From a background in Farm labouring, John Hawkers children and extended family have taken full advantage of the industrial revolution.
William Hawker having married Betsy Taylor who’s father and brothers took over the brickyard now ran James Taylors coal merchants. The Taylors came from Norfolk where William Taylor was a brick burner and knew the trade well. Bringing his family to Dumbleton turned out to be a lucrative move for them as It enabled them to branch out from bricks to tiles, land drains, coal, coke and even salt. William Hawker as manager for James travelled between the coal yards at Beckford, Ashton under hill and Toddington railway stations.