Transcribed from the 1908 Whitehead Bros. edition by David Price, email ccx074@pglaf.org [COPYRIGHT] THE ANNALS OF WILLENHALL —BY— FREDERICK WM. HACKWOOD AUTHOR OF “The Chronicles of Cannock Chase,” “Wednesbury Ancient and Modern,” “The Story of the Black Country,” “Staffordshire Stories,” &c., &c. * * * * * “I cannot tell by what charm our native soil captivates us, and does not allow us to be forgetful of it.” —_Ovid_. [Picture: Seal of Willenhall Local Authority] Wolverhampton: WHITEHEAD BROS., St. John’s Square and King Street. * * * * * 1908. CONTENTS. CHAPTER. PAGE. I.—Willenhall—Its Name and Antiquity 1 II.—The Battle of Wednesfield 5 III.—The Saxon Settlement 11 IV.—The Founding of Wulfruna’s Church, A.D. 996 17 V.—The Collegiate Establishment 22 VI.—Willenhall at the Norman Conquest (1066–1086) 27 VII.—A Chapel and a Chantry at Willenhall 32 VIII.—Willenhall in the Middle Ages 37 IX.—The Levesons and other Old Willenhall Families 41 X.—Willenhall Endowments at the Reformation 48 XI.—How the Reformation Affected Willenhall 52 XII.—Before the Reformation—and After 57 XIII.—A Century of Wars, Incursions, and Alarms 65 (1640–1745) XIV.—Litigation Concerning the Willenhall Prebend 72 (1615–1702) XV.—Willenhall Struggling to be a Free Parish 77 XVI.—Dr. Richard Wilkes, of Willenhall (1690–1760) 82 XVII.—Willenhall “Spaw” 90 XVIII.—The Benefice 95 XIX.—How a Flock Chose its own Shepherd 103 XX.—The Election of 1894, and Since 110 XXI.—Willenhall Church Endowments 116 XXII.—The Church Charities: the Daughter Churches 129 XXIII.—The Fabric of the Church 135 XXIV.—Dissent, Nonconformity, and Philanthrophy 143