WILLIAM Sargent was born in 1849 above his father’s Saddlery in Pike Street.

In 1871, aged 22, he was a builder’s clerk and living at the Bell Inn in Church Street, where his father had become the landlord. Back in 1832 William Makepeace Thackeray, author of Vanity Fair, arrived at the Bell Inn expecting to stay for a few days but, unfortunately there was no booking for him and instead, had to make his way to the Red Lion in Lower Lux Street, where he was expected.

William had a change of career in the 1870s and began working for the Liskeard District Bank, located in the former HSBC Bank building on Barras Street. The founding partners of the bank had all prospered from mining activities: Clymo, Treffry, Hawke, West and Polkinghorne. On September 1, 1881 a new bank opened in Liskeard, The Commercial Bank of Cornwall Ltd. Its local directors were Richard Hawke of Westbourne House and Henry Caunter of Middleton House; William was employed as the bank’s first manager.

In the same year William married Caroline Lang, whose father was the building contractor on the Moorswater and Liskeard railway viaducts, and the rebuilding of Lanhydrock after the great fire of 1881. They had one child, a daughter named Geraldine Lang Sargent, their first home was at no.1 Barnfield Terrace.

The following article is from the Northampton Mercury dated May 12, 1888: ‘On Sunday morning Mr. William Sargent, bank manager, Liskeard, on going to his stable was horrified to find the stable-boy, a lad of 15, named Symons, hanging in the coach-house. He immediately cut him down, but life was extinct’.

The traffic event probably occurred at Dean House, now called Graylands on Dean Street; William and Caroline, and two domestic servants, are listed there in the 1901 census.

Their stay in Dean House was short lived as in 1904 their close friend Sarah Hawke, widow of the wealthy mine broker Richard Hawke, died and William inherited the 19-roomed Westbourne House. It was a remarkable progression for a builder’s clerk, born above a Pike Street Saddlery, to become owner of the largest residence in Liskeard. William became a director of the bank, a Justice of the Peace in 1894, a Captain in the DCLI during WWI, and on his daughter’s 1905 marriage certificate William described himself as a ‘Gentleman’.

True stories and images like those in ‘Times Past’ can be discovered in Brian’s book ‘A Peek into Liskeard’s Past’ and the award-winning ‘More Peeks into Liskeard’s Past’. Having exceeded the target of raising £3,800 towards exhibitions in Liskeard & District Museum, both books can be purchased in the museum.

• The town’s museum has a wealth of local knowledge and history on display. On May 2, 2002, the museum was unofficially opened by the town mayor and on June 6, 2002, it was officially opened by HRH Prince Charles, Duke of Cornwall.” To learn more about what is on display visit liskeardmuseum.com