Parties (and more) at The Bingham Hall, 1905 - 1973
The Hall is the brown wooden shed to the left of Methodist Chapel (Courtesy Box Parish Council).
Compiled from the records of the Trustees of the Bingham Hall, chaired by Carol Lonsdale, February 2015
Founding the Hall
The Hall was built and donated to the village by George Bingham of Cirencester and you can read the remarkable story of this railway man elsewhere in this issue. We don't know why he donated the Hall to Box but it was probably because, for a short time, he lived at Sunnyside, Middlehill (now Bybrook Nursing Home) and wanted to contribute to village life. It is significant that he later moved back to Cirencester, his birthplace, where he made a similar, even more generous, donation.[1]
The Hall was purpose-built on land in Chapel Lane in 1905 at a cost of £650.[2] It was built quickly, just a wood-framed structure with a corrugated iron roof, in contrast to the magnificent building that Mr Bingham donated to Cirencester. The Bath Chronicle of 1906 records the building as: Mr DG Bingham, who recently gave Cirencester a free library and reading room, at a cost of £50,000, has presented Box with a public hall to be known as the Bingham Hall. The building will seat 300, and there is a stage, offices, bathroom etc, the cost being estimated at over £500.[3]
The Hall was built and donated to the village by George Bingham of Cirencester and you can read the remarkable story of this railway man elsewhere in this issue. We don't know why he donated the Hall to Box but it was probably because, for a short time, he lived at Sunnyside, Middlehill (now Bybrook Nursing Home) and wanted to contribute to village life. It is significant that he later moved back to Cirencester, his birthplace, where he made a similar, even more generous, donation.[1]
The Hall was purpose-built on land in Chapel Lane in 1905 at a cost of £650.[2] It was built quickly, just a wood-framed structure with a corrugated iron roof, in contrast to the magnificent building that Mr Bingham donated to Cirencester. The Bath Chronicle of 1906 records the building as: Mr DG Bingham, who recently gave Cirencester a free library and reading room, at a cost of £50,000, has presented Box with a public hall to be known as the Bingham Hall. The building will seat 300, and there is a stage, offices, bathroom etc, the cost being estimated at over £500.[3]
Open to All
From its opening, the Hall was a true community hall. The first event held there on 24 April 1906 was a concert featuring a setting of Tennyson's ballad The Revenge.[4] Thanks were sent to Mr Bingham in Holland. This was followed by a children's operetta called Lazyland and a talk from J Starke-Browne FRAS on his trip from Cape Town to the Victoria Falls, including a Zulu wedding and photographs.
Within a few months public baths were installed, open Tuesday and Thursday nights and Saturday afternoons. The charge will be 4d for hot bath, and 2d for cold. One penny extra if towels are provided.[5] This was a real benefit to people in the village before domestic running water was widely available.
In the days before the National Health Service there was a great deal of fundraising for the Royal United Hospital, Bath in order to offer free treatment at the Institution for those in need. Apparently, Box had a good track record for this and in 1927 a newspaper report asserted that Box was Better Than Bath - Box Gives 50% More to Hospital.[6]
But, above all, it was a place to party and let your hair down. In 1913 there was a luncheon there for the Loyal Northey Lodge of the Manchester Unity of Oddfellows and the Bold Robin Hood Lodge of the Ancient Order of Foresters after they had completed their ceremonial duties, which comprised divine service at Box Parish Church and, in formal ranks, walked in procession through the main street to the Bingham Hall to the strains of lively airs by the (Kemp and Hewitt's) band. You can bet they let their hair down when they arrived at the Hall.[7]
From its opening, the Hall was a true community hall. The first event held there on 24 April 1906 was a concert featuring a setting of Tennyson's ballad The Revenge.[4] Thanks were sent to Mr Bingham in Holland. This was followed by a children's operetta called Lazyland and a talk from J Starke-Browne FRAS on his trip from Cape Town to the Victoria Falls, including a Zulu wedding and photographs.
