James was born in New Street, Darlaston in 1836, the son of printer, stationer and bookseller, Thomas Slater. The family soon moved to King Street where Thomas opened a shop and a printing works.

James was educated at Shifnal Grammar School and afterwards articled to Wednesbury solicitor J. H. Thursfield. James eventually became a solicitor and ran his business at premises in Walsall Road. James married 23 years old Elizabeth, daughter of industrialist Samuel Mills, on 7th May, 1861. They had five sons and six daughters.

He went into partnership with W. Marshall, until Mr. Marshall’s untimely death, after which James’ eldest son Archibald ran the business with his father. The business grew to become one of the largest of its kind in the area. One of their clients was Sister Dora.

James was a churchwarden at St. Lawrence's Church in 1869, a member of Darlaston's first School Board, formed in 1883, Chairman of the Local Board, and laid the foundation stone, and performed the opening ceremony at the Town Hall in October 1888. Slater Street in Darlaston, and Slater Street in Willenhall are both named after him.

He married Jane, who was born in 1847, and eventually moved to one of Darlaston’s most impressive Victorian houses, “Ilmington” in Crescent Road. The house was named after Jane's birthplace, Ilmington in Warwickshire.
They had three children, one son and two daughters.

William’s shop at 21 Pinfold Street was the first building in Darlaston to be lit by electricity. He purchased a dynamo and capitalised on it by advertising when the lights would be in operation. People came from all around the Black Country to view the spectacle and he always had many bargains on hand to sell to visitors.

William Winn from 'A History of Darlaston'. F. W. Hackwood, 1887.

Chairman of the Council, Director of J. & R. Rose, and a great benefactor to the town.

John George Rose was born in August 1867 at 32 Willenhall Street, Darlaston. His parents were George and Ann Rose. George Rose senior was a coalminer.

The couple had a shop in their front room selling grocery and beer. It was initially run by Ann, but in 1901 George is listed as a greengrocer, so he must also have helped in the shop. They shared the house with Ann’s mother, Ann Turner.

John George initially attended a small school in Willenhall Street that was run by Mr. Belcher, and later continued his education at Old Church School.

He left school in 1880 at the age of 13 and went to work for his uncle, nut and bolt maker, James Rose at J. & R. Rose, London Works, Willenhall Street. The company was run by James and Richard Rose.

George Rose.

By this time John George Rose had decided to drop his first name to become known as George Rose, like his father. He started work as an errand boy, and through his own efforts moved up to Company Secretary, and Director. He stayed with the company for 44 years.

He married Mary Ann Harvey, a grocer’s daughter. Around 1897 they moved into a house at 50 Old Park Road, Wednesbury. In 1901 he was elected councillor for All Saints Ward, and remained as a member of Darlaston Council for the rest of his life. In 1915 he moved with his wife and son to ‘The Cottage’ a large Georgian house that stood on the corner of Church Street and Waverley Road. It had been built in the late 18th century by Julia Foster, whose family kept the nearby Bell public house.

From 1911 to 1914, and again in 1919 until his death, he was Chairman of the Council. He was also a Justice of the Peace, founder president of the Darlaston Allotments Association, actively involved in the Nursing Institute, and a supporter of Darlaston Football Club.

He is, and always will be, associated with the park that carries his name; George Rose Park. It was built between 1921 and 1924 and provided casual work for over 700 unemployed people in the town. The project was instigated by George as a pleasure park that would be an important amenity for the town. He not only pushed the project through, but also ensured that it would benefit many of the unemployed people, providing a much needed income to many of the poorer families.

He died suddenly in August 1924 at the early age of 57. He left his office at lunchtime, briefly went into the Town Hall, then went home for lunch. He was suddenly taken ill and died later that afternoon. He was greatly thought of throughout the town, and flags were flown at half mast. On the day of his funeral, shops closed and thousands of people lined the streets. It was like a state funeral, and described as ‘the largest funeral cortege ever seen in Darlaston’. A long line of cars followed the hearse during the procession to James Bridge Cemetery. There were four car loads of wreaths.

He was well respected and admired by the local community for his work with the council, much of which greatly benefited the town.

John George Rose's grave at James Bridge Cemetery.

The inscription on the grave, which also contains the remains of their son, George Rose.
    

William Walker Stanbury was once a well-known, and well-respected figure in Darlaston, who became one of the town’s leading citizens. He was born in 1877 at Durston in Somerset, where his father William Stanbury was a farmer, with 105 acres, employing 2 men and 2 boys. William married Betsy, and they had four children. The eldest were two sisters Bessie and Helena, followed by their first son Tom, then by William Walker, their youngest child.

William Walker Stanbury came to Darlaston in 1907 and purchased Poplar House, one of the last remaining town houses in King Street, where he lived with his wife Florence, and added a single story extension to the front, to house his gents outfitters and drapery shop.

