Question from Darren
Hopkins Brierley May 2006
Dear Richard
I was
wondering if you had any information on what I have been told is the old
police house at the top of Barnsley Road in Brierley.
Darren
Hopkins Brierley
Reply
from Richard
Dear
Darren
The
1840 tithe award for Brierley was a complete survey of the village with
every plot of land accounted for. Plot 169 was Pit Hill field,
this was three quarters of an acre of land owned by William
Attee’s heir and farmed by Benjamin Bedford in 1840. The pair of
Houses in the photo above were built on this plot in 1851.
One of these was the home in 1852 of William Watson who was born in
Brierley in 1801, he had lived in Monk Bretton and Cawthorne where his
eldest child was born in 1838. He was the part owner of Proctor &
Watson’s White House coal mine at Barnsley Road Shafton. This is now a
kennels that stands back from the road.
In 1881 Thomas Horne aged 37 born in Eversley,
Berkshire
, was living in this house as a Police Sergeant with his wife
Harriet and children Henry, George, Annis, Mary, & Harriet aged all
born in
Barnsley
. Two more children, Thomas aged 2 and Lily aged 1 were born in
Brierley. By 1891 this house was known
as a Police Office when the Sergeant
was Christopher Taylor. Kelly’s Directory for
1893 has Sergeant Talor at Brierley Police Station.
The
other house was the home of Thomas Rogerson a stone mason and the
builder of the houses. Charles Rogerson the son of
Thomas also a Stone Mason who had lived in Liverpool for a while,
occupied this house with his wife Sarah, and children Anne &
Charles, from about 1881 to 1891
Edward
Watson is the next known occupier he was a Haulage Contractor based
there in 1927. The Watson family lived there for some time and used the
land as a coal and wood yard. In 1904 there is a
Sidney
Gill listed at Oak Tree House Brierley. This could be the same property.
Oak
Tree Lane
is the old name for
Barnsley Road
. These houses are now 24 &
26 Barnsley Road/Ket Hill Lane
The
pair of houses are not on the 1849 Ordnance Survey 6” map but were
built quite soon after the survey. They are shown on the 1893 edition.
They are well built in stone and are quite up market in a Victorian
style.
Providence
Terrace now gone was at what were Nos. 33-35-39 Barnsley Road. No. 35
was the Police Sergeants’ house, Joseph Little from
Stourbridge was the sergeant here in 1861.
Much later
No. 31 Barnsley Road
was a police house.
Regards
Richard
