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Albion Terrace, Box Hill
Alan Payne February 2019 In Greek mythology Albion was the son of Poseidon, god of the sea. Albion was killed by Heracles but he had already founded a country on an island. Later this was sometimes reputed to be Britain. This is why the name is used as an occasional alternative for the British Isles. It is curious to have a row of cottages on Box Hill attributed to such a mythological person. A walk on Box Hill has sometimes been described as a journey back in time. It is a unique gem of a place but this comment doesn’t seem to do full justice to the individual ranks of cottages, their wonderful views of Box Valley and the present-day residents of the hamlet. Many of the buildings date from a similar time but each row has its own individual story. The history of Albion Terrace is a good example of the unique story of these cottages and their residents. [1] Left: William Blake's image of Albion from A Large Book of Designs, 1793-96 (courtesy Wikipedia) |
Naming the Cottages
Albion Terrace appears to have been built between 1875 and 1881 to provide houses for quarrymen. The most likely builder was the Pictor family possibly just before the sudden death of Robert Pictor in 1876. The cottages at the Terrace were built to let and usually owned as a unit by landlords for over a century, during which time, they were rented out to quarrymen as housing close to their workplace at the quarry face on the Hill.
The name of the Terrace is significant. The word Albion is an ancient name for Britain, derived from a text in the sixth century BC. It was popularised by English Romantic writers like Lord Byron in poems such as Visions of the daughters of Albion and Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion. Later the Victorians used the name to give pseudo-historic credence to new residential developments such as Albion Terrace.
The word Terrace was significant after 1875 when the law required each terraced house to have their own privy (a toilet, often just earth closet) for the exclusive use of individuals in the property.
Albion Terrace appears to have been built between 1875 and 1881 to provide houses for quarrymen. The most likely builder was the Pictor family possibly just before the sudden death of Robert Pictor in 1876. The cottages at the Terrace were built to let and usually owned as a unit by landlords for over a century, during which time, they were rented out to quarrymen as housing close to their workplace at the quarry face on the Hill.
The name of the Terrace is significant. The word Albion is an ancient name for Britain, derived from a text in the sixth century BC. It was popularised by English Romantic writers like Lord Byron in poems such as Visions of the daughters of Albion and Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion. Later the Victorians used the name to give pseudo-historic credence to new residential developments such as Albion Terrace.
The word Terrace was significant after 1875 when the law required each terraced house to have their own privy (a toilet, often just earth closet) for the exclusive use of individuals in the property.
Box Hill in the 1889 edition of Ordnance Survey (courtesy Val Wilson)
Early Quarrymen Occupants
From the 1871 census we can identify family names but not that of the house where they lived, just that they were on Box Hill. That year, Thomas Holbrook aged 51 lived somewhere on the Hill with his wife Mary and 27-year-old son Henry. Thomas was doing the lowest-regarded job of quarry labourer, shifting stone from one place to another. It was totally unskilled work and poorly paid. By April 1881 the family had moved off the Hill to Saltbox Farm, because Thomas was probably too old to earn sufficient to pay for house rents on the Hill. He was now described as a general labourer living in agricultural tied accommodation. However, he had only recently left the Hill because in the same month the freehold of all four cottages at Albion Terrace was put up for sale with Number 2 occupied lately by Thomas Holbrook at £7 a year. The Bath timber merchant HA Fry advertised them as of interest to Small Capitalists.[2] They probably weren’t worth much with a rent of only £7 pa for each cottage.
The other cottages in the Terrace were occupied by Frederick White, William Gale and John Butler, and, of these, we know most about John Butler in number 4. He was usually described as a stone miner, digging the stone out from under the ground. As a teenager, he had worked on the quarries at Boxfields, close to Tunnel Inn, lodging with the Greenman family. He was a hot-headed youngster; in 1871 charged by the landlord of the Bear Inn for maliciously breaking a window in the pub.[3] After the pub had closed, he got into a fight with a man named Gale, probably his neighbour William Gale in number 3, and outside broke a window with his hat. He was ordered to pay 15s.6d to repair the damage.
