PEOPLE

THOMAS HARLEY

Thomas Harley was born in Osgathorpe in 1613, the second son of a small landowning family. He amassed a substantial fortune and when he died in 1670 donated funds to benefit the village.

JOHN & THOMAS BOULTBEE

John Boultbee and his twin Thomas were born in 1753 at Stordon Grange, a moated country manor on the edge of Osgathorpe. Both John and Thomas were recognised painters.

The Bostocks

E E ELCOCK

Ernest Elcock and his family moved from Staffordshire to the local area between 1911 and 1921. He made a significant contribution to local education and played an active part in Osgathorpe village life.

THE BOSTOCKS

The Bostocks were descended from an ancient line of Bostocks who have been traced back to 1619. We know families of Bostocks from this blood line lived and farmed in Osgathorpe for a period of time in the 1800's. The family were involved in the Limestone Burning industry at Cloud Hill and Breedon Quarries for at least 60 years as well as extensive farming. In 1861 Thomas Bostock is recorded as living at Mount Pleasant Farm in Osgathorpe with a governess, a house servant, a kitchen maid and an errand boy living in, suggesting they were a comparatively wealthy family.

The Gilberts

THE GILBERTS

This old family contributed considerably to the social and industrial history of the village of Osgathorpe, and the wider area. Of the many Gilbert’s buried in St. Mary’s church, Osgathorpe grave yard, sadly, only two identifiable graves remain. They are, those of Thomas and his wife Ann Gilbert (nee. Woodcock) and their grandson James and his wife Lucy Anne.

The earliest record of the Gilbert surname found in the Osgathorpe parish records is that of Samuel and Elizabeth Gilbert, who were recorded as being the parents of Elizabeth who was baptised at St. Mary’s church, Osgathorpe on the 20th of April 1675. Elizabeth died at the age of 3 and was buried in St. Mary’s church graveyard on the 3rd of March 1676.

Over the centuries the family worked in various industries such as Framework Knitting, Cordwaining and as Grocers. Moving forward to 1851, family member William Gilbert aged 32 is recorded as a blacksmith living with his parents Thomas & Ann. By 1861 William (now a master blacksmith) and his wife Jane have their own property in Osgathorpe and a blacksmith’s forge on Chapel Lane. In the same year, William's brother Thomas Gilbert, aged 56, had become a successful farmer of 98 acres employing 3 men and 2 boys in Osgathorpe. James Gilbert (see gravestone), son of Thomas, is recorded in the 1881 census (aged 48) as a farmer of 30 acres.

William Gilbert was appointed Parish Constable in 1860, 1861, 1864, 1869, and 1872. Together with his Blacksmithing businesses, William would have been a busy individual. His brother Thomas (1857) and James (1879 / 1881) were also appointed village overseers.