Rise of the Bradfield Family Alan Payne May 2023
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Above left Helen Bradfield, nee Vezey (1873-) and right William Bradfield (1860-1925) who married in 1904 (both photos courtesy Margaret Wakefield)
You would be forgiven if you get confused over members of the Bradfield family in Box. There were many of them, several with identical Christian names and they seem to be everywhere at the same time because they took such a large part in village societies. This is my attempt to sort out the details and to tell the story of their rise from quarrymen to parish authority leaders.
Early Family
The 19th century Bradfield family in Box derives from David Bradfield (1765-1829) who married Hannah Doery (1764-1847) on 24 May 1790. David was born locally to parents, David and Rebecca Bradfield, and we can see from the 1803 Agricultural Census that he was a stonemason and had six children. David was one of the 35 men who can be clearly identified in the stone industry in 1803, the most common employment of the 234 people listed being agricultural labourers.[1] On David’s death in 1829, Hannah became the head of the household.
The 19th century Bradfield family in Box derives from David Bradfield (1765-1829) who married Hannah Doery (1764-1847) on 24 May 1790. David was born locally to parents, David and Rebecca Bradfield, and we can see from the 1803 Agricultural Census that he was a stonemason and had six children. David was one of the 35 men who can be clearly identified in the stone industry in 1803, the most common employment of the 234 people listed being agricultural labourers.[1] On David’s death in 1829, Hannah became the head of the household.
1840 Tithe Apportionment map (courtesy of Know Your Place)
The 1840 Tithe Apportionment listed Hannah Bradfield as the landholder of references 98a and 98c on Box Hill. She lived at 98a, cottage and garden, comprising 1 rood in size (.250 of an acre), the house now called Magna. Her eldest son, William (possibly 1791-18 December 1856) occupied the garden shown as plot 98c (shown above as .179 of an acre) but he and his wife Ann Shell (1790-) lived elsewhere in Box at reference 372 (now two properties called London Terrace, near Grove Farm, Box Hill) held by Elizabeth Wiltshire and Mary Emery. The reference shows the following occupants: William Wiltshire (stables and yard), William Bradfield (cottage and garden), William Clarke (cottage and garden) and John Chandler (cottage and garden). William Bradfield (1791-1856) married Ann Shell and took over the property at ref 98a,
Bradfields at Hillside Cottage
William and Ann had at least four children, including one son George (1822-1899) who settled at Hillside Cottage on Box Hill. George had been born when his parents were at Kidderminster, Worcestershire, but he followed them back to Box as a child.
He started work as an agricultural labourer but soon changed to be a stone quarryman and married Mary Ann Fisher in 1849. They possibly lived at Hillside and their eldest son, George (1861-1939) appears to have inherited the tenancy of their house, living there in 1911 and 1921. The house has probably now been rebuilt and is known as Hill Cote, Box Hill. George had a long career in the quarry industry rising from stone miner to be foreman ganger and ending as inspector of quarries. In elderly age, he needed money to survive and became a coal merchant, supplying people on Box Hill with the resource for their cooking and heating needs.
In his private life, George was a Methodist, a trustee of Box Hill Chapel, and a staunch teetotaller as a member of the Good Templars movement. His daughter Maggie married Frederick Alfred Manby. George died virtually penniless at Hillside on 29 September 1939.
William and Ann had at least four children, including one son George (1822-1899) who settled at Hillside Cottage on Box Hill. George had been born when his parents were at Kidderminster, Worcestershire, but he followed them back to Box as a child.
He started work as an agricultural labourer but soon changed to be a stone quarryman and married Mary Ann Fisher in 1849. They possibly lived at Hillside and their eldest son, George (1861-1939) appears to have inherited the tenancy of their house, living there in 1911 and 1921. The house has probably now been rebuilt and is known as Hill Cote, Box Hill. George had a long career in the quarry industry rising from stone miner to be foreman ganger and ending as inspector of quarries. In elderly age, he needed money to survive and became a coal merchant, supplying people on Box Hill with the resource for their cooking and heating needs.
In his private life, George was a Methodist, a trustee of Box Hill Chapel, and a staunch teetotaller as a member of the Good Templars movement. His daughter Maggie married Frederick Alfred Manby. George died virtually penniless at Hillside on 29 September 1939.
London Terrace, Box Hill shown as reference 372 in the 1840 Tithe Apportionment map (courtesy of Know Your Place)
William Bradfield (1791-1856) and Ann nee Shell
We need to return to the story of William (1791-1856) and Ann Shell who were living at London Terrace in 1841 and afterwards took over the tenancy of Magna from William’s mother Hannah. William and Ann Shell had at least five children, all with interesting histories about life on Box Hill.
