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The Streets of Lower Gornal
The roads and streets of Lower Gornal, their past status.
This list does not include modern street names or those outside of the district.
Unless otherwise noted all these street names were listed in the 1871 Electoral Roll, earlier Census or other reliable sources.
Included are dates found of earliest references to named streets, roads etc..
It appears that before 1871, not many actual road names existed, whereas landmarks, areas, houses, pubs, etc., were usually used for directions and locations.
Street Comments
Abbey Street >1871. After Abbey Farm
Abbey Road >1871.        Ditto
Askew Bridge Road >1871.
Bank Road >1871. Also called Bank Street in 1871.
Barr Street >1871. Named after Thomas Barr and family who owned land in the area.
Bennetts Warehouse Road < 1859 Mid-19th C. Stopped up, reduced to footpath in 1859, this was a southerly section of what now is Hopyard Lane between Himley Road and Brickiln Lane .
Bird Street >1871. Unknown origins.
Brook Bank Road >1871. Shown as 'Brook Bank Lane' in 1886 O/S mapx
Brook Street >1871. Old water course at rear
Bull Street >1871.
Chapel Walk >1871.
Chase Road. >1871. After Pensnett Chase, also called Pensnett Road 1871.
Church Street After 1815 when St. James Church was built
Cinder Road >1859. 'Cinder Lane' in 1861.
Clay Lane < 1859. Mid 19th C. only, near to Coopers Bank.'
Coopers Bank Road >1871. 'Cooper's Bank Lane' in 1861
Deepdale Lane >1851.
Diddles Lane < 1859. Mid 19th C. only, see 'Flavells Lane'
Duke Street >1871
East Street >1871.
Ellowes Row >1871. Old nailors houses, demolished, new builds there now.
Flavells Lane >1871. Possibly 'Diddles Lane' in mid 19th Century.
Forge Lane. >1861. The Forge Inn in this lane, later called Chase Road.
Furlong Walk >1871. Named after a tithe piece called 'Furlong'
Garden Walk >1871.
Gas Street >1871. Next to Gas Works off Musk Lane - Disappeared
Graveyard Road >1871. Now Grosvenor Road, the area called The Grave Yard (18th C. Quaker burial ground). Also see news item from 1882 below.
Greenways Fold < 1850. Stopped up, in the vicinity of Bull Street or 'Bulls Head Lane'.
Himley Road >1861. Eastern end called Dudley Road' in 1861, called 'Dudley and Himley Turnpike Road' 1841.
Holloway Street >1871.
Holloway Square >1871. Off Holloway Street - disappeared
Hopyard Lane >1871 Hop Yard Lane. Possibly hop yards here in 18-19th Century, Gornal was famous for brewing.
Humphrey Street >1871. Called 'Fiddlers Lane' c1851
Jones Lane >1851. Disappeared, Possibly upper part of Deepdale Lane or Robert Street.
Kettles Bank Road >1861. Could originate from Brew Kettles, vessels used in brewing beer.
Lake Street >1871. Also referred to as 'The Lakes' and 'Lake Lane' in 19th C.
Louise Street >1871. Originally called 'Cock Pit Lane' also referred to as 'High Street' or 'Cock Street' in 1871
Musk Lane >1851. Due to proximity of sewerage swamp.
New Street >1861.
North Street >1874. Between Humphrey St. & Lake St., gone, part replaced with Elan Close cul-de-sac
Prices Road >1871.
Prospect Road >1871.
Redhall Road >1871. 'Red Hall Road', see explanation of Place Name 'Red Hall'
Robert Street >1874. After Roberts Green, 1871 called Coseley Road.
Ruiton Street >1871.
St. James Street >1871. Named after the Parish Church opposite.
Scale Hole Lane < 1859. 19th C. Stopped up, was adjoining Cinder Road, "ninety-nine yards long".
Smithy Lane. >1861. (Actually in Kingswindford Parish).
Southalls Fold >1871. Terraced houses near start of Stickley Lane facing Colwall Road, demolished early 1970s.
Springwell Lane < 1850. Mid-19th C. Stopped up, was adjoining Cinder Road, "seventy-seven yards long".
Straits Road >1871. See explanation of Place Name 'Straits'
Summer Lane >1851. Also called 'Spout Lane', 'Smout's Lane' or 'Smout's Holloway' (1851-1871).
Summit Place >1871.
Temple Street >1871.
The Alley >1871. Part of The Alley was in Cotwall End.
Turner Street >1871.
Wakelams Fold >1871.
Water Road >1871.
West Street >1871. Virtually disappeared -reduced to obscure pathway.
Zoar Street 1901. Not in 19th Century, possibly named after the Zoar Chapel was rebuilt in 1906.
Until the re-name this area was known as Mason's End, (1861 Census).
Possibly part of High Street.
Other Streets named early 20th Century:
Gateacre Street
Stickley Lane
In the southern part of the Parish, some of the old roads were stopped up in mid 19th Century and replaced with a single road leading from Shut End to Lower Gornal in a more direct route:-
The Old Furnace Road.
Coney Gree Bank Road.
Bennitt's Warehouse Road, (390 yards long). Bennitt's Warehouse:- 'converted into and occupied as schools in connection with Lower Gornal Church'.
Shut End Bank Road.
Guy's Lane.
"WHATS IN A NAME"?
  Mr. Haselden, secretary to the South Stafforshire Waterworks Company, wrote informing the clerk that the order to lay main pipe in Graveyard Road had been given. He added, by way of postscript: "Some day, when you have a little leisure you might get your Board to alter the name of this road. Of all the dreary names I ever heard of it is the worst. You call it the Graveyard. We do try to make it a little better by calling it Graveyard Road. I suppose all the inhabitants are all on the road to the grave, but they need not all be actually in it....
1882. Graveyard Road, a light-hearted albeit terse postscript in the Dudley and District News. However, the comments fell on deaf ears as the name wasn't changed for many decades after.
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this aye fur noggin yeds

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