the local Swindley family to the people of the parish. A clock tower, built in 1912 also by the Swindley family and donated to the parish to celebrate the coronation of King George V, is a key landmark in Upper Green.

Tettenhall Lower Green is at the bottom of The Rock, near St. Michael and All Angels Church. It is a sloping grassy area that is popular for sledging on snowy winter days.

The A41 road runs through the village green as a single-carriageway road. Despite the relatively close proximity to Wolverhampton's city centre, Tettenhall retains its rural village character and a strong sense of identity among its residents. The parish was also abolished on 1 April 1966 and merged with Wolverhampton, Codsall, Lower Penn and Wrottesley. In 1961 the parish had a population of 14,867.

The village has tried to gain independence from Wolverhampton Council and has made plans to return to a parish council but this has no longer been pursued.

Two electoral wards of Wolverhampton City Council cover Tettenhall; Tettenhall Regis (the northern part) and Tettenhall Wightwick (the southern part).

Notable people

  • Francis Smith of Warwick (1672–1738), the architect, was son of Francis Smith of The Wergs near Tettenhall. (He became identified with Warwick through setting up business in that town, which he helped rebuild after the Great Fire of Warwick in 1694.)
  • Button Gwinnett (1735–1777) who later emigrated to America where he became the second signer of the United States Declaration of Independence had two daughters who were buried in St Michael's churchyard in 1759 and 1762.
  • Billy Harrison (1886–1948), footballer played 412 games, incl. 317 for Wolves, ran a pub in the village after retiring.
  • Hugh Porter (born 1940), professional track cyclist and commentator, and his wife Anita Lonsbrough (born 1941), 1960 Summer Olympics gold medal swimmer, live in Tettenhall.
  • Mark Speight (1965–2008), children's TV presenter was from Tettenhall. His ashes are interred in the parish churchyard.

Education

Tettenhall College is a private school based in Tettenhall Towers, the former home of the Thorneycroft family.

The Tettenhall Transport Heritage Centre is the first transport museum in the City of Wolverhampton and is found in Tettenhall.

References

Further reading

  • Geoffrey Hancock. A Tettenhall History. Broadside, 1991.
  • Simon Whild. The History of Tettenhall College. Matador, 2008.