Head & Chandler Family Derek Gifford Head July 2019
Derek wrote to us: We have a John Bullock of Box long case clock. It has been suggested that the clock may date to about 1815. Derek thought that we might be interested in it, as indicated in our Bullock Clock article. He wrote: We are a Box family, although no longer live in the village. I believe the clock came via our grandmother who was a Chandler, living at the Manor Garage at some time. We wanted to know more about this aspect of Box’s history and this is the story of Derek’s family.
Early Head Family
The Heads are one of the oldest Box families going back four hundred years. There are mentions of William Head born 1530, and his great grandson Gifford Head baptised 1 November 1627 and buried at St Thomas a Becket Church on 23 December 1686. The name Gifford (sometimes spelled Gefford, Giffard or Jefford) runs through several generations. On 14 November 1658, a Gefford Head married Ann West in Box. It is not possible to establish a family tree for these early references but they were a long-lasting and (presumably) widespread family. Another Gifford married Mary Sanger in Box on 11 December 1727 and they had a son, yet another Gifford, who was baptised on 5 September 1734. And so it continued with Gifford (baptised 29 April 1787) born to parents James and Sarah Head; another Gifford, a groom, who married Martha Mills on 15 September 1811; and yet another born 19 May 1811 to Joseph and Mary Head.
The Heads are one of the oldest Box families going back four hundred years. There are mentions of William Head born 1530, and his great grandson Gifford Head baptised 1 November 1627 and buried at St Thomas a Becket Church on 23 December 1686. The name Gifford (sometimes spelled Gefford, Giffard or Jefford) runs through several generations. On 14 November 1658, a Gefford Head married Ann West in Box. It is not possible to establish a family tree for these early references but they were a long-lasting and (presumably) widespread family. Another Gifford married Mary Sanger in Box on 11 December 1727 and they had a son, yet another Gifford, who was baptised on 5 September 1734. And so it continued with Gifford (baptised 29 April 1787) born to parents James and Sarah Head; another Gifford, a groom, who married Martha Mills on 15 September 1811; and yet another born 19 May 1811 to Joseph and Mary Head.
Many of the female members of the family married into other Box families. Unity Head (b 1683) married John Cogswell in 1706 and they lived in Corsham until her daughter, also Unity, moved back to the village in 1783. Unity Head’s grandson, Mark Cogswell, became one of the first Railway Policemen.
Some of the family became wealthy and one branch built a monument tomb in Box churchyard in a prime position outside the north door. It is an expensive chest tomb from the early 1800s and has an inscription to John Head. We might imagine that their money came from the general economic expansion of Box in the late 1700s and early 1800s arising from the stone quarrying industry. Unfortunately, nothing further is known about this person.
Stone Masons and Beer Brewers
On 23 October 1832 we get more definite information about the family when Gifford Head, a mason, married Sarah Tiley. By 1841, they lived at Box Hill with their children. Gifford worked away from the village as a journeyman mason fixing masonry work on the sites of prestigious buildings. He may have had a supplementary job in connection with the Rising Sun Inn and in 1841 he was responsible for letting the Malt House of the pub.[1]
Some of the family became wealthy and one branch built a monument tomb in Box churchyard in a prime position outside the north door. It is an expensive chest tomb from the early 1800s and has an inscription to John Head. We might imagine that their money came from the general economic expansion of Box in the late 1700s and early 1800s arising from the stone quarrying industry. Unfortunately, nothing further is known about this person.
Stone Masons and Beer Brewers
On 23 October 1832 we get more definite information about the family when Gifford Head, a mason, married Sarah Tiley. By 1841, they lived at Box Hill with their children. Gifford worked away from the village as a journeyman mason fixing masonry work on the sites of prestigious buildings. He may have had a supplementary job in connection with the Rising Sun Inn and in 1841 he was responsible for letting the Malt House of the pub.[1]
The 1840 Tithe Apportionment Map records Jefford Head as the tenant of the Rising Sun Public House (reference 98c), which he sub-let to Philip Johnson. Jefford also owned a house and a cottage on the opposite side of the road (ref 385), which he let out and a stable and garden (385a) which he used himself. Another property around the location of the Quarryman’s Arms was tenanted by his children Joseph, Hester and Jefford Junior. 1851 Joseph Head was listed in the census as Beerhouse keeper on Box Hill.
Although the name Gifford is unusual, it is still difficult to sort out one such person from others of the same name. There was another Gifford Head, a different branch of the family, who continued farming and owned several fields on the Bradford Road around the area of Chapel Plaister in 1840 (Refs 404, 429, 452, 454, 693).
Although the name Gifford is unusual, it is still difficult to sort out one such person from others of the same name. There was another Gifford Head, a different branch of the family, who continued farming and owned several fields on the Bradford Road around the area of Chapel Plaister in 1840 (Refs 404, 429, 452, 454, 693).
Chandler Family
Our grandfather Alfred Head worked in the stone industry as a mason and he married our grandmother Cecilia Sarah Chandler on 22 July 1915. After their marriage they lived at 20 Fairmead View in a cottage built by the Bath and Portland Stone Firms for their employees. The plan to build the cottages was devised by The Firms in 1899 and built piecemeal thereafter. Fairmead View seems to have been built about 1911 and it is possible that the Heads were some of the earliest residents.
