It was at that meeting that the Wolverhampton Astronomical Society was inaugurated and the society has been meeting regularly ever since and has witnessed and, indeed, followed, the tremendous advancement in the science of Astronomy.

At the time there was, and still is, a lot of criticism of the amount of money that space exploration costs, and whether or not the money would be better spent but there are very many aspects of our present day life especially, in the field of medical science that are a direct result of space research. A major aspect is the need to get an awful lot in a small space and this gives rise to heart pacemakers, keyhole surgery to name just two.

Like most other societies funding was, and still is, a major problem. Wolverhampton Astronomical Society, being totally self funding, it is always difficult to balance the subscriptions to offset the running costs and the major item of expense has always been that of hiring rooms in which to hold the meetings. Hence in the 50 years we have moved a few times. In its early days the Society meeting were held at various locations such as school rooms and at one stage we met in Wulfruna Street in what was then called the Technical College (now University) but the bell-ringers' practice night at St Peter’s Church caused problems - but of course the Church was there before the Society.

The Society then met at 38 Tettenhall Road in the mid 1960s and was there for some years and we have now been at our present venue: Beckminster Methodist Church Hall, Birches Barn Road for a considerable number of years. But in the interim meetings had been held at Old Hill, Tettenhall and Springfield Road.

Various attempts have been made by the Society to try to come up with a solution but the cost is totally prohibitive. Such an observatory would have to be sited away from light pollution. This is a problem in itself as it means being out of town but still accessible to members. The cost of land, either to purchase or lease, together with planning permission, electrical supply, water supply, security fencing etc. etc., the requirements and costs become almost endless. And when one looks at the number of clear nights suitable for observing it would probably be underused.

The idea of renovating existing structures has been considered in the past. One was at The Cedars, Compton Road, which was at one time the home of the Butler family (of local brewing fame). There are the remains of an observatory there, but again no funds were available from any source.

John (later Lord) Wrottesley was born in 1798 and became a founder member of the Royal Astronomical Society and he did an enormous amount of observational work at his first Observatory in Blackheath, London. He recorded over 12,000 observations and in 1839 was awarded the RAS’s Gold Medal Award. In 1841 his father died and John inherited the title and the Staffordshire family estate at Wrottesley and he resolved to build an observatory there - which he did - and again to take up serious astronomy. The coordinates of the Observatory are 52 degrees 37 minutes 23 seconds North and 2 Degrees 13 minutes 24 seconds West and are, of course, very important for observational work. John Wrottesley died in 1867.

Brinsford Lodge, near Essington, was a hostel complex for overseas students and prior to it being demolished we were able to have a room there and did for a short while, have a large telescope installed.

In 1993 the Society hosted the first ever convention in Great Britain of the International Union of Amateur Astronomers at the Compton Park Campus of the Wolverhampton University when we attracted astronomers from all over the world, including Japan, Australia, South Africa and many European countries. A full week of events was arranged with professional astronomers giving lectures and a special visit to Jodrell Bank was included. The Convention was huge success and the Society received many congratulatory letters from participants.