Within a few months public baths were installed, open Tuesday and Thursday nights and Saturday afternoons. The charge will be 4d for hot bath, and 2d for cold. One penny extra if towels are provided.[5] This was a real benefit to people in the village before domestic running water was widely available.
In the days before the National Health Service there was a great deal of fundraising for the Royal United Hospital, Bath in order to offer free treatment at the Institution for those in need. Apparently, Box had a good track record for this and in 1927 a newspaper report asserted that Box was Better Than Bath - Box Gives 50% More to Hospital.[6]
But, above all, it was a place to party and let your hair down. In 1913 there was a luncheon there for the Loyal Northey Lodge of the Manchester Unity of Oddfellows and the Bold Robin Hood Lodge of the Ancient Order of Foresters after they had completed their ceremonial duties, which comprised divine service at Box Parish Church and, in formal ranks, walked in procession through the main street to the Bingham Hall to the strains of lively airs by the (Kemp and Hewitt's) band. You can bet they let their hair down when they arrived at the Hall.[7]
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Plays by Rev and Mrs Foster
Perhaps the heyday of the Hall was in the 1920s with performances of the plays written by Mrs Kate Foster (wife of vicar George Foster) and performed in the Hall by the Box Church Players' Guild. There were so many review and burlesque shows that it is difficult to record them all. The shows appear to have started in 1925 with an Easter Passion Play called The Only Son and continued that Christmas with a Mystery Christmas Play called The Stranger, challenging the hard-heartedness of those whose religion is distinctly of a Pharisaical (sic) variety.[8] In 1926, the troupe performed sketches entitled Rubbish, Some Rubbish and More Rubbish and the Reverend acted in several of the productions. He was determined to challenge convention and, in this, he had the backing of Box's middle classes, including the Hon Mrs Shaw-Mellor, Mrs J Browning, Mrs Perren, Mr W Mullins, Mr S McIlwraith and Albert Sawyer.[9] As time went on the Fosters grew more and more ambitious. In 1927 the Rev George Foster dispensed with the usual Good Friday Service and a Passion Play was performed instead. It was controversial but the Rev Foster defended his stance with: the Box Church Players' Guild is to be praised rather than blamed for having performed concert party numbers, revues and comic songs as well as historical (Biblical stories) and a Passion Play.[10] He was rewarded with a congregation of over a thousand in the Hall compared to a score only in the Church the previous year. Thereafter the Easter show was an annual event but it was a simple show until 1931 when the play called The Garden was performed. For the first time the Players have used scenery - effectively painted by Mr James Browning.[11] |
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Two scenes from Behold the Man, written and produced by Mrs Kate Foster (seen in the left-hand picture) at the Bingham Hall (courtesy Bath Chronicle and Herald 2 April 1932).