Cecilia was the third daughter of Henry and Sarah Chandler, another notable local Box family with connections to the Oatley family. Henry Chandler was a baker and grocer at Stanley House, Box Hill.[2] In 1916, sixty-five-year-old Henry argued unsuccessfully against the conscription of his youngest son, Percy Stanley, in order to work in the bakehouse and delivering bread.
By 1926 the Chandler family were renting the Manor House in the centre of Box and Percy pursued his motor vehicle interest, running a car repair and taxi service from the old wagon and machinery workshop buildings at Manor Garage.[3] By 1933 he was recognised as an expert witness in local car accident cases, undertaking work such as testing the brakes of cars involved in accidents.[4] An incident in one case caused moments of hilarity when Frederick Henry Currant gave evidence in court that a stationary car came along the road outside the Northey Arms.[5] It transpired that the car had stationery advertising on the side with the name of a newspaper.
The mid-1930s were troubled years for the Chandler family. Our great grandmother Cecilia died in December 1933 after 58 years of marriage to Henry as the oldest married couple in the village.[6] Their younger daughter, Mary, who had returned home to nurse her mother took ill and died six months later and Henry passed away a month after that.[7] As well as these family difficulties, Percy had business problems. The car trade collapsed with the manufacture of military rather than private vehicles and official petrol rationing as soon as war was declared.
Modern Times
Our father was Alfred Edward Head (always called Ted), who was born in 1918 and worked as an electrical engineer. He married our mother Lily Davies in 1946 and had two sons Richard Edward born 1946 and Derek Gifford born 1950. We lived at 26 Fairmead View because our parents wanted to be close to our grandparents, Alfred and Cecilia, at number 20. We both left the village in 1972 when Richard married Lindsay Duffee and Derek married Suzanne Perrott.
The car in the headline picture is not on a hardstanding, as there weren’t any until our father built one outside number 26 in the 1960s or 70s. The only access was from the A4, there never was any access from Mill Lane. From our memory the first people who had a car were Mr Fido and our father. Dad certainly never mentioned who the car belonged to and may of course be a complete stranger looking for Mill Lane and came a cropper!
Here are the photographs of the Bullock clock in our possession. They are a tangible connection with Box as now there are no members of the Head family left in the village.
Our grandfather Alfred Head worked in the stone industry as a mason and he married our grandmother Cecilia Sarah Chandler on 22 July 1915. After their marriage they lived at 20 Fairmead View in a cottage built by the Bath and Portland Stone Firms for their employees. The plan to build the cottages was devised by The Firms in 1899 and built piecemeal thereafter. Fairmead View seems to have been built about 1911 and it is possible that the Heads were some of the earliest residents.
Cecilia was the third daughter of Henry and Sarah Chandler, another notable local Box family with connections to the Oatley family. Henry Chandler was a baker and grocer at Stanley House, Box Hill.[2] In 1916, sixty-five-year-old Henry argued unsuccessfully against the conscription of his youngest son, Percy Stanley, in order to work in the bakehouse and delivering bread.
By 1926 the Chandler family were renting the Manor House in the centre of Box and Percy pursued his motor vehicle interest, running a car repair and taxi service from the old wagon and machinery workshop buildings at Manor Garage.[3] By 1933 he was recognised as an expert witness in local car accident cases, undertaking work such as testing the brakes of cars involved in accidents.[4] An incident in one case caused moments of hilarity when Frederick Henry Currant gave evidence in court that a stationary car came along the road outside the Northey Arms.[5] It transpired that the car had stationery advertising on the side with the name of a newspaper.
The mid-1930s were troubled years for the Chandler family. Our great grandmother Cecilia died in December 1933 after 58 years of marriage to Henry as the oldest married couple in the village.[6] Their younger daughter, Mary, who had returned home to nurse her mother took ill and died six months later and Henry passed away a month after that.[7] As well as these family difficulties, Percy had business problems. The car trade collapsed with the manufacture of military rather than private vehicles and official petrol rationing as soon as war was declared.
Modern Times
Our father was Alfred Edward Head (always called Ted), who was born in 1918 and worked as an electrical engineer. He married our mother Lily Davies in 1946 and had two sons Richard Edward born 1946 and Derek Gifford born 1950. We lived at 26 Fairmead View because our parents wanted to be close to our grandparents, Alfred and Cecilia, at number 20. We both left the village in 1972 when Richard married Lindsay Duffee and Derek married Suzanne Perrott.
The car in the headline picture is not on a hardstanding, as there weren’t any until our father built one outside number 26 in the 1960s or 70s. The only access was from the A4, there never was any access from Mill Lane. From our memory the first people who had a car were Mr Fido and our father. Dad certainly never mentioned who the car belonged to and may of course be a complete stranger looking for Mill Lane and came a cropper!
Here are the photographs of the Bullock clock in our possession. They are a tangible connection with Box as now there are no members of the Head family left in the village.
