In the early 18th century, the Verry's were living in the Haywood Liberties, a non-parochial area just outside Hereford City and probably working as farm labourers, or perhaps in the coppice woods - the record is silent. As the Haywood was without church or chapel they used the churches at Callow, Dewsall and St Martin's. By the mid 18th century one of the family made a move to Monmouth Town, worked as a sawyer and had descendants of which few survived infancy. One who did was Joseph VERRY (1761-1813) who became a butcher there and had children.
Others
(my
line) moved to Aconbury. John VERRY (1756-1825)
was a gamekeeper to Guy's Hospital (London) Aconbury
estate (they owned most of the parish). He was replaced by his son John
in 1808 who also rented the Cross-in-Hand
farm from Guy's. His epitaph, 1842, in Aconbury churchyard reads
- "John
VERRY, Much Birch County. He was a woodreve in the
Confidential Trust of the Governors' of Guy's Hospital
for forty-five years". Ah yes, salt of
the earth indeed! Documents
survive appointing John and his father as gamekepers. Were
they the stereotyped ones, gun in hand, dog by side, hunting poachers
and seeing them off to the prison hulks and Australia? I sense not.
More often they turned their cheek I think, unless perhaps the
intruders
were "foreigners" from another village. For how could it be otherwise
in this little community where so many were related to the others?
This is
the
document appointing John VERRY senior, gamekeeper
to Guys Hospital Estate. (Courtesy of Guys Hospital Archivist,
London, which include details of rental agreements). The wording
is similar to other "gamekeeper" contracts in that period. Guys records
have since been transferred to Hereford Record Office.
KNOW ALL MEN by these presents that the President and Governors of the Hospital founded at the sole cost and charges of Thomas Guy Esquire Lords of the Manors of Callow and Twyford in the County of Hereford Do hereby nominate, constitute and appoint John Very of the Parish of Aconbury in the said country of Hereford yeoman to be their gamekeeper within the said Manor and the Royalties thereto belonging to preserve the game thereof for their use and benefit and to take and seize all such Dogs, nets, guns and other engines within the said Manors which shall be kept or used for the destruction of game by persons unqualified and to take and kill game for their use only. IN WITNESS whereof the said President and Governors have to these presents caused their common seal to be affixed this eighteenth day of October in the year of our Lord One thousand seven hundred eighty.
BY order of the Court of Committees
(signed) John Harrison (ss)
ACONBURY CHURCH
All that remains of a nunnery founded by the de Lacy family in the 12th century and dissolved at the Reformation 1538.
John had married Alice PREECE and their son Thomas (born 1814) is the ancestor of Verry's still living in Herefordshire and elsewhere. Another of their sons, James born 1819 (my gg grandfather) married Mary PRICE of Cwmyoy, Monmouthshire, daughter of John PRICE, a weaver. They were living at Forest, Llantillio Pertholey. This was probably Forest Coal Pit and James was possibly making boots for the miners. By all accounts Mary spoke Welsh well, English just a little. They settled at Drybrook in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire. James, a bootmaker, became a lay reader, Primitive Methodist Church, one of a considerable number of Forest people to abandon the Established church. Or, did the church abandon them? Opinions differ. Methodism was well entrenched in the Forest by the early 19th century. A contemporary petition - "It was first introduced among us by a local preacher whom God in his providence sent to reside in this neighbourhood. Many were brought out of Hellish night and led to seek redemption in the Blood of Christ. Our state was once that of lawless heathens, .... instead of drunkards' songs we now join in hymns of Praise". Life in Drybrook was divided between work and prayer. The late Albert Verry (1902-1988) a grandson of James Verry, recorded how he walked miles each Sunday, to a Baptist meeting, then the Methodist Chapel, calling for prayer meetings along the way at Mrs Evans and back to the Methodist Chapel in the evenings.
JAMES
VERRY's
COTTAGE
at
Drybrook
drawn
from memory by his grandson, Albert Verry of Cinderford
Richard
and
Ada had 12 children one of whom, Arthur VERRY,
my grandfather, emigrated to New Zealand in 1905 on
the "Ruapehu". He was a carpenter and joiner and after building
a house at Hastings, sent for his fiancee Frances Helena MOORE.
She arrived on the "Athenic" in 1907. Frances was a daughter of Henry
MOORE, a
potter at Denby Pottery
near Ripley, Derbyshire and Elizabeth BEECROFT. Henry
was from a Barton-under-Needwood family, the BEECROFT's were originally
from Sutton-in-Ashfield and Tithby in Nottinghamshire. Both these
families have been researched.
JAMES VERRY
MARY VERRY (NEE PRICE)
(1819-1886)
(1815-1898)
The marriage of
William VERRY
and Harriet PREECE gave rise to numerous descendants in
Herefordshire
and beyond, especially through a younger son Albert William VERRY
who married Frances ROSE and resided at Mill Cottage,
Kingsthorn,
Much Birch.
Richard VERRY,
younger brother of Thomas and James, lived in Much Dewchurch and died
there unmarried.