At the time of the 1797 Enclosure Act, the farmers William and John Barber owned 55 acres of land in Gilberts End.

 

William (1776-1854) and his wife Mary (1781-1845) had two sons, William Francis (1807-1854) and John (1809-1885), all farming in Hanley Castle, William Francis as a tenant farmer at Brickwalls Farm, who died childless at the age of 48, and his brother at Meerbrook.

 

The family tomb in St Mary’s churchyard records not only the dates of the four mentioned above but also the tragic deaths of John II’s two sons William aged 9 and Harry William aged 8, who both died of the croup in 1858. John and his wife Elizabeth (1818-1861) had no other children and she died 3 years later. Although he married again, John remained childless and the Barber dynasty came to an end.

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