William Hockley and Charlotte Cock

St Mary the Virgin, Great Dunmow, Essex
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © John Salmon - geograph.org.uk/p/1304086

William Hockley (b. 1833), son of Daniel Hockley and Sophia Mason, married Charlotte Cock (bap. 19 Oct 1834), daughter of Timothy Cock and Sarah Mead, at St Mary the Virgin, Great Dunmow on 24 Sep 1859.

William and Charlotte had nine children:

1. Sarah Charlotte Hockley b. 5 May 1860 Vol 04A 333, bap. 8 Jul 1860 
2. Edith Hockley b. 3 Aug 1861 Volume 04A Page 340, bap. 13 Oct 1861
3. William James Hockley b. 1863 Vol 04A Page 370, bap. 12 Apr 1863, died, aged 16, and was buried on 16 Nov 1879 at St Mary the Virgin.
4. Elizabeth Hockley b. 1865 Volume 04A Page 389, bap. 9 Apr 1865
5. Sophia Hockley b. 1866 Volume 04A Page 370, bap. 9 Dec 1866
6. Martha Hockley b. 1869 Volume 04A Page 406, bap. 13 Jun 1869
7. Harry Hockley b. 27 Jun 1871 Vol 04A Page 373, bap. 14 May 1874 
8. Mary Emma Hockley b. 27 Apr 1874 04A Page 432, bap. 14 May 1874
9. Charles Hockley 27 Apr 1876 Vol 04A Page 453, bap. 30 Apr 1883

The mother's maiden name on the registrations for Sarah Charlotte, Edith, William James, Sophia, Martha and Mary Emma is listed correctly as COCK. On those of Elizabeth, Harry and Charles it has been written as COX.

All of the baptisms, except those for Harry and Mary Emma in 1874, which are listed in records for England, Essex Non-Conformist Church Records [venue unknown], were at St Mary the Virgin, Great Dunmow.

(There's a baptism, on April 14, 1872, of "Alfred son of William and Charlotte Hockley", listed here. Whilst I have every faith that those records are correctly transcribed, he was not a child of this family. He does not appear on any census with this family, but he does appear as the son of William's younger brother, James Hockley and Emma Parker. The only registration of an Alfred Hockley, in Dunmow, in 1872, has the mother's maiden name PARKER.)

In 1861, William Hockley (27) Agricultural Labourer, Charlotte (27), Sarah C (1), James (23) - William's brother - and their father, Daniel Hockley (age incorrectly shown as 62) were living at Halfway House, Great Dunmow. 

(This adjacent Halfway House Cottage, was that used by the labourers on the farm, which has included several generations of our family.)

In 1871, William Hockley (36) is joined by Charlotte (35), Sarah C (11), Edith (9), William J (8), Elizabeth (6), Sophia (4) and Martha (2).

At Halfway House Cottage, Great Dunmow in 1881, were William Hockley (41), Charlotte (39), Martha (13), Harry (10), Emma Mary (Mary Emma) (6), Charles (4) and granddaughter, Alice Hockley (2)**. Sarah C Hockley (20) from Great Dunmow was working as a Domestic Servant in the household of Amelia Hockley (32) widow (if any relation I've yet to research), Lodging house keeper at Hockerill, Bishop Stortford, Hertfordshire. Edith Hockley (19) was a Domestic servant in the household of William Henry Cox (33) Farmer at Elms Farm, Great Canfield. Sophia Hockley (14) was a Domestic Servant to John Sayer (63) Farmer at Bedfords, Great Dunmow.

**Alice Jane Hockley b. 1879 M Qtr in DUNMOW Vol 04A Page 472, bap. 14 Sep 1879 at St Mary the Virgin, Great Dunmow, was the illegitimate daughter of Sarah Charlotte Hockley. Alice Jane died, aged 8, in 1887.

In 1891, we find William Hockley (57), Charlotte (56) with Charles (15).

In 1901, William Hockley (68), Charlotte (67) and Charles (24).

Charlotte Hockley died, aged 67, in 1902.

In 1911, William Hockley (79), widowed, was still at Halfway House as an Old Age Pensioner Farm Labourer. (The "Old Age Pension" was introduced in 1909 in the United Kingdom. Following the passage of the Old-Age Pensions Act 1908 a pension of 5 shillings per week (25p, equivalent, using the Consumer Price Index, to £26 in present-day terms), or 7s.6d per week (equivalent to £39/week today) for a married couple, was payable to persons with an income below £21 per annum (equivalent to £2200 today), The qualifying age was 70, and the pensions were subject to a means test.)

William Hockley died, aged 83, in 1916.

Henry Wilton and Mary Barton

The King's Head (closed), Great Dunmow. Photo © Robin Webster (cc-by-sa/2.0)

This pub and hotel on North Street has been closed and boarded up for some years, with signs of abandoned or postponed building work. It is grade II listed, the oldest parts from the 15th century. Conflicting reports suggest it has since been demolished or converted into flats.

Back on the family pub crawl ... Two things listed in Pigot's Directory of Essex 1823 relate to another Henry Wilton. One is a listing as a saddler, the other, under Taverns and Public Houses, is for 'Henry Wilton, King's Head'[1]. This Henry Wilton is clearly not Henry Wilton (1809-1890), saddler, the elder brother of my 3x great-grandfather, Richard Wilton, because that Henry Wilton would have been merely 14 years old in 1823. We have to go back another generation: this is their uncle Henry, brother of Stephen Wilton. 

Henry Wilton, son of Richard Wilton and Mary Robinson, was baptised St Mary's Church, Sawston, Cambridgeshire on 30 Oct 1768. In 1783 he was apprenticed to Matthew Norris in Shelford, as a Collarmaker. Then on 20 Sep 1810, he married Mary Barton in Great Dunmow. Both were described as being "Of This Parish", so had been in the town since at least then. 

In 1841, Henry Wilton (73) Ind (Independant means?) and his wife Mary (61) were living alongside his nephew, Henry Wilton, saddler in the High Street, Great Dunmow. They were one side - of Geo. Saich, ostler (the census records don't provide any clues as to which hostelry), and his wife Charlotte (née Thorogood) - on the other was Robert Hockley, tailor and draper.

"Uncle" Henry Wilton died in 1846 J Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Volume 12 Page 49. He will have been 78.

In 1861, Mary Wilton (80) with birthplace given as Ruislip, Middlesex, was a Lodger in the High Street, Great Dunmow.

Mary Wilton died, at 81, on 8 Nov 1861 (1861 D Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Volume 04A Page 214). Probate was granted to John Barnard Grocer and Sole Executor. John Barnard (1799-1872), was a grocer (later also wine & spirit merchant) in the High Street, Great Dunmow. It's not known if there was any familial link or what the reason was for appointing him.

[1] Also listed in Pigot's Directory of Essex 1823 at the King's Head is William Cock, who was listed as the Licensee or Tavernkeeper from 1815 until at least 1829. It isn't clear what role Henry Wilton played in this business.