From the 1871 census we can identify family names but not that of the house where they lived, just that they were on Box Hill. That year, Thomas Holbrook aged 51 lived somewhere on the Hill with his wife Mary and 27-year-old son Henry. Thomas was doing the lowest-regarded job of quarry labourer, shifting stone from one place to another. It was totally unskilled work and poorly paid. By April 1881 the family had moved off the Hill to Saltbox Farm, because Thomas was probably too old to earn sufficient to pay for house rents on the Hill. He was now described as a general labourer living in agricultural tied accommodation. However, he had only recently left the Hill because in the same month the freehold of all four cottages at Albion Terrace was put up for sale with Number 2 occupied lately by Thomas Holbrook at £7 a year. The Bath timber merchant HA Fry advertised them as of interest to Small Capitalists.[2] They probably weren’t worth much with a rent of only £7 pa for each cottage.
The other cottages in the Terrace were occupied by Frederick White, William Gale and John Butler, and, of these, we know most about John Butler in number 4. He was usually described as a stone miner, digging the stone out from under the ground. As a teenager, he had worked on the quarries at Boxfields, close to Tunnel Inn, lodging with the Greenman family. He was a hot-headed youngster; in 1871 charged by the landlord of the Bear Inn for maliciously breaking a window in the pub.[3] After the pub had closed, he got into a fight with a man named Gale, probably his neighbour William Gale in number 3, and outside broke a window with his hat. He was ordered to pay 15s.6d to repair the damage.
. |
1881 |
1891 |
1901 |
1911 |
Number 1 |
Frederick White |
George Sumner |
George Sumner |
Ernest Phelps |
Number 2 |
Thomas Holbrook |
James Milsom |
Richard Slatford |
Frank Fletcher |
Number 3 |
William Gale |
George Hancock |
George Hancock |
James Smith |
Number 4 |
John Butler |
John Butler |
John Butler |
George Sumner |
We can trace many of the families who lived in the cottages from the census records but this has some difficulties because the census enumerator didn’t name the Terrace, referring to it as on Quarry Hill, just around from Box Hill Common. By 1891 the name of the Terrace was clear and all the occupants were involved in the quarry trade, most just called quarryman, one was a banker mason. By 1901 all the heads of households in Albion Terrace were described as Stone quarrymen miners. The number order of the cottages varied over the years but, for simplicity, I have stuck with the current numbering system seen below.
Left to Right, Number 4 to Number 1 (courtesy Peter Treasure)
Number 1
The first occupant of number 1 Albion Terrace was Frederick White (b 1847), seventh child of Kingsdown family, Richard Thomas White (1804 – 1874) and his wife Jane Morris (sometimes called Norris). Frederick’s father started work as a groom and in later life became a shoemaker. Supplying boots to quarrymen was a profitable business and he moved his family to Box Hill by 1861, where the 13-year-old Frederick worked as an agricultural labourer. When Frederick married Elizabeth, they lived at Wootton Bassett, where Frederick was a freestone mason before moving to the Hill.
At this point, Frederick drops out of the records and number 1 was tenanted by George Sumner (1859 – 1924), who in 1879 married Kate Louisa Hayward (b 1863), daughter of stone miner William who lived near the Quarryman’s Arms. In total they had ten children, of whom seven lived to adulthood, Laura (b 1881), Nellie (b 1883), Ernest (b 1885), William John (b 1887), Frances (b 1889), Joseph (b 1891), Albert (b 1895) and Constance Grace (b 1901). Imagine that number of children in a 4-roomed cottage. By 1911 George (now employed by the Bath Stone Firms as a stone chopper, Kate and the remaining children at home all appear to have moved to number 4 Albion Terrace. Their 27-year-old son, William John Sumner, was killed on 9 November 1914 in one of the early engagements in the First World War, recorded as Missing in Flanders.
