Conservation Area Appraisal & Management Proposals July 2008
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Designed and Printed by Wolverhampton City Council RT 342a 02/08 C o & n M s e a r n v a a t g J i u e o m l n y e A 2 n 0 r t e 0 P a 8 r A o p p p o r s a a i l s s a l Conservation Area Character Appraisal This document is the appraisal for the Penn Fields Conservation Area which the Council approved on 14th July 2008. To find out more about appraisals for other conservation areas in the City see the Council’s website at: www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/conservationareas Conservation Areas in Wolverhampton 18 4 5 1 25 7 28 13 9 14 19 30 8 11 21 18 29 16 22 15 3 23 12 26 27 17 24 6 20 10 2 Key: 1 Tettenhall Greens 14 Wightwick Bank 27 Fellows Street (Blakenhall) 2 Vicarage Road, Penn 15 Bantock House 28 Springfield Brewery 3 St John’s Square 16 Chapel Ash 29 The Oaks 4 Bushbury Hill 17 St Philips (Penn Fields) (Merridale Road) 5 Wolverhampton Locks 18 Staff and Worces 30 Tettenhall Road 6 Bilston Town Centre and Shrop Canal 19 Ash Hill Conservation 7 Tettenhall Wood Area Boundary 8 Park 20 Penn Fields Motorway 9 Wolverhampton 21 Old Hall Street City Centre 22 Worcester Street Major Roads 10 The Woodlands 23 Cleveland Road Railway 11 Union Mill 24 Penn Road (Graiseley) Metro Line 12 Castlecroft Gardens 25 Cedar Way Council Boundary 13 Wednesfield 26 Copthorne Road Waterways Contents 1. Introduction 2 2. Location and setting 3 3. History 4 4. Character and appearance of the conservation area Summary of special interest 6 Present character: activities and uses 7 Development of street pattern 7 Architectural and historic character 8 Building types and prevalent building form 9 Building materials 9 Boundary Walls 10 Buildings of Townscape Merit 12 Focal points, vistas and views 12 Open spaces, green areas and trees 13 Public realm 15 Local identity 15 5. Issues Positives 16 Negatives 16 Threats 16 6. Management proposals Conservation area review 2007-2008 17 Use of Article 4 Directions 18 Use of Article 4(2) Directions 18 Use of Article 4(1) Directions 18 Opportunities for enhancement 19 Monitoring and review 20 7. Implications of conservation area status 20 Bibliography and maps; Sources of further information 24 Penn Fields Conservation Area Appraisal x. Heading 1. Introduction Copy The Penn Fields Conservation Area was designated by Wolverhampton Borough Council on 14th April 1994. This document defines and records the special architectural and historic interest of the Penn Fields Conservation Area and identifies opportunities for enhancement. The omission of a particular building, feature or space should not be taken to imply that it is of no interest. Conservation areas are designated under the provisions of Section 69 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990. A conservation area is defined as “an area of special architectural or historic interest the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance”. Section 71 of the same Act requires local planning authorities to formulate and publish proposals for the preservation and enhancement of any parts of Above: their area which are conservation areas. Doorcase 11 Riley Crescent Section 72 specifies that, in making a decision on an application for development in a conservation area, special attention shall be paid to the desirability of preserving or enhancing the character or appearance of that area. This appraisal satisfies the requirements of the legislation and provides a firm basis on which applications for development within the Penn Fields Conservation Area can be assessed. 2x Penn Fields Conservation Area Appraisal Above: Penn Fields – Ordnance Survey c1884. 2. Location and setting The Penn Fields Conservation Area is located on century development then surrounded by open the west side of the A449 about 3 km south-west fields, now in a wholly suburban setting. of Wolverhampton city centre. Except for a small southern arm containing nos. 196 to 228 Penn The conservation area lies on almost level ground Road, the conservation area is bounded to north, to the west of Goldthorn Hill. There is a slight rise south and east by Stubbs Road, Coalway Road and towards the foot of the hill and an almost Penn Road respectively. The ‘dog-leg’ western imperceptible downward slope between Stubbs boundary follows the rear and side boundaries Road and Coalway Road. of properties in Riley Crescent and Eagle Street. An inspection of the 1884 Ordnance Survey map The conservation area lies largely within Graiseley shows that the boundaries of today’s conservation Ward. Nos 196-228 Penn Road and 1-3 Coalway area exactly follow the boundaries of what was Road lie within Penn Ward. identified as Penn Fields, a compact mid 19th 3 Penn Fields Conservation Area Appraisal 3. History Until the second half of the 19th century, the land The tithe map, which clearly shows field enclosed within today’s Penn Fields Conservation boundaries, shows a narrow track leading south Area