Wolverley

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Map sources for Wolverley at grid reference SO835795
Map sources for Wolverley at grid reference SO835795

Wolverley is a village in Worcestershire, England, a few miles to the north west of Kidderminster, and close to the villages of Bewdley, Kinver and Cookley. It lies on the River Stour, and the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal, and at the time of the 2001 census had a population of 2,096.[1]

Contents

[edit] The Legend of the Swan

According to ancient legend a crusading member of the Attwood family was rescued from a dungeon and returned to his home Wolverley Court by a Swan.[2]

[edit] William Sebright

Wolverley was the birthplace of William Sebright, who as a town clerk of London accumulated an estate around the City, which he left in his will of 1620 for the foundation of a grammar school in Wolverley.[3]. The site of the original Wolverley Grammar school is still in the centre of the village. The grammar school changed its name to Sebright school in 1931 when it moved to a new site. The new school was opened by Bewdley born Stanley Baldwin.[4] Between 1948 and 1970 Sebright was a public school, and from 1965 to 1969 the sculptor Fritz Steller was the Head of Art. Sebright School closed in 1970 andWolverley High School, a state run secondary school, took its place. Over the years the money left by William Sebright has grown to millions of pounds, and the original scope of the educational foundation he set up has been broadened to include endowments to local schools, and grants to former pupils of those schools.[5]

[edit] Tinplate Industry

Wolverley Lower Mill, which was established in 1670 by Philip Foley and Joshua Newborough, helped the village play a key role in the early tinplate industry .[6]

[edit] Baskerville Print

The village was also the birthplace of John Baskerville, the celebrated printer(1706-1775).[7]

[edit] Wolverley Camp

During the Second World War the US Army Medical Corps opened its award winning 52nd general hospital at Wolverley Camp.[8]


[edit] References

  1. ^ 2001 Census
  2. ^ http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=43175
  3. ^ 'Bethnal Green: Estates ', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 11: Stepney, Bethnal Green (1998), pp. 155-68
  4. ^ http://www.oldwolvernians.org.uk/about.html
  5. ^ http://www.oldwolvernians.org.uk/chapel.php
  6. ^ P. W. King, 'Wolverley Lower Mill and the beginnings of the tinplate industry' Historical Metallurgy 22(2) (1988), 104-13.
  7. ^ http://www.virtualbrum.co.uk/people.htm
  8. ^ http://www.wolverleycamp.org.uk

[edit] External links

Settlements on the River Stour between the Clent Hills and River Severn edit

Romsley | Halesowen | Cradley Heath | Lye | Stourbridge | Stourton | Kinver | Caunsall | Cookley | Wolverley| Kidderminster | Wilden | Stourport

Settlements on the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal between Stourton and Stourport edit

Stourton | Dunsley | Kinver | Caunsall | Cookley | Wolverley | Fairfield | Kidderminster | Wilden| Stourport