Number 2
After Thomas Holbrook left number 2, the cottage was tenanted by various different families. In 1891 James Milsom, a qualified banker mason, lived there with his newly-married wife Ellen and their 10-month-old son Stanley. When they left Albion, they moved to 4 Tynings Cottages, which were slightly larger, and had three more children, Sidney, George William and Kathleen. In old age, James did the same as many other masons and made Ornamental stone sundial pedestals, also vases. It added a little to the family’s income.[4] James Milsom was related to the Milsom family who ran the Rising Sun pub and presumably drank in the pub with other stone workers. Another tragedy struck the rank of cottages when in 1920 at Tynings Cottage George William Milsom died of wounds suffered winning a Distinguished Conduct Medal in the Great War. It seems particularly poignant that the sons of the mighty Albion at Albion Terrace were just fodder for the war machine.
Richard Slatford came to the Terrace afterwards, a different type of worker because, at times, he described himself as a blacksmith. Probably he worked on the cranes, trucks and other machinery of the quarry industry but by 1901 he called himself stone miner, a far more lucrative occupation because of the danger of working underground. He was a stone sawyer employed by the Bath Stone Industry.
Residents of the cottages were in the forefront of danger by their lifestyle and employment, and sometimes their lack of formal education. Frank Fletcher in number 2 recorded that he had been employed in the quarry as an Ale Boy Carrier taking beer and tobacco to the men from the Quarryman’s Arms.[5] These circumstances sometimes bred violent behaviour amongst the residents and in 1896 Frank Fletcher was summonsed for assault on William Allen, who he claimed was molesting him, so he knocked him down two or three times.[6] In 1900 Frank (nicknamed Smuts) married Eliza Shewring, a widow fourteen years older than him. This age difference was not uncommon when both parties didn’t want, or couldn’t afford, more children. Eliza had previously been married to William James Vivash, another quarryman at Box Hill, with whom she had six children, which Frank took on. He volunteered to join the war effort on the day that war was declared in August 1914 but 64 days later, was discharged as unfit through subacute rheumatism.[7] In 1911 Richard Wallace Vivash, aged 2, lived with his grandparents Frank and Eliza Fletcher at 1 Albion Terrace, Box Hill. The other cottages were occupied by James Smith and George Sumner.
Number 3
The first occupants of number 3 were William Gale (b 1851) and his young family. William had been born on Box Hill, his father a mason labourer and his grandparents on parish relief. In 1871 he was boarding with his parents at the Carpenter's Arms (now called Quarryman's Arms). William had been to school and, when he married Emily Louisa Holloway of Warminster in 1877, a notice was put in the local newspapers.[8] They set up home on their own in cottage number 3. William was described as a stone miner but didn’t earn enough for the family to pay the rent and Emily worked as a dressmaker, also looking after their two children under two. In 1888, William appears to have been fined 2s.6d for not sending his child to school and at this point, the family is lost in the records, perhaps moved out of the area.[9]
George Hancock (b 1858) was the next occupant of number 3, the son of another George Hancock (b 1821), a quarryman, and Rosina Beazer. The family lived at Box Quarries by the Road in 1861 and 1871. By 1881 the father George had died and Rosina was working as a charwoman. Our George married Emily Kent and their children included Ernest Francis Hancock, whose tragic death is recorded elsewhere in the website. The family lived at Albion Terrace for two decades until they moved to Woodstock Cottages where George’s employment was described as a Quarryman Delver.
Number 4
John Butler (b 1849) and his family were the longest serving residents of the Terrace in the early years. John was another stone miner who married Elizabeth from Huntingdonshire. They had at least six children, all brought up in the cottage. Elizabeth died tragically in 1908 when she fell down the stairs and was found by her next-door neighbour Annie Moody.[10] Dr Symes was called who found her alive but with a fractured thigh and in severe shock. She died shortly after. John, aged 62, found he could no longer support himself on his own and moved into number 1 with his daughter Kate Butler and son-in-law, Ernest Albert Phelps, a stone sawyer.
