Coney Family Alan Payne Date
The footbridge seen from the south side (courtesy Carol Payne)
One of the most unusual building structures in Box is the railway bridge opposite the Shockerwick turn on the A4. It is a passenger crossing of the railway line, unsuitable for animals. As far as I can see it is seldom used and serves little purpose other than for the occasional person who might wish to go from Shockerwick to Ashley. It is a rather grand and imposing structure, clearly which cost considerable money, even though it leads into an overgrown track which actually goes nowhere. Nonetheless, the origins of the bridge show its importance, dating back over a century when it was the site of a tragedy which deeply affected village residents and especially the Coney family
Coney Family
Arthur Henry Coney (1831-19 May 1909) was born at Chedzoy, Bridgwater, Somerset on 28 May 1831, the fourth son of
Rev Canon Thomas Boucher Coney, vicar of Pucklechurch, and mother Jane. The family lived in considerable style, employing eight servants in 1851.
He went into the army aged 18 and worked his way up through the ranks from ensign to become a major in the 67th Foot (also called the Hampshire Regiment or The Wessex Brigade) by 1870. Many of Arthur Henry’s promotions were by purchase, including Lieutenant 1852 and Captain 1857, but his advances clearly showed merit and he served throughout the world, Gibraltar, West Indies, East Indies and especially in the North China Campaign of 1860. He was in action in the taking of Taku fort and the release of Peking (Beijing) from rebel hands, for which he won two citations for bravery.[1] By 1862 he was in command of loyal Chines troops in the Gulf of Pechili for which he was honoured with The Imperial Decoration of the Red Button (official Chinese hat badge worn by mandarins). This was a rare award and the only other known Englishman to receive it was General Gordon of Khartoum.[2]
This was a period of the great expansion of British commercial interests and economic success with Lord Palmerston’s view of free trade and the formation of the Liberal Party. At Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol in 1865, he married Mary Anne Hives, daughter of Charles Hives, Esq, of Holmwood House, Gloucestershire and Hyde Park Gardens, London. Arthur continued in the army reserves on half-pay after retirement in 1874.[3] Arthur was appointed a Justice of the Peace for Wiltshire and was on the board of regulators for Kingsdown House.[4]
Arthur Henry Coney (1831-19 May 1909) was born at Chedzoy, Bridgwater, Somerset on 28 May 1831, the fourth son of
Rev Canon Thomas Boucher Coney, vicar of Pucklechurch, and mother Jane. The family lived in considerable style, employing eight servants in 1851.
He went into the army aged 18 and worked his way up through the ranks from ensign to become a major in the 67th Foot (also called the Hampshire Regiment or The Wessex Brigade) by 1870. Many of Arthur Henry’s promotions were by purchase, including Lieutenant 1852 and Captain 1857, but his advances clearly showed merit and he served throughout the world, Gibraltar, West Indies, East Indies and especially in the North China Campaign of 1860. He was in action in the taking of Taku fort and the release of Peking (Beijing) from rebel hands, for which he won two citations for bravery.[1] By 1862 he was in command of loyal Chines troops in the Gulf of Pechili for which he was honoured with The Imperial Decoration of the Red Button (official Chinese hat badge worn by mandarins). This was a rare award and the only other known Englishman to receive it was General Gordon of Khartoum.[2]
This was a period of the great expansion of British commercial interests and economic success with Lord Palmerston’s view of free trade and the formation of the Liberal Party. At Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol in 1865, he married Mary Anne Hives, daughter of Charles Hives, Esq, of Holmwood House, Gloucestershire and Hyde Park Gardens, London. Arthur continued in the army reserves on half-pay after retirement in 1874.[3] Arthur was appointed a Justice of the Peace for Wiltshire and was on the board of regulators for Kingsdown House.[4]
The reredos at St Thomas a Becket Church dedicated in honour of Arthur Charles Coney (courtesy Carol Payne)
Arthur and Mary had two children, a son Arthur Charles and a daughter Cecil Maude (sic). Like his father, Lieutenant Arthur Charles served in the Hampshire Regiment but he died aged just 21 at Trimulgherry, suburb of modern Hyderabad, Central India on 2 September 1887. Possibly he was part of a detachment serving at a British fort there. The Coneys were so distraught at the loss that they paid for the magnificent reredos in Box Church with a dedication brass plaque: This reredos is dedicated to the Glory of God. In loving memory of Arthur Charles Coney, Lieutenant the Hampshire Regiment who died in India September 2nd 1887 aged 21 years, the only son of Lieutenant Colonel Coney late of the same Regiment. By 1891, the parents were living at Sunnyside, Middlehill, Box with their 18-year-old daughter Cecil Maude, a nephew and three servants.
