Thursday November 4th 2021
For a number of months now, I find that I've been literally 'bending myself double' in trying to re-discover a little, archaic, 'spooky' mystery - first noticed some while ago now - that involves old 'Moseley Village', in the Eastern-most section of Wolverhampton Borough.
Skimming over details, for the sake of brevity, suffice it to say, there is a topographical feature, named as 'Hobs Hole', recorded as being situated 'near Willenhall' (just to the East of Moseley Village) in a number of old, historical references to the general region. Unfortunately, a more exact location for this site is NEVER actually mentioned... perhaps leading to the notion that its precise position was already 'forgotten' by the time these references were made? (It's listed in 'The History Of Bilston', by GT Lawley, for example, which was first published in 1863. Again, there are a number of mentions in other publications, but the reference is always the same, very brief, 'Hobs Hole, near Willenhall...' and nothing more, leading the reader to surmise that all such references are, most likely, copied over from the same, vague source?)
However... and herein lies the rub... I KNOW that - some while ago - I saw an old map that has a site listed as 'Hobs Hole' marked on it, roughly in the position shown by the 'red circle' in the image at the top of this post. For obvious reasons - given it's position - I'd assumed that THIS was, most possibly, the 'Hobs Hole, near Willenhall' mentioned in those numerous, historic references?
To clarify on the location involved: the spot concerned is just off the busy crossroads, formed by the meeting of Willenhall Road, Moseley Road and Neachells Lane, between Moseley Village and Portobello, on the edge of Willenhall. If you follow Moseley Road in a Southerly direction, on pretty-much any map over 50 or so years old, an area called 'Moseley Hole' can usually be seen, on the left-hand side of the thoroughfare, around 200 yards from the aforementioned crossroads. In trying to help with my research, a number of people have noted this locality and suggested THIS is actually the feature that I'm recalling... though I know this to be incorrect, as - in remembering the map - I ALSO recall seeing 'Moseley Hole' mentioned too. 'Hobs Hole', in my minds-eye, was situated North of 'Moseley Hole', on the same side of Moseley Road though... but much closer to the main crossroads.
In considering the version of map that I am currently trying to locate again, I have guessed that the source material concerned was of sufficient age - or 'copied from earlier maps' of sufficient age (as most mapping is carried out / created, of course) - to have had the site of this greatly forgotten 'Hobs Hole' still recorded on it, possibly? In studying maps over the years, however, it is a often a practice to 'miss out' certain details on the newer map (being created / drawn) that are originally shown on the older map (being used as source material)... especially so, I'd imagine, if the feature concerned is possibly regarded as 'of little consequence' or of no particular, further importance? (This kind of practice does actually work both ways, it should be noted, as long demolished sites can still be found on the most modern maps, despite having vanished literally decades and decades earlier! As an example of the latter, I have an 'A to Z' from the 1990's which still shows the grand, old Moseley Court, Bushbury, on it... despite the fact that the property was actually demolished in the 1960's! I've not seen a more recent 'A to Z' to check whether the place is still recorded as extant therein?) With regards to the former suggestion, however, I'm just guessing that this is possibly why the Willenhall 'Hobs Hole' came to vanish from maps over time(?)
To say this conundrum is bothering me is a considerable understatement, as I've been wracking my brains over the matter for many, many weeks now! Sadly - try as I might - I just cannot seem to locate the map concerned again!? I've searched and re-searched all of the available map services online (that you could possibly imagine).... but all to no avail! Inquiries at Wolverhampton Archives and Wolverhampton Main Library have also revealed nothing of use, though the History Centre service isn't 'up and running' properly as yet - due to ongoing Covid restrictions - so I wasn't able to exactly search the archive anywhere near as freely as I'd have wished, sadly.
In furtherance to the above conundrum, it is also interesting to find that nearby Deans Road was, at one point in time, called 'Buggins Road'. (Some listings call it 'Buggens' Road or Lane).
Also of interest, moving slightly North of the crossroads mentioned earlier, we find an intriguing (if somewhat tentative) suggestion regarding the origins of the name 'Neachells'... which, according to etymological sources could indicate it might, in some interpretations, translate as 'The Hill Of The Apparition'?
In following this vein, Ray Fellows - in his book 'Wednesfield Our Village' - mentions Hart Road (Neachells) and says: "At the bottom end towards the "Tube" many strange things have been seen here over hundreds of years. It is said to have been a place where the devil, elves and goblins have appeared. I must say that it does have an atmosphere about it, that I cannot explain...." (I must admit that I was most interested to see this comment, for a couple of reasons... not least because Merrills Hall - the site of which Hart Road literally 'leads to', from the direction of Wednesfield - was rumoured to be quite haunted).
In just attempting to round up the above waffle... I have, of course, neglected to really say anything about the archaic usage of such words as 'Hob', 'Bug', 'Pouk', etc, which greatly leads to them frequently being used topographically, in the UK. As this post is already a bit of a ramble, I basically took this angle as fairly self-explanatory to anyone interested in the ghostlore of the British Isles and so forth. It is interesting to note, however, just how old most of the references possibly are... local examples, in such a highly industrialised and heavily populated region as this, standing out particularly, as most places holding such titles would have originally been isolated and greatly 'rural' in nature! Lol! I always refer to these words as 'archaic' when mentioning them, but we seldom realise just how truly ancient some terminology genuinely is, eh!?
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