Wightwick

Wightwick is a part of Tettenhall Wightwick ward in Wolverhampton, England. It is named after an ancient local family the "de Wightwicks". It is on the fringe of Wolverhampton, and borders the rural South Staffordshire area that includes neighbourhoods such as Perton.

Of note is Wightwick Manor, a Victorian manor house in the arts and crafts style. The interior is much influenced by William Morris. The house is the former home of the Mander family who achieved wealth through the ownership of Mander Brothers, paint and varnish manufacturers since 1773, and fame through public service and political office. Sir Geoffrey Le Mesurier Mander was the first of the Mander family to sit in the House of Commons. The house is now in the hands of the National Trust. The Mander family also owned the nearby 'Mount', seat of the Mander Baronets, which is now a hotel and conference centre with views as far as the Malvern hills, over 40 miles away.

Wightwick Hall is also in the vicinity. This was owned by the former Wolverhampton Mayor and industrialist Sir John Morris. Morris was spontaneously knighted by Queen Victoria in 1866 at her first public appearance since the death of her husband Albert, for the unveiling of a statue of her dead husband. The house has now been turned into flats.

The Staffordshire and Worcestershire canal runs through the valley beneath Wightwick Manor, which in places runs in parallel to the 'Bridgnorth Road'.

Wightwick is an extremely pleasant part of the more traditionally affluent western side of Wolverhampton.

External links

* [http://www.owlpen.com/geoffreymander.shtml “Sir Geoffrey Mander: the last of the Midland Radicals”] by Nicholas Mander