Thomas Pilson

Thomas Pilson moved to the Nag's Head in 1879.

Thomas pilson was born in 1845, one of five children to Thomas and Mary. The family lived for many years in Upper Gaolford and his father earned a living working as a labourer at the local gasworks.
It was very unlikely that Thomas would have attended school regularly, if at all. Although ragged schools existed at this time, children were considered the property of their father, and could be sent out to work as young as five years old.
As a youth Thomas worked as a butcher’s boy in Ludlow, learning skills which would prove to be very useful in later life.
In 1879 Thomas married the 'fiery' 19 year old, Susan Baker from Kingswinford. They began their life together living in Nag's Head Yard and had three children.
Thomas described himself in the 1881 Census as a 'general labourer', although newspaper reports suggest he supplemented his income through poaching.

At this time poorer families depended on the illegal supply of game to keep them from starvation, although the consequences of being caught were grim. To escape capture, poaching required stealth and quick wittedness. The tools of the trade included: nets, gin traps, and snares, along with dogs and ferrets. Game would be stashed near where it was caught, to be collected later, and skilled poachers were able to skin their catch in minutes.
Back in Nags Head Yard, the spoils would have probably been added to the contents of a cooking pot. Anybody eating soon after the catch would therefore get the best supper, hence the term “Pot luck”.
Thomas’s notorious reputation in this field grew and he often used his Nag's Head home to hide other poachers in times of need. These included the colourfully named characters: 'Worcester Jack’, 'Meleg’ and ‘Hell Fire Jack’.
Thomas died in 1892 aged 47.