My gt grandfather was born at The Morse, Ruardean Woodside. Was The Morse an actual residence or is it a general area which encompasses Morse Road? Thank you.

http://www.geograph.org.uk/showmap.php?gridref=SO6417

In the early 17th century there were scattered farmsteads and cottages throughout the parish.
Some stood at intervals along the Forest boundary (fn. 85) and some on waste ground in other parts of the parish.
(fn. 86) All the early buildings, including five houses built shortly before 1656 by William Roper, lord of Ruardean manor, (
fn. 87) appear to have been replaced. In the east a few dwellings on Morse Lane included Ash Farm, purchased in the
1720s for several Mitcheldean charities. (fn. 88) At White Hill, known sometimes as Morse or Hazle Farm, (fn. 89)
the house was rebuilt on a larger scale in the 18th or 19th century and was unoccupied in 1990.
In the south-eastern corner of the parish, part of an area known as the Morse, (fn. 90) there was a farmstead at Ground
Farm in 1749 (fn. 91) and a few cottages were later built on the Nailbridge road (Morse Road) constructed in 1841. (fn. 92)
In the 16th and 17th centuries there were a few cottages in the north-eastern corner of the parish at the place known as Haseley
(fn. 93) (later Hawthorns).

From: 'Ruardean', A History of the County of Gloucester: Volume 5: Bledisloe Hundred, St. Briavels Hundred, The Forest of Dean (1996),
pp. 231-247. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=23261 Date accessed: 11 April 2012.

Gerry Meek
(a one time resident of Morse Road)

Now Morse Road goes from the Hales, at Nailbridge up to Ruardean.

I "suspect" that one of these may have been known as Ruardean Rd in days gone by....( my instinct tells me Morse Rd )

re the Census record , is there anything enumerated nearby that can help locate the dwelling - a Church, Pub etc ? If the Nelson turns up you are on Morse Rd, if the Rose then Morse Lane

Many thanks for the tip,we stopped there earlier this year but did not have enough time to take it all in.I will make sure we put more time in this weekend.
many thanks
Nigel

Thanks for your quick response.We are driving down this Saturday so if you could recommend where we could spend some time on The Morse it would be appreciated.As yet I don't have an exact address but I am working on it.I assume that they had to walk to work so the mines must have been quite close.
kind regards
Nigel

http://www.old-maps.co.uk/
co ords 363935,217629

I understand that a Manor( farm) stood there known as Morse or Hazle.

Drybrook mine was to the north.

Also look out for Morse Cross.

As it became more settled then cottages , small shops and pubs such as the Nelson were built along Morse Rd and Morse Lane......