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.
Most of Penn is served by National Express West Midlands 15/ 15A (Wolverhampton - Kingswinford - Merry Hill Shopping Centre) and 16 (Wolverhampton - Wombourne - Stourbridge) and Lets Go 64 (Wolverhampton - Penn, Wakeley Hill). Warstones Road is served by the 4 (which starts from Pendeford) and operates via the City Centre, Bradmore and Merridale.
Services 16 and 64 are both based on former Midland Red bus routes. Local service 2 connects the Warstones housing estate with the City Centre and Bushbury. The wide junctions at Mount Road and Springhill Lane date back to trolleybus services, these being the turning points for the service. Older residents still refer to the area located at the Springhill Lane shops as "the terminus".
Etymology
"Penn" is probably derived from the Welsh language, signifying a hill or promontory, and is believed to refer to the hill on which St Bartholomew's Church stands. The pre-Anglo-Saxon name may indicate relatively late survival of Celtic-speaking settlement.
The area to the east of Penn Road (A449) and around St Bartholomew's church is referred to as Upper Penn, historically also as Penn Over. The village within South Staffordshire, and around St Anne's church is Lower Penn or Penn Under. These historic usages tend to confirm that the name has long been considered to refer to the ridge to the east, which is ascended via Church Hill, Wakeley Hill or Mount Road.
History
There was settlement and possibly a church in Anglo-Saxon times: Domesday Book records Lower Penn as having belonged to Countess Godiva of Mercia and Upper Penn to her son, Earl Algar. In 1912, the base of an Anglo-Saxon preaching cross was discovered close to St Bartholomew's church. In fact, the name Penn suggests (but does not prove) that there was a pre-Anglo-Saxon settlement, with possible survival of Celtic language and culture locally into the Anglo-Saxon period.
The Norman conquest of England brought a major shift in land ownership. The Penn area, along with a wide tract of Mercia, was assigned by William the Conqueror to Ansculf de Picquigny, who built a motte and bailey fortress at Dudley. By 1087, the time of Domesday Book, the Penn area belonged to Ansculf's son, William Fitz-Ansculf. He had installed in Upper Penn a tenant called Robert, who also held lands from him in Bushbury, Ettingshall, Moseley and Oxley. The settlement had eight villagers and two smallholders. In Lower Penn, which had only 6 villagers with one freeman, he had another tenant, called Gilbert. Clearly both places were still mere hamlets.
Penn has had a church since at least around 1200 when St. John the Baptist's Church was first established by Sir Hugh de Bushbury, apparently a descendant of the tenant Robert. The provision of a sizeable church suggests that Upper Penn, at least, had expanded considerably by this time, in line with a general growth of population and prosperity that began in the late 12th century. Hugh gave all the tithes from Upper Penn to the support of the church, making the holder of the living a Rector. The first incumbent was John of Wolverhampton. Around 1228, the founder's son, also Sir Hugh de Bushbury, married his cousin. As this match fell within the bounds of consanguinity he was forced to bribe the Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield with the living of Penn. This did not stop the Bushbury family trying to reassert their control in later generations, although the bishops ultimately managed to retain their authority over appointments. The dedication of the church was later changed to St Bartholomew, but it is unclear when the name was changed: it is not attested before the 19th century. Some of the original fabric survives, but the present, mainly brick, building is largely the result of major restorations and enlargements in 1765, 1799 and 1845.
By the mid-12th century, Lower Penn was in the hands of the Buffery or Buffor family, who held it until the mid-15th century. It was sometimes called Penn Buffor.