View source for Wolverhampton

{{Short description|City in the West Midlands, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{Use British English | date = July 2014}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name            = Wolverhampton
| settlement_type          = [[City status in the United Kingdom|City]] and [[Metropolitan borough]]
| image_skyline            = {{multiple images
|border=infobox|total_width=250px|perrow=1/2/2/2/1
   | image1 = Farmland near Ettingshall Park, Wolverhampton (cropped panorama).jpg
   | caption1 = Wolverhampton Skyline 
   | image2 = Queen Square View - geograph.org.uk - 7238335.jpg
   | caption2 = Queen Square
   | image3 = The Queen's Building, Wolverhampton - geograph.org.uk - 2723156.jpg
   | caption3 = Queens Building
   | image4 =  The Metro in Wolverhampton.jpg
   | caption4 = [[West Midlands Metro|Metro]]
   | image5 = MolineuxStadium2022.jpg
   | caption5 = [[Molineux Stadium]]
   | image6 = West front of St Peter's church - geograph.org.uk - 5961489.jpg
   | caption6 = [[St Peter's Collegiate Church|St Peter’s Church]]
   | image7 = Birmingham Canal Top Lock cottages (geograph 7290918).jpg
   | caption7 = [[Birmingham Canal]]
   | image8 = Wightwick Manor 2016 003.jpg
   | caption8 = [[Wightwick Manor]]
}}
| image_caption       = 
| image_shield       = Wolverhampton coat of arms.svg
| image_blank_emblem = 
| blank_emblem_type  = 
| nickname                 = {{hlist|Wolftown|Wolf Town|Wolves|Wolvo}}
| motto                    = Out of darkness cometh light
| image_map                = Wolverhampton UK locator map.svg
| mapsize                  = 250px
| map_caption              = Wolverhampton shown within the [[West Midlands (county)|West Midlands county]]
| coordinates              = {{coord|52|35|N|2|08|W|region:GB|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Sovereign state]]
| subdivision_name         = [[United Kingdom]]
| subdivision_type1        = [[Countries of the United Kingdom|Country]]
| subdivision_name1        = [[England]]
| subdivision_type2        = [[Regions of England|Region]]
| subdivision_name2        = [[West Midlands (region)|West Midlands]]
| subdivision_type3        = [[Ceremonial counties of England|Ceremonial county]]
| subdivision_name3        = [[West Midlands (county)|West Midlands]]
| subdivision_type4        = [[Historic counties of England|Historic County]]
| subdivision_name4        = [[Staffordshire]]
| established_title        = Founded
| established_date         = 985
| founder                  = [[Lady Wulfruna]]
| named_for                = [[Lady Wulfruna]]
| population_demonym       = Wulfrunian<ref name=oed />
| established_title2       = [[City status in the United Kingdom|City]]
| established_date2        = 2000
| established_title3       = [[Metropolitan borough]]
| established_date3        = 1 April 1974
| seat_type                = Admin. HQ
| seat                     = [[Wolverhampton Civic Centre]]
| government_type          = [[Metropolitan borough]]
| leader_title             = Governing body
| leader_name              = [[Wolverhampton City Council|City of Wolverhampton Council]]
| leader_title1            = [[List of Mayors of Wolverhampton|Mayor]]
| leader_name1             = Craig Collingswood [[Labour Party (UK)|(L)]]<ref>{{cite web |title=The Mayor of Wolverhampton |url=https://www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/your-council-and-meetings/mayor |website=City of Wolverhampton Council |access-date=15 June 2023}}</ref>
| area_total_km2           = 69.44
| elevation_m              = 163
| population_total         = 263700
| population_as_of         = 2021
| population_density_km2   = 3407
|<!-- demographics (section 1) -->
| demographics_type1      = Ethnicity <span style="font-weight:normal;">([[2021 United Kingdom census|2021]])</span>
| demographics1_footnotes = <ref name="2021 Nomis">{{NOMIS2021|id=E08000031|title=Wolverhampton Local Authority|access-date=5 January 2024}}</ref>
| demographics1_title1    = [[Ethnic groups in the United Kingdom|Ethnic groups]]
| demographics1_info1     =
 {{Collapsible list
 | 60.6% [[White people in the United Kingdom|White]]
 | 21.2% [[British Asians|Asian]]
 | 9.3% [[Black British people|Black]]
 | 5.3% [[Mixed (United Kingdom ethnicity category)|Mixed]]
 | 3.6% [[Ethnic groups in the United Kingdom|other]]
 }}
<!-- demographics (section 2) -->
| demographics_type2      = Religion <span style="font-weight:normal;">(2021)</span>
| demographics2_footnotes = <ref name="2021 Nomis"/>
| demographics2_title1    = [[Religion in England|Religion]]
| demographics2_info1     = 
 {{Collapsible list
 | 43.8% [[Religion in England#Christianity|Christianity]]
 | 27.8% [[Irreligion in the United Kingdom|no religion]]
 | 12% [[Sikhism in England|Sikhism]]
 | 5.5% [[Islam in England|Islam]]
 | 5.5% not stated
 | 3.7% [[Hinduism in England|Hinduism]]
 | 1.2% [[Religion in England|other]]
 | 0.3% [[Buddhism in England|Buddhism]]
 | 0.1% [[History of the Jews in England|Judaism]]
 }}
| timezone                 = [[Greenwich Mean Time]]
| utc_offset               = +0
| timezone_DST             = [[British Summer Time]]
| utc_offset_DST           = +1
| postal_code_type         = Postcode
| postal_code              = [[WV postcode area|WV]]
| area_code                = 01902
| blank_name               = [[ISO 3166-2:GB|ISO 3166-2]]
| blank_info               = [[ISO 3166-2:GB|GB-WLV]]
| blank1_name              = [[ONS coding system|ONS code]]
| blank1_info              = 00CW (ONS)<br />E08000031 (GSS)
| blank2_name              = [[British national grid reference system|OS grid reference]]
| blank2_info              = {{gbmappingsmall|SO915985}}
| blank3_name              = [[Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics|NUTS]] 3
| blank3_info              = UKG39
| website                  = {{URL|wolverhampton.gov.uk}}
| name                     = 
 | parts_type               = Suburbs of the city (Within 2 miles)
 | p1                       = [[Aldersley]]
 | p2                       = [[All Saints, Wolverhampton|All Saints]]
 | p3                       = [[Blakenhall]]
 | p4                       = [[Bradmore, West Midlands|Bradmore]]
 | p5                       = [[Chapel Ash]]
 | p6                       = [[Claregate]]
 | p7                       = [[Compton, Wolverhampton|Compton]]
 | p8                       = [[Deansfield, West Midlands|Deansfield]]
 | p10                      = [[Dunstall Hill]]
 | p11                       = [[East Park, Wolverhampton|East Park]]
 | p12                       = [[Ettingshall]]
 | p13                      = [[Fallings Park]]
 | p14                      = [[Gorsebrook, West Midlands|Gorsebrook]]
 | p15                       = [[Graiseley]]
 | p16                       = [[Heath Town]]
 | p17                       = [[Horseley Fields]]
 | p18                       = [[Merridale]]
 | p19                       = [[Monmore Green]]
 | p20                       = [[Newbridge, Wolverhampton|Newbridge]]
 | p21                       = [[Old Fallings]]
 | p22                       = [[Park Village]]
 | p23                       = [[Scotlands]]
 | p24                       = [[Springfield, Wolverhampton|Springfield]]
 | p25                       = [[Stow Heath]]
 | p26                       = [[Tettenhall]] (village)
 | p27                       = [[Tettenhall Wood]]
 | p28                       = [[Wednesfield]] (town)
 | p29                      = [[Whitmore Reans]]
}}
'''Wolverhampton''' ({{IPAc-en|audio=en-uk-Wolverhampton.ogg|ˌ|w|ʊ|l|v|ər|ˈ|h|æ|m|p|t|ə|n}} {{respell|WUUL|vər|HAMP|tən}}) is a city and [[metropolitan borough]] in the [[West Midlands (county)|West Midlands]] of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of [[Birmingham]], it forms the northwestern part of the [[West Midlands conurbation]], with the towns of [[Walsall]] to the east and [[Dudley]] to the south. The population in 2021 was 263,700, making it the third largest city in the West Midlands after Birmingham and [[Coventry]].

[[Historic counties of England|Historically]] in [[Staffordshire]], Wolverhampton grew as a [[market town]] specialising in the [[wool]] trade. During 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 [[Tertiary sector of the economy|service sector]]. The city is also home to the [[University of Wolverhampton]]. A town for most of its history, it gained [[city status in the United Kingdom|city status]] in 2000. The [[M6 motorway]] runs just outside Wolverhampton's east and northeast borders, while the [[M54 motorway]] starts to the north and links the city with [[Telford]]. For railway travel, the city is served by [[Wolverhampton station]], while the western terminus of the [[West Midlands Metro]] network is also located in the city.

Wolverhampton has produced many notable musicians and artists and is known in the sports world as the home of [[Premier League]] football team [[Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.|Wolverhampton Wanderers FC]], which plays at [[Molineux Stadium]]. As a result of experiencing a heavy influx of Indian immigrants from the 1930s to 1970s, the city is home to the largest percentage of [[Sikhism in the United Kingdom|Sikhs in England]], who have been influential in shaping its identity; it also hosts a higher percentage of [[Hinduism in the United Kingdom|Hindus]] and [[Islam in the United Kingdom|Muslims]] than the national average.

==Toponymy==
The city is named after [[Wulfrun]], who founded the town in 985, from the [[Old English|Anglo-Saxon]] ''Wulfrūnehēantūn'' ("Wulfrūn's high or principal enclosure or farm").<ref name=farley>{{cite web |url=http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/history/farley/oldwlv.htm |title=Wolverhampton 985 – 1985 |year=1985 |author=Keith Farley |publisher=Wolverhampton History & Heritage Society |access-date=8 July 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071024161026/http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/history/farley/oldwlv.htm |archive-date=24 October 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Horovitz">{{cite book |title=The Place-names of Staffordshire |first=David |last=Horovitz |year=2005 |isbn=0955030900 |pages=585, 662 |publisher=D. Horovitz }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=A History of Wolverhampton |first=Chris |last=Upton |publisher=The History Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-1860775086 |pages=8, 179 }}</ref> Before the [[Norman Conquest]] of 1066, the area's name appears only as variants of ''Heantune'' or ''Hamtun''; the prefix ''Wulfrun'' or similar appearing in 1070 and thereafter.<ref name="Horovitz" /> Alternatively, the city may have earned its original name from ''Wulfereēantūn'' ("[[Wulfhere of Mercia|Wulfhere]]'s high or principal enclosure or farm") after the Mercian King,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/articles/HistoricalWalks/ArchitecturalWalk/Architectural2.htm |title=An Architectural Walk |author=Rudi Herbert |publisher=Wolverhampton History & Heritage Society |access-date=8 July 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071202074104/http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/articles/HistoricalWalks/ArchitecturalWalk/Architectural2.htm |archive-date=2 December 2007 }}</ref> who according to tradition established an abbey in 659, though no evidence of an abbey has been found.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wolverhamptonhistory.org.uk/people/faith/christian/cofe/index.html |title=Anglicanism |year=2005 |publisher=Wolverhampton City Council |access-date=13 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160120193746/http://www.wolverhamptonhistory.org.uk/people/faith/christian/cofe/index.html |archive-date=20 January 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> The variation ''Wolveren Hampton'' is seen in medieval records, e.g. in 1381.<ref>[http://aalt.law.uh.edu/AALT6/R2/CP40no483/483_0027.htm Plea Rolls of the Court of Common Pleas; National Archives; CP 40/483; Year 1381] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304052250/http://aalt.law.uh.edu/AALT6/R2/CP40no483/483_0027.htm |date=4 March 2016 }}; 6th entry (split between 2 lines)</ref> The ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' includes the [[demonym]] ''Wulfrunian'', defined as "An inhabitant of Wolverhampton", its earliest example of use being from 1959.<ref name=oed>{{Cite OED|Wulfrunian|4217437424}}</ref>

==History==
A local tradition states that King [[Wulfhere of Mercia]] founded an [[abbey]] of St Mary at Wolverhampton in 659.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.wolverhamptonhistory.org.uk/people/faith/christian/cofe/index.html
|title=The History of Wolverhampton the City and its People
|publisher=Wolverhampton Archives and Local Studies
|access-date=13 June 2008
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160120193746/http://www.wolverhamptonhistory.org.uk/people/faith/christian/cofe/index.html
|archive-date=20 January 2016
|url-status=live
}}</ref>

Wolverhampton is recorded as being the site of a [[Battle of Tettenhall|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]].<ref>{{cite book |last= Horovitz |first= David |title= Notes and Materials on the Battle of Tettenhall 910 A.D., and Other Researches |year= 2010 |publisher= David Horovitz |isbn= 978-0-9550309-1-8}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |title= Wolverhampton City Council – Wodensfield School |publisher= Wolverhampton City Council |url= http://www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/education_learning/schools/list/primary/Wodensfield.htm |access-date= 8 July 2007 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070901095322/http://www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/education_learning/schools/list/primary/Wodensfield.htm |archive-date= 1 September 2007 |df= dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title= Wodensfield Tower |publisher= Skyscraper Page |url= http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=21576 |access-date= 8 July 2007 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071203054843/http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=21576 |archive-date= 3 December 2007 |url-status= live }}</ref>

[[File:Lady wulfruna.jpg|left|thumb|upright=0.65|Statue of [[Lady Wulfruna|Lady Wulfrun]] on western side of [[St. Peter's Collegiate Church, Wolverhampton|St. Peter's Collegiate Church]]]]
In 985, King [[Ethelred the Unready]] granted lands at a place referred to as ''Heantun'' to Lady Wulfrun by royal charter,<ref name="Wulfruna">{{cite web |title= Lady Wulfruna |publisher= Wolverhampton History and Heritage Society |url= http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/articles/wulfruna/wulfruna01.htm |access-date= 13 June 2008 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080527210326/http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/articles/wulfruna/wulfruna01.htm |archive-date= 27 May 2008 |df= dmy-all }}</ref> 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, Staffordshire|Wall]], [[Hatherton, Staffordshire|Hatherton]], [[Kinvaston]], Hilton near Wolverhampton, and [[Featherstone, Staffordshire|Featherstone]].<ref name="Wulfruna"/> This became the site for the current [[St Peter's Collegiate Church|St. Peter's Church]].<ref name="WHHS">{{cite web |title= History of Wolverhampton |publisher= Wolverhampton History and Heritage Society |url= http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/history/farley/oldwlv.htm |access-date= 13 June 2008 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071024161026/http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/history/farley/oldwlv.htm |archive-date= 24 October 2007 |url-status= live }}</ref> A statue of Lady Wulfrun, sculpted by [[Charles Wheeler (sculptor)|Sir Charles Wheeler]], can be seen on the stairs outside the church.<ref name="Wulfruna"/>

Wolverhampton is recorded in the [[Domesday Book]] in 1086 as being in the [[Hundred (county division)|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 the tenant-in-chief being [[Samson (bishop of Worcester)|Samson]], [[William the Conqueror]]'s personal chaplain.<ref>Mander, G.P. (1960) ''A History Of Wolverhampton to the Early Nineteenth Century''. Wolverhampton Corporation. Page 19</ref> Wolverhampton at this date is a large settlement of fifty households.<ref>{{cite web |title=Domesday Book |url=http://domesdaymap.co.uk/place/SO9198/wolverhampton/ |access-date=6 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150106122725/http://domesdaymap.co.uk/place/SO9198/wolverhampton/ |archive-date=6 January 2015 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>

In 1179, there is mention of a market held in the town, and in 1204 it had come to the attention of [[John of England|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 of England|Henry III]].<ref name="WHHS"/>

It is held that in the 14th and 15th centuries that Wolverhampton was one of the "staple towns" of the woollen trade,<ref name="WHHS"/> which today can be seen by the inclusion of a woolpack on the city's coat of arms,<ref name="Coat of arms">{{cite web |title=Wolverhampton Coat of Arms – Wolverhampton History |url=http://www.wolverhamptonhistory.org.uk/politics/local_government/wolves/coat_arms/index.html?sid=d988a0dcd52acacef8612d4e5f01f4e6 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240701024702/http://www.wolverhamptonhistory.org.uk/politics/local_government/wolves/coat_arms/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 July 2024 |publisher=Wolverhampton City Council |access-date=11 June 2008 }}</ref> 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.<ref name="WHHS"/>

In 1512, Sir [[Stephen Jenyns]], 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.<ref>{{cite web |title= Wolverhampton Grammar School |publisher= Wolverhampton Grammar School |url= http://www.wolverhamptongrammarschool.com/pages/prospective/history.aspx |access-date= 16 June 2008 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080618220854/http://www.wolverhamptongrammarschool.com/pages/prospective/history.aspx |archive-date= 18 June 2008 |df= dmy-all }}</ref>

From the 16th century onwards, Wolverhampton became home to a number of metal industries including lock and [[Key (lock)|key]] making and iron and [[brass]] working.

Wolverhampton suffered two Great Fires: 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.<ref name="WHHS"/>

On 27 January 1606,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/history/chronology/upto1700.htm |title=Up to 1700, Wolverhampton History & Heritage Website |publisher=Localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk |access-date=24 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121002153918/http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/history/chronology/upto1700.htm |archive-date=2 October 2012  }}</ref> two farmers, Thomas Smart and John Holyhead of [[Rowley Regis]], were executed on High Green, now Queen Square, for sheltering two of the [[Gunpowder Plot]]ters, [[Robert Wintour]] and [[Gunpowder Plot#Last stand|Stephen Littleton]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://rowleyvillage.webs.com/rowleytimeline.htm |title=Time Line for Rowley |publisher=Rowleyvillage.webs.com |access-date=24 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120325041627/http://rowleyvillage.webs.com/rowleytimeline.htm |archive-date=25 March 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref name="WHHS"/>

There is also evidence that Wolverhampton may have been the location of the first working [[Newcomen atmospheric engine|Newcomen Steam Engine]] in 1712.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Rana |first=Suhail |title=New evidence supporting Wolverhampton as the location of the first working Newcomen engine |journal=International Journal for the History of Engineering and Technology |year=2009 |volume=72 |issue=2 |pages=162–173|doi=10.1179/175812109X449595 |s2cid=110962735 }}</ref>

===19th century===
[[File:Wightwick Manor 02.jpg|right|thumb|Wightwick Manor]]
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 era|Victorian times]], Wolverhampton grew to be a wealthy town mainly due to the huge amount of industry that occurred as a result of 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 the 1960s and 1970s.

[[File:Prince Albert Wolverhampton.jpg|upright=0.65|thumb|Statue of Prince Albert in Queen Square]]
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 [[Tories (British political party)|Tory]] candidate led to the [[1835 Wolverhampton riot]], with [[dragoon]]s being called in to end the intimidation. Wolverhampton was incorporated as a [[municipal borough]] on 15 March 1848 under the [[Municipal Corporations Act 1835]] before becoming a [[county borough]] in 1889.<ref name="woodfield">{{cite web |url=http://johnwoodfield.co.uk/oldwlv.htm |title=A History of Wolverhampton 985–1985 |publisher=John Woodfield |access-date=26 June 2008 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070828015743/http://johnwoodfield.co.uk/oldwlv.htm |archive-date=28 August 2007  }}</ref> It was represented politically in Victorian times by [[Charles Pelham Villiers]], a [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal]] [[Member of Parliament|MP]] and noted [[free trade]] supporter who was also the longest-serving MP in parliamentary history. [[Henry Fowler, 1st Viscount Wolverhampton|Lord Wolverhampton, Henry Hartley Fowler]] was MP for Wolverhampton at the turn of the century.