It was all change in the Terrace around the time of the Great War. George Sumner left number 1 and took over John’s cottage at number 4. Elizabeth Neate moved from around the corner at London Terrace into number 1 and took in lodgers including William John Dancey, who she married in 1915. At number 1 she suffered a curiously similar death to Elizabeth Butler at number 4. Elizabeth fell down three steps at the back of her house, fracturing several ribs in 1929 and died of shock the next day.[11] Her husband William Dancey was run over by a lorry whilst walking in the gutter of the road near his home in 1933.[12]
The first occupant of number 1 Albion Terrace was Frederick White (b 1847), seventh child of Kingsdown family, Richard Thomas White (1804 – 1874) and his wife Jane Morris (sometimes called Norris). Frederick’s father started work as a groom and in later life became a shoemaker. Supplying boots to quarrymen was a profitable business and he moved his family to Box Hill by 1861, where the 13-year-old Frederick worked as an agricultural labourer. When Frederick married Elizabeth, they lived at Wootton Bassett, where Frederick was a freestone mason before moving to the Hill.
At this point, Frederick drops out of the records and number 1 was tenanted by George Sumner (1859 – 1924), who in 1879 married Kate Louisa Hayward (b 1863), daughter of stone miner William who lived near the Quarryman’s Arms. In total they had ten children, of whom seven lived to adulthood, Laura (b 1881), Nellie (b 1883), Ernest (b 1885), William John (b 1887), Frances (b 1889), Joseph (b 1891), Albert (b 1895) and Constance Grace (b 1901). Imagine that number of children in a 4-roomed cottage. By 1911 George (now employed by the Bath Stone Firms as a stone chopper, Kate and the remaining children at home all appear to have moved to number 4 Albion Terrace. Their 27-year-old son, William John Sumner, was killed on 9 November 1914 in one of the early engagements in the First World War, recorded as Missing in Flanders.
Number 2
After Thomas Holbrook left number 2, the cottage was tenanted by various different families. In 1891 James Milsom, a qualified banker mason, lived there with his newly-married wife Ellen and their 10-month-old son Stanley. When they left Albion, they moved to 4 Tynings Cottages, which were slightly larger, and had three more children, Sidney, George William and Kathleen. In old age, James did the same as many other masons and made Ornamental stone sundial pedestals, also vases. It added a little to the family’s income.[4] James Milsom was related to the Milsom family who ran the Rising Sun pub and presumably drank in the pub with other stone workers. Another tragedy struck the rank of cottages when in 1920 at Tynings Cottage George William Milsom died of wounds suffered winning a Distinguished Conduct Medal in the Great War. It seems particularly poignant that the sons of the mighty Albion at Albion Terrace were just fodder for the war machine.
Richard Slatford came to the Terrace afterwards, a different type of worker because, at times, he described himself as a blacksmith. Probably he worked on the cranes, trucks and other machinery of the quarry industry but by 1901 he called himself stone miner, a far more lucrative occupation because of the danger of working underground. He was a stone sawyer employed by the Bath Stone Industry.
Residents of the cottages were in the forefront of danger by their lifestyle and employment, and sometimes their lack of formal education. Frank Fletcher in number 2 recorded that he had been employed in the quarry as an Ale Boy Carrier taking beer and tobacco to the men from the Quarryman’s Arms.[5] These circumstances sometimes bred violent behaviour amongst the residents and in 1896 Frank Fletcher was summonsed for assault on William Allen, who he claimed was molesting him, so he knocked him down two or three times.[6] In 1900 Frank (nicknamed Smuts) married Eliza Shewring, a widow fourteen years older than him. This age difference was not uncommon when both parties didn’t want, or couldn’t afford, more children. Eliza had previously been married to William James Vivash, another quarryman at Box Hill, with whom she had six children, which Frank took on. He volunteered to join the war effort on the day that war was declared in August 1914 but 64 days later, was discharged as unfit through subacute rheumatism.[7] In 1911 Richard Wallace Vivash, aged 2, lived with his grandparents Frank and Eliza Fletcher at 1 Albion Terrace, Box Hill. The other cottages were occupied by James Smith and George Sumner.