We need to return to the story of William (1791-1856) and Ann Shell who were living at London Terrace in 1841 and afterwards took over the tenancy of Magna from William’s mother Hannah. William and Ann Shell had at least five children, all with interesting histories about life on Box Hill.
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Their daughter Hannah (1828-1914) married Jacob Dancey (1827-1868) on 19 October 1852. They lived at Box Quarries, at times living next door to her brother George Bradfield. Hannah (1828-1914) was a formidable woman. As a widow, she worked as an office cleaner charwoman in 1881, and as a nurse in 1891 when living at 2 Seymour Cottages (possibly Undercliffe, Beech Road). She married three times, all stone quarrymen, including Thomas Wilkins (1822-1907), and outlived them all, eventually taking the role of family matriarch. Hannah and Jacob’s child, William Dancey (stone mason), was born on 9 August 1853 in Box. He married Annie Jemima Smith on 20 October 1884 at New King Street Chapel, Bath. Annie Jemima died aged only 50 of acute broncho-pneumonia on 29 January 1911 at 7 Mill Lane and Hannah died there in 1914.
William and Ann Shell’s youngest son, John Bradfield (1831-27 October 1913), was a stone miner who brought his family up on Box Hill, described as Box Quarries by the Road. It is not possible to identify their house until 1891 when it was named as Vale View. A keen sportsman in his youth, John was captain of the Box Cricket Club but after the death of his wife Mary Ann Turner, John lived with his eldest son William at times, and in 1911 was boarding at 3 Mill Lane. Such was the fate of quarrymen too old to work before retirement pensions were introduced. Hannah Bradfield in 1852 (courtesy Chris and Les Dancey) |
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So far, the Bradfield family were hard-working, quarrymen, often some of the poorest doing stone chopping and quarrying. Their lifestyle was indicative of a time when there was no social support system and few opportunities for advancement. Until the First World War, there was little to indicate the aspirational changes that came with John’s children. William (1860-1925) and Walter John (1862-1933).
Walter John Bradfield, 1862-1933
Walter John Bradfield (1862-1933) was a most distinguished village resident, for many years serving as Assistant Overseer of the Poor of the Parish, Collector of Rates, parish clerk, and councillor for Box Parish and the Chippenham Rural District Council. These were all voluntary positions for which Walter John (1862-1933) was appointed because of his staunch Church of England beliefs, his steadfast character and his absolute commitment.
Walter John was the son of John Bradfield, stone miner, and Mary Ann. He started his working life as a stone mason and seems to have retired in his mid-forties. He married Rhoda Mizen, the daughter of a business colleague, Samuel Mizen, manager of the Pictor’s Wharf. Walter John and Rhoda lived at Alma, Box Hill in 1891 and at 1 Bath Road in 1901. Walter John built
Highfield House, London Road, in about 1907 and he took up a new career as local administrator, church choirmaster and running numerous village activities. It was a time when the quarry industry was in decline and local public administration had been opened up following the formation of the Box Parish Council in 1895. Walter died at Fairfield House in 1933 and Rhoda in 1949.
Walter John Bradfield (1862-1933) was a most distinguished village resident, for many years serving as Assistant Overseer of the Poor of the Parish, Collector of Rates, parish clerk, and councillor for Box Parish and the Chippenham Rural District Council. These were all voluntary positions for which Walter John (1862-1933) was appointed because of his staunch Church of England beliefs, his steadfast character and his absolute commitment.
Walter John was the son of John Bradfield, stone miner, and Mary Ann. He started his working life as a stone mason and seems to have retired in his mid-forties. He married Rhoda Mizen, the daughter of a business colleague, Samuel Mizen, manager of the Pictor’s Wharf. Walter John and Rhoda lived at Alma, Box Hill in 1891 and at 1 Bath Road in 1901. Walter John built
Highfield House, London Road, in about 1907 and he took up a new career as local administrator, church choirmaster and running numerous village activities. It was a time when the quarry industry was in decline and local public administration had been opened up following the formation of the Box Parish Council in 1895. Walter died at Fairfield House in 1933 and Rhoda in 1949.
Bourton House in the High Street (courtesy Carol Payne)
Walter John junior (1890-5 September 1951) - usually called John - was assistant headteacher at Box School and volunteered to join the military on the outbreak of the Great War to encourage other Box boys to enlist. Walter John junior served in Gallipoli and was captured before July 1916, spending three years as a prisoner of war in Bulgaria. In 1920 he returned home and married Elizabeth Agnes McIlwraith (1885-), school teacher at Box Girls’ School, whose father had been active in forming the Box Scouts troop before the First World War. They lived at Bourton House, High Street. When Walter junior died in 1951, his widow Elizabeth Agnes paid for a brass plaque in Box Church stating: In memory of Walter John Bradfield, Chorister and Organist of the Church.[2]
Number 1 Elmsleigh Villas on the left (courtesy Carol Payne)
William Bradfield, 1860-1925
William (1860-21 January 1925) married Helen nee Vezey (1873-1965) in 1904. They lived with their family at 1 Elmsleigh Villas, one of the new villas built in the east of Box in the years around the year 1900. The house was a statement of how the family had risen in social status. It was built in ashlar limestone, with a slate roof, ornate bays with parapet, and imposing stone gate piers and entrance way. In the front garden wall is a milestone with “To BATH 6” inscribed on cast-iron plate.
Helen Vezey was the eldest daughter of James Vezey who ran the Chequers pub and butcher’s shop in The Market Place and was the founder of Box Cricket Club. We can see how respectable William and Helen had become in the headline photographs. Their appearance was matched by the middle-class affluence in the house with a general domestic servant living in.
William worked for the Bath & Portland Stone Firms for 30 years ending as head of one of their many yards.[3] He was a member of the Loyal Northey Lodge of Oddfellows and, such was his esteem, he became one of the trustees for the society. He was president of the Box Bible Class and his funeral was attended by the important families of Box, representing the church, the stone industry and local clubs. The attendance signified the great esteem and regard in which the late Mr William Bradfield was held in Box and district.[4] After the funeral service by vicar George Foster, Jim Browning gave the Independent Order of Oddfellows Address at the graveside: Almighty and Everlasting God, Father of the Universe, we would most heartily beseech Thee with Thy favour to comfort and relieve the relatives of our dear Brother here departed… One Brother is absent from our circle. We therefore leave him in God’s keeping until that glorious Day when Death shall be swallowed up in victory, and our broken link be complete again. In his will William appointed as his executors, his brother Walter John and his neighbour and friend, fellow stone mason, Thomas Herbert Lambert.
It was William and Helen’s children who show just how much life had altered in Box during the 20th century. After William’s death in 1925, Helen moved her family into Northfield House, next to William John junior. Helen and her eldest son Frank (1905-1963) set up the house as a newsagent’ shop, usually called Bradfield’s. Frank was regarded as a confirmed bachelor and was president of the Box Bachelors’ Club,[5] He was an active sportsman, secretary of the Box Swimming Club, treasurer of Box Rovers and captain of Box Cricket Club Second XI. But he surprised many when he married Christina Edith Read (known as Nellie), daughter of the landlord of the Northey Arms Hotel in 1942. The shop was later taken over by the West family who also ran the Post Office shop. It was then converted into a veterinary surgery run by Joe Byrne.
William and Helen’s younger son, Donald Bradfield, was a journalist. He attended Cannings College in Bath in the 1920s and later became a writer for The Bath Herald and then the Western Daily Press.[6] He moved to London where he became a features editor for the London Daily Mail newspaper but his health deteriorated in 1934 and he was admitted to Winsley Sanitorium, where his visitors included the famous actress Maisie Gay.[7] After an operation in Switzerland, he returned to Northgate House and continued to write short stories and occasional pieces including a charming tribute to the Somerset writer Llewellyn Powys in 1939.[8] By 1964 he had moved to Bath and wrote passionately about the need to preserve rural footpaths for ordinary English countrymen.[9] The same year he wrote (in my opinion) one of the best history books ever published called "Box, A Century of Village Cricket".
William (1860-21 January 1925) married Helen nee Vezey (1873-1965) in 1904. They lived with their family at 1 Elmsleigh Villas, one of the new villas built in the east of Box in the years around the year 1900. The house was a statement of how the family had risen in social status. It was built in ashlar limestone, with a slate roof, ornate bays with parapet, and imposing stone gate piers and entrance way. In the front garden wall is a milestone with “To BATH 6” inscribed on cast-iron plate.
Helen Vezey was the eldest daughter of James Vezey who ran the Chequers pub and butcher’s shop in The Market Place and was the founder of Box Cricket Club. We can see how respectable William and Helen had become in the headline photographs. Their appearance was matched by the middle-class affluence in the house with a general domestic servant living in.
