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Box Heritage Trail Free for Everyone to Acquire Alan Payne and Varian Tye Photos Varian Tye unless stated otherwise September 2019 Why is Box in the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)? The Box Heritage Trail is a circular walk which offers magnificent views of Box Valley and seeks to explore and explain what features have caused Box to be part of the AONB. These features may become even more important if plans proceed to make the Cotswold Area into a National Park.[1] The idea is being considered by the government as part of a 25-year Environment Plan being compiled by Julian Glover to reignite the national zeal for the founding mission for landscape protection. It is a broad-thinking government review as indicated by the appointment of Julian, editor of the London Evening Standard, columnist of The Guardian, and author of Thomas Telford and the Building of Britain. So, before any thought of National Parks, we need to consider what entitles Box to be in the Cotswold AONB. The official definition of these areas is complex: scenic landscape, natural heritage, relative tranquillity and cultural heritage are part of the criterion.[2] Right: Front Cover of the free leaflet (photo courtesy Barry Cox) |
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Cotswold AONB Vision Statement
The vision for the area by 2043 is stated in the management plan as: [3]
The ambitions that the Cotswold AONB board have for the area are inspirational:
The vision for the area by 2043 is stated in the management plan as: [3]
- A distinctive, unique, accessible living landscape treasured for its diversity which is recognised by all for its wide-open views, dry stone walls, intimate valleys, flower rich grasslands, ancient woodlands, dark skies, tranquillity, archaeology, historic and cultural heritage and distinctive Cotswold stone architecture.
- A thriving collaborative, pioneering, proactive place, sustained by the passions of residents, visitors and businesses alike, where communities and businesses value its special qualities.
The ambitions that the Cotswold AONB board have for the area are inspirational:
- To promote the Cotswolds AONB as the Walking and Exploring Capital of England.
- To secure the local design and delivery of a Cotswolds AONB package of agri-environment payments for public goods and services and rural development support.
- To ensure that communities and businesses within and around the Cotswolds AONB identify and celebrate being part of a nationally recognised landscape.
- To promote the case for the Cotswolds being designated as England’s next National Park.
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Cotswold Stone
We all understand that the limestone belt in the village gives a geological connection with similar Cotswold areas nearby. Cotswold stone architecture is represented throughout the parish. The character of the underlying limestone geology is reflected in the landscape and its use as a building material prevalent in Box itself, the hamlets such as Ditteridge, Middle Hill and Ashley and the isolated historic farmsteads.
Quarrying formed an important part of the cultural heritage of the area although most quarry workings have become muted over time. Indeed, the collapsed mine shafts at Quarry Woods have been overtaken by nature and now offer marvellous beech woodland beauty. The same is true of the flattened spoil heaps at Box Hill Common.
We all understand that the limestone belt in the village gives a geological connection with similar Cotswold areas nearby. Cotswold stone architecture is represented throughout the parish. The character of the underlying limestone geology is reflected in the landscape and its use as a building material prevalent in Box itself, the hamlets such as Ditteridge, Middle Hill and Ashley and the isolated historic farmsteads.
Quarrying formed an important part of the cultural heritage of the area although most quarry workings have become muted over time. Indeed, the collapsed mine shafts at Quarry Woods have been overtaken by nature and now offer marvellous beech woodland beauty. The same is true of the flattened spoil heaps at Box Hill Common.
Heritage and Culture
In his work on Wiltshire, Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, the leading architectural historian, highlighted buildings with architectural and historic interest. Historic buildings constructed in stone are numerous in the area such as Chapel Plaister, Hazelbury Manor, Drewetts Mill , Fogleigh House, and Box School. All these buildings are designated heritage assets of national interest. Chapel Plaister and Hazelbury Manor are Grade I listed buildings, Drewetts Mill Grade II*, Fogleigh House and Box School Grade II. There are many, ourselves included, who would like to add a number of buildings as non-designated assets, not listed but still of merit as heritage assets of local interest. These might include Fairmead View, terraced cottages on Box Hill and Clift Quarry Works. You will probably have your own favourite buildings.
There are three Conservation Areas in Box – Central Box, Middlehill/Ditteridge and Ashley. Conservation Areas are normally designated by the local planning authority as those areas worthy of preservation or enhancement because of their special architectural or historic interest. They were started in 1967 and local authorities have a duty to define and manage areas under their control. Wiltshire has the greatest number of Conservation Areas of any county with 246 areas out of a national total of some 10,000. Particularly important are areas where the heritage is at risk. The AONB areas were started half a decade ago and the Conservation Areas were conceived 30 years ago. Surely it is now time for the local lanning authority to consider areas, such as Box Hill and certain the quarry sites as worthy of inclusion in a Conservation Area.
