Box Village Photos Photos Augustus F Perren February 2025
Rural life as it existed for centuries in Box, although the precise location is unknown. This image was rather nostalgic and representative of rural Box. But it was not typical of the stone industry in late Victorian Box when Augustus took his photographs. That view of Box was typified by the photo below when the village was a thriving and bustling society..
The photo above is an overview of Box village. The Methodist Church has a white and new looking Methodist Hall next to it, built in 1905. Notice the black building standing on its own behind the Methodist Church. This is the Bingham Hall donated to the village in 1905. Hardy House was still in use as a grocer’s shop owned by John Hardy with people queuing up going into the building. There is a shed between the house and Box School, later used as Mr Killick’s shoe shop. Opposite is Clock House, later demolished and replaced by the Co-operative building (now Londis). Ponting’s grocery shop can be seen on the corner of Chapel Lane. Missing are the houses built at the top of the Lane by the Browning family next to their garage.
The Bassetts was a residential development built on the site of the old Pictor Stoneyard Wharf in the inter-war period. This picture was probably taken when Augustus was in his late sixties and shows the development in the course of construction and the image was later made into a postcard, retained by the Perren family after Augustus' death in 1923. The estate was built in stages. Five bungalows were built by T&E Best after they received planning permission in 1929. They kept one of the properties for the directors.[1] Box Tunnel can just be seen to the right.
The photo above was probably taken to the left of Jamie's Farm at Hill House, Middlehill. You can see the path from the bridge fording the By Brook (at the foot of Valens Terrace) and the Box Poorhouse in the centre of the picture. To the right is Box Church and Box House on the very right of the photo. In the foreground the division of land appears to suggest that the area had been divided into allotments. The Smallholdings and Allotment Act of 1907-08 encouraged parish councils to provide facilities but it was the First World War which necessitated allotments to avoid famine in the country. This was enacted through the 1916 Cultivation of Land Orders Act. The conversion of unused land beside railway lines became commonplace and land beside Box Tunnel was still cultivated as allotments let to railway workers after the Second World War.
This is a typical view of Victorian Box before the First World War. The photo predates Fairmead View (built in 1907), when the site of the terrace was accessed through a gate on the right and not accessible to vehicles at that time. The picture appears to suggest a much earlier date as two villagers were sufficiently intrigued with photography to pose for the picture. The photo can be dated between 1897 and 1905 when the current Methodist Church had been built but not the Methodist Hall. Instead there were a couple of old cottages on the Hall site. The smoke arising on the left comes from the chimney of Box Brewery. The shed behind Box School was the old cricket club pavilion.
Railway Photos
Railway Photos
The wonderful photo above shows Box Railway Station around 1900 with the Bath Firms stoneyard in the background and an engine steaming up. Also visible is the Middle Hill Tunnel behind the steam.
Box School and The Rec seen from an area north of the railway line. The Rec is divided into two agricultural fields separated by a tree-less hedge line. The By Brook can just be seen at the foot of a steep depression between the Lower Mead Field and the embanked railway.
Above the railway heading towards the arches of Box Bridge. Most of the agricultural fields have tree-lined boundaries, often mature trees which were difficult to clear before tractors became generally available to farmers.
The GWR railway line can be seen at the bottom of the picture. In the middle of the image, there is a fine view of the Box Poorhouse (now called Springfield House). The hedge cutting through the image diagonally later became Valens Terrace before the terrace and Selwyn Hall had been built. At the top of the hedge-line is the open garage door of the Bear Inn stables (later the original Browning's Garage and now part of the Box Pharmacy).
References
[1] North Wilts Herald, 20 April 1928 and The Wiltshire Times, 10 August 1929
[1] North Wilts Herald, 20 April 1928 and The Wiltshire Times, 10 August 1929