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Lectures in the Hall
By the 1930s the need for public baths had diminished as domestic plumbing and home facilities were much more available and convenient. Instead, a library was started in January 1937 with a splendid collection of books, which was open on Tuesdays from 3pm until 7pm. Mrs Stark-Browne (nee Browkenbrow) was the very first librarian.[12] Box Lecture Society put on a series of talks including Europe since the War from Professor Mowatt and Psychology from the Rev EC Childs to audiences of 50 people or more.[13]
The Hall was often used for serious information lectures. A League of Nations meeting was held in November 1934 to discuss armament reductions and the use of sanctions to stop aggressors. Philip Lambert organised a ballot locally as part of a national referendum.[14] The Archbishop of Canterbury wrote about the Price of Peace and vicar George Foster wrote These days are very critical ... for international peace ... Hard work for peace and not for weak-kneed trembling is what should be one of the signs which men may see in us who profess to follow Christ who is the Prince of Peace.[15]
In March 1936 a lecture was held to promote Air Raid Precautions for the protection of the civil population in the event of gas attacks ... and the protection of buildings and property.[16]
By the 1930s the need for public baths had diminished as domestic plumbing and home facilities were much more available and convenient. Instead, a library was started in January 1937 with a splendid collection of books, which was open on Tuesdays from 3pm until 7pm. Mrs Stark-Browne (nee Browkenbrow) was the very first librarian.[12] Box Lecture Society put on a series of talks including Europe since the War from Professor Mowatt and Psychology from the Rev EC Childs to audiences of 50 people or more.[13]
The Hall was often used for serious information lectures. A League of Nations meeting was held in November 1934 to discuss armament reductions and the use of sanctions to stop aggressors. Philip Lambert organised a ballot locally as part of a national referendum.[14] The Archbishop of Canterbury wrote about the Price of Peace and vicar George Foster wrote These days are very critical ... for international peace ... Hard work for peace and not for weak-kneed trembling is what should be one of the signs which men may see in us who profess to follow Christ who is the Prince of Peace.[15]
In March 1936 a lecture was held to promote Air Raid Precautions for the protection of the civil population in the event of gas attacks ... and the protection of buildings and property.[16]
The Hall During World War 2
The Hall was an important go-to assembly place during the Second World War. It was a meeting point in the event of emergency, an information centre, and a venue to support the war effort. In 1941 it was an assembly point in the event that the village suffered incendiary bombardment (ignoring the fact that the building was made of wood !) and an Emergency Feeding and Rest Centre for those seeking refuge.
A Red Cross working party was set up producing nightshirts and bed socks, bandages and operation stockings, meeting once a week with afternoon whist drives to fund the cost of materials.[17] It was also an outlet for keeping up public morale. A dance was organised in the Hall in March 1941 for the Mayor of Bristol's Air Raid Relief Fund and Box Girl Guides raised spirits with a variety concert called Here We Are Again.[18]
Apart from in wartime, the Hall was in the control of honorary trustees. But a caretaker was needed to open and maintain the building. For many years ex-Inspector Scott of the Bath City Police Force performed the duties and later Mr Ernest Davis.[19] Mrs Burton from Chapel Lane worked there. During the war it was commandeered for Home Guard purposes until a new civilian committee was appointed on 29 March 1946.[20]
Dances and Celebrations
Above all it was the place for enjoyment and celebration. The Scouts and Cubs held the first-ever Box Gang Show there in 1936, an event which was only revived decades later in the Selwyn Hall.
The Hall was an important go-to assembly place during the Second World War. It was a meeting point in the event of emergency, an information centre, and a venue to support the war effort. In 1941 it was an assembly point in the event that the village suffered incendiary bombardment (ignoring the fact that the building was made of wood !) and an Emergency Feeding and Rest Centre for those seeking refuge.
A Red Cross working party was set up producing nightshirts and bed socks, bandages and operation stockings, meeting once a week with afternoon whist drives to fund the cost of materials.[17] It was also an outlet for keeping up public morale. A dance was organised in the Hall in March 1941 for the Mayor of Bristol's Air Raid Relief Fund and Box Girl Guides raised spirits with a variety concert called Here We Are Again.[18]
Apart from in wartime, the Hall was in the control of honorary trustees. But a caretaker was needed to open and maintain the building. For many years ex-Inspector Scott of the Bath City Police Force performed the duties and later Mr Ernest Davis.[19] Mrs Burton from Chapel Lane worked there. During the war it was commandeered for Home Guard purposes until a new civilian committee was appointed on 29 March 1946.[20]
Dances and Celebrations
Above all it was the place for enjoyment and celebration. The Scouts and Cubs held the first-ever Box Gang Show there in 1936, an event which was only revived decades later in the Selwyn Hall.
Above: Extract of photo of the Gang Show in 1936. The original photo included Left to Right:
Back Row: Ted Sheppard; Phil Lambert; John Sparrow; Phil McTaggart; Mervyn Gregory; Gordon McTaggart; ?; Jim Browning; Nigel Bence; Peter Armstead; Geoff Bence; Bill Lowe; Jack Lane.