In his work on Wiltshire, Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, the leading architectural historian, highlighted buildings with architectural and historic interest. Historic buildings constructed in stone are numerous in the area such as Chapel Plaister, Hazelbury Manor, Drewetts Mill , Fogleigh House, and Box School. All these buildings are designated heritage assets of national interest. Chapel Plaister and Hazelbury Manor are Grade I listed buildings, Drewetts Mill Grade II*, Fogleigh House and Box School Grade II. There are many, ourselves included, who would like to add a number of buildings as non-designated assets, not listed but still of merit as heritage assets of local interest. These might include Fairmead View, terraced cottages on Box Hill and Clift Quarry Works. You will probably have your own favourite buildings.
There are three Conservation Areas in Box – Central Box, Middlehill/Ditteridge and Ashley. Conservation Areas are normally designated by the local planning authority as those areas worthy of preservation or enhancement because of their special architectural or historic interest. They were started in 1967 and local authorities have a duty to define and manage areas under their control. Wiltshire has the greatest number of Conservation Areas of any county with 246 areas out of a national total of some 10,000. Particularly important are areas where the heritage is at risk. The AONB areas were started half a decade ago and the Conservation Areas were conceived 30 years ago. Surely it is now time for the local lanning authority to consider areas, such as Box Hill and certain the quarry sites as worthy of inclusion in a Conservation Area.
Outstanding Natural Beauty
What we consider to be Natural Beauty is a difficult subject. Buildings are not natural; they are obviously man-made although derived from natural resources. Hedges, enclosed fields and dry-stone walls seem to be more natural but they are also created by man. Indeed, every field and most hillsides have been shaped and transformed by thousands of years of man’s farming activities.
The Costwold AONB Management Plan defines the special qualities of the AONB.[4] These special qualities encompass concepts well beyond scenic or aesthetic value. Their scope includes everything that makes an area distinctive: geology, climate, soil, plants, animals, communities, archaeology, buildings, and the perceptions of residents and visitors. The Cotswold AONB reviewed items such as: landscape and scenic quality, relative wildness and tranquillity, natural and cultural heritage.
The answer for beautiful nature has to be the By Brook valley running through the village. It has been claimed to be one of the last deep valleys in the south of England before reaching the flatlands of the Salisbury Plain and the slope down to the south coast. Part of its attraction is the different topography between north and south. The area north of the brook is predominantly farmland, the agriculture that John Aubrey described as chalk and cheese, whereby he asserted that dairy farming was evident to the north of the brook and sheep and arable to the south.[5] This interpretation of Box still largely prevails with Ingalls, Slade, Saltbox, Folly and Lower Rudloe Farms seen in a continuous line on the northern landscape and fewer farms to the south of the brook in Box.
But we need to be careful about the concept of continuity. The By Brook is full of meanders, twists and turns. Some of this is natural evolution but others have been man-made and diversions of the stream occur on a frequent basis. Box’s mills at Cuttings Mill, Box Mill and Drewetts Mill have all caused the course of the brook to vary. In our own time, the politics and economics of farming have led to development of smallholding in the war years and the decline of dairying.
What we consider to be Natural Beauty is a difficult subject. Buildings are not natural; they are obviously man-made although derived from natural resources. Hedges, enclosed fields and dry-stone walls seem to be more natural but they are also created by man. Indeed, every field and most hillsides have been shaped and transformed by thousands of years of man’s farming activities.
The Costwold AONB Management Plan defines the special qualities of the AONB.[4] These special qualities encompass concepts well beyond scenic or aesthetic value. Their scope includes everything that makes an area distinctive: geology, climate, soil, plants, animals, communities, archaeology, buildings, and the perceptions of residents and visitors. The Cotswold AONB reviewed items such as: landscape and scenic quality, relative wildness and tranquillity, natural and cultural heritage.
The answer for beautiful nature has to be the By Brook valley running through the village. It has been claimed to be one of the last deep valleys in the south of England before reaching the flatlands of the Salisbury Plain and the slope down to the south coast. Part of its attraction is the different topography between north and south. The area north of the brook is predominantly farmland, the agriculture that John Aubrey described as chalk and cheese, whereby he asserted that dairy farming was evident to the north of the brook and sheep and arable to the south.[5] This interpretation of Box still largely prevails with Ingalls, Slade, Saltbox, Folly and Lower Rudloe Farms seen in a continuous line on the northern landscape and fewer farms to the south of the brook in Box.