was a rural area of land beside the from Coalway Lane in the approximate location of intersection of an established north-south route the rear access lane to today’s nos. 196-230 (even) (today’s Penn Road) with the roughly east-west Penn Road. The map also illustrates the strip of routes of the roads known today as Stubbs Road land on which these properties now stand (the and Coalway Road. To the east of the conservation southern arm of the conservation area) divided area stands No. 152 Goldthorn Hill, a grade II into long parallel strips similar to the alignment of listed building with a timber-frame concealed by today’s property boundaries. This suggests that rendering. It was recorded in the 16th century as roadside development along this length of Penn the Blue Bell Inn, an indication that this area was, Road was already mooted c.1840. even at this time, already well served by roads. St Philip’s Church, a short distance to the west of The tithe map for the area of c.1840 shows a the conservation area was built in 1858-9 by largely greenfield site comprising pasture and Griffin & Weller of Wolverhampton. The church meadowland with a small number of houses and and accompanying vicarage was built in what was associated outbuildings at the east end of Coalway then almost undeveloped countryside, presumably Lane (sic) and around the junction of Penn Road in anticipation of the coming of surrounding and Stubbs Road. development of which Penn Fields was the first. Above: Extract from the Penn Tithe map of 1842 4 Penn Fields Conservation Area Appraisal The 1st Series Ordnance Survey map of 1884 shows the area largely developed for housing. A number of houses have visible datestones: No. 32 Coalway Road (1860), No. 38 Riley Crescent (Grosvenor House) (1865) and nos. 24/26 Coalway Road (1891). The built environment of Penn Fields Conservation Area was completed in a period of under 50 years, c. 1845-1895. Above: Chequerfield Drive More radical changes occurred in the 1960s and 1970s when a large house, Chequerfield House, was demolished and its grounds and adjoining land to the south were redeveloped to form Chequerfield Drive and Shenstone Court. Further development has occurred sporadically towards Above: the end of the 20th century, for example The Datestone at 24/26 Coalway Road Hollies in Coalway Road, the Sisters of Mercy Convent building in Poplar Road and Eagle Court In the 1930s and 1940s small scale infill of the in Eagle Street. remaining undeveloped part of the Victorian development took place mostly in Riley Crescent Despite the later 20th century developments a and also a new dwelling was built at no. 2 Coalway substantial number of Victorian buildings remain, Road. By 1937, a large property known as Haddon albeit altered and extended. Some of the larger Lodge had been converted into a Carmelite Convent. dwellings are now in institutional use. Above: View along Stubbs Road in the 1930s and today. 5 Penn Fields Conservation Area Appraisal 4. Character and appearance of the conservation area General description and summary Above: of special interest Tiled street name. The Penn Fields Conservation Area encloses a compact area of mid/late 19th century The conservation area is notable for the following: development that, despite unsympathetic • The compact nature of the historic settlement alterations and modern infill, has retained many which was built c.1845-1895 and is now a of its historic buildings, trees and open spaces. Victorian enclave in an area of 1930s suburbia; Unusually for such a small Victorian suburb, the area contains a range of house types that reflect • The area’s haphazard 19th century street layout the social hierarchy of the time e.g. modest tightly enclosed by much earlier, formerly two-storey terraced houses, pairs of semi-detached rural, roads now known as Stubbs Road, villas and a large house in spacious grounds Coalway Road and Penn Road; (now part of the convent). • The prevalent mid/late 19th century character and appearance of the conservation area; • The architectural unity of the area’s buildings, most of which date from the mid/late 19th century and incorporate Classical or Gothic details typical of that period; • The broad range of mid-Victorian house types (detached, semi-detached and terraced) built to accommodate a varied social mix; • Open space around the Convent, originally the grounds of Haddon Lodge (c1850); • Large rear gardens belonging to 19th century properties, especially in Riley Crescent; • Mature roadside and garden trees many of Above: which were planted as part of the original Classical detail 19th century development of Penn Fields; • Quiet suburban atmosphere (excepting In order to include as much as possible of the Penn Road); original mid 19th century suburb called Penn Fields, it has been necessary to include Shenstone • Local details that collectively and individually Court and Chequerfield Drive which form a help to give Penn Fields a distinctive identity, pocket of modern development within the e.g.