CHARACTERISATION STUDY BILSTON CORRIDOR AREA ACTION PLAN EXTENSIONS May 2013
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CHARACTERISATION STUDY BILSTON CORRIDOR AREA ACTION PLAN EXTENSIONS May 2013 Paul Quigley Landscape Archaeologist Black Country Archaeology CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 4 2.0 METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................. 6 3.0 EXTENSIVE AREA ASSESSMENT ...................................................................... 7 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Bradley Inner 3.3 Bradley Outer 3.4 Hilton Trading Estate 3.5 Lunt - East 3.6 Lunt - Estate 3.7 Lunt – West 3.8 Lunt - Willenhall Road 3.9 North of Bilston High Street 3.10 Thompson Ave 3.11 Wellington Road 4.0 INTENSIVE AREA ASSESSMENT ..................................................................... 41 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Bradley Canal Character Zone 5.0 SUMMARY & CONCLUSIONS .......................................................................... 52 6.0 MAPS ................................................................................................................ 53 7.0 REFERENCES ................................................................................................... 57 8.0 ANNEXES ......................................................................................................... 58 Annexe 1: Anchor Category Definitions Annexe 2: Anchor Buildings and Sites Annexe 3: Other Heritage Assets TABLES: Table 1: Character Zones by Number of Anchor Buildings & Sites Front Cover: The view from Upper Bradley towards Coseley Characterisation Study – Bilston Corridor AAP Extensions Page 2 Acknowledgements This study benefited from the comments and suggestions from a number of individuals. Especially in relation to the history of Bradley, the comments made by Ron Davies, Reverend Raphael Duckett and John Goalby have been very useful. Thanks are also due to Black Country Memories Club for helping me publicise the study and to the Canal and River Trust for providing information on their assets in Bradley. Lastly, I am also grateful for the comments made by colleagues at Wolverhampton City Council Historic Environment Team, Mike Shaw and Sue Whitehouse. Responsibility for any errors in the report lies squarely with the author. Additional photographs used in the report have been kindly provided by Wolverhampton Archives and Local Studies. Paul Quigley Landscape Archaeologist Characterisation Study – Bilston Corridor AAP Extensions Page 3 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the study 1.1.1 The characterisation study was commissioned by Wolverhampton City Council Planning Services to guide regeneration in the area covered by the Bilston Corridor Area Action Plan (AAP). 1.1.2 The study arises from extensions to the boundary of the Bilston Corridor AAP. These extensions came about after the original study of the historic character of the area had already been completed (in 2009). This study adds to the 2009 findings and informs the final AAP. 1.1.3 The study aims to assess the historic character and local distinctiveness of the area. It also makes recommendations to make sure that any heritage assets (i.e. buildings of historic importance or interest, or which add to the character of the area) are taken into account in any redevelopment. 1.2 The Study Areas 1.2.1 A plan of the five separate study areas is shown in Figure 1. This also illustrates the distribution of land-use according to the Black Country Historic Landscape Characterisation, a desk-based survey of the area based on 2000 data. It shows that the five areas are all on the edge of a broad swathe of industrial land extending South West from Wolverhampton city centre, the transformation of the latter being the basis of the Bilston Corridor AAP. Figure 1 The Study Areas (Outlined in Black) Showing Land Use Patterns in 2000 (Source: Black Country Historic Landscape Characterisation) Characterisation Study – Bilston Corridor AAP Extensions Page 4 1.2.2 The study areas are essentially residential in broad character, with the exception of Hilton Trading Estate which, as its name implies, has its origins in a 20th century industrial development. 1.2.3 Two of the study areas are immediately adjacent to the boundaries of the Bilston Town Centre Conservation Area and another (Bradley, the southernmost) has, at the time of writing, part of its area within a proposed Conservation Area. There is one statutorily listed building within the study areas. 1.3 The Structure of the Report 1.3.1 Following details of the way in which this study has been conducted (Section 2), the report describes the findings of an extensive area assessment (Section 3) covering all the study areas with the exception of part of Bradley. This exception is instead subject of a more detailed intensive area assessment (described in Section 4). 1.3.2 Section 5 provides some concluding remarks while Section 6, 7 and 8 contain further more detailed information in the form of maps, references, and annexes. Characterisation Study – Bilston Corridor AAP Extensions Page 5 2.0 METHODOLOGY 2.1.1 The study was based on that used by CgMs in 2009 which, in turn, was based on an approached developed by English Heritage for use in Housing Market Renewal Areas. 