William worked for the Bath & Portland Stone Firms for 30 years ending as head of one of their many yards.[3] He was a member of the Loyal Northey Lodge of Oddfellows and, such was his esteem, he became one of the trustees for the society. He was president of the Box Bible Class and his funeral was attended by the important families of Box, representing the church, the stone industry and local clubs. The attendance signified the great esteem and regard in which the late Mr William Bradfield was held in Box and district.[4] After the funeral service by vicar George Foster, Jim Browning gave the Independent Order of Oddfellows Address at the graveside: Almighty and Everlasting God, Father of the Universe, we would most heartily beseech Thee with Thy favour to comfort and relieve the relatives of our dear Brother here departed… One Brother is absent from our circle. We therefore leave him in God’s keeping until that glorious Day when Death shall be swallowed up in victory, and our broken link be complete again. In his will William appointed as his executors, his brother Walter John and his neighbour and friend, fellow stone mason, Thomas Herbert Lambert.
It was William and Helen’s children who show just how much life had altered in Box during the 20th century. After William’s death in 1925, Helen moved her family into Northfield House, next to William John junior. Helen and her eldest son Frank (1905-1963) set up the house as a newsagent’ shop, usually called Bradfield’s. Frank was regarded as a confirmed bachelor and was president of the Box Bachelors’ Club,[5] He was an active sportsman, secretary of the Box Swimming Club, treasurer of Box Rovers and captain of Box Cricket Club Second XI. But he surprised many when he married Christina Edith Read (known as Nellie), daughter of the landlord of the Northey Arms Hotel in 1942. The shop was later taken over by the West family who also ran the Post Office shop. It was then converted into a veterinary surgery run by Joe Byrne.
William and Helen’s younger son, Donald Bradfield, was a journalist. He attended Cannings College in Bath in the 1920s and later became a writer for The Bath Herald and then the Western Daily Press.[6] He moved to London where he became a features editor for the London Daily Mail newspaper but his health deteriorated in 1934 and he was admitted to Winsley Sanitorium, where his visitors included the famous actress Maisie Gay.[7] After an operation in Switzerland, he returned to Northgate House and continued to write short stories and occasional pieces including a charming tribute to the Somerset writer Llewellyn Powys in 1939.[8] By 1964 he had moved to Bath and wrote passionately about the need to preserve rural footpaths for ordinary English countrymen.[9] The same year he wrote (in my opinion) one of the best history books ever published called "Box, A Century of Village Cricket".
The Bradfield family played an enormous part in the history of Box, spanning the years from Georgian quarrying, through the great stonemason period and afterwards when the village became a shopping area and bred educated and cultured people.
The family name has now been lost and the period when newspapers and shops dominated our society are waning. Fortunately, the memory of all of this has been recorded in books like Donald Bradfield’s.
The family name has now been lost and the period when newspapers and shops dominated our society are waning. Fortunately, the memory of all of this has been recorded in books like Donald Bradfield’s.
Bradfield Family Tree
David Bradfield (1765-1829) married Hannah Doery (1764-1847) on 24 May 1790. Children:
According to the parish marriage registers, William (possibly 1791-18 December 1856) married Ann Shell (1790-) on 15 April 1816. The 1841 census records give dates of birth for William 1801 and for Ann 1796, making ages for William 15 years old and Ann 20. The witnesses of the marriage were George Mullins (possibly Rev George Mullins schoolteacher and cleric, who lived at The Wilderness). Having this very respectable witness perhaps indicates that William’s date of birth was more likely to be 1791.
In 1840-41 William (1791-1856) and Ann (1790-) lived on Box Hill near The Beerhouse (The Rising Sun). In 1851 they and their youngest son John appear to be in the same location, next-door-but-one to the Rising Sun Inn. Children included:
John (1831-27 October 1913), stone miner, married Mary Ann Turner in Bath in 1858. John and Mary lived at Box Hill most of their lives, described as Box Quarries by the Road, until the house was identified as Vale View in 1891. Children included:
William (1860-21 January 1925) married Helen Vezey (1873-) in 1904. They lived at 1 Elmsleigh Villas. Children:
Walter John (1862-1933) married Rhoda Mizen (1859-16 January 1949) from Bradford-on-Avon in 1889. Children:
David Bradfield (1765-1829) married Hannah Doery (1764-1847) on 24 May 1790. Children:
- William (1791-1856) married Ann Shell (1790-);
- John (1794-1795) died in childhood;
- John (1796-1837) never married
- Sarah (1798-) married Robert Shell on 29 August 1825;
- George (1800-1850); and
- Ann (1803-1875) married Worthy Hobbs on 24 December 1832.