Second Row: Hubert Wickings; Eddie Francis; Dennis Dancey; Harold Bates; John Miller; Raymond Robins; Ian Cannings; ?; Hockey; Graham Eyles.
Next Row: Ben Vaughan; Len Weeks; Arthur Baxter; John Hall.
Bottom Row: Raymond Weeks; ?; ?; Hockey; Brian Bence; Derek Price; Les Francis; John Andrews; Bob Cannings; Peter Webb; Ken Boulton; Joe Price; Jim Andrews; Alwyn Hillier; Richard Browning
(photo courtesy Richard Browning).
It also held numerous
wedding receptions, such as that of Miss Mildred Ponting (daughter of William
Ponting) and Robert Tayler on 11 November 1939.[21]
A year later the party spirit was
certainly needed by the children evacuated from London to Box in 1940: Games, dancing and a play "Red Riding Hood" acted by the
children were all enjoyed, and a sumptuous tea provided, also crackers and
sweets. Each child received a toy sent by "Father Christmas".[22]
In the 1950s and 1960s it was the place to party at New Year's Eve. Sometimes the events had a theme and the Gay Nineties parties were very popular, recalling the fun of Edwardian Box rather than the financial difficulties of the village after World War Two.
In the 1950s and 1960s it was the place to party at New Year's Eve. Sometimes the events had a theme and the Gay Nineties parties were very popular, recalling the fun of Edwardian Box rather than the financial difficulties of the village after World War Two.
Gay Nineties New Year's Eve Ball 1949 (courtesy Margaret Wakefield).
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By July 1969, the use of the building came to an end because of the new Selwyn Hall - it had outlived its usefulness.[23] In 1949 repairs had been carried out following considerable fundraising efforts but there was a limit to the building's useful life. Now not having been used for well over twelve months, the hall has rapidly been falling into decay and become an eyesore, especially to those residents living nearby.
Trustees of Bingham Hall Whilst the building has long gone, the funds can only be spent on restricted purposes. They have been increased in recent years by the Thelma Haines Sports Trust Fund, which is used to support young people in the parish of Box in sports and athletics activities. Whether you are an individual or a group, you may be eligible for a grant from the trustees if you fit into this category. Contact them via this website or directly at: [email protected] |
Photo courtesy Chippenham News, just before the building was demolished.
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Villagers' Recollections
Many residents have nostalgic memories of the Hall; here are just a few:
Bob Hancock remembers:
The picture below (courtesy Bob Hancock) is of a children's pantomime held at the Hall in about 1947. Bob recalls it clearly: Cock Robin, Widow Twankie and Mr Adams in charge. Bob Sparrow, Val Harris, Derek Beeho, Charlie Hancock and Bob are all in the picture.
Many residents have nostalgic memories of the Hall; here are just a few:
Bob Hancock remembers:
The picture below (courtesy Bob Hancock) is of a children's pantomime held at the Hall in about 1947. Bob recalls it clearly: Cock Robin, Widow Twankie and Mr Adams in charge. Bob Sparrow, Val Harris, Derek Beeho, Charlie Hancock and Bob are all in the picture.
Patty Baldwin recalls:
Anna Grayson ran the Girls Club in the Hall. She and Richard Browning remember that it served as a Mother and Baby clinic and Children's clinic where nursing staff gave polio injections behind screens. When you walked in, immediately left were the public baths and further on left was the library. And in the 1950s there was a cinema with a squishy sofa.
