The Cobett family (courtesy Margaret Wakefield)

​The Way We Were -
Late Victorian & Edwardian Box

The Story of Box and its People 1870 - 1920s
November 2014

Box was small compared to the modern village but it was gradually expanding. The population of Box increased 7% in the period, from 1,987 in 1851 to 2,120 in 1921, despite the losses in the Great War and the emigration of many unemployed people to the United States, Canada, and Australia.[1]

As well as the population increase, the period between 1870 and 1920 was one of the most formative times in the development of our modern society. It shaped our views of democracy, family, fashion and much of our culture. Social change was wide-ranging, irreversible and long-lasting. We are all children of that revolution and this series of articles is the story of the ordinary folk of Box in the period from about 1870 to about 1920. We welcome all contributions from Box residents, especially of photos in your family albums of what life was like in the village then.

Articles, Author and Issue
1899 - A Year of Festivities,  Jane Browning, 5
Valens Terrace,  Hugh Sawyer, 5
Village Outings,  Alan Payne, 5
Local Pubs,  David Ibberson, 5
Timeline in Victorian Period,  Patty Baldwin, 5
Box House,  ​David Ibberson, 6
Parish Magazine,  Brian Hatton, 6
Celebrations,  Alan Payne, 6
Postcards of Box,  Rose Ledbury, 6
Skeate, Speck and Ponting,  Ralph Herbert Ponting, 6
Steam Mill Cottages,  Val Wilson, 7

Articles, Author and Issue
​Class Divisions,  Alan Payne, 7
Grove Inn, Ashley,  Peter Ford, 7
Farming Depression,  Alan Payne, 8
Ashley Leigh,  Robert Alderman, 8
George Reeves, Quarryman Ganger,  ​Graham Matthews, 9
Dipsomania Establishment,  David Ibberson, 9
New Box Schools, 1875,  Alan Payne, 9
Methodist Church,  ​Alan Payne, 10
Box Fete & Friendly Societies,  ​Alan Payne, 10
End of Era - Northey Sale,  Claire Botcherby, 10
​Golden Jubilee 1887,  ​Vaughan Hill, 15

References
[1] Wiltshire History Centre, Summary of Census Results