Blakenhall

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For the Cheshire village, see Blakenhall, Cheshire.

Blakenhall is a ward in Wolverhampton, England. It was developed during the late 19th century just south of the town centre, with hundreds of terraced houses, some with shop fronts, being built on the main road towards Sedgley as well as many being built in the side streets running off. The next major development in Blakenhall took place in the 1960s when several tower blocks were constructed. The tallest of these tower blocks, Cobden House, was demolished by a controlled explosion in August 2002. Two smaller tower blocks were cleared in mechanical demolitions during 2007. Only one tower block now remains in Blakenhall.

Wanderers Avenue can be found in Blakenhall, the original home of Wolverhampton Wanderers, who regularly played on the adjacent Phoenix Park. Names of the players can be found on the front of the terraced houses along the street.

The ward serves Wolverhampton City Council and forms part of the Wolverhampton South East constituency. The ward also covers the suburb of Goldthorn Park, immediately to the south, and part of Graiseley. It borders Penn, Graiseley, St Peter's, Ettingshall and Spring Vale wards, as well as (briefly) South Staffordshire and the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley.

Blakenhall has a predominantly Sikh community which settled into the area in the two decades following the Second World War. The Guru Nanak Gurdwara occupies the site of a former Corona drinks factory and has at times been able to claim to be the largest Gurdwara in Europe.

In 1960, 1st Blakenhall Scout Group was formed by the late Maurice Lane. Maurice was influential in setting up the group which is still going strong today and still recruiting young people aged 6-14. Although Scouting has changed somewhat since the days 1st Blakenhall has formed the group now meet at St Johns Methodist Church near to the Fighting Cocks crossroads and is open to both male and females in the Blakenhall area.[1]

The Royal Wolverhampton School is situated in Blakenhall ward, as are Colton Hills and Parkfields secondary schools.

On 8 July 1996, as nationally reported in the news, a machete attack took place at St Luke's Nursery School in Blakenhall, when 33-year-old Horrett Campbell ran riot - stabbing 21-year-old nursery nurse Lisa Potts and six children aged between two and four years. Campbell was later convicted on seven counts of attempted murder and sentenced to indefinite detention in a mental hospital,[2] while Lisa Potts was awarded the George Medal for her bravery.[3] Campbell is still in prison, eleven years after his arrest.

Blakenhall is one of the most deprived districts of Wolverhampton, although it has improved slightly since the 1990s due to its designation as an ABC Regeneration Area. A similar initiative covers the neighbouring All Saints district.

[edit] References

  1. ^ 1st Blakenhall Scouts
  2. ^ On This Day: 1996: Guilty verdict on school machete attacker - BBC News (Accessed March 18, 2007)
  3. ^ Nursery nurse honoured for bravery - BBC News, November 13, 1997 (Accessed March 18, 2007)

[edit] External links

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Wards of Wolverhampton City Council