Nat Gould

Richard Gould 1711-1762

Richard Gould was born in 1711, the son of William Gould 1677-1772 and his wife Anne Morewood 1679-1749.

He succeeded his father William Gould at Pilsbury Upper House. He married Elizabeth Gilbert 1717-1776 of Cotton Hall in Staffordshire.

They had the following children, all baptised at Hartington:

Elizabeth Gould 1739-1742. She was baptised on 7 November 1739. She died in 1742, and was buried at Hartington on 1 April 1742.

Richard Gould. He was baptised on 16 January 1741, and succeeded his father at Pilsbury Grange. He died in 1820 and was buried at Hartington on 11 April 1820.

Anne Gould. She was baptised on 8 June 1744. She was married to George Ratcliffe. She died on 21 January 1770 in London, and was buried at Hartington, where there is a gravestone inscribed to her memory and that of her son Edward Ratcliffe who died in infancy. Her husband George Ratcliffe is there described as being "of London, late Bank Top, Sheen".

Mary Gould. She was baptised on 10 October 1746. She was married to Samuel Sleigh 1759-1822, and they had a son Henry Sleigh 1797-1821. Mary Sleigh nee Gould died on 1 May 1822 aged 75 years, and was buried at Hartington on 4 May 1822 where there is a gravestone inscribed to her memory and that of her husband and son. Samuel Sleigh had died on 5 March 1822 aged 63 years and was buried at Hartington on 8 March 1822.

Elizabeth Gould. She was baptised on 25 March 1749, and was known in the family as Betty. She is mentioned in a letter that her brother Richard Gould 1741-1820 wrote to his son John Gould 1784-1814 in 1806.

William Gould. He was baptised on 13 October 1754. He married Elizabeth Ashton

Ellen Gould. She was probably born in 1760, and was baptised on 15 January 1761.

Their mother Elizabeth Gilbert was the daughter of Thomas Gilbert of Cotton Hall in Staffordshire. Her sister Ellen Gilbert 1722-1792 was married to her husband’s brother Joseph Gould.

Their brothers were Thomas Gilbert 1720-1798 and John Gilbert 1724-1795. They were land agents to the Marquess of Stafford and the Duke of Bridgwater, and were important canal pioneers, working on many projects with James Brindley. Their waterways include the Duke of Bridgwater's Canal and the Trent and Mersey Canal.

John Gilbert and Thomas Gilbert brought about many industrial enterprises in eighteenth-century Staffordshire. They brought industry to the Churnet Valley and developed the Cauldon Low quarries, and had interests in the Ecton copper mines.

Thomas Gilbert was Member of Parliament for Lichfield from 1768 to 1794, and introduced poor law reform. He inherited Cotton Hall, which he largely re-built.