The railways reached Wolverhampton in 1837, with the first station located at [[Wednesfield Heath railway station|Wednesfield Heath]], now Heath Town, on the [[Grand Junction Railway]].<ref name="Virgin Trains">{{cite web |url=http://www.virgintrainsmediaroom.com/media/adobepdf/3%20Grand%20Junction%20D.pdf |title=The first trunk line – The Grand Junction Railway |publisher=Virgin Trains |access-date=1 July 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081003102021/http://www.virgintrainsmediaroom.com/media/adobepdf/3%20Grand%20Junction%20D.pdf |archive-date=3 October 2008  }}</ref> This station was demolished in 1965, but the area exists as a nature reserve just off Powell Street.<ref name="Heath Town Station">{{cite web |url=http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/articles/railways/heath%20town.htm |title=Heath Town Station |publisher=Wolverhampton History and Heritage Society |access-date=1 July 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061008182303/http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/articles/railways/heath%20town.htm |archive-date=8 October 2006  }}</ref> [[Wolverhampton railway works]] was established in 1849 for the [[Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway]] and became the Northern Division workshop of the [[Great Western Railway]] in 1854.<ref name="manufacturing">{{cite web |url=http://johnwoodfield.co.uk/wlvmanuf.htm |title=A History of Manufacturing in Wolverhampton |publisher=John Woodfield |access-date=1 July 2008 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929153700/http://johnwoodfield.co.uk/wlvmanuf.htm |archive-date=29 September 2007  }}</ref>

In the 19th century, the city saw much immigration from [[Wales]] and [[Ireland]], the latter following the [[Great Famine (Ireland)|Great Famine]]. In 1866, a statue was erected in memory of [[Albert, Prince Consort|Prince Albert the Prince Consort]], the unveiling of which brought Queen Victoria back to Wolverhampton.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wolverhamptonarchives.dial.pipex.com/local_queen.htm |title=Queen Victoria's Visit to Wolverhampton |publisher=Wolverhampton Archives & Local Studies |access-date=17 June 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080214205957/http://www.wolverhamptonarchives.dial.pipex.com/local_queen.htm <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 14 February 2008}}</ref> The unveiling of the statue was the first public appearance Queen Victoria made after the funeral of her husband. A {{convert|40|ft|m|0|adj=mid|-tall}} archway made of coal 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 (industrialist)|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 (1854–55)|Siege of Sevastopol]] in 1855,<ref name="woodfield"/> and remains standing in Queen Square. The statue is known locally as "The Man on the Horse".

The [[Stafford Street drill hall, Wolverhampton|Stafford Street drill hall]] was completed in 1890.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.drillhalls.org/Counties/Staffordshire/TownWolverhampton.htm|title=Wolverhampton|publisher=The Drill Hall Project|access-date=4 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905092829/http://www.drillhalls.org/Counties/Staffordshire/TownWolverhampton.htm|archive-date=5 September 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

===20th century===
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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wolverhamptonhistory.org.uk/work/industry/bicycle |title=History of Wolverhampton Bicycle Industry |publisher=Wolverhampton History |date=7 September 2005 |access-date=24 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160120193746/http://www.wolverhamptonhistory.org.uk/work/industry/bicycle |archive-date=20 January 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> The last volume manufacturers of bicycles left Wolverhampton during the 1960s and 1970s – the largest and best-known of which was Viking Cycles Ltd,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historywebsite.co.uk/Museum/Transport/bicycles/Viking.htm |title=The Viking Cycle Company |publisher=Wolverhampton History and Heritage Website |access-date=1 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924030550/http://www.historywebsite.co.uk/Museum/Transport/bicycles/Viking.htm |archive-date=24 September 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wolverhamptonhistory.org.uk/work/industry/bicycle2 |title=The Bicycle Industry |publisher=Wolverhampton History |date=8 September 2005 |access-date=24 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160120193746/http://www.wolverhamptonhistory.org.uk/work/industry/bicycle2 |archive-date=20 January 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Wolverhampton railway station|Wolverhampton High Level station]] (the current main railway station) opened in 1852, but the original station was demolished in 1965 and then rebuilt.<ref name="highlevelstation">{{cite web |url=http://www.railaroundbirmingham.co.uk/Stations/wolverhampton.php |title=Wolverhampton Station |publisher=Rail around Birmingham and the West Midlands |access-date=1 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080905134222/http://www.railaroundbirmingham.co.uk/Stations/wolverhampton.php |archive-date=5 September 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Wolverhampton Low Level railway station|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]], the British Prime Minister [[David Lloyd George]] announced a general election.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/genealogy/Mander/history/ManderFamilyHistory.htm |title=Mander Family History |publisher=Wolverhampton History and Heritage Society |access-date=1 July 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061008194135/http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/genealogy/Mander/history/ManderFamilyHistory.htm |archive-date=8 October 2006  }}</ref> He also made his "Homes fit for heroes" speech at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre in the same year.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blackcountry/uncovered/wolves_wander/wolverhampton_wander2.shtml |title=A Wolverhampton Wander |publisher=BBC Black Country |access-date=1 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090118110305/http://www.bbc.co.uk/blackcountry/uncovered/wolves_wander/wolverhampton_wander2.shtml |archive-date=18 January 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref> It was on the idea of "Homes fit for heroes" that Lloyd George was to fight the [[1918 United Kingdom general election|1918 "Coupon" General Election]].

Mass [[council housing]] development in Wolverhampton, to rehouse families from slum housing, began after the end of 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 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 was one of the largest housing estates in Britain at the time.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/article/A-History-of-Council-Housing-in-Wolverhampton/2 |title=A History of Council Housing in Wolverhampton :: Geograph Britain and Ireland – photograph every grid square! |publisher=Geograph.org.uk |date=13 March 2011 |access-date=24 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120510021450/http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/A-History-of-Council-Housing-in-Wolverhampton/2 |archive-date=10 May 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> Mass council housing development in Wolverhampton continued into the 1930s, mostly in the north of the city in the [[Oxley, Wolverhampton|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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/article/A-History-of-Council-Housing-in-Wolverhampton/3 |title=A History of Council Housing in Wolverhampton :: Geograph Britain and Ireland – photograph every grid square! |publisher=Geograph.org.uk |date=13 March 2011 |access-date=24 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120408152239/http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/A-History-of-Council-Housing-in-Wolverhampton/3 |archive-date=8 April 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Wolverhampton St George's tram stop|Wolverhampton St George's]] (in the city centre) was the northern terminus for the [[West Midlands Metro]] light rail system, now terminating at [[Wolverhampton station]]. 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/articles/Trams/Trams.htm |title=Trams in Wolverhampton |publisher=Wolverhampton History and Heritage Society |access-date=1 July 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090310022804/http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/articles/Trams/Trams.htm |archive-date=10 March 2009  }}</ref> [[Trolleybus]]es appeared in 1923, and in 1930 for a brief period the [[Trolleybuses in Wolverhampton|Wolverhampton trolleybus system]] was the world's largest trolleybus system.<ref>{{cite book |author=Graham Sidwell |title=Wolverhampton Trolleybuses 1961–67 |year=2006 |publisher=Middleton Press |isbn=978-1-904474-85-2 }}</ref> The last Wolverhampton trolleybus ran in 1967, just as the railway line through the High Level station was converted to electric operation.

[[File:Wolverhampton Princes Square.JPG|left|thumb|The location of the UK's first set of traffic lights at Princes Square; the poles are painted with black and white bands, as they were originally]]
England's first automatic [[traffic light]]s could be seen in Princes Square in 1927.<ref name="Wolverhampton City Council">{{cite web |url=http://www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/transport_streets/motor/management/control.htm |title=Traffic Control and Traffic Signals |publisher=Wolverhampton City Council |access-date=1 July 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080920084143/http://www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/transport_streets/motor/management/control.htm |archive-date=20 September 2008  }}</ref> The modern traffic lights at this location have the traditional striped poles to commemorate this fact. Princes Square was also the location of the United Kingdom's first pedestrian safety barriers, which were erected in 1934.<ref name="Steelway Limited">{{cite web |url=http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/Museum/Engineering/Steelway/History.htm |title=Steelway Limited |publisher=Wolverhampton History and Heritage Society |access-date=24 December 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130531094124/http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/Museum/Engineering/Steelway/History.htm |archive-date=31 May 2013  }}</ref> On 2 November 1927, the [[A4123 road|A4123]] New Road was opened by the then-Prince of Wales (later [[Edward VIII]])<ref>{{cite web |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1927/nov/18/landlord-and-tenant-no-2-bill#S5CV0210P0_19271118_HOC_71 |title=Hansard |date=18 November 1927 |access-date=1 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025021436/http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1927/nov/18/landlord-and-tenant-no-2-bill#S5CV0210P0_19271118_HOC_71 |archive-date=25 October 2012 |work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]] |url-status=live }}</ref> linking the city with [[Birmingham]]. The New Road was designed as an unemployment relief project<ref>{{cite web |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1923/jul/18/birmingham-and-wolverhampton-road#S5CV0166P0_19230718_CWA_21 |title=Hansard |date=18 July 1923 |access-date=1 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025021400/http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1923/jul/18/birmingham-and-wolverhampton-road#S5CV0166P0_19230718_CWA_21 |archive-date=25 October 2012 |work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]] |url-status=live }}</ref> and was the United Kingdom's first purpose-built intercity highway of the twentieth century.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}

[[Geoffrey Mander|Sir Geoffrey Le Mesurier Mander]], a member of the [[Mander family]], was Liberal MP for [[Wolverhampton East (UK Parliament constituency)|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 Party (UK)|Conservative]] mavericks [[Enoch Powell]] and [[Nicholas Budgen]]. Powell was a member of [[Edward Heath]]'s Tory shadow cabinet from 1964, until he 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 of Nations|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09z4fz1|title=BBC Radio 4 – The Turban Bus Dispute|website=BBC|access-date=18 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180420023335/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09z4fz1|archive-date=20 April 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2005, former [[Bilston]] councillor and MP for [[Wolverhampton South East (UK Parliament constituency)|Wolverhampton South East]], [[Dennis Turner, Baron Bilston|Dennis Turner]] entered 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/article/A-History-of-Council-Housing-in-Wolverhampton/4 |title=A History of Council Housing in Wolverhampton :: Geograph Britain and Ireland – photograph every grid square! |publisher=Geograph.org.uk |date=13 March 2011 |access-date=24 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120408152243/http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/A-History-of-Council-Housing-in-Wolverhampton/4 |archive-date=8 April 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/article/A-History-of-Council-Housing-in-Wolverhampton/5 |title=A History of Council Housing in Wolverhampton :: Geograph Britain and Ireland – photograph every grid square! |publisher=Geograph.org.uk |date=13 March 2011 |access-date=24 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120621065509/http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/A-History-of-Council-Housing-in-Wolverhampton/5 |archive-date=21 June 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> The 1960s saw 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/article/A-History-of-Council-Housing-in-Wolverhampton/6 |title=A History of Council Housing in Wolverhampton :: Geograph Britain and Ireland – photograph every grid square! |publisher=Geograph.org.uk |date=13 March 2011 |access-date=24 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120510020056/http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/A-History-of-Council-Housing-in-Wolverhampton/6 |archive-date=10 May 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> By 1975, by which time Wolverhampton had also taken in the majority of the Borough of [[Bilston]], 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/article/A-History-of-Council-Housing-in-Wolverhampton/7 |title=A History of Council Housing in Wolverhampton :: Geograph Britain and Ireland – photograph every grid square! |publisher=Geograph.org.uk |date=13 March 2011 |access-date=24 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120510020100/http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/A-History-of-Council-Housing-in-Wolverhampton/7 |archive-date=10 May 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>

As well as the many new council estates which sprang up around Wolverhampton during 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 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 the 1950s and 1960s, mostly in the [[Blakenhall]], [[All Saints, Wolverhampton|All Saints]], [[Whitmore Reans]] and [[Heath Town]] areas. Wolverhampton is home to a large [[Sikh]] community, who settled there during the period (1935–1975) from the Indian state of [[Punjab, India|Punjab]]. Today, the Sikh community in Wolverhampton is roughly 12% of the city's population.

In 1974, as a result of local government reorganisation, Wolverhampton became a [[metropolitan borough]], transferring from Staffordshire into the newly formed West Midlands county. Wolverhampton was granted [[City status in the United Kingdom|city status]] on 31 January 2001<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/56109/page/1431|title=Page 1431 &#124; Issue 56109, 5 February 2001 &#124; London Gazette &#124; The Gazette|newspaper=[[The London Gazette]]|accessdate=18 May 2023}}</ref> – an honour that had been unsuccessfully applied for in 1953, 1966, 1977,<ref name="citystatus">{{cite book |author=J.V. Beckett |title=City Status in the British Isles, 1830–2002 |year=2006 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing |isbn=978-0-7546-5067-6 }}</ref> 1985<ref>{{Cite news |title=The town determined to join the city life |newspaper=[[The Times]] |date=23 January 1985 |page=12 }}</ref> and 1992<ref name="citystatus"/> – making it one of three "Millennium Cities".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1074434.stm |title=City winners named |work=BBC News |date=18 December 2000 |access-date=8 July 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070831075352/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1074434.stm |archive-date=31 August 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref> Wolverhampton also made an unsuccessful application for a Lord Mayor in 2002.<ref name="citystatus"/>

Many of the city centre's buildings date from the early 20th century and before, the oldest buildings being [[St Peter's Collegiate Church|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)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/listed/stpeterschurch.htm |title=St Peter's Church |publisher=Localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk |access-date=24 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120927031139/http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/listed/stpeterschurch.htm |archive-date=27 September 2012  }}</ref> 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 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 carries a "false" date of 1300AD fitted during a past refurbishment.
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.<ref>{{cite web |last=Wulfrun |first=Lady |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/8050359@N07/2502450004/ |title=Lindy Lou, AKA The Copper Kettle, 19 Victoria Street, Wolverhampton, 1979. |publisher=Flickr |date=24 October 2008 |access-date=24 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140322184246/http://www.flickr.com/photos/8050359@N07/2502450004/ |archive-date=22 March 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 23 November 1981, [[1981 United Kingdom tornado outbreak|an F1/T2 tornado]] touched down in [[Fordhouses]] to the north of Wolverhampton, and later moved over Wolverhampton city centre and surrounding suburbs, causing some damage.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eswd.eu/cgi-bin/eswd.cgi|title=European Severe Weather Database|website=www.eswd.eu|access-date=22 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181222045014/http://www.eswd.eu/cgi-bin/eswd.cgi|archive-date=22 December 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

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 the mid-1960s, with the Mander Centre (plans for which were unveiled on 15 April 1965)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.expressandstar.com/days/1950-75/1966.html |title=Those were the days |work=Express & Star |access-date=24 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120719043828/http://www.expressandstar.com/days/1950-75/1966.html |archive-date=19 July 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.localhistories.org/wolverhampton.html |title=A History of Wolverhampton |publisher=Localhistories.org |access-date=24 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120613175538/http://www.localhistories.org/wolverhampton.html |archive-date=13 June 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Central Wolverhampton police station 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 along with a number of shops and the Clifton Cinema. This was officially opened by [[Diana, Princess of Wales]], on 31 July 1992.<ref>{{cite web |last=Wulfrun |first=Lady The original station has since been converted into apartments. |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/8050359@N07/1020232961/ |title=Market Street, Wolverhampton June 1981. |date=5 August 2007 |publisher=Flickr |access-date=24 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140322184241/http://www.flickr.com/photos/8050359@N07/1020232961/ |archive-date=22 March 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The city centre had several cinemas during the 20th century, including the [[Odeon Cinema, Wolverhampton|Odeon Cinema]]. The last of these 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/articles/Cinemas/Cinemas.htm |title=A Century of Cinema in Wolverhampton |publisher=Localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk |access-date=24 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120712052512/http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/articles/Cinemas/Cinemas.htm |archive-date=12 July 2012  }}</ref> The building was demolished in 2019 to make way for an extension to the [[City of Wolverhampton College]]'s Metro One campus.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.expressandstar.com/news/local-hubs/wolverhampton/2019/07/18/wolverhampton-college-campus-to-be-sold-off-after-city-centre-move/|title=Wolverhampton College campus to be sold off after city centre move|date=18 July 2019|newspaper=Express and Star|access-date=8 February 2023}}</ref>

A modern landmark in the city centre is the [[Wolverhampton Combined Court Centre]] on Pipers Row, which opened in 1990 as the town's first purpose-built crown court.<ref>{{cite web|title=Wolverhampton's Architectural Heritage|url=http://www.wolverhamptonarchives.dial.pipex.com/local_heritage_civic.htm |access-date=6 March 2010|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080515064941/http://www.wolverhamptonarchives.dial.pipex.com/local_heritage_civic.htm |archive-date=15 May 2008}}</ref>

===21st century===
A few department store chains including [[Marks & Spencer]] and [[Next plc|Next]] have stores in the centre of Wolverhampton. [[Beatties]], a [[House of Fraser]] store, was announced to close in 2019.<ref name=eas20180607>Penfold, Simon [https://www.expressandstar.com/news/business/2018/06/07/140-years-of-city-history-faces-the-end-with-beatties-set-to-close-next-year/ 140 years of city history faces the end with Beatties closure] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612141336/https://www.expressandstar.com/news/business/2018/06/07/140-years-of-city-history-faces-the-end-with-beatties-set-to-close-next-year/ |date=12 June 2018 }}, [[Express & Star]], Wolverhampton, 7 June 2018. Retrieved on 7 June 2018.</ref> [[Debenhams]] opened a 3-floor department store in the [[Mander Centre]] in 2017, but has now closed.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-birmingham-48069210|title='It only just opened, now it's going'|date=26 April 2019|work=BBC News|access-date=1 July 2019|language=en-GB|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190701144055/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-birmingham-48069210|archive-date=1 July 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Rackhams]] had a store on Snow Hill for some 25 years until 1992. This building was then divided between a [[Netto (store)|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 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 (supermarket)|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 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 road|A4123]] Birmingham Road and a newer branch close to the former Wolverhampton Low Level railway station in Sun Street.

In 2021, a [[blue plaque]] was erected in memory of British immigrant rights activist [[Paulette Wilson]], a member of the [[Windrush generation]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Vukmirovic|first=James|title=Paulette Wilson: Windrush campaigner's life honoured with ceremony and plaque|url=https://www.expressandstar.com/news/local-hubs/wolverhampton/whitmore-reans/2021/06/22/paulette-wilson-windrush-campaigners-life-honoured-with-ceremony-and-plaque/|access-date=25 June 2021|website=www.expressandstar.com|date=22 June 2021 |language=en|archive-date=25 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210625191544/https://www.expressandstar.com/news/local-hubs/wolverhampton/whitmore-reans/2021/06/22/paulette-wilson-windrush-campaigners-life-honoured-with-ceremony-and-plaque/|url-status=live}}</ref> The plaque was launched with campaigners including [[Patrick Vernon]] and [[Claire Darke]] at the Wolverhampton Heritage Centre.<ref>{{Cite web|date=22 June 2021|title=Plaque for Windrush campaigner unveiled at former office of Enoch Powell|url=http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/jun/22/plaque-honouring-windrush-campaigner-unveiled-at-enoch-powell-office|access-date=25 June 2021|website=The Guardian|language=en|archive-date=24 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624224828/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/jun/22/plaque-honouring-windrush-campaigner-unveiled-at-enoch-powell-office|url-status=live}}</ref> 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]] was written.<ref>{{Cite news|date=22 June 2021|title=Paulette Wilson, late Windrush campaigner, to be honoured with blue plaque|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/paulette-wilson-windrush-blue-plaque-b1870184.html|access-date=25 June 2021|work=[[The Independent]]|language=en|archive-date=25 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210625191542/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/paulette-wilson-windrush-blue-plaque-b1870184.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government====
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, are scheduled to be moving to Wolverhampton by 2025.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.expressandstar.com/news/politics/2021/02/20/wolverhampton-chosen-for-new-government-department-headquarters/|title=First government department HQ outside London to be based in Wolverhampton|first=Peter|last=Madeley|website=www.expressandstar.com|date=20 February 2021 |access-date=22 February 2021|archive-date=21 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210221222659/https://www.expressandstar.com/news/politics/2021/02/20/wolverhampton-chosen-for-new-government-department-headquarters/|url-status=live}}</ref> The then Secretary of State, [[Robert Jenrick]] officially opened the Ministry's new offices in the i9 building at the city's public transport interchange development on 10 September 2021.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.expressandstar.com/news/politics/2021/09/10/from-whitehall-to-wolverhampton-government-branches-out-with-city-move/|title=From Whitehall to Wolverhampton: Government branches out with city move|work=[[Express & Star]]|date=10 September 2021|access-date=20 September 2021|archive-date=17 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210917124042/https://www.expressandstar.com/news/politics/2021/09/10/from-whitehall-to-wolverhampton-government-branches-out-with-city-move/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Art and culture===
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 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]] 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 the ornate cast iron safe painting industry from the Victorian era. Numerous companies, such as [[Chubb Locks|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 a large stained glass [[rotunda (architecture)|rotunda]] in its foyer. It is among the few canal street factories in the "Black Country" that has been preserved.

