Gornal is a suburban area and
electoral ward
A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...
of the
Dudley Metropolitan Borough
The Metropolitan Borough of Dudley is a metropolitan borough of West Midlands, England. It was created in 1974 following the Local Government Act 1972, through a merger of the existing Dudley County Borough with the municipal boroughs of Stourb ...
, in the
West Midlands county
West Midlands is a metropolitan county in the West Midlands Region, England, with a 2021 population of 2,919,600, making it the second most populous county in England after Greater London. It was created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1 ...
in England. It encompasses three historic villages: Upper Gornal, Lower Gornal, and Gornal Wood. Gornal was formerly part of Staffordshire, prior to the creation of the West Midlands in 1974. It now falls under the town of Dudley and uses the DY postcode. Gornal is roughly 11 miles outside of Birmingham.
The three Gornal villages were originally a part of the ancient
manor of
Sedgley
Sedgley is a town in the north of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England.
Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, Sedgley is on the A459 road between Wolverhampt ...
until 1894, when the area became part of
Sedgley Urban District
Sedgley urban district was a local government district within Staffordshire, which was created in 1894 from the western half of the manor of Sedgley (the other half of which became the Coseley Urban District).
The Urban District, formed in ...
. In 1966, along with most of the rest of Sedgley, it was merged into the
County Borough of Dudley
The County Borough of Dudley was a local government district in the English Midlands from 1865 to 1974. Originally a municipal borough, it became a county borough in 1889, centred on the main town centre of Dudley, along with the suburbs of Ne ...
. Since 1974, it has been part of the larger
Metropolitan Borough of Dudley
The Metropolitan Borough of Dudley is a metropolitan borough of West Midlands, England. It was created in 1974 following the Local Government Act 1972, through a merger of the existing Dudley County Borough with the municipal boroughs of Stour ...
.
Gornal stone Gornal stone is a Silurian, late Silurian sandstone which originates from the Gornal, West Midlands, Gornal area of West Midlands (region), Central England. It is part of the Downton Castle Sandstone, Downton Castle Sandstone Formation, which also o ...
, a variety of
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
, originates in Gornal.
Himley Hall
Himley Hall is an early 17th-century country house situated in Staffordshire, England. It is situated in the south of the county in the small village of Himley, near to the town of Dudley and the city of Wolverhampton. Himley Hall is a Grade ...
and Park and
Baggeridge Country Park are notable nearby visitor attractions.
Areas
Upper Gornal
Situated south of Sedgley on the main
A459 road
{{Infobox road
, country = GBR
, maint = Metropolitan Borough of Dudley and Wolverhampton City Council
, type = A
, route = 459
, image = Bromsgrove Road (A459) - geograph.org.uk - 2105370.jpg
, image_notes = A459 i ...
, the area has undergone extensive private and council housing development since the 1920s. It was the target of three bombs by the German
Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, though no buildings were damaged and there were no civilian casualties.
Upper Gornal formerly had a small cinema, the Jack Darby Picture House, from the early 20th century, but it closed in 1960 due to competition from other nearby theatres. The building now houses a small hardware store. Also of note, the local landmark ''Pig on the Wall'' public house was controversially demolished in 2002 to make way for a
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...
restaurant. Another landmark was The Green Dragon public house which is now an Indian restaurant.
Lower Gornal
Lower Gornal is located southwest of Upper Gornal, and includes the three schools in the local area – Roberts Primary, Red Hall Primary, and
Ellowes Hall Sports College
Ellowes Hall Sports College (formerly Ellowes Hall School) is a comprehensive secondary school and sixth form situated on Stickley Lane in Lower Gornal, Dudley, West Midlands, England.
It provides education for pupils aged 11 to 18 years.
His ...
. First built in 1894, the original building of Roberts Primary School was demolished in 2000 following the completion of a new £6million building. Red Hall was formed around 1900 as an infant, junior and secondary school; but the secondary school closed in 1964 when Ellowes Hall opened. Ellowes Hall itself was named after the
Ellowes Hall House that previously stood on the site, prior to its demolition in 1964.
Gornal Athletic F.C., a
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
team currently in the Premier Division of the
West Midlands (Regional) League
The West Midlands (Regional) League is an English association football competition for semi-professional and amateur teams based in the West Midlands county, Shropshire, Worcestershire, southern Staffordshire and northern Herefordshire. It has tw ...
, are based in Lower Gornal.
The local legend – 'Pig on the wall'
One, not entirely apocryphal, episode from Lower Gornal's past occurred when Enoch and Eli (
Aynock and Ayli in the local dialect – the two fictional characters to which local jokes are usually attributed) "put the pig on the wall to watch the band go by". Local legend has it, that once, a military band marched through the suburb, and caused such great excitement amongst the residents, that not only did many people flock to see it, but one person even put his pig on the wall to afford the animal a better view. This phrase has long been part of the local idiolect, but its origins still remain obscure. There was even a hotel in the Upper Gornal area of the town called the "Pig on the Wall". It was originally called the Bricklayer's Arms and known locally as Hammond's after the long time owners, but took up its new name in 1985. It was however demolished and replaced with a McDonald's restaurant in late 2002.
Gornal Wood
Gornal Wood is on the western boundary of the Dudley Metropolitan Borough, and contains a small shopping area, including a library. It is the site of the
Crooked House
''Crooked House'' is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in March 1949 and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 23 May of the same year.
The action takes place in and near L ...
pub, a famous landmark known because of its distinctive appearance as a result of mining subsidence.
Gornal Wood Crematorium and Cemetery is also in this area, having opened in 1960.
The
X10 bus route operated by
National Express
National Express Group is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Birmingham, England. It operates bus, coach, train and tram services in the United Kingdom, Ireland (National Express operates Eurolines in conjunction ...
running from Birmingham city centre terminates here. Other services are the 223, 27/27a and 17 operated by Diamond Bus.
Notable events
2002 earthquake
The
epicentre
The epicenter, epicentre () or epicentrum in seismology is the point on the Earth's surface directly above a hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or an underground explosion originates.
Surface damage
Before the instrumental pe ...
of the
2002 Dudley earthquake
__NOTOC__
The following is a list of notable earthquakes that have affected the British Isles. On average, several hundred earthquakes are detected by the British Geological Survey each year, but almost all are far too faint to be felt by humans ...
was located in Gornal Wood. It measured 4.8 on the
Richter magnitude scale
The Richter scale —also called the Richter magnitude scale, Richter's magnitude scale, and the Gutenberg–Richter scale—is a measure of the strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles Francis Richter and presented in his landmark 1935 ...
and could be felt as far away as
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...
.
Notable residents
Former
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
in 1946 and grew up in Lower Gornal.