Claregate

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Burland Avenue, Claregate Claregate.jpg
Burland Avenue, Claregate

Claregate is a suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is north west of Wolverhampton city centre, within the Tettenhall Regis ward.

Contents

History

As a distinct residential area, Claregate has only existed since the pre and post war housing estate was built between the Codsall and Aldersley roads. It is bounded on the north east side by the rail line from Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury, on the south east side by the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal and on the west side by the ridge that rises up to Tettenhall village. The origins of the name are unknown, though a 13th-century source names a place called 'Clare' in the area. [1]

Today

Wolverhampton Marathon 2013 at Codsall Road, Claregate Wolverhampton Marathon 2013.jpg
Wolverhampton Marathon 2013 at Codsall Road, Claregate

Claregate is a thriving suburb situated between Tettenhall, Pendeford and Aldersley. The area is majority housing, with shopping areas, pubs and a school. The area also forms part of the route of the Wolverhampton Marathon.

Amenities

The focal point of the area is the traffic island between Codsall Road, Pendeford Avenue, Blackburn Avenue and Knights Avenue. Here, a cluster of businesses are located including an Esso Filling Station (formerly BP, Murco and Jet before that) – and originally named Claregate Garage, [2] Evergreen Hairdressers, [3] Esha's Boutique, Greedy Pig sandwich shop and Cut 'N' Dry barbers.

There are also shopping parades at the junction of Green Lane and Blakeley Avenue with a Premier convenience store, the Sunrise Chinese take-away and a children's nursery amongst other businesses, and Tettenhall Hardware, a Co-operative Food store, the Roma Wines off-licence and two fish and chip take-aways are situated on Pendeford Avenue at its junction with Green Lane.

Education

Claregate has one school, Claregate Primary School, situated on Chester Avenue. [4]

Claregate Playing Fields

Claregate has a large playing field that is used for cricket and football, as well as hosting tennis courts and a children's playground. In June 2013, the park was saved for future generations when it was unveiled as one of six Wolverhampton parks to be designated a Queen Elizabeth II Field. [5]

Adjacent to the playing fields is Claregate Pavilion. It provides changing room facilities to clubs which use the playing fields. It is also home to Sugar n Spice, an activity group for girls aged over nine years. Sugar n Spice was founded in 1975. [6]

Public houses

Claregate has two long established pubs, the first formerly called 'The Fieldhouse', but now sharing the area's name, 'The Claregate', on Codsall Road. The other is The Pilot, situated on Green Lane. In 2012, Marston's Brewery announced plans to construct a mini Tesco supermarket on land that currently forms part of The Claregate pub's car park. The scheme faced opposition from a local campaign group called Residents Against Marston's Proposals (RAMP), [7] but was approved in November 2012 on the condition that the store close at 10pm (although currently (2018) opens 7am to 11pm), and a pedestrian crossing be installed on Codsall Road. [8]

Micropub

Hail to the Ale micropub, Claregate, Wolverhampton (January 2014) Hail to the Ale micropub (Jan 2014).jpg
Hail to the Ale micropub, Claregate, Wolverhampton (January 2014)

The first micropub in the West Midlands resides in the centre of Claregate alongside the traffic island at Pendeford Avenue. Approval was granted by city planning chiefs in June 2013. The pub, ran by Essington based Morton Brewery, is called 'Hail to the Ale' and serves only ale, cider and fruit wines. It received its premises licence in August 2013 despite some opposition from local residents, [9] [10] [11] opening its doors on 5 September 2013, and proved immediately popular with drinkers. [12] It has since won several CAMRA accolades including City Pub of the Year [2015-2018], County Pub of the Year [2015 & 2017], Region Pub of the Year [2015] and Wolverhampton Cider Pub of the Year [2018]. The building was previously an antique furniture shop called 'Anything Goes', but is best known locally as the Claregate Post Office. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal</span> Canal in the West Midlands, England

The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal is a navigable narrow canal in Staffordshire and Worcestershire in the English Midlands. It is 46 miles (74 km) long, linking the River Severn at Stourport in Worcestershire with the Trent and Mersey Canal at Haywood Junction by Great Haywood.

Compton is a suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is located to the west of Wolverhampton city centre on the A454, within the Tettenhall Wightwick ward.

