WolverhamptonWolverhampton (ˌwʊlvərˈhæmptən) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. The population was 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunians". The city is located north-west of Birmingham. Historically in Staffordshire, the city grew as a market town specialising in the wool trade. In the Industrial Revolution, it became a major centre for coal mining, steel production, lock making, and the manufacture of cars and motorcycles.
StourbridgeStourbridge (ˈstaʊəbrɪdʒ) is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands, England, situated on the River Stour. Historically in Worcestershire, it was the centre of British glass making during the Industrial Revolution. The 2011 UK census recorded the town's population as 63,298. Stourbridge is about west of Birmingham. It is part of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley at the southwestern edge of the Black Country and West Midlands conurbation, Stourbridge includes the villages and suburbs of Amblecote, Lye, Norton, Oldswinford, Pedmore, Stambermill, Stourton, Wollaston, Wollescote and Wordsley.
CoseleyCoseley (ˈkoʊzli ) is a village in the Dudley Metropolitan Borough, in the West Midlands County, England. It is situated north of Dudley itself, on the border with Wolverhampton. Though it is a part of the Dudley North constituency. It also falls within the Wolverhampton South-East parliamentary constituency. Coseley was originally a village in the ancient manor of Sedgley. In 1867, it joined with Brierley and Ettingshall to break away from the parish of Sedgley and formed Lower Sedgley Local Board District.
DudleyDudley is a market town in the West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically part of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. In the 2011 census, it had a population of 79,379. The Metropolitan Borough, which includes the towns of Stourbridge and Halesowen, had a population of 312,900. In 2014, the borough council named Dudley as the capital of the Black Country.
Newcomen atmospheric engineThe atmospheric engine was invented by Thomas Newcomen in 1712, and is often referred to as the Newcomen fire engine (see below) or simply as a Newcomen engine. The engine was operated by condensing steam drawn into the cylinder, thereby creating a partial vacuum which allowed the atmospheric pressure to push the piston into the cylinder. It was historically significant as the first practical device to harness steam to produce mechanical work. Newcomen engines were used throughout Britain and Europe, principally to pump water out of mines.
BilstonBilston is a town in Wolverhampton, in the West Midlands, England. It is close to the borders of Sandwell and Walsall. The nearest towns are Darlaston, Wednesbury, and Willenhall. Historically in Staffordshire, three wards of Wolverhampton City Council now cover the town: Bilston East and Bilston North, which almost entirely comprise parts of the historic Borough of Bilston, and Ettingshall, which comprises a part of Bilston and parts of Wolverhampton.
WednesburyWednesbury (ˈwɛnzbəri) is a market town in Sandwell in the West Midlands County, England. It is located near the source of the River Tame. At the 2011 Census the town had a population of 37,817. The substantial remains of a large ditch excavated in St Mary's Road in 2008, following the contours of the hill and predating the Early Medieval period, has been interpreted as part of a hilltop enclosure and possibly the Iron Age hillfort long suspected on the site.
SandwellSandwell is a metropolitan borough of the West Midlands county in England. The borough is named after the Sandwell Priory, and spans a densely populated part of the West Midlands conurbation. Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council defines the borough as the six amalgamated towns of Oldbury, Rowley Regis, Smethwick, Tipton, Wednesbury and West Bromwich. Rowley Regis includes the towns of Blackheath and Cradley Heath.
WorcestershireWorcestershire (ˈwʊstərʃər , -ʃɪər ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a ceremonial county in the West Midlands of England. It borders Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands county to the north, Warwickshire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south, and Herefordshire to the west. The largest settlement is the city of Worcester. The county is largely rural, and has an area of and a population of 592,057. After Worcester (103,872) the largest settlements are Redditch (87,036), Kidderminster (57,400), and Malvern (30,462).
Varsity LineThe Varsity Line was the main railway line that linked the English university cities of Oxford and Cambridge, operated by the London and North Western Railway. In World War II, the line became a strategic route for freight avoiding London, and additional connections were made to nearby lines to improve it, but was not greatly used for its intended purpose. After the war, the line was again scheduled to be developed as a strategic route, but that scheme was never fully implemented either.