The Stone Dog - by David Arthur Wilby
A story about how a much loved ornamental dog came to be sculpted.
The stone dog carved for Susannah Hall by the builders of Rock House, Ossett.
https://ossettarchive.files.wordpress.com/2019/02/b63be5be-b822-4a85-9eed-8fbdd82e8943.jpeg?resize=219%2C219
Susannah Hall was brought up at Whitley Lower in the Dewsbury area. Her father and mother ran a farm and when Susannah was working in the fields she met Samuel Jessup from Gawthorpe, who was working at his father’s colliery at Whitley.
Eventually Susannah and Samuel got married and they lived at the very top of Stores Hill, South Ossett, in a house which is now demolished.
When Susannah and Samuel lived at this house “Rock House” was being built and Susannah would take refreshments to the builders. When the house was completed the builders showed appreciation by carving a stone dog for Susannah.
This is the story of Rock House, Ossett and the Harrops as told by Helen Bickerdike on Ossett.net.
http://www.ossett.net/beyond/Rock_House.html
Later, when their son Walter was two years of age, he chopped the dog’s ears off with a hammer and chisel
Walter Jessup was my grandfather being father of my mother Mary Jessup.
This small stone dog has great sentimental value to me and now has pride of place in my garden.