Sunbeamland is the name for a manufacturing complex close to the centre of

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 ...

, near England's "

Black Country The Black Country is an area of the West Midlands county, England covering most of the Metropolitan Boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall. Dudley and Tipton are generally considered to be the centre. It became industrialised during its ro ...

". Sunbeamland is where John Marston, a design engineer and entrepreneur, developed several large clusters of factory buildings. The name "Sunbeamland" is derived from the

Sunbeam A sunbeam, in meteorological optics, is a beam of sunlight that appears to radiate from the position of the Sun. Shining through openings in clouds or between other objects such as mountains and buildings, these beams of particle-scattered sunl ...

range of motorcycles. A mile south of Sunbeamland, in Blakenhall, lies the

Sunbeam Motor Car Company Sunbeam Motor Car Company Limited was a British automobile manufacturer with its works at Moorfields in Blakenhall, a suburb of Wolverhampton in Staffordshire, now West Midlands. Its Sunbeam name had been registered by John Marston in 1888 fo ...

and

Villiers Engineering Villiers Engineering was a manufacturer of motorcycles and cycle parts, and an engineering company based in Villiers Street, Wolverhampton, England. Early history In the 1890s John Marston's Sunbeam had become extremely successful by relyin ...

, which became two of Wolverhampton's most important industries.

Sunbeamland - Sunbeam Cycle Works

Pool Street 2009

Sunbeamland Sunbeamland is the name for a manufacturing complex close to the centre of Wolverhampton, near England's "Black Country". Sunbeamland is where John Marston, a design engineer and entrepreneur, developed several large clusters of factory buildings ...

was John Marston Limited's bicycle and motorcycle factory on

's Paul Street fronting onto the Penn Road island now that the other side of the street has been cleared. They were built on the site of Edward Perry's Jeddo Works, which Marston had bought from Perry's estate in 1871. The building, disused since the late 1990s, was declined Listed Building status by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

but Wolverhampton City Council provided their own local 'listed' status.Sunbeam historic motor vehicle heritage
Retrieved 2015-02-26 Work has since begun to convert the building into apartments.

Villiers Engineering Works - Blakenhall

Villiers Works - Marston Street (geograph 1486792)

's first premises were a mile south of Sunbeamland in Blakenhall. They had been Edward Bullifant's Blakenhall Tin and Japan works premises on the east side of Upper Villiers Street close to St Luke's church. They were bought by John Marston in 1898 to house a new business to be run by Marston's son to make components for Sunbeam cycles. The son bought the business from his father in 1902. Just before the First World War they began to make small two-stroke petrol engines.Moorfields Quarter, Wolverhampton
WA Heritage, Wessex Archaeology Limited, Salisbury SP4 6 EB. Accessed 16 October 2016

Sunbeam Motor Car Company - Moorfield Works Blakenhall

Sunbeam Works Upper Villiers St Wolverhampton

Moorfield Works, the new buildings built in 1905 on the site of Moorfield House for the new Sunbeam Motor Car Company. The house and its grounds bought by Marston in 1898 were on the southern boundary of the first Villiers Engineering premises. The first Sunbeam car was built in the house's old stables. The works are on the opposite side of Upper Villiers Street.

References

External links

1920s Sunbeamland
Wolverhampton City Council. Pool Street to the left, Paul Street straight ahead

{{coord, 52.5795, -2.1322, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Buildings and structures in Wolverhampton Sunbeam motorcycles Sunbeam Motor Car Company