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 Wolverton was founded in 1838 by the London and Birmingham Railway Company. It needed a stopping point midway between the two cities which could be used for locomotive fuelling and repairs. The area was referred to as “Wolverton Station” and the London and Birmingham’s “grand central station and locomotive depot”.
Wolverton was the first purpose built railway town so it was the Milton Keynes of its time, being built on green field site, with new homes and employment provided by the railway company. Wolverton Works as it became known eventually filled a large area and has been in continuous use as a railway works since 1838. It was here the “Bloomer” train engine was designed.
 REGENERATION HISTORY
Wolverton has been subject to unsympathetic re-development and it is only recently that its distinctive Edwardian and Victorian heritage has been recognised.
Regeneration became a reality in 1996 when Wolverton received a central government grant (Single Regeneration Budget), enabling new lighting to be installed, the town square to be re-furbished, and improvements made to link the Square and Church Street.
Arts based projects have contributed to the changes, including the Town Trail and the Phoenix Sculpture in the square.
The Town Council was formed in 2001 and it began a number of projects, including acquiring land beside the canal for a community garden (known as the Secret Garden). That year also saw Wolverton’s Victorian area designated as a Conservation Area by Milton Keynes Council. This was supported by English heritage in 2002 through funding form the heritage Economic Regeneration Scheme.
 MARKET TOWN HEALTHCHECK
Future Wolverton was a town healthcheck process funded by the Countryside Agency in 2002. Over 500 local people were involved in thinking about every aspect of the town’s “health”. Local people were also employed to do some of the research work. It was a hugely successful process in getting everyone to define the future of the town. A variety of techniques were used, including a Future Wolverton website, local displays, meetings with community groups, newsletters, questionnaires, and interviews.
The final output is the “Future Wolverton Vision” which charts our aspirations for the next 20 years. DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK PLAN AND REGENERATION STRATEGY
This plan was drawn up in 2003 by Milton Keynes Council, English Partnerships and the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA). The purpose was to identify development opportunities for building and lands in Wolverton, including large areas of vacant railway land by the station.
SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES PLAN
The Future Wolverton Vision was drawn on in 2003 when Milton Keynes Council and English Partnerships made a funding bid under the “Sustainable Communities Plan” to regenerate three key railway land sites.
WOLVERTON UNLIMITED ASSOCIATION
The association was formed to ensure the town was cared for and people consulted and involved as the vision and regeneration work began.
A BEACON TOWN
Wolverton was selected as a Beacon Town in 2003 by the Countryside Agency. The Beacon Towns programme aims to examine what the challenges are for market towns and find ways of overcoming them. It includes solving problems and sharing how this is done with other towns facing similar problems. Results are fed into national policy and future developments. It means other towns will be able to learn from Wolverton in the future.
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History of our Town 