The date of the founding of the parish church, St. Michael and All
Angels, is not known. The date of 975 AD was a reasonable approximation
(made in 1975 when it was felt that some millennium celebrations would
be in order). The church was certainly in existence in 1086 when it was
recorded in Domesday Book. Domesday gives Tettenhall a value of 30
shillings, a 10 shillings increase over its value in 1066; and that
implies a population of about 100. Domesday also refers to the fact that
Tettenhall had belonged to three Saxons, Hunta, Wulfstan and Godwin, who
lost it in 1066 to Norman lords; but it was now in the hands of the
King.
 |
An early 20th century view
of St. Michael and All Angels, from the south. |
| A matching view of the
church from the north. |
 |
At some point during this period the church, like those at Penkridge and
Wolverhampton, became a royal peculiar and a collegiate church. A royal
peculiar is a church which comes under the jurisdiction of the king, not
the bishop; and a collegiate church was run not by a single vicar but by
a college (that is, a collective - it has nothing to do with education)
which consisted of a Dean and Canons (otherwise known as prebendaries).
A collegiate church is thought to be an arrangement adopted when an area
was in particular need of missionary work among the heathen.
The endowment of the
collegiate church resulted in the main part of the village being
in the king's manor, Tettenhall Regis; and the rest being in the
church's manor, Tettenhall Clericorum. The areas allotted to each
of the five canons shows the enormous areas that Tettenhall then
covered:
1. Tettenhall: the village, the Wood, Compton (including
Finchfield), Autherley
2. Perton: Perton, Trescott, Wightwick
3. Wrottesley: Wrottesley, Wergs, Dippons, Kingswood
4. Pendeford: Pendeford, Bilbrook, Lane Green, Barnhurst, Palmer's
Cross, Birches
5. Codsall.
Despite the numbers of clergymen and its collegiate status, the
church at Tettenhall, unlike that at Wolverhampton, never developed into
anything more than a country parish church. It was the religious and
social centre of a large agricultural community.
|