Number 3
The first occupants of number 3 were William Gale (b 1851) and his young family. William had been born on Box Hill, his father a mason labourer and his grandparents on parish relief. In 1871 he was boarding with his parents at the Carpenter's Arms (now called Quarryman's Arms). William had been to school and, when he married Emily Louisa Holloway of Warminster in 1877, a notice was put in the local newspapers.[8] They set up home on their own in cottage number 3. William was described as a stone miner but didn’t earn enough for the family to pay the rent and Emily worked as a dressmaker, also looking after their two children under two. In 1888, William appears to have been fined 2s.6d for not sending his child to school and at this point, the family is lost in the records, perhaps moved out of the area.[9]
George Hancock (b 1858) was the next occupant of number 3, the son of another George Hancock (b 1821), a quarryman, and Rosina Beazer. The family lived at Box Quarries by the Road in 1861 and 1871. By 1881 the father George had died and Rosina was working as a charwoman. Our George married Emily Kent and their children included Ernest Francis Hancock, whose tragic death is recorded elsewhere in the website. The family lived at Albion Terrace for two decades until they moved to Woodstock Cottages where George’s employment was described as a Quarryman Delver.
Number 4
John Butler (b 1849) and his family were the longest serving residents of the Terrace in the early years. John was another stone miner who married Elizabeth from Huntingdonshire. They had at least six children, all brought up in the cottage. Elizabeth died tragically in 1908 when she fell down the stairs and was found by her next-door neighbour Annie Moody.[10] Dr Symes was called who found her alive but with a fractured thigh and in severe shock. She died shortly after. John, aged 62, found he could no longer support himself on his own and moved into number 1 with his daughter Kate Butler and son-in-law, Ernest Albert Phelps, a stone sawyer.
It was all change in the Terrace around the time of the Great War. George Sumner left number 1 and took over John’s cottage at number 4. Elizabeth Neate moved from around the corner at London Terrace into number 1 and took in lodgers including William John Dancey, who she married in 1915. At number 1 she suffered a curiously similar death to Elizabeth Butler at number 4. Elizabeth fell down three steps at the back of her house, fracturing several ribs in 1929 and died of shock the next day.[11] Her husband William Dancey was run over by a lorry whilst walking in the gutter of the road near his home in 1933.[12]
Later Owners
The ownership of the cottages came under scrutiny in 1925 when the Northey family sold Box Hill Common, bringing into review the rights of the occupiers of the Terrace, which originally was not treated as part of the common.[13] Mr Mogg of Sturminster Newton bought the common but only held it for a few years before selling to Frederick George Neate (1880 – 1960), who lived at Hillcrest, Box Hill.
Described as master builder in 1939, Fred Neate applied to improve the rather old-fashioned cottages by extending at the back in 1939 but they were still valued at just a couple of hundred pounds, because of their low rental income. A dispute arose over the ownership of the land – public or private – in 1932, chiefly involving 80-year-old Wilfred Barnett who lived next door to Albion at Box Hill Cottage. It had been a running battle with Fred Neate removing chicken houses built on the land in 1927.[14] Wilfred struck one man, was threatened with prosecution and got other locals to rebuild the sheds. Matters simmered and arose again in 1934 when Fred drew up plans of public footpaths over the land at the behest of the Parish Council under the Rights-of-Way Act, 1932.[15] Arguments simmered on in the following year and were not resolved when the threat of war became a more serious issue.[16]
In recent years, the rank of cottages was owned by various members of the Neate family. Ellen Margaret Neate married William Edward Head and inherited the rank and, on her death, the Terrace went to Evelyn Mary Head who married Charles Green. On her death in 1994, Mr Burgess from Batheaston bought Albion Terrace and The Tynings, which had also been in the ownership of Fred Neate. Thereafter the individual cottages were gradually sold off. Incidentally, George Lacy bought Box Hill Common off Mrs Green’s estate.[17]
The ownership of the cottages came under scrutiny in 1925 when the Northey family sold Box Hill Common, bringing into review the rights of the occupiers of the Terrace, which originally was not treated as part of the common.[13] Mr Mogg of Sturminster Newton bought the common but only held it for a few years before selling to Frederick George Neate (1880 – 1960), who lived at Hillcrest, Box Hill.
Described as master builder in 1939, Fred Neate applied to improve the rather old-fashioned cottages by extending at the back in 1939 but they were still valued at just a couple of hundred pounds, because of their low rental income. A dispute arose over the ownership of the land – public or private – in 1932, chiefly involving 80-year-old Wilfred Barnett who lived next door to Albion at Box Hill Cottage. It had been a running battle with Fred Neate removing chicken houses built on the land in 1927.[14] Wilfred struck one man, was threatened with prosecution and got other locals to rebuild the sheds. Matters simmered and arose again in 1934 when Fred drew up plans of public footpaths over the land at the behest of the Parish Council under the Rights-of-Way Act, 1932.[15] Arguments simmered on in the following year and were not resolved when the threat of war became a more serious issue.[16]
In recent years, the rank of cottages was owned by various members of the Neate family. Ellen Margaret Neate married William Edward Head and inherited the rank and, on her death, the Terrace went to Evelyn Mary Head who married Charles Green. On her death in 1994, Mr Burgess from Batheaston bought Albion Terrace and The Tynings, which had also been in the ownership of Fred Neate. Thereafter the individual cottages were gradually sold off. Incidentally, George Lacy bought Box Hill Common off Mrs Green’s estate.[17]
Recent Tenants
Michael Rumsey and his family lived at Albion Terrace up to October 1946 when they moved to London Terrace, just across the common. In number 4 was the Hayden family, Arthur Charles (18 September 1904 – 1970), son of a wheelwright from Chapel Lane, and Mrs Hayden. Their son Brian was a dental technician.
During the Second World War, Frederick J Walker, a roadman, (1881 - 1959) and his wife Annie L Walker lived at number 3. Their second son, Herbert Charles Walker, was killed in action in 1941 in the Middle East.[18] His parents recorded the anniversary of his death for many years thereafter. On Fred’s death, Annie worked as a cleaner in the Quarryman’s Arms and she died working in the pub in 1957, remembered as delightful lady.
Another son, always known as Curly Walker was one of the best Box Hill Cricket Club fast bowlers in the 1950s. In 1951 he took 8 wickets for 24 runs and in the following match 6 for 26.[19] By 1954 he had been transferred to Box Cricket Club.
Michael Rumsey and his family lived at Albion Terrace up to October 1946 when they moved to London Terrace, just across the common. In number 4 was the Hayden family, Arthur Charles (18 September 1904 – 1970), son of a wheelwright from Chapel Lane, and Mrs Hayden. Their son Brian was a dental technician.
During the Second World War, Frederick J Walker, a roadman, (1881 - 1959) and his wife Annie L Walker lived at number 3. Their second son, Herbert Charles Walker, was killed in action in 1941 in the Middle East.[18] His parents recorded the anniversary of his death for many years thereafter. On Fred’s death, Annie worked as a cleaner in the Quarryman’s Arms and she died working in the pub in 1957, remembered as delightful lady.
Another son, always known as Curly Walker was one of the best Box Hill Cricket Club fast bowlers in the 1950s. In 1951 he took 8 wickets for 24 runs and in the following match 6 for 26.[19] By 1954 he had been transferred to Box Cricket Club.
Curly Walker seen kneeling bottom left (courtesy Hugh Sawyer)
Next door lived Mr and Mrs Green with their son John and daughter Yvonne. The family were there as early as 1939 when Thomas Green, Old Age Pensioner, was a resident. Mrs Green was the daughter of Mr and Mrs Head of Hillcrest and niece of Fred Neate. The organ in the Methodist Church at Box was restored in 1986 with a money from the FG Neate Organ Bequest and it was only in 2018 that the FG Neate Organ Charity was closed, the final sum being used to pay for an overhaul of the organ. Some of the traditions of the area were passed through the generations of families at Albion Terrace because Mrs Head taught Michael Rumsey to play the organ at the Box Hill Chapel. She retired from playing in 1962 and died in 1963 and a few years later Michael became the organist. For 57 years he has played the organs at Box Hill and Box Methodist Churches.
The house on the furthest right was tenanted by a schoolmaster who taught at Lacock Church of England Primary school.
Rat Alley to Modern Times
In the 1960s the rank of cottages was sometimes called Rat Alley, its standard of accommodation being considered to be inadequate. It wasn’t so much that the properties had deteriorated, more that they simply hadn’t been modernised with indoor running water and lavatories. Some families tried to improve their lot by securing a modern council house.
Sheelagh Jones remembers living in number 1 for a few years as a child when her father left the RAF. She recalls a stone shed to the front right of the cottage, now gone replaced by an extension. To the right of that was a patch of allotments for the row of tenants to use and past that was a large wooden barn with more houses. The children played on the tumps opposite the houses, where two large heaps of spoil from the rubbish tip were kept until the tip was filled in again. They had a couple of bonfires on top of one of them, across the road where the common is, and risked rummaging through stuff in the tip, to see what treasures they could find. Sheelagh says she never found any treasure, sad to say! It was an era when children used to go out all day, down to the brook, or to the lady who kept horses and who, in return for pulling up the ragwort in her field, would give them a free riding lesson each week. Sheelagh’s memories are of the community spirit that adversity breeds. The present gentrified cottages with access to Box Hill Common and splendid views of Box Valley are the modern reincarnation of the properties.
Conclusion
Albion Terrace is a small, rather undistinguished rank of cottages, which for much of its history housed underground stone miners and their families. Its story and that of its residents has never been recorded before. Yet, their lives are part of the unique history of Box Hill. In the course of five decades, the families in the cottages enjoyed the birth of sixteen children, the death of three of the sons in World War 1, and two tragic accidents of mothers who fell down stairs. There are three conservation areas in Box around the centre of the village, at Ashley, and at Middlehill / Ditteridge. What about a fourth area at Box Hill to include the ranks of the marvellous terraced cottages there and the fascinating story of each of them?
Family Trees
George Sumner (1859 – 1924) married Kate (b 1863)
Children: Joseph (b 1891); Albert (b 1895).
William Gale (b 1851) married Emily L (b 1858)
Children: Arthur E (b 1879); Aluna E (b 1880)
George Hancock (b 1859) married Emily (b 1859)
Children: William George (b 1884); Edith JL (b 1886); Gertrude E (b 1890); Winifred (b 1893); Harry (b 1895); and Ernest Francis (1900 - 58)
John Butler (b 1849) married Elizabeth (1850 – 1908)
Children: John (b 1879); Kate (b 1881); Charley (b 1883); Kate again (b 1885); Minnie (b 1887); Rose (b 1890)
The house on the furthest right was tenanted by a schoolmaster who taught at Lacock Church of England Primary school.
Rat Alley to Modern Times
In the 1960s the rank of cottages was sometimes called Rat Alley, its standard of accommodation being considered to be inadequate. It wasn’t so much that the properties had deteriorated, more that they simply hadn’t been modernised with indoor running water and lavatories. Some families tried to improve their lot by securing a modern council house.
