Queens 2022 Platinum Jubilee City Status bids

[Dustydog]

I read the list today and must say the applicants are well diversified.
Stanley , Falkland Islands,; Marazion , Cornwall and Dudley W Midlands to name a few 🤔
No idea what qualifications are needed . Always thought a City had to have a Cathedral.

 

[otherclive]

I always thought that too. Strangely Rochester with a cathedral lost city status when Medway was created. That must have irritated a few people. But I think over the years the requirement for a cathedral was dropped, hence Swindon’s enthusiasm.

 

[Dustydog]

Swindon has a Cathedral. The old GWR works😉😉

 

[otherclive]

Swindon has a Cathedral. The old GWR works😉😉

I’d nominate the old Arkells brewery 🍻🍻🍻

 

[Woodentop]

Traditionally a place can be a city if it has an Anglican Cathedral, a University (of the old type, not red brick) or by charter.
Hence why Northampton is not a city as it has no uni and has a RC Cathedral.
Strangely I always though Blackburn was a city as it has a very old cathedral. I thought Rochester was/is still a city (albeit a dump of the first order.) Looks like it lost it due to an administrative 'error'.
The surprises are Marazion and Alcester both of which are little more than large villages/small towns.
Derby had a Poly which became a uni but it wasn't a city despite having a cathedral, but they corrected that a few years ago.

 

[Parksy]

Wolverhampton has no cathedral and the university was a polytechnic, but even though it's a dump it was granted city status in 2000.
Dudley has applied to become a city for the Platinum Jubilee but it's up against strong competition from within the UK and overseas.
If a plethora of fast food outlets, betting shops and charity shops form the criteria for city status Dudley would win it hands down.

 

[Damian]

What is to be gained by becoming a City?
On the Island, Newport and Carisbrook have applied to be one, heaven knows why.

There is no cathedral, no university, the road infrastructure is abysmal, parking is a nightmare and there are not that many shops , unless you count Charity shops and closed shops, of which there are many.

There is nowhere to boast how it was in the wars, apart from Warhorse was owned by a Seeley of whom we have one of their offspring as MP (Warhorse was returned to the Island after the 1st world war and lived his life out in Chale )

The only other thing we have is Carisbrook Castle where James 1st was imprisoned prior to his execution.

 

[ProfJohnL]

What defines a City in the UK has changed, and it's far from a worldwide convention. In some places it defined by the size of the population, its status as national or regional capitol, or by public appeal. In the UK I believe city status can only be conferred by the head of state, who is advised by the Government.

 

[Dustydog]

Dudley was one of the birth places of the Industrial Revolution and a founder member of the Black Country. Robert Dudley was a personal favourite of QueenElizabeth 1. Maybe you guys are in with a chance😉😉

 

[otherclive]

Didn't realise a nice analogous surname entitled a town to seek city status. The 1st Earl of Leicester was born somewhere down south, Surrey or London but the various sites differ. He was a bit of a lad though and liked a frolic or two, so perhaps a link to Dudley( west Midlands) isn't too far fetched. 🙂

 

[Parksy]

Dudley was one of the birth places of the Industrial Revolution and a founder member of the Black Country. Robert Dudley was a personal favourite of QueenElizabeth 1. Maybe you guys are in with a chance😉😉

I'm not sure that Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, ever had anything to do with what was the ancient Saxon town of Dudda's Leigh which became Dudley.
The Earl of Leicester was a descendant of the de Sutton family, John de Sutton was Lord Dudley and the extended family were often known as the Dudley family.
The town of Dudley has always been regarded as the capital of the Black Country but the town centre, in common with many others has been in steep decline since the start of the post industrial 21st century.
In the 1950s a visit to Dudley was something of an occasion, in the 1960s it was the place for young chaps like me to be seen, with many opportunities to meet with young girls at various dances and events.
It's like a ghost town now. 😒

 

[Dustydog]

Thanks Steve. My reference to R Dudley was a bit tic 😉