Rock Street

Numbers 2 - 8

The four houses on the right of the above photo were numbered 2 - 8 Rock Street when house numbering was introduced in the early 1950's.  We don't know when they were built but we understand that they were similar in design and construction to the rows of cottages in Horseshoe Lane and Gloucester Road.  (click here for a description of the houses in Horseshoe Lane)

In the 1840 Tithe Survey, the houses were part of Plot 133 which also included the 4 similar houses in Horseshoe Lane referred to above.  All these houses were owned by Mary Wilkes.  The eight houses were occupied by Thomas Grigg, John Thomas, William Clutterbuck, Thomas Smith, Thomas Elton, Joseph Pym and William Matthews.  We know from the 1841 census that Thomas Smith, Joseph Pym and William Matthews were living in Horseshoe Lane at that time, and we assume that Thomas Elton was also in Horseshoe Lane and that Thomas Grigg, John Thomas and William Clutterbuck were occupying 3 of the four houses in Rock Street.

Mary Wilkes was a widow.  In the 1841 census she was shown as a grocer.  Her husband, Henry Wilkes, had been a watch and clockmaker and he died on 17th April 1828 aged 48 years.  Henry married Mary Williams at St Phillip and St Jacob Church in Bristol on 23rd September 1811.  They had three children: Ann baptised on 14th July 1813, Jane baptised on 12th July 1815 and buried on 17th December 1815 and Emma baptised on 18th June 1817.

The Land Tax records show that Henry had become the owner of several plots of land and houses around the centre of the town.  On Henry's death, Mary became the owner.  Some of Mary's properties are shown on 1840 Tithe Map, others were in St Mary Street including the house where, in 1840, Mary was living on the corner of St Mary Street and Horseshoe Lane and several other adjoining properties in St Mary Street.  She owned other property in Tytherington.

Mary died and was buried on 28th March 1849 aged 70 years.  In her Will she left the properties adjoining the property where she lived in St Mary Street to her daughter, Ann Ann (the wife of Thomas Ann), the rest (including those in Horseshoe Lane) was left to her daughter, Emma Wilkes.

We know from the Rate Books of 1876 and 1880 that the 4 houses were owned by Henry Knapp.  We discovered that Emma Wilkes married  Henry Knapp in 1853.  Both Emma and Henry died in 1882.  The 1885 Rate Book shows the 4 houses were then owned by Mary Ann Wilmot.  Mary Ann was Henry and Emma's niece and the daughter of Thomas Ann and Emma's sister, Ann.

Mary Ann Ann had married Samuel Mullett Wilmot of Bristol on June 19th 1879 at what was to become the United Reformed Church in Thornbury.  Samuel was the son of Henry Wilmot a commercial clerk and his wife Lydia and they lived in Bedminster.  The 1871 census shows that Samuel  was a commercial clerk in an iron works.

By 1881 Samuel and Mary Ann were living in Redcliffe in Bedminster. He was 36 in this census and was the manager of a Galvanised Iron and Steel works. Mary Ann Wilmot was 29 years old.  By the 1891 census the Wilmots had a substantial family.  They were living in Grove House in Redcliff with Margaret  nine years old, Samuel  eight, Arthur seven, Henry six, Thomas five, and Lydia three.   By the 1901 census they also had Hester aged five and Gertrude aged three.  They had moved out of the city to Alveston.  The house is not named in this census but we know that the Wilmots had The Chalet, a very large house in Alveston.

Mary Ann died on 23rd February 1917 aged 65 and Samuel died on 5th October 1923 aged 78.  Their tombstone is still visible in the graveyard of the United Reformed Church.  Following Samuel's death, the four cottages were put up for the sale at auction in 1924 and sold for £250.

We don't know who bought the properties.  We understand that they were owned by a farming family who lived in Cheshire who used Crossmans to collect their rents.  Arthur Neal who was brought up in one of the houses remembers paying the rent to Harry Burchell of Crossmans.

The houses were demolished in the mid 1960's as part of the town's re-development.  They have been replaced by a service yard at the rear of the Library.

We have had great difficulty in identifying the occupants of each house in the 19th century census records so we have not attempted to do so until we have some other supporting sources.  The history of occupants is therefore based on what people have been able to tell us, backed up by church records, electoral registers, school records etc.    

Click here to read about the occupants of number 2 Rock Street

Click here to read about the occupants of number 4 Rock Street

Click here to read about the occupants of number 6 Rock Street

Click here to read about the occupants of number 8 Rock Street

 This page was last updated: 21/11/2008