2.1.2 The study can be broken down into five key phases as follows. 2.1.3 A desk-based assessment was carried out to consult the substantial amount of information which already existed (as either primary or secondary sources) for the study areas in terms of history, heritage and local character. This included consultation of the Wolverhampton Historic Environment Record as well as historic and modern mapping. 2.1.4 At the same time a process of advance consultation took place with selected individuals and organisations with an interest in the area. Individuals contacted included: Ron Davies, Rev. Raphael Duckett, John Goalby, and Tom Larkin. Organisations contacted included: Black Countries Memories Club and Bilston Historical Society. In addition, a contribution was made to events arranged to consult on the AAP at St. Martin’s Church, Bradley (on 7 February 2013) and Bilston Town Hall (on 15 February 2013). 2.1.5 An extensive area assessment was carried out over the study areas involving note-taking and photography in the field. The areas were analysed in terms of a set of Character Zones and this allowed the identification of an area where intensive area assessment would be beneficial. 2.1.6 Intensive area assessment was conducted in one selected Character Zone. 2.1.7 A report-writing phase included the creation of digital mapped records in a GIS (Geographic Information System) of Character Zones, Anchor Buildings and Sites and Heritage Assets. The definition of Anchor Buildings and Sites is the one adopted for the CgMs study in 2009 (referred to above). A summary of the definitions is included in Annexe 1 of this report, but a longer discussion of the three categories is included in the first part of the CgMs report, which is available on the Wolverhampton City Council website (see Section 7.0 below). Characterisation Study – Bilston Corridor AAP Extensions Page 6 3.0 EXTENSIVE AREA ASSESSMENT 3.1 Introduction 3.1.1 For the purposes of the study, the Extensive Area Assessment divided the five study areas into eleven Character Zones. The map below illustrates the location of all Character Zones. Figure 2 Map of Character Zones 3.1.2 The boundaries of these Character Zones were drawn in relation to their generalised character. They are generally co-terminous with groups of existing polygons created by the Black Country Historic Landscape Characterisation (BCHLC). The exceptions to this are in cases where the boundary of one of the study areas itself bisected a BCHLC polygon or where new information has necessitated a modification of the interpretation of the surviving landscape arrived at by the BCHLC (which is based on the landscape as it existed in 2000). 3.1.3 The scope of this study allowed for one Character Zone to be the subject of an Intensive Area Assessment. The Extensive area Assessment identified that Intensive Area Assessment would be appropriate in Bradley Canal Character Zone. The basis of this decision is explained in Section 4, taking account of the number of Anchor Buildings and Sites within each area (see Table 1 below). 3.1.4 The distribution of Anchor Buildings and Sites is detailed in Table 1 below. There are no Category 1 Buildings and all of the Category 1 Sites are in one the three Bradley Character Zones, as illustrated by Figure 2. As a result of its selection for Intensive Area Assessment, Bradley Canal Character Zone is discussed in Section 4.0. Characterisation Study – Bilston Corridor AAP Extensions Page 7 3.1.5 The selection of one Character Zone for Intensive Area Assessment within the terms of this study should not be understood to imply that the remaining Character Zones would not benefit from further investigation. Table 1: Character Zones by Number of Anchor Buildings & Sites Category of Anchor Building or Site: Character Zone 1 2 3 Total Bradley Canal 3 7 - 10 Bradley Inner 1 3 1 5 Bradley Outer 1 3 - 5 Nth of Bilston High St - 12 2 14 Lunt West - 7 3 10 - Wellington Road - 7 7 Thompson Ave - 1 - 1 Hilton Trading - - - - Lunt East - - - - - - - - Lunt Estate Lunt Willenhall Rd - - - - 3.1.6 Each Character Zone identified is briefly summarised below, each summary detailing elements of the local built environment that make a positive contribution to its character and/or which could serve as an ‘anchor for regeneration and redevelopment proposals. 3.1.7 Each of the Zone summaries includes a plan showing its boundaries. Characterisation Study – Bilston Corridor AAP Extensions Page 8 Figure 3 Category 1 Anchor Sites in Bradley Characterisation Study – Bilston Corridor AAP Extensions Page 9 3.2 Bradley Inner Figure 4 Walter Road, Bradley 3.2.1 This Zone is largely an area of interwar council housing and a locally-listed municipal park. Unlike most of Bradley the housing is contemporary with the streets and has not been replaced. The northern end of the Zone includes remnants of the 19th century townscape and the site of the former Anglican Church. Historic Context and Archaeological Potential 3.2.2.