Willenhall, Coventry
Encyclopedia
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
in the West Midlands
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Willenhall is in the south-east of the city adjacent to the suburbs of Binley
Binley, Coventry
Binley is a suburb in the east of Coventry, England. Binley evolved from a small mining village on the outskirts of Coventry to a large residential area composing private residences and council-owned properties....
, Ernesford Grange
Ernesford Grange
Ernesford Grange is a suburb of Coventry, West Midlands. It is in the southeast of the city and borders the Binley, Stoke Aldermoor and Willenhall areas. It is part of the Coventry South Constituency....
and Whitley
Whitley, Coventry
Whitley is a suburb of southern Coventry in the West Midlands of England.-Industry and commerce:Whitley is the home of the Whitley plant, which is the Engineering Centre and Headquarters of Jaguar Cars Limited...
. It covers the area bounded by the Rugby to Coventry railway line
Rugby-Birmingham-Stafford Line
The Rugby–Birmingham–Stafford Line is a railway line in central England. It is a loop off the West Coast Main Line between Rugby and Stafford via the West Midlands cities of Coventry, Birmingham and Wolverhampton.-Places served:The cities, towns and villages served by the line are listed...
, the River Sowe
River Sowe
The River Sowe is a River in Warwickshire and West Midlands, England. It is a tributary of the River Avon, and flows into it just south of Stoneleigh....
and the city's boundary with Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
.
For general election purposes it is part of the Coventry South Constituency and for local elections it forms part of the Binley and Willenhall ward on Coventry City Council.
Willenhall was originally a small village that was absorbed into the city as it expanded. During the Second world war
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the Chace National Service Hostel was built in the area to accommodate the influx of munitions workers to the City. After the war the estate became established with the building of a large number of council houses. The area today remains mainly residential though to the south-east there is 9 hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s of woodland called Willenhall Wood which has been designated a nature reserve.
Willenhall is the location of the Chace Avenue police station
Police station
A police station or station house is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, along with locker rooms, temporary holding cells and interview/interrogation rooms.- Facilities...
that forms part of the Coventry Local Policing Team of the West Midlands Police
West Midlands Police
West Midlands Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England.Covering an area with nearly 2.6 million inhabitants, which includes the cities of Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton and also the Black Country; the force is made up...
and houses the Binley and Willenhall neighbourhood team.
Education
Willenhall has 3 Primary schools :- St. Anne's RC
- Stretton Church of England
- Willenhall Community
For Secondary education
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
the pupils of the above primary schools normally advance to :
- Bishop Ullathorne RC SchoolBishop Ullathorne RC SchoolBishop Ullathorne RC School was established in Coventry in 1953. In 2006 it was awarded specialist status as a Humanities College. On 10 July 2007 Bishop Ullathorne Year 9 Cricket team won the Coventry Cricket Cup against King Henry VIII winning their first ever cricket cup in the schools history...
- Ernesford Grange School & Community CollegeErnesford Grange School & Community CollegeErnesford Grange Community School is a specialist Science College that was previously known as Ernesford Grange School & Community College. It is a mixed secondary comprehensive school with sixth form facilities in the Ernesford Grange area of Coventry, England...
- Whitley Abbey Community SchoolWhitley Abbey Community SchoolWhitley Abbey Community School is a comprehensive school in Whitley, Coventry, England. It opened on 13 October 2000 and replaced the former Whitley Abbey Comprehensive School built in the 1950s, which was one of the first comprehensive schools in Coventry....
Religion
The Church of EnglandChurch of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
parish church for Willenhall is St John the Divine which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2007. The area is also served by St Anne’s Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
and Willenhall Free Church which is affiliated with the FIEC
Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches
The Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches is a network of over 500 independent, evangelical churches mainly in the United Kingdom that preach an evangelical faith...
.
Rioting
In May 1992, rioting which began in the Wood EndWood End
Wood End is a suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is situated to the north-east of the city centre, adjacent to the border with Staffordshire, near to Wednesfield.It lies where the wards of Fallings Park and Wednesfield North meet....
and Hillfields
Hillfields
Hillfields is a suburb of Coventry in the West Midlands of England. It is situated north of Coventry city centre, and has undergone a series of name changes throughout its history which has seen it change from a village, to a remote suburb, to a large postwar redevelopment zone.- History...
areas of the city spread into Willenhall.
Air crash
Air Algérie Flight 702P
Air Algérie/Phoenix Flight 702P, ship name Oasis, registration 7T-VEE, was a Boeing 737 owned by Air Algérie and leased by Phoenix Aviation which crashed on 21 December 1994 on landing at Coventry Airport, United Kingdom...
when at 9:52 a.m. on 21 December 1994 an aircraft approaching Coventry Airport
Coventry Airport
Coventry Airport is located south southeast of Coventry city centre, in the village of Baginton, Warwickshire, England, and about outside Coventry boundaries...
, in poor visibility, crashed into Willenhall Wood, killing all five crew on board.
The aircraft was a Boeing 737
Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...
that was owned and operated by Air Algerie
Air Algérie
Air Algérie SpA is the national flag carrier airline of Algeria, with its head office in the Immeuble El-Djazair in Algiers. With flights operating from Houari Boumedienne Airport, Air Algérie operates scheduled international services to 39 destinations in 28 countries in Europe, North America,...
but leased by Phoenix Aviation
Phoenix Aviation
Phoenix Aviation was an airline based in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. It was established and started operations in 1996 and operated passenger and freight services...
to undertake a number of live veal calf export flights from the airport.
A brass plaque remembering the event is now located in Middle Ride, close to the crash scene, which was erected on the crash’s 10th anniversary by the Willenhall Wood Residents Association.