Category Rowley Regis

19th Century Working Lives, Barnsley Nock, Dudley, Quarry Bank, Rowley Regis

The Barnsley Nocks

My great grandfather was born with the name Samuel Barnsley Nock but over time used Barnsley as his surname. Where did the name Barnsley Nock come from? It transpired that Barnsley Nock was a name peculiar to certain areas of the Black Country during the 19th and 20th centuries that could be traced back to one marriage in 1801.

Crime & Punishment, Hipkiss, Old Hill, Rowley Regis, World War 1

A Swarthy Native from Staffordshire

Joseph Hipkiss was a habitual petty thief from around the age of 15. Working on fairs, he travelled around various towns leading a vagrant lifestyle and serving sentences in various prisons. As his crimes became more severe and violent, he was in prison from 1903-1909 and 1912-1914 just before the outbreak of the First World War.