James Shaw-Hellier was born in Dudley in 1759 the eldest son of Thomas Shaw, the perpetual curate of Claverley and vicar of St John’s Wolverhampton. In 1786 his father inherited the estates of Sir Samuel Hellier and changed their name to Shaw-Hellier. The family then moved to the Wodehouse in Wombourne. Continue reading →

Richard Evans was probably born in the Old Bell Inn, Chapel Ash, Wolverhampton in 1768. He was the eldest son of John and Mary Evans. His father died when he was 15 and he was brought up by his mother who continued to run and expand the Inn business. The Wolverhampton Chronicle records in particular the acquisition of the Red Lion Inn. Continue reading →

William Downing was born on 19 Apr 1821, the eldest surviving son of George and Elizabeth Downing. He took up the family trade of maltster in the West Midlands and was to oversee the expansion of the business from his birth place in Smethwick to take in concerns down the Severn in Gloucester under his sons. Continue reading →

Edward Bagnall Dimmack was born in Bilston on 19 Nov 1808 the son of Jeremiah Dimmack and Jane Bagnall. Both his parents’ families had been caught up in the heart of the iron and coal revolution that swept this area of the West Midlands from 1750-1800. Jane Bagnall was descended from a junior line of the wealthy Bagnalls of Broseley. The Dimmacks had worked in the Iron founding industry since its inception. Continue reading →

Robert Giles Marten was born in 1792, the eldest son of Robert Humphrey Marten. It would be fair to say that he lived his life in the shadow of his father, unfortunately dying three months before him at the age of 47 in 1839. Continue reading →

Walter Showell, the Oldbury brewer, was born on 26 September 1832. He was baptized in St Martin’s Birmingham on 25 Oct 1832. He undoubtedly had a difficult childhood. His father, also Walter Showell, died when he was only three in 1835. His mother, Eliza Ann Breakspear, remarried in 1840. Continue reading →

Charles Palmer was baptized in Stoke Damerel on 16 Aug 1818. He was the eldest child of Nathaniel Palmer, a blacksmith, and served in the Royal Navy all his life, receiving a pension right up until his death at the age of 88. He married Mary Ann Ash Tingcombe on 2 Aug 1837 and they had five surviving children. Continue reading →

Robert Humphrey Marten was born in 1763 to a non conformist family in Whitechapel. Robert’s father Nathaniel had established a place in The City of London in the Cooks’ company, which formed a base for Robert Humphrey’s particularly varied and interesting career. Continue reading →