According to the parish marriage registers, William (possibly 1791-18 December 1856) married Ann Shell (1790-) on 15 April 1816. The 1841 census records give dates of birth for William 1801 and for Ann 1796, making ages for William 15 years old and Ann 20. The witnesses of the marriage were George Mullins (possibly Rev George Mullins schoolteacher and cleric, who lived at The Wilderness). Having this very respectable witness perhaps indicates that William’s date of birth was more likely to be 1791.
In 1840-41 William (1791-1856) and Ann (1790-) lived on Box Hill near The Beerhouse (The Rising Sun). In 1851 they and their youngest son John appear to be in the same location, next-door-but-one to the Rising Sun Inn. Children included:
- William (1820-1890) married Matilda Vivash (1848-) in 1870. Children: Jessie (1867-), Alberta (1871-), Ann (1873-), Willie (1875-), Frank (1876-1888, who died tragically in an accident at The Wharf Stoneyard):
- George (1822-1899), agricultural labourer and later stone quarrymen, born at Kidderminster, Worcestershire, married Mary Ann Fisher (1828-1868), daughter of a Bradford-on-Avon weaver, on 16 October 1849. In 1851 they possibly lived at Hillcot, Box Hill. After Mary’s death in 1868 George married Sarah (1830-1892). Children included: William (1850-1851), Fanny (1853-), Mary (1855-), Ann Maria (1859-), George (1861-1939), stone miner married Annie Eliza Slatford with children: Maggie (1885-); Albert Horton (1892-); Reginald James (1894-); and Irwin (1867-), stone miner;
- Hannah (1828-1914) married Jacob Dancey in 1852. Children: William (1853-1919) stone mason, David (1855-1919) stone chopper, Albert (1861-1943). Annie (1868-); and
- John (1831-27 October 1913), stone miner, married Mary Ann Turner in 1858.
John (1831-27 October 1913), stone miner, married Mary Ann Turner in Bath in 1858. John and Mary lived at Box Hill most of their lives, described as Box Quarries by the Road, until the house was identified as Vale View in 1891. Children included:
- Francis (1859-);
- William (1860-21 January 1925) married Helen Vezey (1873-) in 1904 in Bath. They lived at 1 Elmsleigh Villas;
- Walter John (1862-1933);
- Alfred (1866-), David (1867-), company secretary; and
- Ernest E (1875-), blacksmith, who lived at Vale View
William (1860-21 January 1925) married Helen Vezey (1873-) in 1904. They lived at 1 Elmsleigh Villas. Children:
- Frank (1905-1963);
- Elisabeth Mary (1906-);
- Donald (1908-1972).
Walter John (1862-1933) married Rhoda Mizen (1859-16 January 1949) from Bradford-on-Avon in 1889. Children:
- Walter John junior (1891-), Box schoolteacher, married Elizabeth Agnes (1885-), school teacher at Box Girls’ School. They lived at Bourton House in 1921;
- Arthur (1892-) who married Agnes Peat (1890-) in 1917 when he worked as a carpenter. He had joined as a sapper in the Royal Engineers at Bath in 1914 and was promoted to Corporal in 1918. But his military records did not follow a normal pattern. He went to France where he was wounded and suffered dysentery; thereafter he has been in England since March 1915. He applied for a disability pension in 1919 but the medical report clearly sets out little evidence of liability, only heart rather rapid. The application was refused. Arthur and Agnes appear to have left Box and are recorded as living in Dagenham, Essex in 1939; and
- Mary Ellen (2 May 1894-1985) never married and stayed in the family home at Highfield looking after her parents including her mother Rhoda who died aged 90. Mary Ellen had a career of her own, however, because she was a pension officer for the Customs & Excise.
References
[1] Agricultural Census 1803 - Box People and Places
[2] The Wiltshire Times, 26 July 1952
[3] Unidentified newspaper cutting, 27 January 1925
[4] The Wiltshire Times. 31 January 1925
[5] Bath Weekly Chronicle and Herald, 27 June 1942
[6] The Bath Chronicle, 30 December 1933
[7] The Bath Chronicle, 20 January 1934
[8] The Somerset Guardian, 15 December 1939
[9] The Somerset Guardian, 6 November 1942
[1] Agricultural Census 1803 - Box People and Places
[2] The Wiltshire Times, 26 July 1952
[3] Unidentified newspaper cutting, 27 January 1925
[4] The Wiltshire Times. 31 January 1925
[5] Bath Weekly Chronicle and Herald, 27 June 1942
[6] The Bath Chronicle, 30 December 1933
[7] The Bath Chronicle, 20 January 1934
[8] The Somerset Guardian, 15 December 1939
[9] The Somerset Guardian, 6 November 1942