Gorsebrook
| Gorsebrook | |
|---|---|
 Gorsebrook
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| Gorsebrook shown within the West Midlands | |
| Metropolitan borough | |
| Metropolitan county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Wolverhampton |
| Postcode district | WV |
| Dialling code | 01902 |
| Police | West Midlands |
| Fire | West Midlands |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| EU Parliament | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
Gorsebrook is an historic area of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, located alongside the Stafford Road between the areas of Dunstall, Oxley and Bushbury.
The first mention of Gorsebrook is in the 985 AD Charter where King Æthelred grants 10 hides of land to Wulfrun primarily in the Wolverhampton area. The place name appears in the bounds of the grant, in Old English at both the beginning and the end as gose broc. The modern translation for this is goose brook. The brook in question likely refers to the section of the Smestow Brook that winds east to west through this area.
Not much is known about Gorsebrook throughout most of its history. The early English place name relates to the brook running through the centre of the area. In 1849, the Stafford Road Works opened in Gorsebrook, to build and maintain locomotives. The works had what was at one time regarded as Wolverhampton's best football club, Stafford Road F.C., founded in 1876 by works manager Charles Crump. By the 1902 Ordnance Survey, the area represented the northern edge of Wolverhampton's industry, with terraced houses running along the west side of the Stafford Road opposite the earlier Gorsebrook House, and into Jones Road. North of this area were fields and the odd small settlement. From the 1920s onwards, the area to the north was considerably developed, with housing estates springing up, as the area took on a look that is still familiar to us today. In 1934, an Odeon cinema was opened in Gorsebrook, known as the 'Dunstall Odeon', though it was to close in 1960 becoming a bingo hall. Opposite the cinema stood The Croft pub. In February 1964, Stafford Road works closed. The widening of the Stafford Road in the 1980s saw the clearing of many terraced properties and other buildings on the west side including the Bushbury Garage and Dunstall Cinema building, for the creation of the north bound carriageway.
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