From countryside to industrialisation

Before the opening of the canal in 1771, the area would have consisted of open countryside, much of which would have been cultivated. The coming of the canal allowed heavy industries of all kinds to flourish, greatly changing the area, in ways that would have been unimaginable to earlier generations.

One of the first businesses to take advantage of this part of the new canal was Joseph Norton's flour mill, known as The Old steam Mill, which opened in the 1790s on Corn Hill, named after the mill. Opposite the mill, where the derelict sack mill now stands, was Bickley, Danks & Company's Wharf, which opened sometime before 1818. Isaiah Danks lived in a house beside the wharf, which is listed in the Staffordshire General & Commercial Directory of 1818. The firm transported goods daily to Stourport, Worcester, Gloucester, and Bristol.

Another business that opened beside the new canal was James Adams's Lime Works, off Wednesfield Road, which had its own basin and wharf. Corn Hill was linked to Wednesfield Road by New Mill Street, which had become Sun Street by 1851. It is marked on the 1843 Tithe map, and Joseph Bridgen's map of 1850, both of which can be seen below.

In 1849 nineteen terraced houses were built on the land between Sun Street and Bailey Street, the Great Western occupying the largest of the houses, standing on the western end of the site. The houses were built by the owner of the land, Richard Robinson, from Rowington in Warwickshire. At this time the area would have been in a state of upheaval with the coming of the Stour Valley railway line, and the building of the embankment and bridge that now dominate the neighbourhood. The railway crossed the entrance to the Horseley Fields Chemical Works by an arched viaduct. Before the railway could be built, the canal had to diverted to make way for the High Level Station.

The railway opened in 1852, as did Mill Street Goods Depot, which must have greatly increased the amount of traffic in Sun Street. While this was happening, work had started on the Low Level Station, known as The Joint Station until April 1856. The station was the terminus of the Shrewsbury & Birmingham Railway, the Oxford, Worcester, & Wolverhampton Railway, and the Birmingham, Wolverhampton & Dudley Railway, all constituent parts of the Great Western Railway. The station opened in 1854, and was completed in the following year.

There was further disruption in the area in 1877 with the building of the Midland Railway Good Depot, where the Royal Mail building now stands.

Beer Houses

In the 18th century, gin replaced ale as the most popular drink, after the Dutch brought it here in the late 1680s. It was cheaper, more alcoholic, and readily available. Drunkenness became commonplace, and on several occasions the government introduced legislation in an attempt to reduce the problem. It was in this atmosphere that the modem public house was born.

The 1830 Beer House Act

Beer was considered to be a harmless, nutritious alternative to gin, the consumption of which should be actively encouraged. This idea led to the Passing of the 1830 Beer House Act that introduced new and radical changes to the law. It allowed any householder and tax payer to obtain a license to sell beer on their premises, in exchange for a 2 guinea licence fee. Licensees were not allowed to sell spirits or fortified wines. Anyone doing so would be closed down, and heavily fined.

The new legislation led to a rapid rise in the number of public houses, and the introduction of a new class of licensed premises, the beer house. Beer houses were family homes, in which beer was usually sold in the front room, and dispensed from a jug, or directly from the barrel. Often the room was simply furnished with bare floorboards, wooden benches, and trestle tables. Some of the early beer houses carried names, just like pubs. The Great Western was initially known as 'The Board', until the coming of the Great Western Railway.

There were many beer houses in Wolverhampton. William White's History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Staffordshire published in 1851 states that there were around 170 fully licensed premises in Wolverhampton, and around 150 beer houses.

Beer houses flourished until the introduction of the Wine and Beer House Act of 1869, which prevented the opening of new beer houses, and tightened local magistrates' control of the industry. By the early years of the 20th century they had all gone. Many of them became fully licensed, as did The Great Western, and still survive as pubs today.

In 1893, twelve years after Richard Robinson's death, his estate was sold at auction and acquired by William Butler & Company Limited based at the nearby Springfield Brewery. At the time, Butlers were an expanding company, acquiring public houses, and extending the buildings at Springfield Brewery, which had been open for nineteen years.

The company continued to expand, becoming one of the four largest brewers in the West Midlands by 1950. The other three were Ansell's, Mitchells and Butlers, and Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries.

In 1960 William Butler & Company Limited was taken over by Mitchells & Butlers of Cape Hill. A year later Mitchells & Butlers merged with Bass, Ratcliff & Gretton to form Bass, Mitchells & Butlers Limited.

Details of the 1893 sale.

In 1987 The Great Western was sold to Holdens Brewery Limited, its present owner, and two  years later the single storey extension was built. On 31st March, 1992, the pub was Grade II Listed. The description in the listing is as follows:

In 1995 the conservatory, with its bar opened as the Armstrong Room, named after brothers Joseph and George Armstrong who in turn ran the Stafford Road railway works, and designed the locomotives that were built there.

The Great Western has received many awards including CAMRA National Pub of the Year in 1991, Wolverhampton CAMRA City Pub of the Year in 2003, 2004, and 2011, and is listed in the 2014 Good Pub Guide as follows:

The pub also featured in a Hairy Bikers TV programme in September 2011, and in the Sky TV promotional film for the 2012 World Darts Championships.

Much of the local industry and the old houses are now gone. For several years, Corn Hill was permanently closed due to the dreadful arson attack on the Old Steam Mill, leaving the pub somewhat isolated. The road has now reopened, and the pub continues to be successful. It has a wonderful atmosphere, excellent food, one of the best pints in Wolverhampton, and superb staff. A pub is only as good as its staff, and the people who work in the Great Western always offer the warmest of welcomes, and provide the very best service to all customers. Hopefully it will continue in this way for many years to come.