Background
Rock was born in Barnstaple to Henry and Prudence Rock.
Rock was born in Barnstaple to Henry and Prudence Rock.
Henry was a shoemaker at 46 High Street and a freeman of the borough. William came into contact with William Busk a parliamentary contestant who briefly stayed with the family. He took an interest in William and was able to present him to Christ"s Hospital"s London Bluecoat School, where he started in 1811.
He died at home in Blackheath leaving his collections to the North Devon Athenæum.
Later Rock & Company published Leporello View Albums, as described in the relevant section. On leaving school, Rock joined a Bank in Bideford, but the job did not suit.
He got into trouble several times for writing poetry and verse at work, so he resigned and went to London, where another ex parliamentary candidate for Barnstaple, Alderman Atkins, offered him a job at his bank. The business prospered and Rock became a wealthy man, but with no wife or children to support he decided to give generously to his birthplace.
He founded
1821-1833: De Louisiana Rue, Rock & Company
1833-1843: William & Henry Rock.
1844-1883: Rock Brothers & Payne. 1859: The factory at 11 Walbrook burns down. 1883: 50th Anniversary dinner at Crystal Palace.
1884: Rock retires.
The company is sold to Dickinson & Company under the name of Rock Brothers Limited.
First (1845) he founded the Barnstaple Literary and Scientific Institution and then (1888) the North Devon Athenæum. He also financed the purchase of land for Rock Park in Barnstaple and he set up a Convalescent Home in Mortehoe.