Pennover.

He was a mining engineer and surveyor and had premises in Darlington Street and an extensive practice. He was employed by some of the wealthier residents of Penn and was involved in the widening and improving of Coalway Lane (now Coalway Road). In 1861 he was appointed as a Surveyor of Highways and became a Fellow of the Geological Society. He also became a vigorous exponent of vegetarianism and teetotalism, becoming President of the Wolverhampton Temperance Society in June 1854.

He is remembered in Penn for his diary that he kept from 1859 until 1871. It is a useful source of information that includes references to many local happenings at the time.

Another well known resident who had moved there by 1908 was Theodore Addenbrooke. He had a distinguished military career during the First World War and worked as Company Secretary for William Butler & Company Limited. at Springfield Brewery. He was appointed at the Brewery after the death of William Butler in 1893.

Another view of  'Pennover'.

He served with the Territorial Battalion of the South Staffordshire Regiment, which he rejoined in 1914 at the outbreak of war. The following article from the Express & Star, 23rd May, 1917, stated that Addenbrooke had been commended by Sir Douglas Haig in his latest dispatches.

Express & Star, 23rd May, 1917.

It was dedicated to those who perished in the First World War. The names of the employees who were killed in the Second World War were added later.

In 1996 after the closure of the site, the war memorial was moved to the Fallings Park Territorial Army Centre following concerns about its safety.

It has since been moved to the Black Country Living Museum where it can be seen today. It consists of a bronze figure of a British Soldier.

Butler's war memorial.

The funeral took place at St. Bart’s Church, and he was buried in St. Bart's graveyard.

At his funeral there was a procession of 340 members of the Boys Brigade, who escorted his coffin.

Captain Theodore Addenbrooke's grave at St. Bart's.

A little further along Vicarage Road from 'Pennover' is a large house called 'Clawbonny' that sits on the hillside above the road. It caught my eye because of its strange name, which probably comes from one of Jules Verne's novels, called 'The Voyages and Adventures of Captain Hatteras'. It is a tale about sailing to the north pole. In the story, Doctor Clawbonny was a hero who built a snow house, where the crew could survive during the winter. Doctor Clawbonny was able to make fire with an ice lens, make bullets from frozen mercury and keep polar bears at bay with remotely controlled explosions of black powder. One of the crew members was called Pen.

The book was published in French in 1864 and again in 1866. It was first published in English in 1874, which is when the house may have gained its name. It is named in the 1881 census.

Clawbonny.

Laburnum Cottages

Across Vicarage Road, at right angles to the road are Laburnum Cottages, which are also very old. They had long gardens without hedges or fences which gave the impression of one huge and colourful garden. The cottages have a porch with a gently sloping roof. The cottage nearest the road had two seats inside the porch. It was suggested by Mr. Jones, who owned the cottage in the 1970s, that it was a post office and possibly a shop. It once belonged to Maria and John Thomas Hill of Wombourne, who sold it to John Green of Sedgley, who in turn sold it to William Bayliss of Penn, who paid £190 for all of Laburnum Cottages in 1853.

In 1939 the cottage nearest the road was owned by the Ballard family, whose daughter bought the far cottage when she married a Mr. Jones. In the 1950s the middle cottage was owned by the Hand family. The cottages were once known as Three quarter Row.

The cottages became derelict and fell into a bad state of repair. They were restored in the late 1990s. Work began August 1995 which involved removing all the internal fixtures and fittings including plaster on the walls, and fitting new windows and doors etc.

The old vicarage was originally two cottages that have been extended and enlarged many times. The building has suffered from subsidence, resulting in long tie rods being inserted. In 1778, cellars were added by the vicar at the time, the Rev. Cole-Webb who married the local brewer's daughter and needed somewhere to store barrels of beer. Around this time, coach houses were added along with a north wing for staff accommodation. In 1960 the north wing was demolished and the northern side improved. An entrance was also added for a top floor apartment. The house continued as the vicarage until 1977.

The old vicarage.

The back of the old vicarage and St. Bart's Church.