Molineux Hotel
Encyclopedia
The Molineux Hotel in Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...

 is an 18th century former mansion house known as Molineux House, which later served as a hotel and currently, following restoration serves as a local authority facility. It is a Grade II* listed building.

John Molyneux (b1685) a great-grandson of Sir John Molyneux Bt of Teversall Manor, near Mansfield
Mansfield
Mansfield is a town in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the main town in the Mansfield local government district. Mansfield is a part of the Mansfield Urban Area....

, Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...

 (see Molyneux Baronets
Molyneux Baronets
There have been several Baronetcies created for descendants of the ancient Norman family of Molyneux who were granted extensive estates in Lancashire after the Norman Conquest...

) settled in Wolverhampton in about 1700. His son Benjamin Molyneux (later known as Molineux), a wealthy ironfounder and banker, built a new three storeyed five bayed mansion on the then outskirts of the town in about 1720. An additional Georgian style south wing was added towards the end of the 18th century and there were further alterations and extensions including a belfry turret in the 19th century.

The Molineux family sold the property in about 1860 and the new owner created a public pleasure park on the grounds. In about 1870 the old house was converted for use as an hotel. In 1889 the pleasure grounds were closed and the park was leased out to Wolverhampton Wanderers FC. The hotel was closed down in 1979 and for many years the building stood empty and neglected. Various plans for redevelopment of the site failed and in 2003 the building was gutted by fire.

In 2005, major restoration began to convert the property into a facility to house the City of Wolverhampton Archives
Wolverhampton Archives and Local Studies
Wolverhampton Archives and Local Studies service is located in the centre of the City of Wolverhampton, England. It is part of the Arts and Heritage Division of the Adult and Community Services Directorate of Wolverhampton City Council....

. It finally opened to users on 10 March 2009; the service had previously operated from part of the building on Snow Hill previously occupied by Rackhams department store.
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