History
The Council bought the woodland with other land in 1952.
Willenhall comes from the original name 'Wylenhal' and refers to wells and springs which appear in the area.
The wood was formerly in the parish of Holy Trinity and formed part of a donation from Earl Leofric to the Priory of Coventry on foundation of the Benedictine Monastery in 1034.
During the 13th Century, Willenhall Wood and the nearby Little Wood formed part of a district common given to local people and landowners in an agreement between the Abbot of Coombe and Robert Joilin of Binley. At that time boundaries and common rights were defined.
In 1410 the woods were enclosed and the Willenhall family, who were granted a section of the woodland in 1342 by the Priory, retained certain rights under specific leases to graze and work the woodland.
Following the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539, the wood was granted by the Crown to Sir Richard Lee but almost immediately transferred to a John Hales. Various changes of owner followed until the Earl of Craven took ownership in the mid -19th Century.