Les Dancey recalls:
I remembered that the BBC Light Programme Have a Go with Wilfred Pickles recorded a show at the Bingham Hall in Box on Thursday 22 September 1949. It had Violet Carson at the piano and was presented by Barney Colehan. We kids were not allowed in but I remember that we were hanging around outside when Wilfred Pickles came out of the hall to visit the toilet and, what a miserable man! Nothing like what he presented himself as on stage. Part of the show was a quick-fire questions and answers session where contestants were not allowed to say Yes or No over the course of a minute. Very popular in its day. Here's the introduction music (not at Box).https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jF6QFbB7I08
And in case you couldn't hear the words:
Anna Grayson ran the Girls Club in the Hall. She and Richard Browning remember that it served as a Mother and Baby clinic and Children's clinic where nursing staff gave polio injections behind screens. When you walked in, immediately left were the public baths and further on left was the library. And in the 1950s there was a cinema with a squishy sofa.
Les Dancey recalls:
I remembered that the BBC Light Programme Have a Go with Wilfred Pickles recorded a show at the Bingham Hall in Box on Thursday 22 September 1949. It had Violet Carson at the piano and was presented by Barney Colehan. We kids were not allowed in but I remember that we were hanging around outside when Wilfred Pickles came out of the hall to visit the toilet and, what a miserable man! Nothing like what he presented himself as on stage. Part of the show was a quick-fire questions and answers session where contestants were not allowed to say Yes or No over the course of a minute. Very popular in its day. Here's the introduction music (not at Box).https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jF6QFbB7I08
And in case you couldn't hear the words:
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Have a go, Joe, come on and have a go
You can't lose owt, it costs you nowt To make yourself some dough. |
So hurry up and join us,
Don't be shy and don't be slow. Come on Joe, have a go! |
Shows and Concerts
It is so enjoyable reading about The Bingham Hall. There used to be a guy come round with a projector and show films once a week in the main hall with the screen on the stage and him at the double doors at the back. We used to have a school concert once a year. I used to winge every year because I wanted a better part in the play. I remember one year Archie Moules and I were street market sellers and we were trying to outdo each other with our calling, Fish, Fine Fresh Fish and Archie would come back with Bread, Bread, Two loaves a penny. They said I couldn't have a big part because I used to sing to the audience in the interval.
I remember one particular year I was singing Bless This House with a teacher on the piano. We hadn't practised this together at all and he must have had a different version than me as he went off into a piano solo right in the middle leaving me up there wondering where on earth he was going. The piano used to be out of sight on the kitchen side of the stage, with the curtains drawn (whilst they were changing the scenery) so I had no visual contact with him. However we managed to link up again and finish together. My Mother also used to volunteer me to sing at the Women's Institute shows that they used to hold there.
It is so enjoyable reading about The Bingham Hall. There used to be a guy come round with a projector and show films once a week in the main hall with the screen on the stage and him at the double doors at the back. We used to have a school concert once a year. I used to winge every year because I wanted a better part in the play. I remember one year Archie Moules and I were street market sellers and we were trying to outdo each other with our calling, Fish, Fine Fresh Fish and Archie would come back with Bread, Bread, Two loaves a penny. They said I couldn't have a big part because I used to sing to the audience in the interval.
I remember one particular year I was singing Bless This House with a teacher on the piano. We hadn't practised this together at all and he must have had a different version than me as he went off into a piano solo right in the middle leaving me up there wondering where on earth he was going. The piano used to be out of sight on the kitchen side of the stage, with the curtains drawn (whilst they were changing the scenery) so I had no visual contact with him. However we managed to link up again and finish together. My Mother also used to volunteer me to sing at the Women's Institute shows that they used to hold there.
Anna Grayson Remembers:
When I moved to Box, the Hall was the hub of the village. The building was very dark and dusty with an unpolished floor, hard wood chairs down the long sides, and black radiators. Later, gas heaters in the roof replaced the black radiators. It was a bit make-do and when Badminton was played in the hall the shuttles used to catch fire on the gas heaters and we had to play a let! Later still the gas heaters went to the Scout Hut.[25]
Girls Friendly Society: The minister's wife, Mrs Bell, ran it and then Anna took it over until she went to college. The activities included country dancing, games, English sword-dancing, acting on the stage with stage curtains.