Wolverhampton's biggest public art display took place between July and September 2017; [[Wolves in Wolves]] saw the installation of 30 wolf sculptures in the city centre and West Park, with the sculptures auctioned off to raise money for charity.

===Exhibitions===
As its wealth and influence grew, Wolverhampton both took part in notable exhibitions and hosted them. [[The Great Exhibition]] of 1851, at [[The Crystal Palace]], had examples of locks, [[Japanning#Wolverhampton and Bilston|japanned ware]], [[Vitreous enamel|enamel ware]] and [[Papier-mâché#Europe|papier-mâché]] products all manufactured in Wolverhampton.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/articles/grtexhib/gtexhib.htm |title=Wolverhampton at the Great Exhibition, 1851 |author=Frank Sharman |publisher=Wolverhampton History & Heritage Website |access-date=15 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130203034353/http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/articles/grtexhib/gtexhib.htm |archive-date=3 February 2013  }}</ref>

Following successful exhibitions at Mechanics' Institutes in [[Manchester]] and many northern towns, Wolverhampton held an exhibition that was the brain child of [[George Wallis]], an artist employed by the firm of Ryton and Walton. The exhibition was held in the Mechanics' Institute in Queen Street and showed fine art, furniture, and decorated trays, as well as a variety of ironwork, locks and steel toys.<ref name="Exhibitions">{{cite web |url=http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/articles/electronic/exhibs/wolverhampton_exhibitions.htm |title=Exhibitions Great and Small |author=Frank Sharman |publisher=Wolverhampton History & Heritage |access-date=15 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120307093643/http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/articles/electronic/exhibs/wolverhampton_exhibitions.htm |archive-date=7 March 2012  }}</ref>

On 11 May 1869 [[Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville|The Earl Granville]] opened the Exhibition of Staffordshire Arts and Industry in a temporary building in the grounds of Molineux House.<ref name="Exhibitions"/>

The largest and most ambitious exhibition was the Arts and Industrial Exhibition which took place in 1902. Although housing only one international pavilion, from Canada, the scope and scale of the exhibition mirrored all the advances in other exhibitions of its time. The exhibition site featured several halls housing machinery, industrial products, a concert hall, two bandstands, a restaurant, and a fun fair with thrill rides and a water chute. Its opening, by the [[Duke of Connaught]], was received with hopeful enthusiasm, unfortunately not matched by the weather, which contributed to a £30,000 loss, equivalent to nearly £2M at today's value.<ref name="Exhibitions"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/currency/results.asp#mid |title=Currency Converter |publisher=National Archive |access-date=16 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081203175803/http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/currency/results.asp#mid |archive-date=3 December 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Geography==
Wolverhampton lies {{Convert|13|mi|km}} northwest of its larger near-neighbour [[Birmingham]], and forms the second largest part of the [[West Midlands conurbation]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/census2001/ks_urban_midlands_part_1.pdf |title=Key Statistics for Urban Areas in the Midlands |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=2 July 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20040724075135/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/census2001/ks_urban_midlands_part_1.pdf |archive-date=24 July 2004  }}</ref> To the north and west lies the [[Staffordshire]] and [[Shropshire]] countryside.

Wolverhampton city centre falls outside of the area traditionally known as the [[Black Country]], although some areas such as the town and former borough of [[Bilston]] and [[Heath Town]] and the [[Willenhall]] side of Wolverhampton fall within the Black Country [[coalfield]]s, leading to confusion as to whether the entire city falls within the region. Modern usage has tended towards using the term to refer to the western part of the [[West Midlands (county)|West Midlands county]], excluding Birmingham, [[Metropolitan Borough of Solihull|Solihull]] and [[Coventry]]. Examples would be UK Government regional bodies such as the [[Black Country Development Corporation]], under whose remit the city fell.

The city lies upon the [[Midlands Plateau]] at {{Convert|163|m|ft}} above sea level.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://elevationmap.net/5a-market-st-wolverhampton-west-midlands-wv1-3ae-uk?latlngs=(52.58467847246639,-2.1253867724609563)|title=5a Market St Wolverhampton West Midlands Wv1 3ae Uk on the Elevation Map. Topographic Map of 5a Market St Wolverhampton West Midlands Wv1 3ae Uk.|last=elevationmap.net|website=elevationmap.net|language=en|access-date=19 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160215192918/http://elevationmap.net/5a-market-st-wolverhampton-west-midlands-wv1-3ae-uk?latlngs=(52.58467847246639,-2.1253867724609563)|archive-date=15 February 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> There are no major rivers within the city, although the [[River Penk]] and [[River Tame, West Midlands|River Tame]] (tributaries of the [[River Trent]]) rise in the city, as does [[Smestow Brook]], a tributary of the [[River Stour, Worcestershire|River Stour]], and thence the [[River Severn]]. This means that the city lies astride the main east–west [[Drainage divide|watershed]] of England.

The geology of the city is complex, with a combination of [[Triassic]] and [[Carboniferous]] geology; specifically [[Bunter (geology)|Bunter]] and [[Keuper]] [[sandstone]], and Upper and Middle [[Coal measures]]. There is also an area of [[Diabase|dolerite]] intrusions.<ref>{{cite book |author=The West Midland Group |title=Conurbation: A Survey of Birmingham and the Black Country |page=41 |year=1948 |publisher=The Architectural Press |location=London}}</ref>

===Climate===
Wolverhampton's climate is [[Oceanic climate|oceanic]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]] ''Cfb'') and therefore quite temperate, with average maximum temperatures in July being around {{convert|21|°C|°F|0}}, and with the maximum daytime temperature in January being around {{convert|6.9|°C|°F}}.

The [[Met Office]]'s nearest [[Penkridge weather station|observation station]] is at [[Penkridge]], about {{convert|10|mi|km|0}} north of the city.{{citation needed|date=September 2019}}

{{Weather box
|location = Wolverhampton (1981–2010)
|metric first = Yes
|single line = Yes
|Jan record high C = 14
|Feb record high C = 18
|Mar record high C = 21
|Apr record high C = 25
|May record high C = 27
|Jun record high C = 31
|Jul record high C = 35
|Aug record high C = 35
|Sep record high C = 28
|Oct record high C = 28
|Nov record high C = 21
|Dec record high C = 16
|year record high C= 35
|Jan high C = 6.9
|Feb high C = 7.3
|Mar high C = 10.1
|Apr high C = 12.8
|May high C = 16.2
|Jun high C = 19.1
|Jul high C = 21.5
|Aug high C = 21.1
|Sep high C = 18.2
|Oct high C = 14
|Nov high C = 10
|Dec high C = 7.2
|Jan low C = 1.5
|Feb low C = 1.2
|Mar low C = 2.9
|Apr low C = 4
|May low C = 6.8
|Jun low C = 9.6
|Jul low C = 11.7
|Aug low C = 11.5
|Sep low C = 9.6
|Oct low C = 6.9
|Nov low C = 3.9
|Dec low C = 1.6
|Jan rain mm = 58.2
|Feb rain mm = 39.7
|Mar rain mm = 47.6
|Apr rain mm = 51.1
|May rain mm = 55.7
|Jun rain mm = 58.5
|Jul rain mm = 55.5
|Aug rain mm = 59
|Sep rain mm = 60.5
|Oct rain mm = 67.4
|Nov rain mm = 64.5
|Dec rain mm = 63.5
|Jan record low C = -13
|Feb record low C = -13
|Mar record low C = -11
|Apr record low C = -6
|May record low C = -3
|Jun record low C = -1
|Jul record low C = 3
|Aug record low C = 3
|Sep record low C = -1
|Oct record low C = -7
|Nov record low C = -10
|Dec record low C = -15
|year record low C= -15
|Jan sun = 47.9
|Feb sun = 65.5
|Mar sun = 97.5
|Apr sun = 139.6
|May sun = 179.6
|Jun sun = 164.2
|Jul sun = 183.6
|Aug sun = 168.1
|Sep sun = 124.9
|Oct sun = 97.8
|Nov sun = 57.3
|Dec sun = 38.3
|year sun = 
|source 1 =<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.msn.com/en-gb/weather/records/Wolverhampton,England,United-Kingdom/we-city-52.585,-2.113?iso=GB&form=PRWLAS&q=Wolverhampton%2C%20Wolverhampton| title = Averages for Wolverhampton| publisher = msn| access-date = 21 May 2016| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160617112406/http://www.msn.com/en-gb/weather/records/Wolverhampton,England,United-Kingdom/we-city-52.585,-2.113?iso=GB&form=PRWLAS&q=Wolverhampton%2C%20Wolverhampton| archive-date = 17 June 2016| url-status = dead}}</ref>
|source 2 = Penkridge extremes (nearest station)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/climate/gcq7pt4g5|title=Wolverhampton climate|publisher=Met Office|access-date=21 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611112010/http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/climate/gcq7pt4g5|archive-date=11 June 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>
|date= May 2016}}

===Areas of the city===
{{See also|List of areas in Wolverhampton}}
As with much of the locality, the majority of areas in Wolverhampton have names that are of [[Old English]] ([[Anglo-Saxon]]) origin, with a few exceptions such as Penn (pre-English [[Common Brittonic|Brittonic]] place name) and Parkfields, Park Village, Lanesfield etc. (modern place names of the last couple of hundred years).<ref>David Horovitz – ''The Place Names of Staffordshire'' (2006)</ref>

Localities in the City of Wolverhampton include:
{{Div col|colwidth=12em}}
*[[Aldersley]]
*[[All Saints, Wolverhampton|All Saints]]
*[[Ashmore Park]]†
*[[Bilston]] †
*[[Blakenhall]]
*[[Bradley, West Midlands|Bradley]]†
*[[Bradmore, West Midlands|Bradmore]]
*[[Bushbury]]
*[[Castlecroft]]
*[[Chapel Ash]]
*[[Claregate]]
*[[Compton, Wolverhampton|Compton]]
*[[Coseley]] (part) †
*[[Dunstall Hill]]
*[[East Park, Wolverhampton|East Park]]
*[[Ettingshall]]†
*[[Fallings Park]]
*[[Finchfield]]
*[[Fordhouses]]
*[[Goldthorn Park]]†
*[[Gorsebrook]]
*[[Graiseley]]
*[[Heath Town]]
*[[Horseley Fields]]
*[[Lanesfield]]†
*[[Low Hill]]
*[[Lower Penn]] (part) ††
*[[Merridale]]
*[[Merry Hill, Wolverhampton|Merry Hill]]
*[[Monmore Green]]
*[[Newbridge, Wolverhampton|Newbridge]]
*[[Old Fallings]]
*[[Oxley, Wolverhampton|Oxley]]
*[[Parkfields]]
*[[Park Village]]
*[[Pendeford]]
*[[Penn, West Midlands|Penn]]
*[[Penn Fields]]
*[[Portobello, West Midlands|Portobello]]†
*[[Scotlands Estate]]
*[[Stow Heath]]
*[[Tettenhall]]†
*[[Tettenhall Wood]]†
*[[Warstones]]
*[[Wednesfield]] †
*[[Whitmore Reans]]
*[[Wightwick]]†
*[[Wood End, Wolverhampton|Wood End]]†
*[[Woodcross]]†
{{colend}}
; '''Notes''' :†–Partial Municipal Boroughs or Urban Districts added to Wolverhampton County Borough in 1966 and communities within these. These Urban Districts were split between Wolverhampton and other local authorities. Those parts within the present City of Wolverhampton local council area are considered by the ONS to be part of the Wolverhampton Urban sub-division.
:††–Areas within the Wolverhampton Urban Sub-division but administered by [[South Staffordshire]] District Council.

===Nearby places===
{{See also|Black Country}}

'''Towns'''
{{Div col|colwidth=12em}}
*[[Bewdley]]
*[[Brewood]]
*[[Bridgnorth]]
*[[Cannock]]
*[[Dudley]]
*[[Halesowen]]
*[[Kidderminster]]
*[[Kingswinford]]
*[[Newport, Shropshire|Newport]]
*[[Rugeley]]
*[[Sedgley]]
*[[Shifnal]]
*[[Shrewsbury]]
*[[Solihull]]
*[[Stafford]]
*[[Stone, Staffordshire|Stone]]
*[[Stourbridge]]
*[[Tamworth, Staffordshire|Tamworth]]
*[[Telford]]
*[[Tipton]]
*[[Walsall]]
*[[Wednesbury]]
*[[West Bromwich]]
{{colend}}

'''Villages'''
{{Div col|colwidth=12em}}
*[[Albrighton, Bridgnorth|Albrighton]]
*[[Bilbrook, Staffordshire|Bilbrook]]
*[[Bobbington]]
*[[Cheslyn Hay]]
*[[Codsall]]
*[[Coven, Staffordshire|Coven]]
*[[Essington]]
*[[Featherstone, Staffordshire|Featherstone]]
*[[Great Wyrley]]
*[[Himley]]
*[[Huntington, Staffordshire|Huntington]]
*[[Lower Penn]]
*[[Pattingham]]
*[[Penkridge]]
*[[Perton]]
*[[Seisdon]]
*[[Shareshill]]
*[[Swindon, Staffordshire|Swindon]]
*[[Tong, Shropshire|Tong]]
*[[Trysull]]
*[[Weston-under-Lizard]]
*[[Wheaton Aston]]
*[[Wombourne]]
{{colend}}

=== Green belt ===
{{main|West Midlands Green Belt}}
Wolverhampton has [[green belt]] within its boundary, as a part of the wider West Midlands Green Belt. This is scattered around the western half of the city, in the form of [[Green belt (United Kingdom)#Environmental|green wedges]], due to it being highly urbanised.<ref>{{cite web|title=Wolverhampton Unitary Development Plan|url=http://www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=7157&p=0|access-date=1 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180301225619/http://www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=7157&p=0|archive-date=1 March 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The green belt is in place to prevent further [[urban sprawl]], and preserve greenfield areas. Areas covered include:<ref>{{cite web|title=ArcGIS Web Application|url=http://wolverhampton.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=fb0418ebe31343b599ff862625e63eca|website=wolverhampton.maps.arcgis.com|access-date=1 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180301230512/http://wolverhampton.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=fb0418ebe31343b599ff862625e63eca|archive-date=1 March 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{Div col|colwidth=24em}}
*Moseley Parklands
*Land by Grassy Lane at Wood Hayes
*Ashmore Park
*Goldthorn/Lower Penn Green
*Holy Trinity Church, Ettingshall Park
*The Grange, Wergs
*Beacon Hill Cemetery
*Land south of Pattingham
*Aldersley School
*Perton Road/Boundary Farm
*South Staffs Golf Course
*Highfields School
*Pennwood Lane
*Smestow Valley/Valley Park
*Goldthorn/Lower Penn Green
{{colend}}

{{Geographic Location
|title     = Neighbouring districts and places
|Northwest = [[Telford]]
|North     = [[Penkridge]]
|Northeast = [[Cannock]]
|West      = [[Shrewsbury]]
|Centre    = Wolverhampton
|East      = [[Walsall]]
|Southwest = [[Swindon]]
|South     = [[Dudley, England|Dudley]]
|Southeast = [[West Bromwich]]
}}

==Government==
The vast majority of Wolverhampton is governed locally by City of Wolverhampton Council, although some smaller parts of the urban area are governed by [[South Staffordshire]] District Council.

The area administered by the City Council is represented in the national United Kingdom parliament by three MPs representing [[Wolverhampton West (UK Parliament constituency)|Wolverhampton West]], [[Wolverhampton South East (UK Parliament constituency)|Wolverhampton South East]] and [[Wolverhampton North East (UK Parliament constituency)|Wolverhampton North East]] constituencies, with the areas administered by South Staffordshire District Council being represented by [[South Staffordshire (UK Parliament constituency)|South Staffordshire constituency]]. The entire city was part of the [[West Midlands (European Parliament constituency)|West Midlands constituency]] of the European Parliament.

===City of Wolverhampton Council===
[[File:Civic Centre - geograph.org.uk - 447471.jpg|thumb|left|[[Wolverhampton Civic Centre]]]]
{{Main|City of Wolverhampton Council}}The City of Wolverhampton is a [[metropolitan borough]], with its City Council acting as a single-tier [[unitary authority]]. South Staffordshire District Council is a two-tier authority, with some services provided by [[Staffordshire]] County Council.
The council offices are in the [[Wolverhampton Civic Centre]], which is located in St Peter's Square in the city centre.<ref>{{cite web |title=City of Wolverhampton Council: Contact Us |publisher=City of Wolverhampton Council|url=http://www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/Contact_us/ |access-date=29 May 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080523121640/http://www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/Contact_us |archive-date=23 May 2008  }}</ref> The city council's motto is 'Out of darkness cometh light'.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/listed/lowhill%20lib/lowhillib.htm |title=Low Hill Branch Library |publisher=Wolverhampton History & Heritage Society |access-date=8 July 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071202074117/http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/listed/lowhill%20lib/lowhillib.htm |archive-date=2 December 2007  }}</ref>

The [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] currently control the council and have been in majority on the council since 1974, with the exceptions of 1978–1979, 1987, 1992–1994 and 2008–2010.<ref name="council stats">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/elections/local_council/08/html/cw.stm |title=Wolverhampton City Council local elections 2008 |publisher=BBC |date=2 May 2008 |access-date=29 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080505062136/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/elections/local_council/08/html/cw.stm |archive-date=5 May 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Labour party won 47 out of 60 council seats in [[2023 City of Wolverhampton Council election|2023]], the last year all the seats were up for election.<ref>{{cite news |title=Wolverhampton election result |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/2023/england/councils/E08000031 |access-date=18 November 2024 |work=BBC News}}</ref>
{{See also|List of Mayors of Wolverhampton}}

===Civic history===
[[File:Wolverhampton 1921.jpg|right|thumb|Wolverhampton in 1921]]
[[File:Town Hall , North St. , Wolverhampton - geograph.org.uk - 538393.jpg|thumbnail|right|[[Old Town Hall, Wolverhampton|The old Town Hall]] (magistrates court)]]

Wolverhampton gained the beginnings of modern local government in 1777, when the Wolverhampton Improvement Act was passed by Parliament. This allowed for the establishment of 125 Town Commissioners who undertook a variety of local improvement work such as punishing bear baiting, improving drainage, widening streets and by the end of the century street lighting had been provided at every street corner and over the doorway of every inn, and water supply had been improved by the sinking of ten new wells and the provision of a great water tank in the market place. Policing had been improved with the appointment of ten watchmen and attempts were also made to regulate the markets and inspect hazardous food.<ref name="farley"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wolverhamptonhistory.org.uk/politics/local_government/wolves/index.html?sid=14003c39a8d30c9d4326cdaba02d54e8 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121224110143/http://www.wolverhamptonhistory.org.uk/politics/local_government/wolves/index.html?sid=14003c39a8d30c9d4326cdaba02d54e8 |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 December 2012 |title=Local Government in Wolverhampton |work=The History of Wolverhampton – The City and its People |year=2005 |access-date=15 July 2007 }}</ref>