For some years he had a second shop on the opposite side of King Street, in Victoria House, which still survives today. He is mainly remembered for his shop in Poplar House, which had once been occupied by one of Darlaston’s first wealthy industrialists, Samuel Mills, his wife Phoebe, and their family. Samuel, who owned the Darlaston Steel & Iron Company Limited at Darlaston Green, purchased the house in about 1840.

William Walker Stanbury in the early 1920s.

Some years later the famous Victorian novelist Mrs Henry Wood stayed in the house, and whilst there wrote part of her best selling novel "East Lynne", published in 1861. The house later became a school for girls.

Mr. Stanbury's business was very successful and he became actively involved in public life, as a local councillor, a member of many organisations and committees, and a Justice of the Peace.

In 1918 he became a volunteer in the South Staffordshire Regiment, as a 2nd Lieutenant. He purchased a beautiful house called ‘Wellsacre’, in Wrottesley Road, Tettenhall, no doubt named after the area where he grew-up.

Sadly his wife, Florence Bessie Stanbury, died on 11th December, 1931. She is buried in Merridale Cemetery, Wolverhampton.

William was first elected as a member of Darlaston Council in 1919, and served for three years. He was again elected in April, 1928, and became Chairman in 1933. He served on a number of committees including  the Higher Education Committee, the Public Assistance Committee, the Finance Committee, the Highways Committee, the Housing Committee, the Child Welfare Committee, and the General Purpose Committee.

He was also treasurer of the Unemployed Welfare Council during the late 1920s and early 1930s depression, a member of the Public Assistance Committee for Wednesbury and District, a member of West Bromwich and Staffordshire Assessment Committee, and a member of the Poor Children's Outing Committee.

He represented the town as a member of the Association of Midland Local Authorities, and became Darlaston's representative on the South Staffordshire Joint Smallpox Hospital Board. He did a lot of work for the British Legion, was President of the Darlaston Allotment Association, and Chairman of the Darlaston Tradesmen's Association, that helped to cultivate a friendly feeling between fellow tradesmen, and looked after their interests. The Association exposed trading abuses, helped in settling grievances, and attempted to remove any restrictions on trading activities. In the mid 1930s he became a Justice of the Peace.

The King Street shop remained in use until the 1960s, after which it fell into dereliction and was demolished in 1973. The site is now occupied by the ASDA store.

Enoch Horton and his father founded Horton & Son, one of Darlaston's most important nut and bolt manufacturing firms. He ran the business for many years and became extremely wealthy.

Enoch Horton, J.P.

Over the next ten years he had a variety of jobs. For about five years he worked at Darlaston Green Ironworks, owned by Samuel Mills, then becoming a bellows blower for a local gunlock maker, and later finding employment at a foundry in Spring Vale.

At the age of seventeen he became a nut and bolt forger working with an Oliver, and in 1849 entered into partnership with his father, and they started business in Bell Street.

The venture was so successful that a larger factory was soon acquired, and so in 1852 the Old Alma Works were converted from a wire-drawing mill into a nut and bolt factory.

New Alma Works was extended to join New Britannia Works, and by the early years of the twentieth century, the firm employed over 600 people.

He was a director of a number of local companies, and became a member of Darlaston Local Board, and succeeded Mr. James Slater as chairman. On the formation of the District Council, Mr. Horton was elected a member, and retained his seat until the time of his death, twice becoming chairman.

He was a member of the School Board throughout the whole of its existence, and was chairman for twelve years. He was also a member of Staffordshire County Council, defeating Mr. J. Yardley in a memorable election to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Mr. James Slater.

An advert from 1900.

James Belcher founded the once well-known firm of auctioneers, J. Belcher & Son. They were based in Pinfold Street, on the corner of Great Croft Street, opposite the Old Castle Hotel. What follows is his obituary from the 1906 edition of Ryder's Annual.

In the public and religious life of the district Mr. Belcher took an important part. He was one of the first members of Wednesbury School Board (1870-1879), and a member of Darlaston Local Board from 1879-1888. He was a prominent member of the Primitive Methodist Church, and as a local preacher, an office he held for nearly fifty years, was a great favourite with all his congregations. He had represented the Connexion in all its courts, and was many times appointed to conference.

In the year of the Queen's Jubilee he had the honour or addressing a missionary meeting in Spurgeon's Tabernacle, and was always extremely popular as a reciter in the days of "Penny Readings" as a connective reader in "services of song," and there are few Nonconformist places of worship in the neighbourhood which he has not served in this and other ways. Mr. Belcher had a fine presence and was the essence of geniality. He was one of the best known figures in the Black Country, and will be much missed.

The offices of J. Belcher & Son in Pinfold Street.