Central Tollhouse Found Alan Payne Date
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There are two splendid tollhouses to be seen in the village: the house on the Devizes Road built in the mid-1830s and the ancient one at Blue Vein on Bath Road (photos courtesy Carol Payne). These are survivors of the half dozen built in the village to collect tolls from passengers and hauliers to fund the building and maintenance of the Georgian turnpike roads. Another stood at Chapel Plaister in 1871 when Elizabeth Goodhind was listed as Turnpike Keeper living at the Toll Gate, Chapel Plaister. Most of the houses were abandoned or sold off for £50 when the turnpike trusts were wound up in the mid-1800s.
Extract of the 1840 Tithe apportionment maps (courtesy Wiltshire History Centre)
The main village turnpike gate was at the centre of the village, long since demolished and in an unknown location until recently. We know it was built after 1761 when the road from Corsham down Box Hill was newly-created. The road quickly became the preferred route for speed and convenience, superseding the Blue Vein road and tracks along the By Brook. It is said that the driver of the Royal Mail coach would sound his warning horn in Pickwick to enable the gate-keeper in Box to raise the barrier, allowing free and instant passage of the mail. The busiest location (and greatest income-generator) in this area was the crossroads of two well-used routes: the north-south track connecting Hazelbury and the Box Mill, and the east-west road from Corsham to Bath.
The confirmation on finding the location came with an analysis of the 1840 Tithe Apportionment award. Under the heading The Corsham and Lacock Road Commissioners was a report of Turnpike House at Box, reference 361a. The description of the property suggests it was more of a residence than a customs post and we might surmise that it had ceased to be used as a turnpike gate. The land was owned by the Northey trustees and they converted the old turnpike building into a house about 1832. Thereafter it was used as a shop, including a tailor’s outfitters.[1] When the Post Office moved from the Market Place in 1885, the building was modernised, perhaps fully rebuilt with the demolition of all traces of the old Tollhouse.
Unfortunately, there are no known photos of the original Box Tollhouse. You might imagine that there is a similarity between the design of the Box Post Office window and the shape of traditional toll houses as can be seen at Blue Vein below left.
The confirmation on finding the location came with an analysis of the 1840 Tithe Apportionment award. Under the heading The Corsham and Lacock Road Commissioners was a report of Turnpike House at Box, reference 361a. The description of the property suggests it was more of a residence than a customs post and we might surmise that it had ceased to be used as a turnpike gate. The land was owned by the Northey trustees and they converted the old turnpike building into a house about 1832. Thereafter it was used as a shop, including a tailor’s outfitters.[1] When the Post Office moved from the Market Place in 1885, the building was modernised, perhaps fully rebuilt with the demolition of all traces of the old Tollhouse.
Unfortunately, there are no known photos of the original Box Tollhouse. You might imagine that there is a similarity between the design of the Box Post Office window and the shape of traditional toll houses as can be seen at Blue Vein below left.
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Above Left: An early photo of Blue Vein Tollhouse (courtesy Claire Higgens, Box: An Intimate History and Right Box Post Office (courtesy Eric Callaway)
But that would be pushing vague similarities too far. The Post Office has a bay window that is mirrored on both sides of the property and it is far from certain that the stones of the toll house were reused in the Post Office. At this point in the story, Box’s central toll gate retreats into obscurity again.
References
[1] See article The Post Office
References
[1] See article The Post Office