Compton is a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...

West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is located to the west of Wolverhampton city centre on the A454, within the

Tettenhall Wightwick Tettenhall Wightwick is a ward of Wolverhampton City Council, West Midlands. The population of this ward taken at the 2011 census was 10,872. Geography It is one of two wards covering the Tettenhall area, the other being Tettenhall Regis. It ...

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

History

Compton sits nestled below the ridge that stretches south west from

Aldersley Aldersley is a small 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 ...

, with some of its housing climbing the steep hill near 'The Holloway' on the climb towards

Tettenhall Wood Tettenhall Wood is a suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is west of Wolverhampton city centre, within the Tettenhall Wightwick ward. It sits high on a relatively steep hill and it is claimed that the Malvern Hills can be seen f ...

. Across the Smestow valley the terrain rises again in the direction of

Finchfield Finchfield is a suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is located south-west of the city centre, within the Tettenhall Wightwick Ward between the Merry Hill and Tettenhall Regis Wards of Wolverhampton City Council. Many of the str ...

. The valley here through which the

Smestow Brook The Smestow Brook, sometimes called the River Smestow, is a small river that plays an important part in the drainage of Wolverhampton, South Staffordshire, and parts of Dudley in the United Kingdom, and has contributed to the industrial developm ...

flows was formed as a glacial meltwater channel. The area was quarried for its

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

. Its place name reflects its position - first recorded in the

Domesday book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

of 1086 as 'Contone', from

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

''cumb'' - a narrow valley or deep hollow ('cumb' is likely a continuation in use or a

loan word A loanword (also loan word or loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language. This is in contrast to cognates, which are words in two or more languages that are similar because the ...

from Brythonic ''cwm'' (

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

) or ''cum'' ( Cornish), meaning 'valley'), and Old English ''tūn'' - a farmstead or fenced place. Compton Lock on the

Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal is a navigable narrow canal in Staffordshire and Worcestershire in the English Midlands. It is long, linking the River Severn at Stourport in Worcestershire with the Trent and Mersey Canal at Haywoo ...

was the starting point in 1766 for the construction of the canal under

James Brindley James Brindley (1716 – 27 September 1772) was an English engineer. He was born in Tunstead, Derbyshire, and lived much of his life in Leek, Staffordshire, becoming one of the most notable engineers of the 18th century. Early life Born i ...

. In the late 19th-early 20th century, Compton was home of a distinguished local artist Joseph Vickers de Ville (1856–1925). It was during this time that the still existing terraced housing was built along Henwood Road near the Bridgnorth Road junction.

Today

Today, the quarrying has stopped, and housing estates have been constructed along the side of the valley. Much of the area was built in the latter half of the 20th century, though Compton does retain some of its older buildings such as several houses on The Holloway. At present, Compton Park campus is one of two Business Schools of the

University of Wolverhampton The University of Wolverhampton is a public university located on four campuses across the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, Shropshire and Staffordshire in England. The roots of the university lie in the Wolverhampton Tradesmen's and Mech ...

; the other is in

Telford Telford () is a town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, about east of Shrewsbury, south west of Stafford, north west of Wolverhampton and from Birmingham in the same direction. With an est ...

. The

Sir Jack Hayward Training Ground The Sir Jack Hayward Training Ground is the training ground and Football academy, academy base of England, English Association football, football club Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C., Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club. It is located in the Com ...

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

football club A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all- ...

is in Compton Park.The Sir Jack Hayward Training Ground / 9 March 2008
Next to the Sir Jack Hayward training ground is

St Edmund's Catholic Academy St Edmund's Catholic Academy is a Roman Catholic secondary school and sixth form with academy status located in the Compton area of Wolverhampton, West Midlands England. The Building Schools for the Future program invested £7.9 million of it ...

and opposite is

St Peter's Collegiate Academy St Peter's Collegiate Academy (formerly St Peter's Collegiate School) is a mixed Church of England secondary school and sixth form located in the Compton area of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands of England. The school is named after Saint P ...

. Compton has several shops, take-aways,

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

s and

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

s. They include ''Clare's of Compton''

hairdressers A hairdresser is a person whose occupation is to cut or style hair in order to change or maintain a person's image. This is achieved using a combination of hair coloring, haircutting, and hair texturing techniques. A Hairdresser may also be refe ...

, ''The Wineseller''

off-licence A liquor store is a retail shop that predominantly sells prepackaged liquors – typically in bottles – usually intended to be consumed off the store's premises. Depending on region and local idiom, they may also be called an off-licence (i ...

, ''A Cottage Garden'' flower shop, ''Taylor Biddle''

opticians An optician, or ''dispensing optician'', is a technical practitioner who designs, fits and dispenses lenses for the correction of a person's vision. Opticians determine the specifications of various ophthalmic appliances that will give the nec ...

, ''Compton Dry Cleaners and Launderette'', ''Spar'' convenience store and a Sainsburys Local. There is a fish and chip takeaway called ''Pep's Plaice'' on the Bridgnorth Road. Restaurants include ''Tiger Wok'' Thai / Chinese restaurant, ''Zooma'' Indian Restaurant, and ''House Of Canton'' Cantonese restaurant. A pub / restaurant,
The Oddfellows
' sits alongside the Compton island, and one of the oldest pubs in Wolverhampton, ''The Swan at Compton'' is located on the junction of The Holloway and Bridgnorth Road. The nearest railway station today is

but Compton had its own station,

Compton Halt Compton may refer to: Places Canada * Compton (electoral district), a former Quebec federal electoral district * Compton (provincial electoral district), a former Quebec provincial electoral district now part of Mégantic-Compton * Compton, Qu ...

, on the Wombourne Branch Line from 1925 - 1932. The line remained open for freight until closure in 1965. The line now forms part of a railway walk. Compton has a frequent bus service 10/10A/10B connecting Compton with

Perton Perton is a large village and civil parish located in the South Staffordshire District, Staffordshire, England. It lies 3 miles to the south of Codsall and 4 miles west of Wolverhampton, where part of the village is almost contiguous with t ...

and Wolverhampton while less direct services 62/62A connect to Wolverhampton via

Tettenhall Tettenhall is an 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. History Tettenhall's name derives fr ...

and

Dunstall Hill Dunstall Hill is an inner-city area of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is located on the north of the city centre within the St Peter's ward. Dunstall Park Wolverhampton Racecourse Wolverhampton Racecourse is a thoroughbred hors ...

. These services are operated by

National Express West Midlands National Express West Midlands (NXWM) is a bus operator in the West Midlands that operates services in Birmingham, Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall, Wolverhampton, and Solihull, as well as limited routes outside of the general area of Birmingham, su ...

while

Arriva Midlands Arriva Midlands is a bus operator providing services in the East Midlands and West Midlands areas of England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus. Arriva Midlands North Operations In September 1981 Midland Red North was formed with 230 bus ...

service 9 operates hourly Mon-Sat between

and

Bridgnorth Bridgnorth is a town in Shropshire, England. The River Severn splits it into High Town and Low Town, the upper town on the right bank and the lower on the left bank of the River Severn. The population at the 2011 Census was 12,079. History B ...

References

{{reflist Areas of Wolverhampton

History

Today

Further reading

References