[[Wolverhampton (UK Parliament constituency)|Wolverhampton parliamentary borough]] was created by the [[Reform Act 1832]], which included areas currently located with the Metropolitan Boroughs of [[Metropolitan Borough of Dudley|Dudley]], [[Metropolitan Borough of Walsall|Walsall]] and [[Sandwell]] such as [[Wren's Nest]], [[New Invention, Walsall|New Invention]] and [[Sedgley]]. It was one of 22 large towns that returned two members of parliament. Under the [[Redistribution of Seats Act 1885]], the original borough was replaced by three new single-member constituencies: [[Wolverhampton East (UK Parliament constituency)|Wolverhampton East]], [[Wolverhampton South (UK Parliament constituency)|Wolverhampton South]] and [[Wolverhampton West (UK Parliament constituency)|Wolverhampton West]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wolverhamptonhistory.org.uk/politics/parliamentary_representation |title=Parliamentary Representation |publisher=Wolverhampton Archives and Local Studies |access-date=29 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160120193746/http://www.wolverhamptonhistory.org.uk/politics/parliamentary_representation |archive-date=20 January 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1837, [[Wolverhampton Borough Police]] was formed. It was disestablished in 1966, and the larger [[West Midlands Constabulary]], which covered not only Wolverhampton but the County Boroughs of [[Walsall]], [[Dudley]], [[West Bromwich]] and [[County Borough of Warley|Warley]] took over its duties and was headquartered in the city. This force was then replaced in 1974 with the West Midlands Police.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.westmidlandspolicemuseum.co.uk/wolverhamptonboroughpolice.htm |title=Wolverhampton Borough Police |publisher=West Midlands Police Museum |access-date=23 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724231642/http://www.westmidlandspolicemuseum.co.uk/wolverhamptonboroughpolice.htm |archive-date=24 July 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Wolverhampton was incorporated as a [[municipal borough]] in 1848 under the [[Municipal Corporations Act 1835]].<ref name=StaffsArchive>{{cite web |url=http://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/leisure/archives/history/placeguide/SPGWolverhamptonTown.htm |title=Archive Gazetter – Wolverhampton |publisher=Staffordshire County Archives |access-date=23 July 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120307073930/http://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/leisure/archives/history/placeguide/SPGWolverhamptonTown.htm |archive-date=7 March 2012  }}</ref> and the first meeting of the Council took place on 22 May 1848.<ref>Centenary of the Incorporation of the Borough of Wolverhampton, 1848 – 1948; County Borough of Wolverhampton; 1948; p.31</ref> The town was then made a [[County Borough]] in 1889 under the [[Local Government Act 1888]].<ref name=StaffsArchive/>

In 1933, the boundaries of the borough expanded, taking in areas from [[Cannock Rural District]] and [[Seisdon Rural District]], with very little of the surrounding urban area being affected,<ref name=avob>{{cite web |url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10136544&c_id=10001043 |title=Relationships / unit history of WOLVERHAMPTON |publisher=A Vision of Britain |access-date=15 July 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001011102/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/relationships.jsp?u_id=10136544&c_id=10001043 |archive-date=1 October 2007  }}</ref> with only [[Heath Town]] Urban District being abolished.

The bulk of the [[Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland)|urban district]]s of Bilston (a borough itself after 1933), [[Tettenhall]] and [[Wednesfield]] were added to the borough in 1966, along with the northern section of the urban district of [[Coseley]] and parts from the north of [[Sedgley]] and the west of [[Willenhall]]. The vast majority of these areas were traditionally part of the Parish of Wolverhampton, and were part of the original Parliamentary Borough.<ref name=avob/>

Wolverhampton was one of only two County Boroughs (the other being [[Liverpool]]) to have no changes made to the boundary during the [[Local Government Act 1972|1974 reorganisation of local government]], the borough already having a population larger than the 250,000 required for education authorities. This contrasted with both the [[Redcliffe-Maud Report]], and the initial White Paper for the 1974 reforms<ref name=white_paper>HMSO. ''Local Government in England: Government Proposals for Reorganisation''. Cmnd. 4584</ref> where large areas of the present [[South Staffordshire]] district were to be added to the borough. During the 1974 reforms it was placed within the [[West Midlands (county)|West Midlands Metropolitan County]].

Wolverhampton was also a [[Royal Peculiar]] covering a large area.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stpetersguild.org.uk/thechurch.htm |title=The Church |publisher=St. Peter's Guild of Change Ringers |access-date=23 July 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080830052520/http://www.stpetersguild.org.uk/thechurch.htm |archive-date=30 August 2008  }}</ref>

===Police===
The main police station for Wolverhampton is based on Bilston Street<ref name="WMP YLS">{{cite web|title=Your local stations|url=http://www.west-midlands.police.uk/your-local-police/wolverhampton/|publisher=West Midlands Police|access-date=10 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222134948/http://www.west-midlands.police.uk/your-local-police/wolverhampton/|archive-date=22 February 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> in the city centre. [[Wolverhampton Borough Police]] became part of [[West Midlands Constabulary]] in 1966.<ref>[http://www.knowledgenetwork.gov.uk/HO/CircularsOld.nsf/0/3B8A274F27248B2680256D7300434C90/$file/Home%20Office%20Circular%20067%20-%201966.pdf Home Office circular 67-1966 announcing the force's creation] {{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Policing is currently delivered by West Midlands Police.<ref name="WMP YLS" />

==Demographics==
[[File:Wolverhampton pop pyramid.svg|thumb|Population pyramid of Wolverhampton (borough) in 2021]]
The [[United Kingdom Census 2021|2021 Census]] gives the Wolverhampton Urban Subdivision as the second largest in the [[West Midlands conurbation]]. The figure given for Wolverhampton is 263,727. The proportion of females within the city (50.9%) is slightly higher than that of males (49.1%).<ref name="Nomis22">{{cite web |title=Wolverhampton Local Authority 2021 Census Area Profile |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/sources/census_2021/report?compare=E08000031 |website=Nomis |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=5 December 2022}}</ref>
 
Wolverhampton has an ethnically diverse population; 60.6% of the city's population were white in the 2021 census, 21.2% were [[British Asian|Asian]], 9.3% were [[Black British people|Black]], 5.3% were [[mixed race|mixed]], and 3.6 were from another ethnic group.<ref name="Nomis22"/>

Based upon the 2021 census, Wolverhampton has a Christian population of 43.8%. The proportion of Wolverhampton residents professing [[Irreligion|no religion]] was 27.8%. Of religious groupings, [[Sikhism]] has the second largest following in Wolverhampton, accounting for 12% of the population in 2021, increasing from 9.1% in the 2011 census, meaning the city has the [[Sikhism in the United Kingdom#Geographical distribution|largest percentage]] of Sikhs in England and Wales, and the third largest community numerically. The proportion of people following [[Islam]] was 5.5%, whilst [[Hinduism]] was followed by 3.7%, the figure for [[Buddhism]] was 0.3%.<ref name="Nomis22"/>

Wolverhampton is within the top 11% of local council areas in England and Wales (excluding London Boroughs) for public transport use for travelling to work at 16% of the total. 63% used private transport, either as a driver or passenger, 13% cycled or travelled on foot, whilst 8% worked from home.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/0C868727-A44E-4A93-AD3A-EC5FB425E067/0/keystats_travel.pdf |title=TRAVEL TO WORK |publisher=Wolverhampton City Council |access-date=15 July 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926235921/http://www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/0C868727-A44E-4A93-AD3A-EC5FB425E067/0/keystats_travel.pdf |archive-date=26 September 2007  }}</ref>

Car ownership is lower than the average for England and Wales with 35.2% of households not owning a car, compared with 26.8% nationally. Single car ownership is in line with national averages (Wolverhampton 42.9%, England and Wales 43.8%), while the proportion of households owning more than one car is lower than the national average.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/F023DBE5-E4D1-4739-B29D-10642E7B7335/0/keystats_car.pdf |title=CAR OWNERSHIP |publisher=Wolverhampton City Council |access-date=15 July 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926235842/http://www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/F023DBE5-E4D1-4739-B29D-10642E7B7335/0/keystats_car.pdf |archive-date=26 September 2007  }}</ref>

As of the [[2021 United Kingdom census]], with Wolverhampton's high [[British Asian]] population, the [[British Muslim]], [[British hindus|British Hindus]] and Sikh communities are more numerous than the national average.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Religion, England and Wales - Office for National Statistics |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/religion/bulletins/religionenglandandwales/census2021 |access-date=2022-11-30 |website=www.ons.gov.uk}}</ref>

===Population change===
The tables below detail the population change since 1750, separating that of the city itself and the geographical area now administered by Wolverhampton City Council.

{{historical populations|align=center|cols=4
| percentages = pagr
| title = Historical population of Wolverhampton

| 1750| 7,454
| 1801| 20,710
| 1811| 29,253
| 1821| 35,816
| 1831| 46,937
| 1841| 68,426
| 1851| 90,301
| 1861| 111,033
| 1871| 68,291
| 1881| 75,766
| 1891| 82,662
| 1901| 94,107
| 1911| 95,328
| 1921| 102,342
| 1931| 133,212
| 1939| 143,213
| 1951| 162,172
| 1961| 150,825
| 1971| 269,168
| 1981| 265,631
| 1991| 257,943
| 2001| 251,462
| 2011| N/A
| source = <small>Issac Taylor's Map 1750<ref name="WHHS"/>{{•}} Township 1801–1881<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/data_cube_table_page.jsp?data_theme=T_POP&data_cube=N_TPop&u_id=10297485&c_id=10001043&add=N |title=Wolverhampton USD |publisher=Vision of Britain |access-date=24 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121026091937/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/data_cube_table_page.jsp?data_theme=T_POP |archive-date=26 October 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{•}} Urban Sanitary District 1891<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/data_cube_table_page.jsp?data_theme=T_POP&data_cube=N_TPop&u_id=10137445&c_id=10001043&add=N |title=Wolverhampton USD |publisher=Vision of Britain |access-date=24 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120224171200/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/data_cube_table_page.jsp?data_theme=T_POP&data_cube=N_TPop&u_id=10137445&c_id=10001043&add=N |archive-date=24 February 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{•}} County Borough 1901–1971<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/data_cube_table_page.jsp?data_theme=T_POP&data_cube=N_TPop&u_id=10136544&c_id=10001043&add=N |title=Wolverhampton County Borough |publisher=Vision of Britain |access-date=24 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120224165015/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/data_cube_table_page.jsp?data_theme=T_POP&data_cube=N_TPop&u_id=10136544&c_id=10001043&add=N |archive-date=24 February 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{•}} Urban Subdivision 1981–2011<ref>{{Cite journal |title=1981 Key Statistics for Urban Areas GB Table 1 |journal=Office for National Statistics |year=1981 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/census2001/west_midlands_urban_area.asp |title=West Midlands Urban Area 1991 Census |publisher=National Statistics |access-date=24 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516095745/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/census2001/west_midlands_urban_area.asp |archive-date=16 May 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/ssdataset.asp?vlnk=8271&Pos=2&ColRank=1&Rank=224 |title=KS01 Usual resident population: Census 2001, Key Statistics for urban areas |publisher=National Statistics |access-date=24 July 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110820062255/http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/ssdataset.asp?vlnk=8271&Pos=2&ColRank=1&Rank=224 |archive-date=20 August 2011  }}</ref></small>
|2021|263,700 }}

{{historical populations|align=center|cols=4
| percentages = pagr
|title = Historical population of area now administered by Wolverhampton City Council

| 1750| N/A
| 1801| 11,786
| 1811| 15,597
| 1821| 19,012
| 1831| 23,067
| 1841| 54,365
| 1851| 70,112
| 1861| 87,254
| 1871| 104,395
| 1881| 121,537
| 1891| 130,868
| 1901| 145,645
| 1911| 162,098
| 1921| 178,068
| 1931| 195,621
| 1939| 214,359
| 1951| 234,893
| 1961| 251,435
| 1971| 269,166
| 1981| 252,474
| 1991| 248,454
| 2001| 236,573
| 2011| 249,470
| 2015| 254,406

| source = <small>Vision of Britain<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/data_cube_table_page.jsp?data_theme=T_POP&data_cube=N_TPop&u_id=10168650&c_id=10001043&add=N |title=Wolverhampton Metropolitan Borough |publisher=Vision of Britain |access-date=24 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120224164241/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/data_cube_table_page.jsp?data_theme=T_POP&data_cube=N_TPop&u_id=10168650&c_id=10001043&add=N |archive-date=24 February 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref></small>
}}

=== Ethnicity of the borough ===
[[File:Ethnic demography of Wolverhampton over time.gif|thumb|Ethnic demography of Wolverhampton borough over time]]
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
! rowspan="2" |Ethnic Group
! colspan="2" |1971 estimations<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Jones |first=P. N. |date=1978 |title=The Distribution and Diffusion of the Coloured Population in England and Wales, 1961-71 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/622127 |journal=Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers |volume=3 |issue=4 |pages=515–532 |doi=10.2307/622127 |jstor=622127 |pmid=12157820 |issn=0020-2754|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
! colspan="2" |1981 estimations<ref name=":032">{{Cite book |url=http://archive.org/details/ethnicityin1991c0000unse |title=Ethnicity in the 1991 census: Vol 3 - Social geography and ethnicity in Britain, geographical spread, spatial concentration and internal migration |date=1996 |publisher=London : HMSO |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-11-691655-6}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |1991 census<ref name=":0322">{{Cite book |url=http://archive.org/details/ethnicityin1991c0000unse |title=Ethnicity in the 1991 census: Vol 3 - Social geography and ethnicity in Britain, geographical spread, spatial concentration and internal migration |date=1996 |publisher=London : HMSO |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-11-691655-6}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |2001 census<ref>{{cite web |title=Office of National Statistics; 2001 Census Key Statistics |url=https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20160105160709/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/census-2001-key-statistics/local-authorities-in-england-and-wales/local-authorities-ks06--ethnic-group.xls |access-date=2021-09-07 |website=webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |2011 census<ref name=":36">{{Cite web |title=2011 Census: Ethnic Group, local authorities in England and Wales |url=https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20160105160709/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/2011-census/key-statistics-for-local-authorities-in-england-and-wales/rft-table-ks201ew.xls |access-date=2021-12-15 |website=webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |2021 census<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |title=Home - Office for National Statistics |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/ |access-date=2022-12-05 |website=www.ons.gov.uk}}</ref>
|-
!Number
!%
!Number
!%
!Number
!%
!Number
!%
!Number
!%
!Number
!%
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
![[White people in the United Kingdom|White]]: Total
!240,313
!89.3%
!215,659
!85%
!201,644
!81.1%
!184,044
!77.8%
!169,682
!68%
!159,707
!60.5%
|-
|White: [[White British|British]]
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|178,319
|75.4%
|160,945
|64.5%
|144,303
|54.7%
|-
|White: [[White Irish|Irish]]
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|2,422
|
|1,526
|
|1,170
|0.4%
|-
|White: [[White Gypsy or Irish Traveller|Gypsy or Irish Traveller]]
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|209
|
|706
|0.30%
|-
|White: [[Other White|Other]]
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|3,303
|1.4%
|7,002
|2.8%
|13,528
|5.1%
|-
![[British Asian|Asian or Asian British]]: Total
!–
!–
!25,744
!10.1%
!32,289
!13%
!34,713
!14.7%
!44,960
!18%
!55,901
!21%
|-
|Asian or Asian British: [[British Indians|Indian]]
|–
|–
|23,184
|
|28,887
|
|29,153
|12.3%
|32,162
|12.9%
|42,052
|15.9%
|-
|Asian or Asian British: [[British Pakistanis|Pakistani]]
|–
|–
|1,548
|
|2,074
|
|2,931
|
|4,415
|
|6,676
|2.5%
|-
|Asian or Asian British: [[British Bangladeshis|Bangladeshi]]
|–
|–
|110
|
|187
|
|211
|
|432
|
|531
|0.2%
|-
|Asian or Asian British: [[British Chinese|Chinese]]
|–
|–
|306
|
|395
|
|843
|
|1,376
|
|802
|0.3%
|-
|Asian or Asian British: Other Asian
|–
|–
|596
|
|746
|
|1,575
|
|6,575
|
|5,840
|2.2%
|-
![[Black British people|Black or Black British]]: Total
!–
!–
!10,939
!4.3%
!12,938
!5.2%
!10,874
!4.6%
!17,309
!6.9%
!24,636
!9.3%
|-
|Black or Black British: [[British African-Caribbean people|Caribbean]]
|–
|–
|8,846
|
|10,364
|
|9,116
|
|9,507
|
|9,905
|3.8%
|-
|Black or Black British: [[British African-Caribbean people|African]]
|–
|–
|283
|
|319
|
|690
|
|4,081
|
|11,158
|4.2%
|-
|Black or Black British: [[Classification of ethnicity in the United Kingdom|Other Black]]
|–
|–
|1,810
|
|2,255
|
|1,068
|
|3,721
|
|3,573
|1.4%
|-
![[Mixed (United Kingdom ethnicity category)|Mixed or British Mixed]]: Total
!–
!–
!–
!–
!–
!–
!6,441
!2.7%
!12,784
!5.1%
!14,065
!5.4%
|-
|Mixed: White and Black Caribbean
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|4,238
|
|8,495
|
|8,495
|3.2%
|-
|Mixed: White and Black African
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|232
|
|554
|
|939
|0.4%
|-
|Mixed: White and Asian
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|1,144
|
|2,160
|
|2,573
|1.0%
|-
|Mixed: Other Mixed
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|827
|
|1,575
|
|2,058
|0.8%
|-
!Other: Total
!–
!–
!1,314
!0.5%
!1,630
!0.7%
!510
!0.2%
!4,735
!1.9%
!9,417
!3.6%
|-
|Other: Arab
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|–
|359
|
|966
|0.4%
|-
|Other: Any other ethnic group
|–
|–
|1,314
|0.5%
|1,630
|0.7%
|510
|0.2%
|4,376
|1.8%
|8,451
|3.2%
|-
!Ethnic minority
!28,853
!10.7%
!37,997
!15%
!46,856
!18.9%
!52,538
!22.2%
!79,788
!32%
!96,434
!39.5%
|-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
!Total
!269,166
!100%
!253,656
!100%
!248,500
!100%
!236,582
!100%
!249,470
!100%
!263,726
!100%
|}
{{Pie chart|color1=DodgerBlue|label1=[[History of Christianity in Britain|Christianity]]|label2=[[Irreligion in the United Kingdom|No Religion]]|label3=[[Sikhism in the United Kingdom|Sikhism]]|label4=[[Islam in the United Kingdom|Islam]]|label5=[[Hinduism in the United Kingdom|Hinduism]]|label6=[[Buddhism in the United Kingdom|Buddhism]]|label7=[[Judaism in the United Kingdom|Judaism]]|color2=honeydew|color3=#e9ce1e|color4=Green|color5=coral|color6=yellow|color7=aqua|value1=43.85|value2=27.80|value3=12.05|value4=5.49|value5=3.75|value6=0.35|value7=0.04|thumb=right|caption=Religion in Wolves (2021)<ref name=census2021>{{cite web|url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/datasets/RM023/editions/2021/versions/1/filter-outputs/7340b822-6a82-4d62-91bf-717ceac04829#get-data| title=Religion |publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]] |access-date=10 August 2023}}</ref>|color8=darkorchid|label8=Other Religions|value8=1.20|label9=Religion not Stated|color9=lightgrey|value9=5.48}}

