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 Watson