England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Penn St Bartholomew

The Parish

The parish of Penn lies in southwestern Staffordshire not too far from the county's border with neighbouring Shropshire. Penn is located roughly 2 miles southwest of the industrial town of Wolverhampton and stands on either side of the A449 road which links Wolverhampton with Kidderminster in Worcestershire. Penn is a much changed settlement, early maps show a small crossroads village of Upper Penn gathered around the church south of the A449, the wider parish also included the more rural village of Lower Penn roughly 2 miles to the west, the pair being discrete from Wolverhampton and surrounded by fields. Today Lower Penn retains something of its rural quality but Upper Penn has been engulfed, during the 1930s, by its larger neighbour becoming merely a southwestern suburb of Wolverhampton. For much of the medieval period this was a farming area, a mixed farming regime and also utilising the tracts of woodland that characterised the area, timber production was an important part of the economy as well as exploiting for typical woodland products such as charcoal, hurdles and canes. In more modern times Penn became a centre for manufacture of metal products as the exploitation of local coal and iron ore flourished, Penn made such products as nails and locks for the markets of Wolverhampton mainly from domestic settings and small workshops in yards. Other industries developed including brick-making and brewing typical of small towns. Modern developments have come to the parish, the Wolverhampton Canal runs along the western edges of the parish and the A449 has been upgraded to dual-carriageway highway. Small brooks drain the parish westwards to form the Smestow Brook which heads south becoming the River Stour by the time Kidderminster is reached, in turn the Stour meets the Severn to join that river for its long journey to the sea at the Bristol Channel. Penn is sited at around 170 metres above the sea at its parish church, this height is only exceeded locally by a spot height just east reaching 186 metres. Penn parish was extensive, covering almost 4,000 acres it would have supported a population of close to 950 parishioners. Upper Penn is recorded in Domesday Book as a holding of Ansculf's on William, it offered just 2 ploughs and a mill as an embryonic settlement.

The Church

St Bartholomew's church stands south of the A449 in the heart of the original village of Upper Penn, it stands with the junction formed by Church Hill and Pennwood Lane. Experts cite the circular nature of its churchyard to indicate it was an early Christian site similar to the "llan" that are found in Wales, the presence of a late Saxon stone cross base is also indicative of early origins. The core of the church is believed to have been constructed c1200 during the transition between Norman Romanesque into Early English Gothic, this early church was enlarged c1300 by the addition of 2 eastern bays to the northern arcade. Much else of the church is typical of the Perpendicular style and was the result of the expansion of the nave westwards and the original construction of the western tower. There have been many more modern changes made to the church which began in 1764 with the rebuilding of the western tower and its re-cladding in a decorative red brickwork, all done in the Gothick fashion. In 1799 the chancel was also rebuilt in brick followed in 1826 by the addition of a north-west annexe also in brick. Two periods of typical Victorian restoration followed, in 1845 the western potion of the southern side was rebuilt and given faux-Early English Gothic lancet windows and in 1872 a further phase again rebuilt the chancel cladding the eastern end in ashlar-facing and added an organ chamber. Opposite the church sits Vicarage Road which has ample on-street parking. The churchyard presents a few challenges to the photographer, the eastern end of the church being deeply embedded in trees, it is likely the better views are from the adjacent roads.