Tettenhall is a historic village within the City of Wolverhampton, England. Tettenhall became part of Wolverhampton in 1966, along with Bilston, Wednesfield and parts of Willenhall, Coseley and Sedgley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penn, West Midlands</span>

Penn is an area which is divided between the City of Wolverhampton and South Staffordshire district. The population of the Wolverhampton Ward taken at the 2011 census was 12,718. Originally, it was a village in the historic county of Staffordshire. There is considerable confusion about exactly which areas fall within Penn. In 19th century censuses, Merry Hill, Bradmore are understood to form part of Penn, although these areas are generally understood to be separate today. However, there has never been any doubt that the two historic settlements of Upper and Lower Penn form the core of the area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Codsall</span> Village in Staffordshire, England

Codsall is a village and civil parish in the South Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England. It is situated 5 miles northwest of Wolverhampton and 13 miles east-southeast of Telford. It forms part of the boundary of the Staffordshire-West Midlands County border, along with Perton, the village is almost contiguous with Wolverhampton with very small amounts of greenbelt still separating the two settlements.

Oxley is a suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, and a ward of the City of Wolverhampton Council. Its area code is WV10. It is situated in the north of the city, bordering South Staffordshire and the Bushbury North, Bushbury South and Low Hill, St Peter's and Tettenhall Regis wards. It forms part of the Wolverhampton North East constituency.

Bilbrook is a village and civil parish in the South Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England. It is situated close to the border of the West Midlands, just outside Wolverhampton. Bilbrook is classed as part of the Codsall built-up area by the Office for National Statistics, but retains its own parish council. The village gets its name from billers, which grew in the local Moat Brook until recent times. The Moat Brook rises in Chillington Estate and Oaken Village, it runs into the River Penk in Pendeford Mill Nature Reserve. The river continues, where it joins the River Sow, which joins the River Trent which joins the Humber estuary and eventually flows into the North Sea near Grimsby, Lincolnshire. The village is connected to Wolverhampton by bus service 5 operated by Banga Bus Services 5 while the evening and Sunday journeys are operated by Chaserider. Banga also run a 5A between Wolverhampton and Codsall but this does not serve Bilbrook.

Castlecroft is a suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, located on the edge of the city, WSW of the city centre. It is situated where the Merry Hill, and Tettenhall Wightwick wards meet, and also borders South Staffordshire.

Newbridge is a suburb of the city of Wolverhampton, West Midlands in England. It is situated north-west of the city centre, on the A41 Tettenhall Road.

Tettenhall Regis is a ward of Wolverhampton City Council, West Midlands. The population of this ward at the 2011 census was 11,911.

Aldersley is a suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is north-west of Wolverhampton city centre, within the Tettenhall Regis ward. Aldersley is a relatively modern part of Wolverhampton, with most of the housing stock – both private and council – dating from after World War II.

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Pendeford is a suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is situated north-north-west of the city centre, within the Oxley ward of the City of Wolverhampton Council. At the 2011 Census, the population of Pendeford was 5,826, increasing from 4,356 at the 2001 Census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fordhouses</span> Human settlement in England

Fordhouses is a suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is situated to the north of the city centre, adjacent to the border with Staffordshire, within the Bushbury North ward of Wolverhampton City Council. It is the most northerly part of the city alongside Pendeford, adjacent to the M54 motorway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Penk</span> River in Staffordshire, England

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Dovecotes is a housing estate at Pendeford, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is situated NNW of the city centre and neighbours Pendeford Park which is adjacent to the border with Staffordshire, within the Oxley ward of Wolverhampton City Council.

Gunstone is a hamlet in the South Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England. It is situated north east of the village of Codsall.

Aldersley High School is a mixed secondary school and sixth form located in the Pendeford area of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands of England.

References

  1. Horovitz, David (2005). The Place-Names of Staffordshire. p. 194. ISBN   978-0955030901.
  2. Brew, Alec (1996). Codsall and Claregate. The Chalford Publishing Company Limited. p. 2. ISBN   0752406744.
  3. "Sales 'cut by half' during Wolverhampton roadworks". Express & Star. 15 August 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
  4. "Claregate Primary School". wolverhampton-engage.net. Wolverhampton City Council. Archived from the original on 15 August 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
  5. "Six Wolverhampton parks are saved following legal deal". expressandstar.com. Express & Star. 28 May 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  6. "Sugar n Spice website" . Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  7. Brown, Helen (31 October 2012). "Fears over plan for Tesco on pub site". Express & Star.
  8. "Mini Tesco on pub car park approved". Express & Star. 7 November 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
  9. "First micro pub set to open in Wolverhampton despite concerns". Express & Star. 27 June 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
  10. "Fate of Wolverhampton micro pub plan to be decided". Express & Star. 8 August 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
  11. "First micro pub to open in Wolverhampton despite residents' anger". Express & Star. 15 August 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
  12. "Wolverhampton micro-pub is a real time machine". Native Monster. 6 January 2014. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  13. Brew, Alec (1996). Codsall and Claregate. The Chalford Publishing Company Limited. p. 74. ISBN   0752406744.