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WADHAM'S HILL;  WADHAM'S FOLD, City Centre

Wadham's Hill mostly disappeared when the Ring Road was built but Wadham's Fold still exists.  Who Wadham was is unknown but in 1817 William Pitt, in his Topographical History of Staffordshire, mentioned that there was an ancient arched well at Waddam's-hill, called Meg-a-doodle's-well. 

(Anthony Perry)

WALFORD AVENUE , Birches Barn Estate

Named after Mr William Walford. An area of just over twenty acres, formerly the site of Merridale Brick Works, was sold to the council by the Trustees of the late Mr Walton. The site consisted of five large fields bounded by Jeffcock Road, Bradmore Road, Birches Barn Road. to a line bounded by the present Little Birches, and Downham Place.  

(Peter Hickman)

WANDERERS AVENUE, Fighting Cocks

Named after the Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (whose roots was in this area) by an enthusiastic developer, celebrating the Wolves first F A Cup win in 1893.  Some of the house names in this street are those of members of the victorious team.  (Another developer is said to have adorned his new houses in Fallowfield Avenue with stone replicas of the Cup).

(Frank Sharman)

WARSTONES ROAD, Upper Penn

Warstones Road between Coalway (Lane) and Springhill (Lane) is shown on the 1841 Tithe map as Penstones Lane. Between Springhill Lane and Lloyd Hill it was called Watery Lane. The road is built over lower Triassic Keuper pebble beds, which are conducive of springs of water. Hence Spring Hill. The Keuper beds consist of alternate marls, conglomerates and pebbles; from these the name ‘Waters Stones’ arises.  

(Peter Hickman)

Warstones (which is a fairly common name in these parts) is a corruption of Hoarstone or even Whorstone, meaning a boundary stone or other marker stone.  I think it derives from this rather than from ‘watery’.

(John White)

WATERLOO ROAD, City Centre

This road, the name of which celebrates the victory of the Duke of Wellington in 1815 at the end of the Napoleonic Wars, is shown on the 1842 map as Wellington Road.  The name was changed to Waterloo by popular request since the nearby town of Wellington is to the west of the town, not the North.  

(Peter Hickman)

WELLS ROAD, Penn

Named after Samuel Wells Page who lived in Penn House qv.  

(Peter Hickman)

WERGS ROAD, The Wergs

In early records the name appears as Withegas (1202), Wytheges (1306) and Withegis (1237) and derives from the Old English word withigas, meaning willows.  The headwaters of the river Penk rise in the area.  The place name would have been taken from the willows in the low-lying and marshy land.

(David Horovitz, The Tarmac Papers, 1997)

WHEELER'S FOLD, City Centre

A wheeler is a wheel-maker or wheelwright and this may be the origin of the name.  Maybe someone who was was called Wheeler because his ancestors made wheels was the source. But it may be a corruption of earlier words.  The fold leads onto what was once called Bury Street, which name suggests fortification, perhaps by earthworks.  The early word for a wall was "weall" or "wealle".  But also the wool trade produced many settlers from the Welsh Marches.  Welsh names appear in the records in the Middle Ages and, not far away, there was a "Welsh Harp" tavern until the late 1600s.  The early words "Wealas" or or "Weallas" for the Welsh, and "weales" for foreigners as well as the Welsh are interesting, as Dutch merchants also appeared here during the time that the cloth trade played a significant part in the town's economy.

(Anthony Perry)

WILKINSON AVENUE, Bradley

Named after John "Iron Mad" Wilkinson who moved to Bradley in about 1765 and succeeded in using coal to produce iron.  He went on to become one of the biggest iron producers in the country and was notorious for wanting to use iron for everything.  His original works were near this road but all trace of them is lost under playing fields.  

(Reg Aston)

WILLIS PEARSON AVENUE, Bradley

Willis Pearson was a Conservative councillor on Bilston Borough Council and this road was named after him.

(Tom Larkin)

WOOD ROAD, Tettenhall

Wood Road was built, to connect the village of Tettenhall to a new crossroads at Tettenhall Wood, following the enclosure of Tettenhall Wood Common in 1807.  It also provided access to the newly formed plots of land on each side of it, previously common land,  that later provided sites for the large houses built by the Victorian industrialists.. The road may well follow the line of an old course used for horse racing, that existed on the common before its enclosure.

 (Keith Cattell)

WULFRUN STREET, City Centre

Originally this street was known as Horsefair, almost certainly the part of the market where horses were traded.  It is shown on Isaac Taylor's map, leading past the Deanery (now the site of the University), turning sharply north down the side of the Deanery and then sharply west to meet Goat or Tup Street (now North Street).  But when did the name change to Wulfrun Street?

(Frank Sharman) 

WYNN ROAD (Between Penn Road and Coalway Road)  WYNN CRESCENT (Springhill)

The Rev Charles Wynn was Vicar of Penn 1646 to 1669. He owned Steeples Farm at Edvin Loach in Worcestershire. Upon his death this was left to his brother and sister for their lifetimes. Afterwards trustees were appointed to provide a school for the children of Penn. This school was founded in 1714.  The site chosen was near the top of Springhill Lane, close to the present Wynn Crescent.

When in 1871 this accommodation became inadequate, the school was moved closer to St Bartholomew’s Church. It required further enlargement in 1877. At that time there were approximately 100 pupils and it was known as the Penn Wynn Schools. Today the School is St Bartolomew’s CofE School. Down the years it has bee the custom to provide school leavers with bibles inscribed as Penn Wynn Bibles

(Peter Hickman)