Welcome to Billy’s Picture Book! In this new series, I hope my pictures and stories will illustrate the many changes which have taken place in Wolverhampton since 1750, particularly in relation to the street scene and general landscape. Book One – North Street North Street, whilst still containing some interesting old buildings, has lost its […]
In modern times, it is home to University buildings and relatively upmarket watering holes like The Royal London and Hogshead, but allow me to take you on a journey into the dark side of the area we know today as Princes Square. A Den of Iniquity Although this photo of Princess Street running through Princes […]
Have you heard the one about the lawyer and the bible? Despite the set up, it is no comedy, moreover, a poignant family tale from Victorian times. Now I know I said in my last outing that it would be the final part of our “Tales from Carribee Island”, but whilst sorting through some documents […]
“No man sympathises with the sorrows of vanity” – Samuel Johnson The year is 1854 and a cholera epidemic ravages the land, leading to demands for a clean water supply and proper sewage systems, especially in poor neighbourhoods like Carribee Island. But can you believe there was opposition here in Wolverhampton, to this grand vision […]
Of all the methods by which our history can be preserved, one way that is often overlooked is that of the names of the streets and roads around us. Whilst some of these are more obvious, such as Dudley Street, Walsall Street or Billy Wright Close, some are altogether more unfamiliar. In this first part […]
His Name was James Gatis… He was a man of the people and spent all his working life in Wolverhampton fighting for the Irish immigrants of Carribee Island and the poor in other deprived areas of Wolverhampton. “[A man] whose loss will be deeply felt by the poor, whoever found in Mr. Gatis a generous friend,” […]
An Island Far Away? Despite sounding somewhat similar to the Caribbean Islands, the area of Wolverhampton City Centre once known as “Carribee Island” was no place in the sun! “CRIBBEY – ISLAND” the place was called, yet twas no harbour seen; Nor, save the songbirds patch of turf, a single blade of green. How this small […]
One of the most personal decisions in a person’s life is the nature of what happens to them once they shuffle from this mortal coil. In present times, many people choose cremation over burial, partly due to its more cost-effective nature, but also for the freedom it offers. Rather than being buried in a cemetery […]
Isn’t it funny where a good read of an old newspaper can get you? The date is Monday, January 23rd, 1933 and the headlines cry, “It’s just not cricket!” The main evening story in the Express and Star newspaper concerns the protests of not just cricket, but the entire Australian nation. Such is the furore over […]
Wolverhampton Hippodrome was formerly the old Empire Palace Theatre But what caused the fall… of the old Wolverhampton music hall? The tragic loss of this majestic Queen Square icon happened sixty-two years ago this week. The Wolverhampton Hippodrome framed through the arch of the Queen Arcade, shortly before the week commencing – Monday 13th […]
THE LONG JOURNEY HOME Now I’ve never been over fond of the eastern side of town, Heath Town and Wednesfield in particular, and perhaps the reason for this stems back from a tiresome day spent during the summer of 1944 of which I still recall to this day. At […]
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