Sheelagh Jones remembers living in number 1 for a few years as a child when her father left the RAF. She recalls a stone shed to the front right of the cottage, now gone replaced by an extension. To the right of that was a patch of allotments for the row of tenants to use and past that was a large wooden barn with more houses. The children played on the tumps opposite the houses, where two large heaps of spoil from the rubbish tip were kept until the tip was filled in again. They had a couple of bonfires on top of one of them, across the road where the common is, and risked rummaging through stuff in the tip, to see what treasures they could find. Sheelagh says she never found any treasure, sad to say! It was an era when children used to go out all day, down to the brook, or to the lady who kept horses and who, in return for pulling up the ragwort in her field, would give them a free riding lesson each week. Sheelagh’s memories are of the community spirit that adversity breeds. The present gentrified cottages with access to Box Hill Common and splendid views of Box Valley are the modern reincarnation of the properties.
Conclusion
Albion Terrace is a small, rather undistinguished rank of cottages, which for much of its history housed underground stone miners and their families. Its story and that of its residents has never been recorded before. Yet, their lives are part of the unique history of Box Hill. In the course of five decades, the families in the cottages enjoyed the birth of sixteen children, the death of three of the sons in World War 1, and two tragic accidents of mothers who fell down stairs. There are three conservation areas in Box around the centre of the village, at Ashley, and at Middlehill / Ditteridge. What about a fourth area at Box Hill to include the ranks of the marvellous terraced cottages there and the fascinating story of each of them?
Family Trees
George Sumner (1859 – 1924) married Kate (b 1863)
Children: Joseph (b 1891); Albert (b 1895).
William Gale (b 1851) married Emily L (b 1858)
Children: Arthur E (b 1879); Aluna E (b 1880)
George Hancock (b 1859) married Emily (b 1859)
Children: William George (b 1884); Edith JL (b 1886); Gertrude E (b 1890); Winifred (b 1893); Harry (b 1895); and Ernest Francis (1900 - 58)
John Butler (b 1849) married Elizabeth (1850 – 1908)
Children: John (b 1879); Kate (b 1881); Charley (b 1883); Kate again (b 1885); Minnie (b 1887); Rose (b 1890)
References
[1] Details of the row of cottages, particularly the later years, courtesy Nick and Christiane Churchill, Sheelagh Jones, Michael Rumsey and Carl Vivash, to whom we are very grateful
[2] Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 2 April 1881
[3] Devizes and Wiltshire Gazette, 27 July 1871
[4] Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 27 October 1906
[5] Letter from RJ Dyer, Box Parish Council to Chippenham & District RDC, 4 October 1947 (courtesy Wilts History Centre)
[6] Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard, 25 July 1896
[7] Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 29 August 1914
[8] Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 1 December 1877
[9] Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard, 5 May 1888
[10] The Wiltshire Times, 25 July 1908
[11] Western Daily Press, 24 December 1929
[12] Western Daily Press, 28 June 1933
[13] Bath Chronicle and Herald, 16 July 1932
[14] The Wiltshire Times, 23 July 1932
[15] The Wiltshire Times, 6 October 1934
[16] The Wiltshire Times, 6 July 1935
[17] Courtesy Bob Hancock
[18] Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 3 February 1945
[19] Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 4 July 1951 and 11 August 1951
[1] Details of the row of cottages, particularly the later years, courtesy Nick and Christiane Churchill, Sheelagh Jones, Michael Rumsey and Carl Vivash, to whom we are very grateful
[2] Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 2 April 1881
[3] Devizes and Wiltshire Gazette, 27 July 1871
[4] Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 27 October 1906
[5] Letter from RJ Dyer, Box Parish Council to Chippenham & District RDC, 4 October 1947 (courtesy Wilts History Centre)
[6] Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard, 25 July 1896
[7] Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 29 August 1914
[8] Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 1 December 1877
[9] Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard, 5 May 1888
[10] The Wiltshire Times, 25 July 1908
[11] Western Daily Press, 24 December 1929
[12] Western Daily Press, 28 June 1933
[13] Bath Chronicle and Herald, 16 July 1932
[14] The Wiltshire Times, 23 July 1932
[15] The Wiltshire Times, 6 October 1934
[16] The Wiltshire Times, 6 July 1935
[17] Courtesy Bob Hancock
[18] Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 3 February 1945
[19] Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 4 July 1951 and 11 August 1951