Gunstone

Coordinates: 52°38′20″N 2°11′24″W / 52.6389°N 2.1900°W / 52.6389; -2.1900

Gunstone is a hamlet in the South Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England. It is situated north east of the village of Codsall.

Place name and location

The place-name 'Gunstone' was first recorded in 1186 as Gonestona. Toponymists have the name coming from a combination of an Old Norse personal name - Gunni or Gunnr, with Old English tūn, giving the enclosure or farmstead of Gunni. In early English times, Gunstone sat just a few miles south of border of the Danelaw at Watling Street - the area of England under Danish control which may explain the name.

The settlement is based around Whitehouse Lane, with Pendeford in Wolverhampton to the east and Codsall Wood to the west. The Moat Brook, a tributary of the River Penk, passes through Gunstone, occasionally flooding sections of Whitehouse Lane after a period of sustained rain.

A Roman road ran south through this area from Pennocrucium in the direction of Greensforge.