Badminton Court: The lines were painted once a year by club members. The back lines were very near the back wall of the building so it was not easy to hit the shuttle from one court to the other. The spectators sat along the kitchen side. The Badminton net was attached to the wall. The kitchen was very antiquated and cold.
Before you got to the library there was a toilet block, possibly for men-only. Inside the Hall, the stage was on the left of the side door, with a flight of stairs either side. Changing rooms were behind a narrow room which ran the width of the Hall; they were very cold. There were double doors at the opposite end to the stage. Trestle tables were stored under the stage, and fold-up chairs.
Gardeners' Question Time was recorded at the Hall. At the age of 12-13 Anna can remember sitting on the stage as part of the audience thinking I hope they don't look at the cobwebs. In January 1963 the live BBC radio programme Any Questions took place in the Hall with chairman Freddie Grisewood and a team of Sir John Wolfenden, Mr Wynford Vaughan Thomas, Miss Judith Hart (Labour MP for Lanark) and Mr Peter Amery (Conservative MP for Reading).Questions included: Why do women wear wigs?; the definition of "awkward people"; and a suggestion to move the Capital from London to the Yorkshire Moors.
The caretaker Mrs Burton lived up Chapel Lane. She was a stickler about time and if you ran over, stood outside and jangled the keys loudly. Rain used to drum on the roof. It had a definite fusty smell. She thought that the floor was scrubbed once a year. There was a piano but it may not have been tuned. Anna recalls the Gay 90s were on a Friday night.
When I moved to Box, the Hall was the hub of the village. The building was very dark and dusty with an unpolished floor, hard wood chairs down the long sides, and black radiators. Later, gas heaters in the roof replaced the black radiators. It was a bit make-do and when Badminton was played in the hall the shuttles used to catch fire on the gas heaters and we had to play a let! Later still the gas heaters went to the Scout Hut.[25]
Girls Friendly Society: The minister's wife, Mrs Bell, ran it and then Anna took it over until she went to college. The activities included country dancing, games, English sword-dancing, acting on the stage with stage curtains.
Badminton Court: The lines were painted once a year by club members. The back lines were very near the back wall of the building so it was not easy to hit the shuttle from one court to the other. The spectators sat along the kitchen side. The Badminton net was attached to the wall. The kitchen was very antiquated and cold.
Before you got to the library there was a toilet block, possibly for men-only. Inside the Hall, the stage was on the left of the side door, with a flight of stairs either side. Changing rooms were behind a narrow room which ran the width of the Hall; they were very cold. There were double doors at the opposite end to the stage. Trestle tables were stored under the stage, and fold-up chairs.
Gardeners' Question Time was recorded at the Hall. At the age of 12-13 Anna can remember sitting on the stage as part of the audience thinking I hope they don't look at the cobwebs. In January 1963 the live BBC radio programme Any Questions took place in the Hall with chairman Freddie Grisewood and a team of Sir John Wolfenden, Mr Wynford Vaughan Thomas, Miss Judith Hart (Labour MP for Lanark) and Mr Peter Amery (Conservative MP for Reading).Questions included: Why do women wear wigs?; the definition of "awkward people"; and a suggestion to move the Capital from London to the Yorkshire Moors.
The caretaker Mrs Burton lived up Chapel Lane. She was a stickler about time and if you ran over, stood outside and jangled the keys loudly. Rain used to drum on the roof. It had a definite fusty smell. She thought that the floor was scrubbed once a year. There was a piano but it may not have been tuned. Anna recalls the Gay 90s were on a Friday night.