=== Religion ===
The following table shows the religion of respondents in recent censuses in the city of Wolverhampton.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:right"
! rowspan="2" |Religion
! colspan="2" |2001 Census <ref>{{Cite web |title=KS007 - Religion - Nomis - 2001 |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/datasets/ks007 |access-date=2022-10-18 |website=www.nomisweb.co.uk}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |2011 Census <ref>{{Cite web |title=KS209EW (Religion) - Nomis - 2011 |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks209ew |access-date=2022-10-18 |website=www.nomisweb.co.uk}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |2021 Census <ref name="auto" />
|-
!Number
!%
!Number
!%
!Number
!%
|-
|[[History of Christianity in Britain|Christian]]
|157,300
|66.49%
|138,394
|55.48%
|115,640
|43.85%
|-
| [[Sikhism in the United Kingdom|Sikh]]
|17,944
|7.58%
|22,689
|9.09%
|31,769
|12.05%
|-
| [[Islam in the United Kingdom|Muslim]]
|4,060
|1.72%
|9,062
|3.63%
|14,489
|5.49%
|-
|[[Hinduism in the United Kingdom|Hindu]]
|9,198
|3.89%
|9,292
|3.72%
|9,882
|3.75%
|-
|[[Buddhism in the United Kingdom|Buddhist]]
|737
|0.31%
|1,015
|0.41%
|915
|0.35%
|-
|[[History of the Jews in the United Kingdom|Jewish]]
|104
|0.04%
|88
|0.04%
|94
|0.04%
|-
|Other religion
|511
|0.22%
|3,057
|1.23%
|3,158
|1.20%
|-
|[[Irreligion in the United Kingdom|No religion]]
|26,927
|11.38%
|49,821
|19.97%
|73,317
|27.80%
|-
|Religion not stated
|19,801
|8.37%
|16,052
|6.43%
|14,465
|5.48%
|-
| style="text-align:left" |'''Total'''
|'''236,582'''
|'''100.00%'''
|'''249,470'''
|'''100.00%'''
|'''263,729'''
|'''100.00%'''
|}

==Economy==
[[File:Partial view of the Mills of Thakurgaon Sugar Mills (6) (02.03.2019).jpg|thumb|Water-tube boiler made in Wolverhampton]]
Traditionally, Wolverhampton's economy has been dominated by iron, steel, [[automobiles]], engineering and manufacturing industries. Many of the traditional industries in the city have closed or dramatically downsized over the years. However, by 2008 the economy was dominated by the [[Tertiary sector of economic activity|service sector]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.citymayors.com/culture/historic_weurope2.html#Anchor-United-60133 |title=Historic Cities in Western Europe |publisher=City Mayors |access-date=17 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724092500/http://www.citymayors.com/culture/historic_weurope2.html#Anchor-United-60133 |archive-date=24 July 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref> with 74.9% of the city's employment being in this area. The major subcomponents of this sector are in public administration, education and health (32.8% of the total employment), while distribution, hotels and restaurants take up 21.1%, and finance and IT takes up 12.7%. The largest non-service industry was that of manufacturing (12.9%), whilst 5.2% of the total employment is related to the tourism industry.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/reports/lmp/la/2038431971/printable.aspx|title=Nomis Official Labour Market Statistics 2008 Local Authority Profile: Wolverhampton|publisher=Office for National Statistics|access-date=15 December 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717101355/https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/reports/lmp/la/2038431971/printable.aspx|archive-date=17 July 2011}}</ref>

The largest single employer within the city is Wolverhampton City Council.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wolvcoll.ac.uk/international/details/about_us.html |title=About Us |publisher=City of Wolverhampton College |access-date=17 June 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080615204124/http://www.wolvcoll.ac.uk/international/details/about_us.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 15 June 2008}}</ref> which has over 12,000 staff<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/jobs_careers/ |title=Jobs and Careers |publisher=Wolverhampton City Council |access-date=17 June 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080613211158/http://www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/jobs_careers/ |archive-date=13 June 2008  }}</ref> Other large employers within the city include:
* Banking: [[Birmingham Midshires]] (Headquarters)
* Building materials: [[Tarmac Group|Tarmac]] and Carvers Builders Merchant
* Education: [[University of Wolverhampton]] and [[City of Wolverhampton College]]
* Construction: [[Carillion]] (Headquarters). Entered liquidation January 2018
* Brewing: [[Marston's]] (Headquarters)
* Aerospace: H S Marston, [[Moog Inc|MOOG]] and [[Goodrich Corporation|Goodrich Actuation Systems]]
* Retail: [[Beatties]] (bought by [[House of Fraser]] 2005, closed 2019<ref name=eas20180607/>)
* Manufacturing: [[Chubb Locks]], [[Jaguar Land Rover]] ([[Engine Manufacturing Centre|Engine Assembly Plant]])
* National Health Service (NHS): [[New Cross Hospital]]

===Jaguar Land Rover===
In 2014 [[Jaguar Land Rover]] opened a £500&nbsp;million [[Engine Manufacturing Centre|Engine Assembly Plant]] at the [[i54]] business park, Wolverhampton. Unveiled by [[Elizabeth II|Her Majesty]], the plant produces 2.0-litre 4-cylinder Ingenium diesel and petrol engines. Having already been expanded once before, in 2015 it was announced that the factory would be doubling in size to 200,000 sq m (2,152,782 sq ft), costing $450&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-34906608|title= New Jaguar Land Rover jobs in Wolverhampton factory expansion|author= BBC News|work= BBC News|date= 24 November 2015|access-date= 14 May 2016|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161001105528/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-34906608|archive-date= 1 October 2016|url-status= live}}</ref> This expansion would see the workforce double from 700 to 1,400.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.birminghampost.co.uk/business/business-news/jobs-boost-jaguar-land-rover-10492832|title=Jobs boost as Jaguar Land Rover doubles size of engine plant|author=Birmingham Post|date=11 November 2015|access-date=15 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414112844/http://www.birminghampost.co.uk/business/business-news/jobs-boost-jaguar-land-rover-10492832|archive-date=14 April 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Goodyear===

[[Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company|Goodyear]] opened a large factory on Stafford Road, [[Fordhouses]], in 1927. However, it was decided in December 2003 that tyre production at the plant would be discontinued with the loss of more than 400 jobs. This came after some 2,000 job losses at the plant since 1997. The end of production came in 2004 but the factory remained open for tyre moulding and tractor tyre production.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/3339551.stm | work=BBC News | title=Job losses at Goodyear | date=22 December 2003}}</ref>

===Wolverhampton Wanderers===

The varied success of [[Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.|Wolverhampton Wanderers]] since the club's formation in 1877 has also contributed to the economy of Wolverhampton. The club's greatest successes came between 1949 and 1960, when it won the league title three times and the [[FA Cup]] twice, as well as hosting a series of high-profile friendly matches against Europe's leading club sides, also competing in two early editions of the [[European Cup]]. During this era, Wolves frequently attracted crowds of between 40,000 and 50,000. Wolves went on to win the [[Football League Cup]] in 1974 and again in 1980, spending all but three seasons outside the top division of English football during the first 35 years of postwar league football, and continued to attract strong crowds but the 1980s saw a sharp decline in the club's fortunes, with three consecutive relegations, a sharp fall in attendances, and debts of more than £2million which almost put the club out of business. This decline also came at a time when the economy of Wolverhampton was struggling due to the [[early 1980s recession]]. Wolves enjoyed a surge in the late 1980s with two consecutive promotions, thanks largely to the prolific scoring of striker [[Steve Bull]], and an upturn in attendances which also provided a boost to the local economy – as did the club's increased support during the 1990s, during which time the stadium was extensively rebuilt and its facilities improved, with its new features including a restaurant and office space. In 2018, Wolves won promotion to the [[FA Premier League]] for the third time in 15 years, and a year later reached its first [[FA Cup]] semi-final since 1998, and further redevelopment of the stadium is planned.

===Tallest buildings<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wolverhampton - The Skyscraper Center |url=https://www.skyscrapercenter.com/city/wolverhampton |access-date=2025-03-26 |website=www.skyscrapercenter.com}}</ref>===
{{Unreferenced section|date=August 2024}}
[[File:Victoria Halls, Wolverhampton.JPG|thumb|upright=0.65|Victoria Halls (Building 1), the tallest building in Wolverhampton at {{cvt|75|m}}]]

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|- 
!Rank||Building||Use||Height||Floors||Built
|-
| 1
| Victoria Halls (Building 1)
| Residential
| {{convert|246|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}
| 25
| 2009
|- 
| 2=
| Brockfield House
| Residential
| {{convert|203|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}
| 22
| 1969
|-
| 2=
| Hampton View
| Residential
| {{convert|203|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}
| 22
| 1969
|- 
| 4=
| St. Cecilias
| Residential
| {{convert|184|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}
| 20
| 1970
|-
| 4=
| Wodensfield Tower
| Residential
| {{convert|184|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}
| 20
| 1966
|- 
| 4=
| William Bentley Court
| Residential
| {{convert|184|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}
| 20
| 1966
|-
| 4=
| Longfield House
| Residential
| {{convert|184|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}
| 20
| 1969
|- 
| 4=
| Campion House
| Residential
| {{convert|184|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}
| 20
| 1969
|-
| 9
| St Peter's Collegiate Church
| Church
| {{convert|171|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}
| 
| 1480
|- 
| 10
| Pennwood Court
| Residential
| {{convert|151|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}
| 17
| 1968
|}

===Regeneration===
In recent years, Wolverhampton City Council have embarked on many city improvements and regeneration schemes.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/business/regeneration/city_centre/ |title=City centre improvements |publisher=Wolverhampton City Council |date=13 July 2012 |access-date=24 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120503163115/http://www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/business/regeneration/city_centre/ |archive-date=3 May 2012  }}</ref> One such project was "Summer Row", a new £300&nbsp;million retail quarter for Wolverhampton city centre. The project would have involved clearing existing buildings, and in 2006 a [[compulsory purchase order]] was issued to over 200 owner / occupiers in the surrounding area.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tsrsurveyors.co.uk/news/COMPULSORY-PURCHASE.pdf |title=Towler Shaw Roberts, "Compulsory Purchase (or an Englishman's home is not his castle)" |access-date=24 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120317164702/http://www.tsrsurveyors.co.uk/news/COMPULSORY-PURCHASE.pdf |archive-date=17 March 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> Construction of Summer Row was originally earmarked for 2008, with a completion date listed as 2010,<ref>[http://www.summer-row.co.uk/scheme.aspx Summer Row official website] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090518001222/http://www.summer-row.co.uk/scheme.aspx |date=18 May 2009 }}</ref> but the 2008 recession put the project on hold.
In January 2011, the Summer Row project was formally cancelled<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.expressandstar.com/news/2011/01/25/wolverhamptons-summer-row-dream-is-over/ |title=Wolverhampton's Summer Row dream is over |work=Express & Star |date=25 January 2011 |access-date=24 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120927032719/http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2011/01/25/wolverhamptons-summer-row-dream-is-over/ |archive-date=27 September 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> as the CPO expired before the council found the necessary financial backing for the project.

====Mander Centre Redevelopment====

[[Debenhams]], who were listed as the anchor store of Summer Row, announced they were still keen in opening a department store in Wolverhampton. It was revealed they would open an anchor store in a £35&nbsp;million redevelopment of the [[Mander Centre]]. To be completed in 2017, the {{Convert|90000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} store would create 120 jobs.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.expressandstar.com/business/2014/06/16/120-jobs-on-way-at-new-wolverhampton-debenhams/ |title=120 jobs on way at new Wolverhampton Debenhams |newspaper=Express & Star |access-date=12 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160215134857/http://www.expressandstar.com/business/2014/06/16/120-jobs-on-way-at-new-wolverhampton-debenhams/ |archive-date=15 February 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> The redevelopment would also see the Mander Centre be fully refurbished and reconfigured. A number of larger stores would be created, replacing smaller ones. The reconfiguration saw the relocation of the toilets, escalators and elevators. The lower Central arcade was removed and Tesco and TJ Hughes were demolished to make way for 3-storey Debenhams store.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.expressandstar.com/news/2016/01/27/35m-mander-centre-revamp-gets-underway/ |title=£35m Mander Centre revamp gets underway |newspaper=Express & Star |access-date=12 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160207002625/http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2016/01/27/35m-mander-centre-revamp-gets-underway/ |archive-date=7 February 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> Debenhams closed in January 2020.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Parkes |first1=Thomas |title=Wolverhampton 'will survive the loss of Debenhams' as store closes for good |url=https://www.expressandstar.com/news/business/2020/01/11/wolverhampton-will-survive-loss-of-debenhams-as-store-closes-for-good/ |website=Express & Star |date=11 January 2020 |access-date=19 June 2020 |archive-date=7 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200607100854/https://www.expressandstar.com/news/business/2020/01/11/wolverhampton-will-survive-loss-of-debenhams-as-store-closes-for-good/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2019 Wilkinson relocated into the Mander Centre, closing a smaller store in Snow Hill. B & M Stores opened in part of the former BHS store at the same time.

====Wolverhampton Interchange Project====

Wolverhampton's Interchange Project is a major redevelopment of the city's east side area worth around £120&nbsp;million.
[[File:Wolverhampton i10.JPG|thumb|The i10 building contains {{Convert|12400|sqft|m2|abbr=on}} of leisure and retail space on the ground floor and {{Convert|36000|sqft|m2|abbr=on}} of office space above]]

* Phase 1, which was completed in 2012, consisted of demolishing the old bus station and replacing it with a new £22.5&nbsp;million station. This phase also included a new footbridge across the ring road towards the railway station, highway and pedestrian works, new offices for [[Transport for West Midlands|Centro]] and a [[Sainsbury's]] convenience store.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mowbraygill.co.uk/?p=262 |title=Wolverhampton – The Interchange |publisher=Mowbray Gill |access-date=12 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306003005/http://www.mowbraygill.co.uk/?p=262 |archive-date=6 March 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* Phase 2 which was completed in late 2015, involved the construction of the £10.6&nbsp;million i10 building adjacent to the new bus station. The building contains {{Convert|12400|sqft|m2}} of leisure and retail space on the ground floor and {{Convert|36000|sqft|m2|abbr=on}} of office space above.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/article/3805/Interchange-project-moves-forward |title=Interchange project moves forward |publisher=City of Wolverhampton Council |access-date=12 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160216105045/http://www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/article/3805/Interchange-project-moves-forward |archive-date=16 February 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* Phase 3 began in early 2016 on expanding the train station's [[multi-storey car park]]. Completed in December 2016, the car park increased in capacity from 450 to over 800 spaces.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.expressandstar.com/news/2016/03/01/vision-revealed-as-multi-million-pound-wolverhampton-train-station-revamp-begins/ |title=Vision revealed as multi-million pound Wolverhampton train station revamp begins |newspaper=Express & Star |access-date=8 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309025659/http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2016/03/01/vision-revealed-as-multi-million-pound-wolverhampton-train-station-revamp-begins/ |archive-date=9 March 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> The expansion of the multi-storey car park included a new cycle and motorcycle parking, short stay parking, passenger drop off point and a taxi rank adjacent to the car park. A new entrance was created.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thebusinessdesk.com/westmidlands/news/731954-crucial-phase-begins-on-120m-interchange-scheme.html |title=Crucial phase begins on £120m Interchange scheme |publisher=The Business Desk |access-date=8 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309024417/http://www.thebusinessdesk.com/westmidlands/news/731954-crucial-phase-begins-on-120m-interchange-scheme.html |archive-date=9 March 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* Phase 4 involved construction of a new development on the opposite side of Railway Drive to the i10 and is known as i9. The offices are used by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, part of central government.

==Transport==

===Road===
Wolverhampton city centre forms the main focal point for the road network within the northwestern part of the [[West Midlands conurbation]], and out into the rural hinterland of [[Staffordshire]] and [[Shropshire]]. The road network within the boundaries of the city council area is entirely maintained by [[Wolverhampton City Council]], whilst those parts of the urban area outside the city council area have their networks maintained by [[Staffordshire County Council]], with the exception of [[M54 motorway|M54]] and [[A449 road|A449]] on the northern fringes of the urban area which are maintained by [[National Highways]].<ref name=highwaysagency>{{cite web |url=http://www.highways.gov.uk/our-road-network/our-network/network-map/ |title=Our Road Network |publisher=Highways Agency |access-date=27 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130330064121/http://www.highways.gov.uk/our-road-network/our-network/network-map/ |archive-date=30 March 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Wolverhampton Ring Road.JPG|right|thumb|Wolverhampton's Ring Road]]
Major historical improvements to the city's road network include [[Thomas Telford]]'s Holyhead Road (now part of [[A41 road|A41]]), which was constructed between 1819 and 1826 to improve communications between London and [[Holyhead]], and hence to Ireland. The majority of work within the city saw improvement to the contemporary network, though both the Wellington Road in [[Bilston]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/environment/land_premises/conservation/areas/Bilston+Town+Centre+Conservation+Area.htm |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130113223908/http://www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/environment/land_premises/conservation/areas/Bilston+Town+Centre+Conservation+Area.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 January 2013 |title=Bilston Town Centre Conservation Area |publisher=Wolverhampton City Council |access-date=27 March 2013 }}</ref> and the cutting at the Rock near [[Tettenhall]] were newly constructed for the road, although the improvements at The Rock were constructed by the local Turnpike Trust rather than Telford himself.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historywebsite.co.uk/listed/localist/TheRock.htm |title=The Rock, Tettenhall |publisher=Wolverhampton History and Heritage Society |access-date=27 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524035839/http://www.historywebsite.co.uk/listed/localist/TheRock.htm |archive-date=24 May 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1927, the [[A4123 road|A4123]] [[Birmingham]]-Wolverhampton New Road was constructed as both an unemployment relief project, and to relieve pressure on Telford's road through the [[Black Country]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sedgleymanor.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=topn&cat=0&pos=8 |title=Birmingham New Road circa 1927 |publisher=Sedgleymanor Photo Gallery |access-date=17 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090111122704/http://www.sedgleymanor.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=topn&cat=0&pos=8 |archive-date=11 January 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref> It was the first purpose built inter-city road in the United Kingdom within the 20th century,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lmars.co.uk/roadpix/a580/index.html |title=A580 East Lancashire Road |publisher=Lancashire Roads and Motorways Site |access-date=24 July 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20070623230310/http://www.lmars.co.uk/roadpix/a580/index.html |archive-date=23 June 2007  }}</ref> and was said to be the longest stretch of new road in Britain since the [[Roman Empire|Romans]]. It took just three years to complete and cost £600,000.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/Media/75.pdf?MEDIA_ID=223058&FILENAME=75.pdf |title=Forward | publisher=Birmingham City Council |access-date=24 July 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080609124804/http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/Media/75.pdf?MEDIA_ID=223058&FILENAME=75.pdf <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 9 June 2008}}</ref> Also in 1927, the first automatic [[traffic light]]s in the United Kingdom were installed in Princes Square in the city centre.<ref name="Wolverhampton City Council"/> Princes Square was also the location of the United Kingdom's first pedestrian safety barriers, which were erected in 1934.<ref name="Steelway Limited"/>

In 1960, plans were announced to build a [[Wolverhampton Ring Road|Ring Road]] around the centre of Wolverhampton. By the end of the 1960s, more than half of the Ring Road had been completed, stretching from Snow Hill to Stafford Street (via Penn Road, Chapel Ash and Waterloo Road), followed a few years later by a section between Snow Hill and Bilston Street. However, the final section between Bilston Street and Stafford Street (via Wednesfield Road) was not completed until 1986. An outer ring road was also planned but only a small section was ever built, this being Wobaston Road in Pendeford.

[[File:M54Motorway2.jpg|right|thumb|The M54 motorway to the northwest of the city]]
Wolverhampton is near to several motorways, with four being located within {{convert|7|mi|km|0}} of the city centre. The first to be constructed in the area was the [[M6 motorway|M6]], which opened in sections between 1966 and 1970,<ref name=tma>{{cite web |url=http://www.iht.org/motorway/openings.htm |title=Opening dates for Motorways in the UK in chronological order |publisher=The Motorway Archive |access-date=17 June 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202063942/http://www.iht.org/motorway/openings.htm |archive-date=2 December 2008  }}</ref> and connects the city with the north-west of England (including [[Manchester]] and [[Liverpool]]), Scotland as well as [[Birmingham]] and [[Coventry]] to the east, and London via the [[M1 motorway|M1]]. Together with the [[M5 motorway|M5]], which opened in the area in 1970<ref name=tma/> and links the city with the south-west of England, and London via the [[M40 motorway|M40]], the two motorways form a north–south bypass for the city.

