Barnsley Cross

The autumn before COVID, I came up with the idea of creating a fictional town for a historical book series. I was inspired after skimming a book meant for people interested in researching their ancestors. It contains lost or overlooked occupations and powered my imagination to create the town of Barnsley Cross.

While I’ve been sure to populate the town with an ironmonger, Mr. Wilson, a carter, Mr. Charloton & Sons, and a wheelwright, Mr. Ridley, how could I not include such interesting occupations as:

• Friperer, seller of second-hand clothing: Mrs. Pybus
• Hellier, a roof tiler: Mr. Abell.
• Hog Reeve, the official responsible for impounding stray pigs and assessing the damage they cause: Mr. Ogle
• Simpler, an herbalist: Mrs. Stubbs

I’m unsure where I came up with the town’s name, though I know the ‘Cross’ portion came from the idea of its being at a crossroads. The town is set in Gloucestershire, about one coach ride (before you need to change horses) from the city of Gloucester. The inns at the crossroads do brisk business changing horses for travelers out of London. Or for the fewer travelers heading north or south between Bath and Coventry.

Barnsley Cross has the typical cross-section of people, from peers down to the odd-jobs men and working girls. Situated along a stream, the high street has a collection of merchants located south of the stream. Two bridges cross the stream to the north side of town where the houses of more gently born lay. And spreading around the town in an uneven patchwork quilt are the various estates of the landowners. On some of those estates, however, all is not well. Most of the stories in the Bedroom Eyes series center around the gentry and their troubles.