Penn consists of two old villages, Upper Penn and
Lower Penn. It covers an area of just over six square miles and
lies along the southern borders of Wolverhampton. There has been
a permanent settlement here since Anglo-Saxon times when a small
farming community worked the land. Lower Penn is still
predominantly a farming area, whereas most of Upper Penn was
redeveloped for housing in the 1930s.
The old Penn village disappeared when the A449 was widened to
form a dual carriageway. When you travel along it today it's
easy to forget that this part of Penn was once a village in its
own right, rather than a Wolverhampton suburb.
This is the story of an ancient settlement that grew into a
farming community, which has been partly superseded by
urbanisation. The story is in several parts and will appear in
serial form. |