The section of M6 motorway nearest to the city is one of the busiest within the UK,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.racfoundation.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=457&Itemid=35 |title=UK'S Congestion Hotspots Revealed |publisher=RAC Foundation |access-date=15 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070827231304/http://www.racfoundation.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=457&Itemid=35 |archive-date=27 August 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref> and to relieve congestion on this stretch, the [[M6 Toll]] which bypasses both the Wolverhampton and [[Birmingham]] sections of the M6 motorway was opened in 2003.<ref name=tma/>

The [[M54 motorway]] forms a northern bypass to the city, passing just within the fringes of the urban area, and links the city with [[Telford]], [[Shrewsbury]] and [[Wales]]. It opened in 1983.<ref name=tma/>

In addition to the motorways presently constructed, there have also been several proposed near to the city that have not been constructed, or have been constructed to a lower standard. Included within these are the ''Bilston Link Motorway'', which was first proposed in the 1960s and was eventually constructed to a lower standard in the 1980s as the [[A454 road|A454]]/[[A463 road|A463]] [[Black Country Route]];{{citation needed|date=September 2024}} and the ''Western Orbital'' or ''Wolverhampton Western Bypass'', which was first proposed in the 1970s as a bypass for the western side of the city and the wider [[West Midlands conurbation]].{{citation needed|date=September 2024}} Currently proposed by the [[Highways Agency]] is the ''M54 to M6 / M6 (Toll) Link Road''. The route was initially proposed in the 2000s to relieve the overloaded sections of [[A460 road|A460]] and [[A449 road|A449]] near the city, and to replace a section of the cancelled Western Orbital. Whilst it appears in the current roads programme, a date for the start of construction has not been set.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/11814.aspx |title=M54 to M6 / M6 (Toll) Link Road |publisher=Highways Agency |access-date=17 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120730102600/http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/11814.aspx |archive-date=30 July 2012 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>

===Rail===
Wolverhampton is well connected by rail to other parts of England and Wales. However, while Priestfield and Bilston are connected by a tram line, the suburbs in the south, west and north of Wolverhampton are no longer served by rail - in particular the Tettenhall, Penn and Compton areas and Dunstall Park for the race course. Wednesfield no longer has any rail connections, with {{rws|Wolverhampton}} and {{rws|Bloxwich}} being its closest railway stations.

Wolverhampton's first railway opened in 1837, with the opening of the [[Grand Junction Railway]], the first long-distance line in Great Britain. The main station for the city was, however, not located in the city centre but at [[Wednesfield Heath railway station|Wednesfield Heath]], now [[Heath Town]] on the east side of the city.<ref name="Virgin Trains"/> This station was considered to be a First Class station, though its location was obviously not ideal and it became a goods station after passenger services ceased in 1873. The station buildings were demolished in 1965, but the main station area is now a nature reserve just off Powell Street, called Station Fields and part of the edge of the northbound platform is still in situ. The track running through the station site is, however, still in use.<ref name="Heath Town Station"/>

The [[Wolverhampton Temporary railway station|first station in the city centre]] was opened by the [[Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway]] in 1849. This station was only intended to be temporary and was located on the north side of Wednesfield Road, beside Broad Street Basin. The station was constructed as the opening of [[Wolverhampton railway station|Wolverhampton High Level]] was delayed. The station closed in 1852 and was demolished in the mid-1970s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historywebsite.co.uk/articles/railways/tmpsta.htmn.htm |title=Temporary Station |publisher=Wolverhampton History and Heritage Society |access-date=31 March 2013 }} {{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In addition to the temporary station, [[Wolverhampton Works]] were also established in 1849 by the Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway and became the Northern Division workshop of the [[Great Western Railway]] in 1854.<ref name="manufacturing" />

The permanent station on the line finally opened on 24 June 1852 and was initially known as ''Wolverhampton General''; it was renamed as ''Wolverhampton Queen Street'' in 1853 and finally [[Wolverhampton railway station|Wolverhampton High Level]] in 1855. The station was initially a joint station between the [[Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway]] and the [[London and North Western Railway]], though there were problems in the relationships between the two companies; the station became solely LNWR in 1854, before the [[Wolverhampton and Walsall Railway]] (later part of the [[Midland Railway]]) gained access to the station in 1867. The original High Level station was demolished in 1965, as part of the electification of the [[West Coast Main Line]] and was replaced by buildings on the present site which have now been demolished.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historywebsite.co.uk/articles/railways/high%20level.htm |title=High Level Station |publisher=Wolverhampton History and Heritage Society |access-date=31 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524024930/http://www.historywebsite.co.uk/articles/railways/high%20level.htm |archive-date=24 May 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Two years after the opening of the High Level station, the [[Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway]] (OWW) opened their city centre station immediately to the east of High Level. Initially called ''Wolverhampton Joint'', it was renamed [[Wolverhampton Low Level railway station|Wolverhampton Low Level]] in 1856. As well as the OWW, the station also served the [[Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Dudley Railway]] and the Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway. As the first two companies were supported by the [[Great Western Railway]], [[broad gauge]] track was laid to the station, meaning that Wolverhampton Low Level became the most northerly station on the broad gauge network before being converted to standard gauge in 1869. Despite being featured in the second [[Beeching Report]], ''The Development of the Major Railway Trunk Routes'' in February 1965 as being on a line earmarked for further investment, services were withdrawn progressively from Low Level starting in 1967, soon after it had been transferred administratively from the [[Western Region of British Railways]] to the [[London Midland Region of British Railways|London Midland region]]. London services were transferred to the newly electrified High Level station. Low Level was converted into a Parcels Concentration Depot in 1970 and the final passenger services were withdrawn in 1972.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historywebsite.co.uk/articles/railways/Low%20Level.htm |title=Low Level Station |publisher=Wolverhampton History and Heritage Society |access-date=31 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524031737/http://www.historywebsite.co.uk/articles/railways/Low%20Level.htm |archive-date=24 May 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> These services (to and from [[Birmingham Snow Hill railway station|Birmingham Snow Hill]]) were only suspended and never legally withdrawn by [[British Rail]] and so technically the station is still open.<ref>{{cite journal | title = Regional News: Wolverhampton | journal = [[Rail (magazine)|Rail]] | date = 21 March – 3 April 2012 | first = Howard | last = Johnston | issue = 692 | page = 24}}</ref>

[[File:Dunstall Park station geograph-2516514-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg|thumb|left|[[Dunstall Park railway station]] in 1958]]
There were also a number of suburban stations in Wolverhampton – including [[Dunstall Park railway station|Dunstall Park]] and [[Bushbury railway station|Bushbury]] north of the city centre; [[Tettenhall railway station|Tettenhall]] and [[Compton Halt railway station|Compton]] to the west side of the city on the GWR's [[Wombourne Branch Line]]; [[Wednesfield railway station|Wednesfield]] and [[Heath Town railway station|Heath Town]] on the [[Wolverhampton and Walsall Railway]]; [[Portobello railway station (Wolverhampton)|Portobello]] on the [[Walsall to Wolverhampton Line]]; [[Priestfield railway station|Priestfield]] and [[Bilston Central railway station|Bilston Central]] on the [[Birmingham Snow Hill to Wolverhampton Low Level Line]]; and [[Bilston West railway station|Bilston West]] and [[Daisy Bank railway station|Daisy Bank]] on the [[Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway|Oxford-Worcester-Wolverhampton Line]]. Today, all of the suburban rail stations within the city have been closed, although [[Coseley railway station|Coseley]], [[Codsall railway station|Codsall]] and [[Bilbrook railway station|Bilbrook]] are just outside the boundaries. Also, some of the seven West Midlands Metro tram stations in the city are near or directly replace these former suburban stations.

[[File:Wolverhampton Railway Station, with new tram lines, Ruth Sharville, geograph, 7411728 (adjust).jpg|right|thumb|[[Wolverhampton railway station|Wolverhampton railway station in 2023]]]]
The former High Level station, now simply known as [[Wolverhampton railway station|Wolverhampton station]], is today one of the principal stations on the [[West Coast Main Line]]. It has regular rail services to [[Euston railway station|London Euston]], [[Birmingham New Street railway station|Birmingham New Street]] and [[Manchester Piccadilly railway station|Manchester Piccadilly]], as well as most other major cities in the UK. In addition to the long-distance services, there are many local services including those on the [[Cambrian Line]] into [[Wales]], the [[Walsall to Wolverhampton Line]] to [[Walsall railway station|Walsall]], the [[Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury Line]] to [[Telford Central railway station|Telford]] and [[Shrewsbury railway station|Shrewsbury]]; and the [[Rugby-Birmingham-Stafford Line]] to [[Stafford railway station|Stafford]] and [[Coventry railway station|Coventry]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/ldbboard/dep/WVH |title=Live Departures – Wolverhampton |publisher=National Rail Enquiries |access-date=31 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130405060907/http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/ldbboard/dep/WVH |archive-date=5 April 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/WVH/details.html |title=Wolverhampton (WVH) |publisher=National Rail Enquiries |access-date=31 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130402052800/http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/WVH/details.html |archive-date=2 April 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The 1960s buildings of the station have now been demolished, following a lengthy delay, and are being replaced with a more modern station building. Phase 1 opened in spring 2020, which saw the creation of a new entrance. Phase 2 saw the demolition of the remainder but construction of the replacement was delayed due to the COVID-19 restrictions and opened on 28 June 2021.<ref>{{cite web |title=New-look Wolverhampton Station formally opens |url=https://www.westmidlandsrailway.co.uk/about-us/news-desk/new-look-wolverhampton-station-formally-opens |website=West Midlands Railway |access-date=23 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210630100424/https://www.westmidlandsrailway.co.uk/about-us/news-desk/new-look-wolverhampton-station-formally-opens |archive-date=30 June 2021 |date=28 June 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> This new station includes a stop on the Metro tram line which opened in September 2023.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lawson |first1=Eleanor |date=17 September 2023 |title=At last! Tram extension to Wolverhampton Railway Station finally opens to the public |url=https://www.expressandstar.com/news/transport/2023/09/17/tram-extension-to-wolverhampton-railway-station-finally-opens-to-the-public/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928204248/https://www.expressandstar.com/news/transport/2023/09/17/tram-extension-to-wolverhampton-railway-station-finally-opens-to-the-public/ |archive-date=28 September 2023 |access-date=23 February 2024 |website=Express & Star}}</ref>

===Buses===
{{see also|Wolverhampton bus station}}
[[National Express West Midlands]] is the largest bus operator in the city; other operators include [[Diamond West Midlands]], [[Travel Express]], Banga Buses and [[Arriva Midlands]]. As well as serving suburbs, buses from the centre of Wolverhampton run to [[Birmingham]], [[Walsall]], [[Telford]], [[West Bromwich]], [[Stourbridge]], [[Cannock]], [[Stafford]], [[Sedgley]], [[Bilston]], [[Bloxwich]], [[Bridgnorth]] and [[Dudley]].

[[Transport for West Midlands]] operates [[Wolverhampton bus station]] on Pipers Row, which was completely rebuilt in 2011.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2011-07-24 |title=Wolverhampton's £22.5m bus station opens |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-14266610 |access-date=2024-12-20 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> It is situated near to the railway station, providing an interchange between bus, train and tram. National Express West Midlands has a traffic office inside the bus station where officers can monitor disruptions and make alterations if required. Colour schemes and branding have been updated following the transition from [[Transport for West Midlands|Network West Midlands]] to TfWM branding.

The previous Pipers Row bus station opened on 26 October 1986, just six years after its predecessor of 1981.<ref>{{cite web |last=Wulfrun |first=Lady |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/8050359@N07/2497493714/ |title=Wolverhampton's second, but short-lived Bus Station (off Railway Drive), 1981. &#124; Flickr – Photo Sharing! |publisher=Flickr |date=20 January 2012 |access-date=24 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140322184245/http://www.flickr.com/photos/8050359@N07/2497493714/ |archive-date=22 March 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> The grade II listed [[Queen's Building, Wolverhampton|Queen's Building]] was incorporated into the bus station as part of a further upgrade in 1990. A limited refurbishment took place in 2005–6, with new toilets and the addition of a coach stand. In 2009, plans were unveiled for a complete rebuild of the bus station, as part of Wolverhampton's Interchange Project and in April 2010 it was closed.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.expressandstar.com/news/2011/06/21/glowing-future-for-wolverhampton-bus-station/ |title=Glowing future for Wolverhampton bus station |work=Express & Star |date=21 June 2011 |access-date=24 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120929215734/http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2011/06/21/glowing-future-for-wolverhampton-bus-station/ |archive-date=29 September 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===West Midlands Metro===
{{main|West Midland Metro}}
[[File:Midland Metro tram no. 20 on display at St. Georges, Bilston Street, Wolverhampton, geograph-4028311-by-P-L-Chadwick.jpg|thumb|[[West Midlands Metro]] [[CAF Urbos#CAF Urbos 3|CAF Urbos 3]] trams]]
The West Midlands Metro, a [[light rail]] system, currently connects [[Wolverhampton St George's tram stop|Wolverhampton St George's]] to [[Grand Central tram stop]] via [[West Bromwich]] and [[Wednesbury]], mostly following the former [[Birmingham Snow Hill-Wolverhampton Low Level Line]]. There were plans for further lines within the city, with both a city centre loop and a line to [[Walsall]] via [[Wednesfield]] and [[Willenhall]], mostly following the route of the closed [[Wolverhampton and Walsall Railway]], however, these were cancelled in late 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.centro.org.uk/nmsruntime/saveasdialog.asp?lID=1826&sID=4319 |title=The 5Ws Route |publisher=Centro |format=PDF |access-date=17 June 2008 }} {{dead link|date=May 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

All of the seven westernmost stations on the network are in Wolverhampton, with this number increasing to nine now Pipers Row and Wolverhampton station are connected to the network.

In 2014/15, Centro announced in a £40&nbsp;million deal, they would be replacing the entire fleet of the 16 [[AnsaldoBreda T-69]] trams with 21 [[CAF Urbos#CAF Urbos 3|CAF Urbos 3]] trams. The new Urbos 3 trams are 9 metres longer; at {{Convert|33|m|ft}}, with the ability of carrying 210 passengers, compared to the 156 from the T69.<ref name=TRE>{{cite news |title= CAF trams for Midland Metro Expansion Project |url= http://www.therailengineer.com/2013/05/03/caf-trams-for-midland-metro-expansion-project/ |work= The Rail Engineer |location= Coalville |date= 3 May 2013 |author= Rackley, Stuart |access-date= 19 November 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131121023340/http://www.therailengineer.com/2013/05/03/caf-trams-for-midland-metro-expansion-project/ |archive-date= 21 November 2013 |url-status= live }}</ref> Additionally with the upgraded trams, Wolverhampton's Metro Line will be expanded. As part of the Wolverhampton Interchange Project; the Metro line will be extended from [[Wolverhampton St George's tram stop|Wolverhampton St George's]] to [[Wolverhampton railway station]], creating one stop at [[Wolverhampton bus station]] and subsequently ending at the railway station. It was scheduled to open in September 2020.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://centro.org.uk/transport/metro/other-metro-extensions/wolverhampton-extension/wolverhampton-extension-may/the-details/|title=The Details|author=Centro|access-date=15 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160516205918/http://centro.org.uk/transport/metro/other-metro-extensions/wolverhampton-extension/wolverhampton-extension-may/the-details/|archive-date=16 May 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> However delays caused by COVID-19 mean the extension is not expected to open until September 2021. The line finally opened in the summer of 2023.

In 2021, construction started on a 2 new metro Lines from [[Brierley Hill]] to Wolverhampton and [[Birmingham]], one of these lines will terminate in Wolverhampton City Centre and will boost connectivity to the Black Country, this means that the corridor between Wolverhampton and Wednesbury will be served every 3 minutes by trams in peak times.

In late September 2021, funding was given for over 4 new metro projects, including a new line from Wolverhampton to [[New Cross Hospital]]. This new line will extend the existing line from Wolverhampton Interchange to the hospital, via an old railway line. Another planned but not confirmed extension is from St Georges to the i54.

===Air===
Wolverhampton's original airport was at [[Pendeford]], opened in 1938 and closed on 31 December 1970.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/articles/Pendeford/Airport.htm |title=The Airport and Boulton Paul |work=The History of Pendeford |publisher=Wolverhampton History & Heritage Society |author=Phil Clayton |date=February 2004 |access-date=17 June 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080819042519/http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/articles/Pendeford/Airport.htm |archive-date=19 August 2008  }}</ref> The current [[Wolverhampton Airport]], renamed from Halfpenny Green, is a small general aviation airfield located {{convert|8|mi|km|1}} southwest of the city. Expansion of the airport has been suggested, but the current owners want to keep it as a General Aviation airfield. The airport hosts various "fly in" events and is an original World War Two airfield.

The nearest major airport is [[Birmingham Airport]], approximately {{convert|25|mi|km|1}} away. The airport is easy to reach by train, with a direct express service to it only taking on average 36 minutes. By car, it takes approximately 45 minutes via the M6 or M6 Toll Road. There are direct flights to Amritsar, Delhi, Dubai, Orlando, Dublin, Paris, Bucharest, Frankfurt and Munich

===Waterways===
{{main|Birmingham Canal Navigations}}
There are no navigable rivers within the city, but there are {{convert|17|mi|km|abbr=on}} of navigable canals. The [[BCN Main Line|Birmingham Canal Main Line]] passes through the city centre, connecting with the remaining portion of the [[Wednesbury Oak Loop]] at Deepfields Junction, and the [[Wyrley & Essington Canal]] at [[Horseley Fields Junction]], before passing between [[Wolverhampton railway station|the railway station]] and [[Wolverhampton bus station|the bus station]] in the city centre and then descending {{Convert|132|ft|m}} through the 21 Wolverhampton Locks and terminating at [[Aldersley Junction]] where it meets the [[Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal]], which in turn connects with the [[Shropshire Union Canal]] at [[Autherley Junction]].<ref>[[Nicholson Guides|Nicholson Waterways Guide]], Volume 2 (2006), HarperCollins Publishing Ltd, {{ISBN|0-00-721110-4}}</ref>

===Cycling===
Most places in the borough and some of the neighbouring villages in South Staffordshire are within easy reach of the city centre by pedal cycle and terrain is moderately hilly. Climbs tend to be of two to three minutes duration. Cycling benefits from the {{convert|20|mph|km/h|0}} city centre within the Ring Road and a number of routes that use quieter roads and paths to avoid the ten 'A' roads that radiate from the Ring Road. Wolverhampton is on the Smethwick to Telford section of [[Sustrans]] [[National Cycle Network]] Route 81.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sustrans.org.uk/default.asp?sID=1099911816156 |title=strans Route 81 |publisher=Sustrans |access-date=24 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114075757/http://www.sustrans.org.uk/default.asp?sID=1099911816156 |archive-date=14 January 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref> This follows the [[BCN Main Line|Birmingham Main Line Canal]] towpath from [[Smethwick]] to Broad Street Basin, Wolverhampton where the route splits in two. The choice here is between riding the 21 locks section of the [[BCN Main Line|Birmingham Main Line Canal]] to Aldersley Junction or taking the Cross-City route braid to visit the city centre, [[West Park, Wolverhampton|West Park]] or [[Smestow Valley Leisure Ride]] before returning to Aldersley Junction. NCN81 continues to Autherley Junction along the towpath of the [[Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal]] and then along the east bank towpath of the [[Shropshire Union Canal]] as far as Pendeford Mill Lane before turning to [[Bilbrook, Staffordshire|Bilbrook]] in Staffordshire. The lanes of nearby South Staffordshire and east Shropshire provide ideal cycle touring conditions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sustrans.org.uk/default.asp?sRegion=The_Midlands&map.x=-2.12099658260843&map.y=52.5904259392369&bLarge=&nZoom=3 |title=Cycle routes in Wolverhampton |publisher=Sustrans |access-date=24 July 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114154831/http://www.sustrans.org.uk/default.asp?sRegion=The_Midlands&map.x=-2.12099658260843&map.y=52.5904259392369&bLarge=&nZoom=3 |archive-date=14 January 2009 }}</ref>

==Culture==

===Music===

The rock groups [[Slade]], [[Cloven Hoof (band)|Cloven Hoof]], [[Sahotas]], [[The Mighty Lemon Drops]] and [[Babylon Zoo]] came from Wolverhampton, as do [[electronic music]]ian [[Bibio]], [[soul music|soul]]/[[Rhythm and blues|R&B]] singer [[Beverley Knight]], [[drum and bass]] guru [[Goldie]], and [[roots reggae]] maestro [[Macka B]]. [[Kevin Rowland]] of [[Dexys Midnight Runners]] was born in Wednesfield, Wolverhampton.

[[Hip Hop]] music producer [[S-X (producer)|S-X]] who has worked with [[T.I.]], [[J. Cole]], [[Birdman (rapper)|Birdman]] & [[Lil Wayne]] was born and raised and still lives in Wolverhampton. In 2010, Wolverhampton-born singer [[Liam Payne]] (1993–2024) came third in the British television music show ''[[The X Factor (UK series 7)|The X Factor]]'' with his boy band [[One Direction]], who in March 2012 became the first British group to go straight to the top of the [[Billboard 200|US music charts]] with their debut album, ''[[Up All Night (One Direction album)|Up All Night]]''.

Wolverhampton has a number of live music venues; the largest occasionally used being the [[Association football|football]] ground, [[Molineux Stadium]], which was used for a [[Bon Jovi]] concert in 2003,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blackcountry/music/2003/06/bon_jovi/bon_jovi.shtml |title=BBC Black Country music |publisher=BBC |access-date=3 November 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090118112948/http://www.bbc.co.uk/blackcountry/music/2003/06/bon_jovi/bon_jovi.shtml |archive-date=18 January 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref> but the biggest indoor venue regularly used is [[Wolverhampton Civic Hall]], with a standing capacity of 3,000.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wolvescivic.co.uk/index.asp?loc=venues&venueid=1&subnav=tech |title=Wolves Civic details |publisher=Wolverhampton City Council |access-date=24 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081113201547/http://www.wolvescivic.co.uk/index.asp?loc=venues&venueid=1&subnav=tech |archive-date=13 November 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref> Second to that is Wulfrun Hall (part of the same complex as the Civic Hall, which is owned and operated by the City Council) which has a standing capacity of just over 1,100.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.safeconcerts.com/safe-concerts-venues-details.asp?vurn=128 |title=Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall Information |publisher=[[Safeconcerts]] |access-date=24 July 2008}}</ref> The Civic Halls complex also has a newer venue, The Slade Rooms (named after the 1970s rock band), which has a capacity of approximately 550 standing. There are also a number of smaller venues with capacities of between 100 and 250, although the longest-established of these, the Wolverhampton Varsity, is now closed, as is the Little Civic. Other venues include the Light Bar in Fryer Street, the 'Numa Bar' and the Dog & Doublet (next to the old Little Civic), although the situation in this area of entertainment remains fluid. The 18th-century [[St John's Church, Wolverhampton|St John's Church]] is a venue for smaller scale classical concerts. The city is also home to Regent Records, a choral and organ music recording company, and Wolf Town DIY, an independent record label that primarily releases punk and alternative music by underground artists.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wolftowndiy.limitedrun.com/about |title=Wolf Town DIY website |access-date=11 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150612164943/http://wolftowndiy.limitedrun.com/about |archive-date=12 June 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Midland Box Office is the primary sales point for most of Wolverhampton's venues and is situated in Queen Square.

The city's main choral groups include the City of Wolverhampton Choir,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cityofwolverhamptonchoir.org.uk/ |title=City of Wolverhampton Choir |access-date=23 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100617090922/http://www.cityofwolverhamptonchoir.org.uk/ |archive-date=17 June 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref> (a choral society founded as the Wolverhampton Civic Choir in 1947) and the Choir of [[St. Peter's Collegiate Church, Wolverhampton|St. Peter's Collegiate Church]].

===Arts and museums===
The [[Wolverhampton Grand Theatre|Grand Theatre]] on Lichfield Street is Wolverhampton's largest theatre, opening on 10 December 1894. It was designed by [[Charles J. Phipps|C. J. Phipps]] and completed within six months. Included amongst the people to have appeared at the theatre are [[Henry Irving]], [[Charlie Chaplin]] and [[Sean Connery]]. It was also used by politicians including [[Winston Churchill]] and [[David Lloyd George]]. The theatre was closed between 1980 and 1982.<ref>[http://new.grandtheatre.info/default.asp?Id=308&sC=page48 Wolverhampton Grand Theatre History] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207145507/http://new.grandtheatre.info/default.asp?Id=308&sC=page48 |date=7 December 2008 }}</ref>

The [[Arena Theatre, Wolverhampton|Arena Theatre]] on Wulfruna Street, within the [[University of Wolverhampton]] is the secondary theatre, seating 150. It hosts both professional and amateur performances.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.arena.wlv.ac.uk/about.htm |title=About the Arena Theatre |publisher=University of Wolverhampton |access-date=15 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090309002929/http://www.arena.wlv.ac.uk/about.htm |archive-date=9 March 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Cinema is catered for by a multiplex [[Cineworld]] located at [[Bentley Bridge]], [[Wednesfield]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cineworld.co.uk/cinemas/69/ |title=Cineworld Wolverhampton |publisher=Cineworld Cinemas |access-date=15 December 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081217214613/http://www.cineworld.co.uk/cinemas/69 |archive-date=17 December 2008 }}</ref> and a smaller cinema, [[Light House Media Centre]], housed in the former [[Chubb Locks|Chubb Buildings]] on Fryer Street.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.light-house.co.uk/ |title=Light House |publisher=Light House Media Centre |access-date=25 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724223733/http://www.light-house.co.uk/ |archive-date=24 July 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref> Cineworld mainly shows [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]] films, other big-budget films, and some [[Bollywood]] films, whilst Light House shows a range of older and subtitled films as well as some selected new releases. Light House has also played host to visual art shows, an [[Flip Animation Festival|International Animation Festival]] and incorporates a small café. The Lighthouse closed its doors for the final time on 3 November 2022.

[[File:Wolverhampton Art Gallery 2.jpg|thumb|left|Wolverhampton Art Gallery]]
The city's Arts & Museums service, run by the council, covers three sites: [[Wolverhampton Art Gallery]], home to England's biggest [[Pop art]] collection after that held at the [[Tate]];<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wolverhamptonart.org.uk/wolves/exhibitions/002876.html |title=Exhibitions at Wolverhampton Art Gallery |publisher=Wolverhampton Arts and Museums Service |access-date=3 November 2007 }} {{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> [[Bantock House Museum and Park|Bantock House]], a fine historic house with Edwardian interior with a museum of Wolverhampton located within Bantock Park;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wolverhamptonart.org.uk/bantock |title=Bantock House and Museum |publisher=Wolverhampton Arts and Museums Service |access-date=24 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511182216/http://www.wolverhamptonart.org.uk/bantock |archive-date=11 May 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Bilston Craft Gallery]] with exhibitions of contemporary crafts.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wolverhamptonart.org.uk/bilston |title=Bilston Craft Gallery |publisher=Wolverhampton Arts and Museums Service |access-date=24 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091210071245/http://www.wolverhamptonart.org.uk/bilston |archive-date=10 December 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Black Country Living Museum]], situated in nearby [[Dudley]], has a large collection of artefacts and buildings from across the [[Black Country]], including an extensive collection associated with the city.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bclm.co.uk/whatis.htm |title=What is the Black Country |publisher=Black Country Living Museum |access-date=24 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080915081015/http://www.bclm.co.uk/whatis.htm |archive-date=15 September 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Eagle Works Studios and Gallery]] situated in [[Chapel Ash]], is a self run artists' group. It provides studio accommodation for eighteen visual artists, mostly painters. Its small gallery holds a regular programme of exhibitions to show and promote contemporary art in the city.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blackcountry/content/articles/2005/12/07/eagle_works_1_introduction_feature.shtml |title=An Introduction to Eagle Works |publisher=BBC Black Country |access-date=25 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321180220/http://www.bbc.co.uk/blackcountry/content/articles/2005/12/07/eagle_works_1_introduction_feature.shtml |archive-date=21 March 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]] owns two properties on the edge of the city that are open to the public: [[Wightwick Manor]], which is a [[Victorian era|Victorian]] [[manor house]] and one of only a few surviving examples of a house built and furnished under the influence of the [[Arts and Crafts movement]],<ref name=greeves>{{cite book|last=Greeves |first=Lydia |title=History and Landscape: The Guide to National Trust Properties in England, Wales and Northern Ireland |page=429 |publisher=National Trust Books |year=2005 |isbn=1-905400-13-6}}</ref> and [[Moseley Old Hall]], which is famous as one of the resting places of [[Charles II of England]] during his [[Escape of Charles II|escape to France]] following defeat at the [[Battle of Worcester]] in 1651.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-moseleyoldhall.htm |title=Moseley Old Hall |publisher=National Trust |access-date=29 August 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080926032340/http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-moseleyoldhall.htm |archive-date=26 September 2008  }}</ref> [[English Heritage]] owns [[Boscobel House]], within [[Shropshire]], another refuge of Charles II.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server.php?show=nav.16650 |title=Boscobel House |publisher=English Heritage |access-date=9 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115211340/http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server.php?show=nav.16650 |archive-date=15 January 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Nearby museums also include the [[Royal Air Force Museum]], at [[DCAE Cosford|RAF Cosford]] and the RAF Fire Service Museum at [[Wolverhampton Airport]].,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.raf-fireservicemuseum.org/location.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060714071536/http://www.raf-fireservicemuseum.org/location.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 July 2006 |title=Museum Location |publisher=RAF Fire Service Museum |access-date=29 August 2008 }}</ref> whilst [[Chillington Hall]], which boasts of grounds designed by [[Capability Brown]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chillingtonhall.co.uk/ |title=Chillington Hall |publisher=Chillington Hall |access-date=9 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221050901/http://www.chillingtonhall.co.uk/ |archive-date=21 February 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Himley Hall]] are nearby examples of houses open to the public.

===Libraries===
[[File:Wolverhampton Central Library.jpg|right|thumb|Wolverhampton Central Library]]
Located on the corner of Garrick Street and St George's Parade, Wolverhampton Central Library is a [[listed building|Grade II listed building]], designed by architect Henry T. Hare and opened in 1902. It was originally commissioned to commemorate [[Victoria of the United Kingdom|Queen Victoria]]'s Diamond Jubilee using funds raised by the Mayor, Alderman S Craddock, and by a grant of £1,000 from [[Andrew Carnegie]]. This new library improved public access to information and reading material, replacing its cramped predecessor in the old Garrick Street Police Station.<ref name="library">{{cite web |url=http://www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/leisure_culture/libraries/central_library/history.htm |title=History of Central Library |publisher=Wolverhampton City Council |access-date=17 June 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080405050041/http://www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/leisure_culture/libraries/central_library/history.htm |archive-date=5 April 2008  }}</ref>

The terracotta exterior has a tripartite theme of related, but distinct façades. The entrance façade is the architect's centrepiece and is decorated with a frieze under the triple window which carries the Royal Coat of Arms and the Wolverhampton Coat of Arms. The other two façades celebrate English literary giants; [[Geoffrey Chaucer|Chaucer]], [[John Dryden|Dryden]], [[Alexander Pope|Pope]], [[Percy Bysshe Shelley|Shelley]], [[George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron|Byron]] and [[Edmund Spenser|Spenser]] on one side and [[John Milton|Milton]] and [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]] on the other.<ref name="library"/> An extension for a newsroom and a students' room was added in 1936 followed by a small brick and concrete extension at the rear in the 1970s.<ref name="library"/>

Wolverhampton City Council also operate 14 branch libraries within the city.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/leisure_culture/libraries/branch/|title=Branch Libraries|publisher=Wolverhampton City Council|access-date=17 June 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080624172239/http://www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/leisure_culture/libraries/branch|archive-date=24 June 2008}}</ref>

===Media===
Wolverhampton is home to the ''[[Express & Star]]'' newspaper, which boasts of having the largest circulation of any provincial daily evening newspaper in the UK.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.expressandstar.com/about-us/|title=About Us|work=Express & Star|access-date=9 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080914012630/http://www.expressandstar.com/about-us/|archive-date=14 September 2008|url-status=live}}</ref> Parent company [[Midland News Association]] is based in Wolverhampton.

Local television news programmes are [[BBC Midlands Today]] and [[ITV News Central]].

[[BBC]] local radio station that covers the city is [[BBC Radio WM]] on 95.6 FM.

The city was originally home to four radio stations, [[107.7 The Wolf]] which was absorbed into regional station [[Signal 107]], now broadcasting as [[Greatest Hits Radio Black Country & Shropshire]] from studios in Liverpool, Manchester, London and Birmingham, Beacon Radio absorbed by [[Orion Media]] and now laterly [[Bauer Media]] broadcasting as [[Hits Radio Black Country & Shropshire]] from studios in Birmingham and Manchester. The third was Radio [[Classic Gold WABC|WABC]], the AM service from Beacon Radio that has since closed following a number of rebrands as [[Classic Gold Digital]], [[Gold (British radio network)|Gold]] and [[Free Radio (network)|Free Radio]] 80s. The fourth, and now the only radio station based in the city, is community radio station [[WCR FM]] which broadcasts solely to the Wolverhampton on 101.8FM, online, via the Tune In app and via smart speaker.

In December 2005, the BBC commissioned the poet [[Ian McMillan (poet)|Ian McMillan]] to write a poem about Wolverhampton, along with four other towns which apparently "had a reputation they didn't deserve".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/breakfast/4528566.stm |title=Talk of the Town: And the winner is... |work=BBC News |date=19 December 2005 |access-date=17 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070313011014/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/breakfast/4528566.stm |archive-date=13 March 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref> Made in Wolverhampton (2013),<ref>{{Cite web |last=Learning |first=On Screen |title=Learning On Screen |url=http://bufvc.ac.uk/dvdfind/index.php/title/av78324 |access-date=20 August 2024 |website=BUFVC}}</ref> an essay [[Documentary film|documentary]] feature film by [[Adam Kossoff]], maps out the hidden history and architecture of Wolverhampton from the point of view of a discontented fictional arts lecturer who teaches at the [[Wolverhampton School of Art]].

==Education==
[[File:University of Wolverhampton.jpg|left|thumb|University of Wolverhampton]]
{{See also|List of schools in Wolverhampton}}
The [[University of Wolverhampton]] is the main provider of higher education in the city. The university currently has more than 23,000 students. In 1835, the Wolverhampton Mechanics' Institute was founded, and its lineage can be traced via the Wolverhampton and Staffordshire Technical College (1935), to The Polytechnic, Wolverhampton (1969) to today's [[University of Wolverhampton]], given university status in 1992. The main university campus is in the city centre, with other campuses at [[Compton, Wolverhampton|Compton]], and in the nearby towns of [[Walsall]] and [[Telford]].

[[Wolverhampton Grammar School]] was founded in 1512, making it one of the oldest active schools in the UK.<ref>{{cite web |title=History of Wolverhampton Grammar School |url=http://www.wolverhamptongrammarschool.com/pages/prospective/history.aspx |publisher=Wolverhampton Grammar School |access-date=25 July 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080618220854/http://www.wolverhamptongrammarschool.com/pages/prospective/history.aspx |archive-date=18 June 2008  }}</ref> Old boys include [[Mervyn King (economist)|Mervyn King]], Governor of the [[Bank of England]] between July 2003 and 2013, and [[David Wright (diplomat)|Sir David Wright]], former British Ambassador to Japan.

Other notably historic schools include [[The Royal School, Wolverhampton]] (founded in 1850),<ref>{{cite web |title=Royal Wolverhampton School |url=http://www.isscc.com/detail.php?schoolid=895 |publisher=ISSCC |access-date=25 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713064303/http://www.isscc.com/detail.php?schoolid=895 |archive-date=13 July 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Tettenhall College]] (1863),<ref>{{cite web |title=History of the College |url=http://www.tettenhallcollege.co.uk/hist_about01.htm |publisher=Tettenhall College |access-date=25 July 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080723225523/http://www.tettenhallcollege.co.uk/hist_about01.htm <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 23 July 2008}}</ref> which educated the winner of [[Nobel Prize for Chemistry]], Professor Sir [[Arthur Harden]]. [[City of Wolverhampton College]] is the main [[further education]] college in the city.

[[Wolverhampton Girls' High School]] is a well known selective school ([[state school|state]] [[grammar school]]) which has produced top of league table results within Wolverhampton.<ref>{{cite news |title=School League Tables, 2004 for Wolverhampton |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/education/03/school_tables/secondary_schools/html/336.stm |work=BBC News |access-date=25 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415130947/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/education/03/school_tables/secondary_schools/html/336.stm |archive-date=15 April 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref> Notable old girls include the former English women's cricket captain [[Rachael Heyhoe-Flint]] and [[Helene Hayman, Baroness Hayman|Baroness Hayman]], first [[Lord Speaker]] of the [[House of Lords]], as well as Georgia Elwiss, a member of the current 2015 women's cricket team.

St Peter's Collegiate School was founded in 1847 in buildings adjacent to [[St Peter's Collegiate Church]] in Wolverhampton town centre. It moved to the present extensive green site at Compton Park in 1965. St Peter's is the oldest established educational institution currently in the state sector in Wolverhampton, with a tradition of academic, cultural and sporting excellence nourished by Christian spiritual and moral values. Previous students include record-breaking goalscoring footballer [[Arthur Rowley]] and Ben Godfrey, a TV presenter, and reporter on [[Midlands Today]].

Wolverhampton, unlike a number of nearby areas such as [[Dudley]] and [[South Staffordshire]], has always had traditional age range schools; 5–7 infants, 7–11 juniors and 11-16/18 secondary schools. Some secondary schools have sixth form facilities for children aged 16+.

==Sport==
[[File:Molineux Ground, Wolverhampton.jpg|right|thumb|[[Molineux Stadium]], home of Wolverhampton Wanderers]]

===Football===
Wolverhampton is represented in the [[Premier League]], the highest tier of English football, by [[Wolverhampton Wanderers FC]]. 'Wolves', as they are known, are one of the oldest English football clubs, and were one of the 12 founder members of the [[Football League]]. Their most successful period was the 1950s, where they won three Football League Championships (then the highest division) and two [[FA Cup]]s, and were involved in the earliest European friendlies. They were hailed by the press as 'The Unofficial World Champions' after one of their most famous victories, against [[Budapest Honvéd FC]] of Hungary. They were also the first English team to play in the Soviet Union. These victories instigated the birth of the European Cup competition which later evolved into the UEFA Champions' League (see [[European Cup and Champions League history]]).

In total, they have won three Football League titles (prior to the top division becoming the [[Premier League]]), four FA Cups, have two [[Football League Cup|League Cup]] victories and many other minor honours, including reaching the [[UEFA Cup]] Final in 1972, and appearances in the last eight of both the [[UEFA Champions League|UEFA European Cup]], and the European [[UEFA Cup Winners' Cup|Cup Winners' Cup]], but spent just one season in the top division between 1984 and 2009. They are also one of only two clubs, along with [[Portsmouth FC|Portsmouth]], to have won five different league titles; they have championed all four tiers of the professional English league, as well as the long-defunct northern section of the Third Division.

Wolves have a long-established [[Black Country derby|rivalry]] with [[West Bromwich Albion]]. Separated by {{convert|12|mi|km|abbr=on}}, the two clubs have faced each other over 160 times since 1886.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.soccerbase.com/teams/head_to_head.sd?team_id=2744&team2_id=2848|title=Head to head West Brom vs. Wolves|author=soccerbase|access-date=15 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151123031528/http://www.soccerbase.com/teams/head_to_head.sd?team_id=2744&team2_id=2848|archive-date=23 November 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Aston Villa]] and [[Birmingham City FC]] are also close rivals of Wolves, having played them 121<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.soccerbase.com/teams/head_to_head.sd?team_id=2848&team2_id=154|title=Head to head Wolves vs. Aston Villa|author=soccerbase|access-date=15 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224120616/http://www.soccerbase.com/teams/head_to_head.sd?team_id=2848&team2_id=154|archive-date=24 December 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> and 136<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.soccerbase.com/teams/head_to_head.sd?team_id=2848&team2_id=291|title=Head to head Wolves vs. Birmingham|author=soccerbase|access-date=15 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224115739/http://www.soccerbase.com/teams/head_to_head.sd?team_id=2848&team2_id=291|archive-date=24 December 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> times respectively. Geographically, [[Walsall FC]] are closest to Wolves, but rarely compete at the same level. Since 1886, the two clubs have only played 16 times against each other.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.soccerbase.com/teams/head_to_head.sd?team_id=2848&team2_id=2737|title=Head to head Wolves vs. Walsall|author=soccerbase|access-date=15 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604151758/http://www.soccerbase.com/teams/head_to_head.sd?team_id=2848&team2_id=2737|archive-date=4 June 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

Several other Wolverhampton-based clubs play [[non-league]] football, notably [[AFC Wulfrunians]] and [[Wolverhampton Sporting C.F.C.|Wolverhampton Sporting Community F.C.]] in the [[Midland Football League (2014)|Midland Football League]] Premier Division, [[Wolverhampton Casuals FC]], [[Wednesfield FC]], and [[Bilston Town FC]] in the [[West Midlands (Regional) League]], and [[Warstones Wanderers F.C.]] in the West Midlands (Regional) League – Division Two.

===Athletics===
Wolverhampton's Aldersley Leisure Village is also home to [[Wolverhampton & Bilston Athletics Club]], which was formed in 1967 with a merger between Wolverhampton Harriers and Bilston Town Athletic Club. They have won the National League Division One for men from 1975 to 1982, and the Men's National Cup finals in 1976, 1977, 1979 and 1980. It also represented Britain in the European Clubs Cup from 1976 to 1983 with the best finishing position of third.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wolvesandbilstonac.co.uk/ |title=Wolverhampton & Bilston Athletics Club |publisher=Wolverhampton & Bilston Athletics Club |access-date=18 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080412071106/http://www.wolvesandbilstonac.co.uk/ |archive-date=12 April 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Olympic Medallists in athletics [[Sonia Lannaman]] and [[Tessa Sanderson]] lived within the city.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/government_democracy/council/documents/news/press_releases/2006/october/301006d.htm  |title=Newest Sporting Hall of Fame inductees |publisher=Wolverhampton City Council |date=30 October 2006 |access-date=17 June 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080404021514/http://www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/government_democracy/council/documents/news/press_releases/2006/october/301006d.htm|archive-date=4 April 2008}}</ref>

===Cricket===
There are a number of [[cricket]] clubs in the city. These are Wolverhampton Cricket Club, Springhill Cricket Club, Springvale Cricket Club, Fordhouses Cricket Club and Wombourne Cricket Club.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://wolverhamptoncricketclub.com/|title = Wolverhampton CC|access-date = 8 October 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url = https://springhill.play-cricket.com/home|title = Springhill CC|access-date = 8 October 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url = https://springvalestaffs.play-cricket.com/home|title = Springvale CC|access-date = 8 October 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.fordhousescricketclub.co.uk/|title = Fordhouses CC|access-date = 8 October 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url = https://wombourne.play-cricket.com/home|title = Wombourne CC|access-date = 8 October 2024}}</ref>

===Field hockey===
The city has a few [[field hockey]] hockey clubs that compete in the [[Midland Regional Hockey Association|Midlands Hockey League]]. These are Wolverhampton & Tettenhall Hockey Club and Finchfield Hockey Club.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.wolverhamptonhockeyclub.org.uk/|title = Wolverhampton & Tettenhall Hockey Club|access-date = 8 October 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.englandhockey.co.uk/clubs/wolverhampton---tettenhall-hc/teams|title=England Hockey - Wolverhampton & Tettenhall Hockey Club |access-date=8 October 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.finchfieldhc.com/|title = Finchfield Hockey Club|access-date = 8 October 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.englandhockey.co.uk/clubs/finchfield-hc/teams|title=England Hockey - Finchfield Hockey Club |access-date=8 October 2024}}</ref>

===Cycling===
Wolverhampton Wheelers is the city's oldest cycling club, formed in 1891.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wolverhamptonwheelers.co.uk/|title=Wolverhampton Wheelers|access-date=8 October 2024}}</ref> It was home to [[Hugh Porter]] who won four world championship pursuit titles; and [[Percy Stallard]] who has been credited with bringing cycle road racing to Britain when he held the Llangollen to Wolverhampton race on 7 June 1942.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wolverhamptonhistory.org.uk/people/local/stallard_p |title=Percy Stallard |work=The History of Wolverhampton – The City and its People |access-date=17 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160114112725/http://www.wolverhamptonhistory.org.uk/people/local/stallard_p |archive-date=14 January 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> Wolverhampton Wheelers make extensive use of the velodrome at Aldersley Stadium. Wolverhampton was also the home of [[Trevor Gadd]], who was a six time British National Cycle champion and two-time silver medallist at the [[1978 Commonwealth Games]], as well as a fifth-place finisher in the [[1977 UCI Track Cycling World Championships]] in Venezuela.

Wolverhampton has also hosted the [[Tour of Britain]], with a stage start in 2006, a stage finish in 2007 and a sprint finish in 2008.
It is also home to Wednesfield Aces cycle speedway who are based on [[Ashmore Park]].

===Horse and greyhound racing===
[[Wolverhampton Racecourse]] is located at Dunstall Park, just to the north of the city centre. This was one of the first all-weather [[horse racing]] courses in the UK and is Britain's only floodlit horse race track. There is also [[greyhound racing]] at Monmore Green. [[West Park, Wolverhampton|West Park]], a large park near the city centre, was converted from a racecourse.

A horse by the name of [[1849 Grand National#Leading contenders|Wolverhampton]] was among the leading contenders for the [[1849 Grand National]] at [[Aintree]] but did not complete the course.

===Motor sports===
[[File:Sunbeam 1000HP.jpg|left|thumb|Sunbeam 1000HP at National Motor Museum in Beaulieu, UK]]

[[Sunbeam Motor Car Company|Sunbeam]] built many early [[Grand Prix motor racing|Grand Prix]] cars and was the only British make to win a Grand Prix in the first half of the 20th century.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sunbeam.org.uk/Sunbeam.htm |title=Sunbeam – The Supreme Car |publisher=The Sunbeam Talbot Darracq Register |author=Colin Weyer |access-date=17 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080807123311/http://www.sunbeam.org.uk/Sunbeam.htm |archive-date=7 August 2008 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> Sunbeam also built several holders of the [[Land speed record]], including the first vehicle to travel at over {{convert|200|mph|km/h|0}}, the [[Sunbeam 1000 hp]].

[[AJS]] was heavily involved in motorcycle racing either side of World War II, which included winning the [[1949 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season|1949 World Championship]] in the 500cc category.

[[Kieft Cars]] built [[Formula Three]] cars in the early 1950s. Their best known driver was [[Stirling Moss]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/genealogy/Kieft/CyrilKieft.htm |title=Cyril Kieft |author=Jim Evans |publisher=Wolverhampton History & Heritage Society |access-date=17 June 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090828061758/http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/genealogy/Kieft/CyrilKieft.htm |archive-date=28 August 2009  }}</ref>

[[Wolverhampton Wolves]], one of the leading [[Motorcycle speedway|speedway]] clubs in the UK represents the city, participating in the [[Elite League (speedway)|Elite League]] at the Monmore Green stadium. Wolverhampton Speedway is one of the oldest speedway tracks in the world that is still in operation being first used, albeit briefly in 1928. The track re-opened in 1950 for a single meeting and in 1952 the Wasps competed in the Third Division on the National League. The track closed early in 1954 and did not re-open until 1961 when the Wolves were introduced to the Provincial League. The track has almost been an ever-present ever since and currently operates in the British Elite League.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blackcountry/content/articles/2005/03/29/wolverhampton_speedway_venue_feature.shtml |title=Wolverhampton Speedway |publisher=BBC Black Country |date=4 May 2005 |access-date=17 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090116085704/http://www.bbc.co.uk/blackcountry/content/articles/2005/03/29/wolverhampton_speedway_venue_feature.shtml |archive-date=16 January 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Ole Olsen (speedway rider)|Ole Olsen]] (in 1971 and 1975), [[Sam Ermolenko]] (in 1993) and [[Tai Woffinden]] (in 2013) were riders for the club when they became [[Speedway World Championship|World Speedway Champions]]. The Wolves are defending Elite League champions, having defeated the Belle Vue Aces in the 2016 play-off final.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.skysports.com/speedway/news/12268/10606983/wolverhampton-repel-belle-vue-to-be-crowned-elite-league-champions|title=Wolverhampton repel Belle Vue to be crowned Elite League champions|work=Sky Sports|access-date=19 March 2018|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906181718/http://www.skysports.com/speedway/news/12268/10606983/wolverhampton-repel-belle-vue-to-be-crowned-elite-league-champions|archive-date=6 September 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[24 Hours of Le Mans|Le Mans 24 Hours]] winner [[Richard Attwood]] is from the city.

===Marathon===
Wolverhampton is home to the [[Carver Wolverhampton City Marathon]]. The marathon is part of a series of events whose main goal is to raise money for charity.

=== Obstacle course race ===
The [[Tough Guy Race]] is held annually near Wolverhampton. The race is considered the first civilian obstacle course race.

=== Commonwealth Games===
The City hosted the Cycling Time Trials for the [[2022 Commonwealth Games]] on 4 August 2022. The start and finish was at West Park, with the route passing through the City Centre before heading out into city suburbs.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.birmingham2022.com/the-games/sports/cycling-time-trial/ |title=Cycling - Time Trial |access-date=1 November 2021 |archive-date=1 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211101174936/https://www.birmingham2022.com/the-games/sports/cycling-time-trial/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{Clear}}

==Places of interest==
{{EngPlacesKey|align=right}}
{{columns-list|colwidth=40em|
*[[Bantock House Museum and Park]] [[File:HH icon.svg|Historic house]]
*[[Bilston Craft Gallery]] [[File:Museum icon.svg|Museum (free)]]
*[[Mander Centre]]
*[[Molineux Stadium]] ([[Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.]])
*[[Moseley Old Hall]] [[File:HH icon.svg|Historic house]] [[File:NTE icon.svg|National Trust]]
*[[St Peter's Collegiate Church]] [[File:AP Icon.svg]]
*[[West Park, Wolverhampton|West Park]] [[File:UKAL icon.svg|Accessible open space]]
*[[Wightwick Manor]] [[File:HH icon.svg|Historic house]] [[File:NTE icon.svg|National Trust]]
*[[Wolverhampton Archives and Local Studies|Wolverhampton City Archives]]
*[[Wolverhampton Art Gallery]] [[File:Museum icon.svg|Museum (free)]]
*[[Wolverhampton Civic Hall]]
*[[Wolverhampton Grand Theatre]] [[File:Drama-icon.svg|18px]]
*[[Wolverhampton Racecourse]]
*[[Wolves in Wolves]] 
}}

{{Clear}}

==Notable people==
[[File:Official portrait of Baroness Hayman crop 2.jpg|upright=0.65|thumb|Baroness Hayman, 2018]]
[[File:BillyWrightStatue.jpg|upright=0.65|thumb|Statue of [[Billy Wright (footballer born 1924)|Billy Wright]] outside [[Molineux Stadium]]]]
{{main|List of people from Wolverhampton}}
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Political figures associated with Wolverhampton include [[Enoch Powell]] MP, Sir [[Charles Pelham Villiers]] MP,<ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Villiers, Charles Pelham |volume= 28 | page = 86 |short= 1}}</ref> who holds the record for the longest serving MP, [[Helene Hayman, Baroness Hayman]], who was the first [[Lord Speaker]] within the [[House of Lords]], former Cabinet minister [[Stephen Byers]], former [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]] [[Boris Johnson]], who briefly worked as a writer for the ''[[Express & Star]]'', [[Henry Fowler, 1st Viscount Wolverhampton]], a solicitor and Liberal politician,<ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Wolverhampton, Henry Hartley Fowler, Viscount |volume= 28 | page = 781 |short= 1}}</ref> [[David Wright (diplomat)|David Wright]], a former UK Ambassador to Japan, and [[Button Gwinnett]], who was a signatory of the US [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] and briefly served as [[Governor of Georgia]].

Sportspeople associated with the city, include footballers [[Billy Wright (footballer born 1924)|Billy Wright]], [[Steve Bull]], [[Bert Williams (footballer, born 1920)|Bert Williams]] and [[Jimmy Mullen (footballer born 1923)|Jimmy Mullen]]; along with [[Percy Stallard]] and [[Hugh Porter]] from the world of cycling, the Olympic medallist swimmer [[Anita Lonsbrough]], professional darts player [[Wayne Jones (darts player)|Wayne Jones]], racing driver and winner of the [[24 hours of Le Mans]], [[Richard Attwood]] as well as athletes, [[Tessa Sanderson]] and [[Denise Lewis]]. Cricketer [[Vikram Solanki]] grew up here and played for Wolverhampton Cricket Club before joining [[Worcestershire County Cricket Club|Worcestershire]]. 2023 Wimbledon Boys' Singles Champion [[Henry Searle (tennis)|Henry Searle]] is from Wolverhampton.

Entertainers include actors [[Nigel Bennett]], [[Goldie]], [[Frances Barber]], [[Meera Syal]] and [[Eric Idle]];<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.expressandstar.com/editors-picks/2014/10/01/holy-grail-of-eric-idle-story/ |title=Holy grail of Eric Idle story |date=October 2014 |access-date=29 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190430032251/https://www.expressandstar.com/editors-picks/2014/10/01/holy-grail-of-eric-idle-story/ |archive-date=30 April 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> and musicians [[Noddy Holder]], [[Dave Hill (guitarist)|Dave Hill]], [[Beverley Knight]], [[Dave Holland (bassist)|Dave Holland]], [[Maggie Teyte]], [[Edward Elgar]], [[Robert Plant]], [[Bibio]], [[Paul Raven (musician)|Paul Raven]], trap-metal rapper [[Scarlxrd]], and [[Liam Payne]] of the group [[One Direction]]; and television presenters [[Suzi Perry]], [[Mark Rhodes]] and [[Mark Speight]]. The socially conservative future president of the [[Mediawatch-UK|National Viewers' and Listeners' Association]], [[Mary Whitehouse]], lived in Wolverhampton between 1939 and the early 1960s before relocating to Shropshire.<ref name=shropstar>{{cite news|title=Fearsome Mary and her fight to rid TV of 'filth'|work=Shropshire Star|date=11 October 2021|pages=20, 29}}Report by Toby Neal, part of 'Great Lives' series on Midlands worthies.</ref>

Within the area of commerce and industry, Sir [[Sir Alfred Hickman, 1st Baronet|Alfred Hickman]] (first Chairman of [[Tarmac Limited|Tarmac]]), Sir [[Geoffrey Le Mesurier Mander|Geoffrey Mander]], [[John Marston (industrialist)|John Marston]] founder of [[Sunbeam Cycles]] and [[Sunbeam Motor Car Company]], [[John Wilkinson (industrialist)|John 'Iron Mad' Wilkinson]] (pioneer of [[Cast iron]]) and [[Mervyn King (economist)|Mervyn King]], the former Governor of the [[Bank of England]], are amongst the most notable. Prof [[Ernest Geoffrey Cullwick]], a specialist in electromagnetism and its effects on atomic particles, was born and raised in Wolverhampton. ''Thief-Taker General'', [[Jonathan Wild]] (ca.1682–1725) came from the town.<ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Wild, Jonathan |volume= 28 | page = 632 |short= 1}}</ref>

===List of Freemen of the City of Wolverhampton===
The following people have been granted the title 'Freeman of Wolverhampton':<ref>{{cite web
 |url         = http://www.wolverhamptonhistory.org.uk/politics/local_government/wolves/freemen
 |title       = Freemen of Wolverhampton
 |publisher   = Wolverhampton Archives and Local Studies and Wolverhampton Arts and Museums Services
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20130507162025/http://www.wolverhamptonhistory.org.uk/politics/local_government/wolves/freemen
 |archive-date = 7 May 2013
|url-status     = live
 |df          = dmy
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www2.wolverhampton.gov.uk/council/mayors/freedom/ |publisher=Wolverhampton City Council |title=Freedom of the City |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130301175827/http://www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/council/mayors/freedom/ |archive-date=1 March 2013 |url-status=dead  |access-date=7 May 2013 }}</ref>

{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Henry Fowler, 1st Viscount Wolverhampton|Henry Hartley Fowler]], MP, 11 February 1892
* [[Charles Pelham Villiers]] MP, 11 May 1897
* Sir [[Charles Tertius Mander]], 24 May 1897
* Sir [[Joseph Cockfield Dimsdale]], MP, 29 July 1902
* [[Sir Alfred Hickman, 1st Baronet|Sir Alfred Hickman]], MP, 29 July 1902
* [[William Highfield Jones]], 29 July 1902
* [[George Chubb, 1st Baron Hayter|Sir George Hayter Chubb]], 14 October 1909
* [[John Marston (businessman)|John Marston]], 14 October 1909
* [[Joseph Jones (Ironmaster)|Joseph Jones]], 14 August 1912
* [[David Lloyd George]] MP, 23 November 1918
* [[Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig|Field Marshal Earl Haig of Bemersyde]], 16 October 1919
* [[Albert Baldwin Bantock]], 9 November 1926
* Levi Johnson, 9 November 1926
* Thomas William Dickinson, 18 July 1938
* Thomas Austin Henn, 7 October 1943
* Alan Davies, 29 October 1945
* Sir [[Charles Arthur Mander]], 29 October 1945
* Joseph Harold Sheldon (1920–1964), 24 March 1958. Pediatrician, see [[Freeman–Sheldon syndrome]]
* Sir [[Charles Wheeler (sculptor)|Charles Wheeler]], 24 March 1958
* [[Denise Lewis]], 13 December 2000
* Sir [[Jack Hayward]], 9 July 2003
* [[Dennis Turner, Baron Bilston]], 20 December 2006
* [[Hugh Porter]], 17 December 2008
* [[Rachael Heyhoe Flint|Baroness Heyhoe Flint]], 3 November 2010
* [[Beverley Knight]], 16 May 2018
* [[Steve Bull]], 11 September 2018
{{colend}}

In addition, on 19 August 2006, freedom was granted to veterans of the [[Princess Irene Brigade]] who were members of the [[Dutch Army]] stationed at [[Wrottesley Hall|Wrottesley Park]] during [[World War II]].

==See also==
* [[1835 Wolverhampton riot]]
*[[Wolverhampton power station]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikivoyage}}
* [http://www.wolverhampton.gov.uk Wolverhampton City Council]

{{Wards of Wolverhampton}}
{{West Midlands County}}
{{West Midlands}}
{{UK cities}}
{{Metropolitan districts of England}}
{{Culture places Wolverhampton}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Wolverhampton| ]]
[[Category:Towns in the West Midlands (county)]]
[[Category:Cities in the West Midlands (region)]]
[[Category:Metropolitan boroughs of the West Midlands (county)]]
[[Category:NUTS 3 statistical regions of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Populated places established in the 10th century]]
[[Category:History of Staffordshire]]
[[Category:985 establishments]]
[[Category:Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership]]
[[Category:10th-century establishments in England]]
[[Category:Unparished areas in the West Midlands (county)]]
[[Category:Former civil parishes in the West Midlands (county)]]