In the 15th Century Gornal was known as Gwarnell and Guarnell, a name connected with milling, common in the Sedgley parish.
Until the end of the 18th Century Lower Gornal was known as Nether Gornal and Upper Gornal was Over Gornal.
Originally the Good Intent was part of a terrace, and owes its existence to the Duke of Wellington's Beer House Act of 1830,
when on payment of two guineas you could turn your private house into a public house, open from 4am to 10pm, 18 hours a day,
7 days a week, closed only during divine service. If the beerhouse was located within a population of 10,000 you were
permitted an extra 2 hours a day.
The first recorded landlord is Benjamin Nichols, 57 in 1851, living here wih his wife Maria, 47, sons Benjamin, 19,
a chainmaker, Henry 17 labourer, Simeon 11, daughter Elizabeth 13 and daughter-in-law Elizabeth Hallon, 12.
Eldest son Daniel, 33, a travelling hawker and maltster lived next door with his wife Elizabeth 29, Benjamin 6,
Hannah 4 and Elizabeth 2.
The sign Good Intent was copied from the nearby older Cottage of Content, something beerhouse owners frequently did years
ago - it added a touch of respectibility - important, when they were only allowed to sell beer and cider.
The Good Intent was a homebrew house, the small brewery in the yard at the rear capable of producing 4 or 5 barrels per brew,
depending on demand. The popular local drink was mild, but it was mild in name only; it as dark, sweet and strong
- strong to resist infection, always a problem for the retail brewer; when brewing was an art and not a science,
the quality varied from brew to brew. The average gravity in the Black Country was 1060, the second strongest in england.
Very strong ales were brewed for special occasions such as Xmas and religious festivals; porters, stouts and IPA's were left
to the larger common brewers, the nearest being in Dudley.
the Nicholls (another 'l' was added by 1880) were licencees for 59 years before the beerhouse passed to Hannah Watton,
a spinster from wolverhampton. She sold to Sam Nicholls, a local coal dealer, his widow selling on to
John Turner in 1919. Next, Henry Ward owned the freehold acquired by Julia Hanson, Dudley in 1937.
The Good Intent has witnessed many changes over the past 151 years but remains as was originally intended,
a convivial and social centre of a community.
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