3 Rock Street

Occupants

We have had great difficulty in identifying the occupants of each house in the 19th century census records and even with the Rate Books we found the sequence of occupants is inconsistent.  We have therefore provided our best guess as to who was living in each of the Oxhouses.

George Ford - the 1876 and 1880 Rate Books show  George Ford occupying this house.  George was baptised on 5th March 1854, the son of Thomas Ford a labourer and his wife, Ann from Morton.  

On 18th September 1870 George married Ann Walker, the daughter of John Walker, a labourer and his wife Sophia.  Ann was baptised on 27th August 1843.  In the 1871 census George and Ann are shown in Upper Bath Road next door to George's parents (and two doors away from his grandparents).  We can't be sure exactly where George and Ann were living but there is a chance that they had already settled in number 3 Rock Street.

The 1881 census shows George was an agricultural labourer aged 28 living with Ann aged 39.  They do not seem to have had children.  We are puzzled by the 1885 and 1890 Rate Books which show that George was now occupying both numbers 3 and 5 Rock Street.  We can't imagine why he needed two houses.

George died aged 40 and was buried on 17th March 1892.    The 1894 Rate Book shows Ann was occupying number 3 Rock Street and the 1901 census shows Ann living there as a widowed charwoman aged 57.  She died in 1904 aged 61.

Thomas Hurn - the 1905 Rate Book shows that the house was occupied by Thomas Hurn.  Various censuses show Thomas was born in Olveston/Rudgeway/Alveston about 1837 -1840.   The 1881 census shows he was married to Hester who was a cook.  Thomas was an agricultural labourer and they were living in Rudgeway with 4 daughters.  The 1891 census he was still married, but now lodging in the White Horse Inn, Buckover, and in 1901 he was lodging with Thomas Powell in St Mary Street, Thornbury.

We don't know any more about Thomas.

In this case, there is a large gap in our knowledge of the occupants in the 1900's:

Mrs Gough - an indenture dated 1913 when the cottages were bought by Albert Bevan shows that 'Mrs Gough' was the occupant of the house.

Tom Taylor - the 1925 Valuation List and 1926 Rate Book show the house was then occupied by Tom.  He is listed in the Prewetts 1916 Street Directory as living in rock Street so he may have been in the same house. We don't know anything more about tom to identify him.

Mary Ann Burrows - an indenture dated 1931 when the cottages were bought by Frederick Bishop shows that this cottage was occupied at the time by Mrs Mary Ann Burrows.  She was also listed as living in Rock Street in the 1927 and 1931 electoral registers.

Mary Ann was the widow of John Burrows who had died in 1921 aged 74.  We don't know when they got married.  John was a military man.  The 1891 census shows them living at Horfield Barracks in Bristol.  John was a colour sergeant aged 44 born in Petersfield in Hampshire.  Mary Ann was aged 37 and had been born in Ireland.  They had five children living them: Caroline aged 12 born in Malta, Albert Edward aged 7 born in Hyderabad, India, Henry Heather aged 4 born in Ahmednagar, East Indies, John aged 2 and Mary Elizabeth under six months, both born in Horfield.

By 1897 the Burrows had moved to Thornbury.  On 19th April 1897 Caroline married William Stait, a widower aged 35 who was a sergeant and the son of John Stait, cordwainer.  A 1899 Trade Directory shows John as a Retired Army Sergeant living at The Baths. 

The 1901 census shows John and Mary Ann living at Gillingstool.  John was now working as an agricultural labourer. and Mary Ann is shown as a 'Monthly Nurse'.  Of their children, Harry and John were still at home.  Harry was also an agricultural labourer.

It is possible that John and the family moved to Crossways for a few years, but by 1910 they were back in Gillingstool.  Both John and Mary Ann are listed at Gillingstool in the electoral registers.  During the War, at least two of their sons fought in the services.   Albert Edward served with the R. F. A. and survived.   Henry Heather served as Sergeant with the Gloucestershire Regiment and he was killed in action in Bombay on 31st October 1914.

John died in 1921 aged 74.  Mary Ann moved to live in Rock Street by 1921 as a trade directory shows her as a midwife there.  In 1926 Mary Ann was a tenant of John Bartlett in a house in Chapel Street.

Frank Edward Neal - the electoral registers of 1938 through to 1950 suggest that Frank was living in 5 Rock Street.  Click here to read more about Frank and his family

Frederick John & Amelia James - the electoral registers for 1954 and 1958 show the house was occupied by Frederick and Amelia. 

We have traced a marriage of a Frederick J James and Amelia Morris in the Merthyr area in 1919 which seems to be their marriage and the birth of a Frederick John James in Merthyr in 1896.  Frederick was the son of John James a coal miner from Oldburyon Severn and his wife Emily Eliza from Hereford Madley.  Amelia and Frederick had a son William Arthur James who was born in 1929 in Merthyr.

They seemed to move to the Thornbury area in 1932 when their daughter, Eunice, transferred to the National School from  a place that appears to be Upper Albermoslas(?) in the school records but which we suspect was Abermarlais near Merthyr.  The School records give the address as Castle Street.

In 1933 Eunice moved to Oldbury School and the family were shown as living in St Arild's Cottage, Kington in 1946 and 1940 electoral registers.  There is a wedding in St Mary's Church records record of William James and Irene Hughes in February 1951 which gives William the address of Blakes Avenue but obviously this might not be the address of the James family at that time. Many people give the address they will have after they are married.  However it does tell us that Frederick's occupation was a brickyard labourer.  In the 1950's the brickyard in question may have been Thornbury brickyard which was near the Baptist Church.

We are not sure when Frederick and Amelia moved into 3 Rock Street as the only information we have at this time is in the electoral records of the 1950's.  By 1961, the house at 3 Rock Street had been demolished and Fred and Amelia had been re-housed by the Council at 12 Buckingham Parade.

 This page was last updated: 30/11/2011