Postscript
We have had an update on the headline photograph. Mike Jacobs has a copy of the photo with the name Jim Greenman written on the reverse and the date 1931. Henry James (Jim ) Greenman, a banker mason, lived at 21 Mill Lane (Fairmead View) in the 1920s and 30s. Mystery solved?
We have had an update on the headline photograph. Mike Jacobs has a copy of the photo with the name Jim Greenman written on the reverse and the date 1931. Henry James (Jim ) Greenman, a banker mason, lived at 21 Mill Lane (Fairmead View) in the 1920s and 30s. Mystery solved?
We can offer some speculative suggestions about Derek’s marvellous photographs. At first, we thought that the car might have belonged to PC Joe Gape who lived at number 24. But this is doubtful because of the salaries paid to local policemen. Could it be that the car belonged to Percy Stanley Chandler, keen to show it off to his parents Alfred and Cecilia at 20 Fairmead View? And the clock that Derek inherited - with the sudden deaths of Henry, Cecilia and Mary Chandler in 1933-34 necessitated the moving of it quickly and from the Chandler family to the Heads and its removal from number 20 to 26 Fairmead View records its subsequent possession by Derek.
Family Tree (extract)
Head Family
Gifford Head (b 1812 in Box), groom, married Sarah Tiley (b 1809) on 23 October 1832. By 1841, they lived at Box Hill where Gifford was working as a stone mason. Children: Elizabeth (b 1834); Alfred (b 1837); George (b 1839); James (b 1841);
John (b 1844); Fanny (b 1852) and Richard (b 1847).
Gifford (b 1811) and his second wife Jane (b 1816) lived on Quarry Hill in 1881, where Gifford aged 70 called himself a Mason (Out of Employment).
Gifford (b 1854), stonemason, from Colerne lived with his wife Fanny (b 1853) at Box Hill in 1901. Children:
Euphemia Eva (b 1872) married William Richard Cook in 1900; [8]
Helena (b 1876);
Rubina (b 1879);
Alfred (b 1881), stonemason;
William Edward (b 1884), stonemason;
Annie (b 1887);
Fanny (b 1889); and
Albert George (b 1891) who married Alice R Ingram in 1918.
Joseph Head (b 1785) Beer House Keeper, his wife Mary (b 1786) and various of their children lived on Box Hill in 1841 and 1851. Children: James (b 1821); Joseph (b 1821): George (b 1822); Ann (b 1826); and Lydia (b 1826).
Alfred Head (b 29 October 1880) was a mason who married Cecilia Sarah Chandler (b 15 October 1883) in 1915. Children:
Percy Gifford (always known as Geoff) (b 13 October 1916), Professional Pianist;
Alfred Edward (30 September 1918), electrical engineer.
Head Family
Gifford Head (b 1812 in Box), groom, married Sarah Tiley (b 1809) on 23 October 1832. By 1841, they lived at Box Hill where Gifford was working as a stone mason. Children: Elizabeth (b 1834); Alfred (b 1837); George (b 1839); James (b 1841);
John (b 1844); Fanny (b 1852) and Richard (b 1847).
Gifford (b 1811) and his second wife Jane (b 1816) lived on Quarry Hill in 1881, where Gifford aged 70 called himself a Mason (Out of Employment).
Gifford (b 1854), stonemason, from Colerne lived with his wife Fanny (b 1853) at Box Hill in 1901. Children:
Euphemia Eva (b 1872) married William Richard Cook in 1900; [8]
Helena (b 1876);
Rubina (b 1879);
Alfred (b 1881), stonemason;
William Edward (b 1884), stonemason;
Annie (b 1887);
Fanny (b 1889); and
Albert George (b 1891) who married Alice R Ingram in 1918.
Joseph Head (b 1785) Beer House Keeper, his wife Mary (b 1786) and various of their children lived on Box Hill in 1841 and 1851. Children: James (b 1821); Joseph (b 1821): George (b 1822); Ann (b 1826); and Lydia (b 1826).
Alfred Head (b 29 October 1880) was a mason who married Cecilia Sarah Chandler (b 15 October 1883) in 1915. Children:
Percy Gifford (always known as Geoff) (b 13 October 1916), Professional Pianist;
Alfred Edward (30 September 1918), electrical engineer.
References
[1] Devizes and Wiltshire Gazette, 25 November 1841
[2] The Wiltshire Times, 25 March 1916
[3] Bath Chronicle and Herald, 15 May 1926
[4] The Wiltshire Ties, 20 May 1933
[5] The Wiltshire Times, 22 February 1930
[6] The Wiltshire Times, 23 December 1933
[7] The Wiltshire Times, 23 June 1934 and 21 July 1934
[8] Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 14 July 1900
[1] Devizes and Wiltshire Gazette, 25 November 1841
[2] The Wiltshire Times, 25 March 1916
[3] Bath Chronicle and Herald, 15 May 1926
[4] The Wiltshire Ties, 20 May 1933
[5] The Wiltshire Times, 22 February 1930
[6] The Wiltshire Times, 23 December 1933
[7] The Wiltshire Times, 23 June 1934 and 21 July 1934
[8] Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 14 July 1900