The footpath on the south side of the railway bridge (courtesy Carol Payne)
Railway Tragedy 1900
Arthur Henry’s wife, Mary Anne, was the only daughter of Charles Hives (who called himself landowner) and Margaret Atkinsons. Mary had been born at Leeds and the family had lived in various places, including Rome and Devon. At the time of her marriage in 1865, they were living at Holmwood House, Westbury-on-Trym, Gloucestershire.
The Coneys were social friends of Box lords of the manor, the Northey family. Major-General Hunter, the brother-in-law of heir to the estate George Edward Northey, had rented Ashley Manor for some years and on 6 July 1900 she was invited to go to tea with the family. Aged 61, she decided to walk from Sunnyside to Ashley Manor, which involved crossing the railway line by foot. There were gates at the level crossing for carts but pedestrians could cross, using a wicket gate. Mary Anne waited for a goods train to pass and then set off across but she failed to see a special boat express from London to Exeter and was killed.[5]
Arthur Henry’s wife, Mary Anne, was the only daughter of Charles Hives (who called himself landowner) and Margaret Atkinsons. Mary had been born at Leeds and the family had lived in various places, including Rome and Devon. At the time of her marriage in 1865, they were living at Holmwood House, Westbury-on-Trym, Gloucestershire.
The Coneys were social friends of Box lords of the manor, the Northey family. Major-General Hunter, the brother-in-law of heir to the estate George Edward Northey, had rented Ashley Manor for some years and on 6 July 1900 she was invited to go to tea with the family. Aged 61, she decided to walk from Sunnyside to Ashley Manor, which involved crossing the railway line by foot. There were gates at the level crossing for carts but pedestrians could cross, using a wicket gate. Mary Anne waited for a goods train to pass and then set off across but she failed to see a special boat express from London to Exeter and was killed.[5]
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The positioning of the footbridge is on a most dangerous sections of the railway with the track quickly turning into blind corners in both directions,
the east (above left) and west (above right). (Photos courtesy Carol Payne)
the east (above left) and west (above right). (Photos courtesy Carol Payne)
The local newspapers went into detail about the accident, which clearly shocked people at the time: cut to pieces in a frightful manner and her body so mutilated that she was only identified by the rings on her hand.[6] Subsequently, the main road was moved by the GWR to the opposite side of the line and the level crossing replaced by a footbridge.
Conclusion
Even this wasn’t the end of the Coney story in Box. The surviving daughter Cecil Maude married Edmund Charles Pontifex, solicitor, in 1906 and honoured the family with a charming stain glass window depicting the Resurrection in 1927 and a new processional cross in memory of her mother Mary.
Even this wasn’t the end of the Coney story in Box. The surviving daughter Cecil Maude married Edmund Charles Pontifex, solicitor, in 1906 and honoured the family with a charming stain glass window depicting the Resurrection in 1927 and a new processional cross in memory of her mother Mary.
The Coney window in Box Church (courtesy Carol Payne)
Cecil married again to a retired army major, Arthur Penfold Ballard some five years after Edmund’s death in 1933. She died in 1956 in the isolated Surrey hills outside Guildford at Peaslake.
Coney Family Tree
Rev Canon Thomas Boucher Coney (1800-1884), vicar of Pucklechurch married Jane Gould Tudway. Children:
Son; Thomas (1827-); Son; Arthur Henry Coney (28 May 1831-19 May 1909); Blanche (1833-); Edward Cecil (1838-); Daughter (1842-); Herbert Frederick (1850-);
Arthur Henry Coney (28 May 1831-19 May 1909) married Mary Anne Hives (1839-6 July 1900). Children:
Rev Canon Thomas Boucher Coney (1800-1884), vicar of Pucklechurch married Jane Gould Tudway. Children:
Son; Thomas (1827-); Son; Arthur Henry Coney (28 May 1831-19 May 1909); Blanche (1833-); Edward Cecil (1838-); Daughter (1842-); Herbert Frederick (1850-);
Arthur Henry Coney (28 May 1831-19 May 1909) married Mary Anne Hives (1839-6 July 1900). Children:
- Arthur Charles (1866-2 September 1887);
- Cecil Maude (1872-9 January 1956) married first Edmund Charles Pontifex (1871-20 March 1925) in 1906 and secondly Major Arthur Penfold Ballard (1871-11 February 1956) in 1933.
References
[1] Overland China Mail, 22 June 1909
[2] Clifton Society, 27 May 1909
[3] London Gazette, 15 December 1874
[4] Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard, 3 November 1888 and 29 October 1892
[5] Jackson's Oxford Journal, 14 July 1900
[6] The Bath Chronicle, 12 July 1900
[1] Overland China Mail, 22 June 1909
[2] Clifton Society, 27 May 1909
[3] London Gazette, 15 December 1874
[4] Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard, 3 November 1888 and 29 October 1892
[5] Jackson's Oxford Journal, 14 July 1900
[6] The Bath Chronicle, 12 July 1900