But we need to be careful about the concept of continuity. The By Brook is full of meanders, twists and turns. Some of this is natural evolution but others have been man-made and diversions of the stream occur on a frequent basis. Box’s mills at Cuttings Mill, Box Mill and Drewetts Mill have all caused the course of the brook to vary. In our own time, the politics and economics of farming have led to development of smallholding in the war years and the decline of dairying.
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Above: Some of the areas detailed in the Box Heritage leaflet. Do you recognise them? Top left courtesy Bob Child, others courtesy Varian Tye
The south of the By Brook is completely different. Regrettably, most of our quarry sites are no longer accessible and other countries show us up for their imaginative uses of caverns and quarries.
We have none of these imaginative uses for old quarries in the area but we do have buildings of historic and architectural interest from the quarry period. The pride of village quarry buildings is Clift Quarry Works, the headquarters of the Pictor stone empire, part of which may have been designed by architects James Hicks of Redruth - who designed Fogleigh House and Rudloe Towers (now Rudloe Park Hotel) for the Pictor family - and also worked on Box School. The quarrymen’s homes on Box Hill and the terraces in central Box at Mill Lane, Fairmead View and The High Street are an important collection of properties, showing just how much the village depended on the industry a century ago. The quarrying history in our area is worthy of conservation as it contributes to one of the special qualities of the area.
Enjoy Box
Thanks to the generous contributions of Box Parish Council, the Bingham Trust, the Cotswold Voluntary Wardens, Cotswold Conservation Board and Wiltshire Council, you can enjoy more of the unique heritage of Box through a free leaflet which is being distributed at local public places including the Library, Post Office, Parish Council Offices, shops, pubs and churches. Or please let us know directly if you want one. We want you to pick up one and enjoy Box’s Heritage to the full.
The leaflet forms one of a series under the umbrella of Corsham Walking Festival which aim to encourage people to explore the heritage of an area by walking mostly on public rights of way. Others will include Colerne, Biddestone and Slaughterford and Three Peacock trails, one of which is based on a circular walk from Corsham to Box.
Meanwhile, a Neighbourhood Plan is being created for Box Parish and a survey is being undertaken by Box Parish Council to establish what the community wants the parish to look like in the future. It ask questions such as what do you like best about the place where you live?
Thanks to the generous contributions of Box Parish Council, the Bingham Trust, the Cotswold Voluntary Wardens, Cotswold Conservation Board and Wiltshire Council, you can enjoy more of the unique heritage of Box through a free leaflet which is being distributed at local public places including the Library, Post Office, Parish Council Offices, shops, pubs and churches. Or please let us know directly if you want one. We want you to pick up one and enjoy Box’s Heritage to the full.
The leaflet forms one of a series under the umbrella of Corsham Walking Festival which aim to encourage people to explore the heritage of an area by walking mostly on public rights of way. Others will include Colerne, Biddestone and Slaughterford and Three Peacock trails, one of which is based on a circular walk from Corsham to Box.
Meanwhile, a Neighbourhood Plan is being created for Box Parish and a survey is being undertaken by Box Parish Council to establish what the community wants the parish to look like in the future. It ask questions such as what do you like best about the place where you live?
References
[1] https://www.cotswoldsaonb.org.uk/the-cotswolds-a-new-national-park/ and updated review https://www.gov.uk/government/news/independent-review-calls-for-radical-plan-for-englands-national-parks
[2] https://www.gov.uk/guidance/areas-of-outstanding-natural-beauty-aonbs-designation-and-management
[3] https://www.cotswoldsaonb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Management-Plan-2018-23.pdf
[4] https://www.cotswoldsaonb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Management-Plan-2018-23.pdf
[5] John Aubrey, Topographical Collections, late 1600s and reprinted Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, 1862
[6] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbgrHnbgoDU
[1] https://www.cotswoldsaonb.org.uk/the-cotswolds-a-new-national-park/ and updated review https://www.gov.uk/government/news/independent-review-calls-for-radical-plan-for-englands-national-parks
[2] https://www.gov.uk/guidance/areas-of-outstanding-natural-beauty-aonbs-designation-and-management
[3] https://www.cotswoldsaonb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Management-Plan-2018-23.pdf
[4] https://www.cotswoldsaonb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Management-Plan-2018-23.pdf
[5] John Aubrey, Topographical Collections, late 1600s and reprinted Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, 1862
[6] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbgrHnbgoDU