City Centre Conservation Area

The draft appriasal of the City Centre consevation area was the subject of consultation durnig September/October 2006 and was approved by Cabinet on 14 March 2007.

The appraisal document is available to downloaded below along with a map showing the conservation area boundary. Click on the relevant PDF icons to download

Conservation area appriasal

Map of conservation area

History of Wolverhampton city centre

The City Centre Conservation Area covers the historic core of Wolverhampton.

The original settlement grew up around a church, on the site of St. Peter’s, from at least the 10th century.

The town flourished in the Middle Ages as a result of the wool trade by which time the town had a market and was granted a borough charter.

The Industrial Revolution and Wolverhampton’s proximity to coal and iron resulted in a rapid expansion and the town became engaged in various metalware industries including lock making.

In the 18th century new roads King Street and Queen Street were laid out in the town centre.

As the population grew in Victorian times the town centre road network was upgraded and slum housing was cleared away to be replaced by showpiece shops and grand new civic and commercial buildings.

In the 20th century the town maintained its function as a commercial and administrative centre for the surrounding area and the economic base moved to the manufacture of cycles, cars, buses and aeroplanes.

Between the wars the suburbs continued to grow despite the economic decline of the depression years. In the town centre a new technical college was built which became the foundation for the University of Wolverhampton.

The period 1965 and 1985 saw many changes in the town, most notably the construction of the ring-road and the demolition of many older properties to accommodate new shopping centres.

The industrial depression of the 1980s lead to high unemployment and the town centre reflected this decline in fortunes but since the 1990s the town has gained more new industries and has grown as a centre for entertainment.

The University of Wolverhampton gained its university status in 1992 and is currently undertaking extensive rebuilding and rationalisation, much within the conservation area. The town was granted city status in 2001.