Conclusion
What can we now make of this old-fashioned, jerry-built part of Box's history? Box took its Hall to its heart and the closing tribute is perhaps the Hall in its prime in 1927: Few places, surely, of the size of Box can boast of a hall of the pretensions of the Bingham Hall, which was built and presented to the village by a rich man, who however stipulated in the deed of gift that it should not be used for political meetings. It has a perfect little stage, with artistes' rooms, a kitchen, baths, and what is more, the building is financially self-supporting.[24]
We welcome your memories of this part of Box's history which was pulled down in 1975 when the Selwyn Hall was built. And thank you, Mr Bingham, for bringing so much pleasure to the village.
What can we now make of this old-fashioned, jerry-built part of Box's history? Box took its Hall to its heart and the closing tribute is perhaps the Hall in its prime in 1927: Few places, surely, of the size of Box can boast of a hall of the pretensions of the Bingham Hall, which was built and presented to the village by a rich man, who however stipulated in the deed of gift that it should not be used for political meetings. It has a perfect little stage, with artistes' rooms, a kitchen, baths, and what is more, the building is financially self-supporting.[24]
We welcome your memories of this part of Box's history which was pulled down in 1975 when the Selwyn Hall was built. And thank you, Mr Bingham, for bringing so much pleasure to the village.
References
[1] See article on Mr Bingham
[2] Parish Magazine, January 1906
[3] Bath Chronicle, 26 April 1906
[4] Parish Magazine January 1906
[5] Parish Magazine, May - June 1906
[6] Bath Chronicle and Herald, 13 August 1927
[7] Bath Chronicle, 9 August 1913
[8] Bath Chronicle 7 March 1925 and Bath Chronicle and Herald, 26 December 1925
[9] Bath Chronicle and Herald, 10 April 1926
[10] Bath Chronicle and Herald, 23 April 1927
[11] Bath Chronicle and Herald, 4 April 1931
[12] Bath Chronicle and Herald, 1 April 1933
[13] Parish Magazine, 1934-35
[14] Parish Magazine, November 1934
[15] Parish Magazine, March 1934
[16] Parish Magazine, March 1936
[17] EA Mackay, The History of the Wiltshire Home Guard 1940-44, 1946, p.41
[18] David Ibberson, Lambert’s Way, p.23
[19] Bath Chronicle and Herald, 30 October 1926 also 21 January 1933
[20] Minutes of Box WI
[21] Bath Weekly Chronicle and Herald, 11 November 1939
[22] Bath Weekly Chronicle and Herald, 6 January 1940
[23] Bath Chronicle and Herald 22 January 1971
[24] The Chronicle and Herald, 24 September 1927
[25] David Ibberson confirms that they are still in Scout Hut and in working order.
[1] See article on Mr Bingham
[2] Parish Magazine, January 1906
[3] Bath Chronicle, 26 April 1906
[4] Parish Magazine January 1906
[5] Parish Magazine, May - June 1906
[6] Bath Chronicle and Herald, 13 August 1927
[7] Bath Chronicle, 9 August 1913
[8] Bath Chronicle 7 March 1925 and Bath Chronicle and Herald, 26 December 1925
[9] Bath Chronicle and Herald, 10 April 1926
[10] Bath Chronicle and Herald, 23 April 1927
[11] Bath Chronicle and Herald, 4 April 1931
[12] Bath Chronicle and Herald, 1 April 1933
[13] Parish Magazine, 1934-35
[14] Parish Magazine, November 1934
[15] Parish Magazine, March 1934
[16] Parish Magazine, March 1936
[17] EA Mackay, The History of the Wiltshire Home Guard 1940-44, 1946, p.41
[18] David Ibberson, Lambert’s Way, p.23
[19] Bath Chronicle and Herald, 30 October 1926 also 21 January 1933
[20] Minutes of Box WI
[21] Bath Weekly Chronicle and Herald, 11 November 1939
[22] Bath Weekly Chronicle and Herald, 6 January 1940
[23] Bath Chronicle and Herald 22 January 1971
[24] The Chronicle and Herald, 24 September 1927
[25] David Ibberson confirms that they are still in Scout Hut and in working order.