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Quarr Close:
The Story of a Plot of Land and the houses at Box Hill Road Conveyances Researched by Adrian Dingle additional details Alan Payne November 2015 This is the story of a single plot of land, Quarr Close at Box Hill, its quarrying history, and residents. Right: Francis Allen's 1630 map showing field names Quor Close and Brockwells (courtesy Adrian Dingle and Wiltshire History Centre). |
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This is the curious history of a plot of land over a period of 150 years which has been painstakingly recorded by the current owner Adrian Dingle. We often talk about houses being sold from one owner to the next, but this ignores all that happened in the meantime and the people who were involved with the land transactions. Quarr Close has become remembered as the site of the Rising Sun Inn which was destroyed in 1957. But this is to see the land in retrospect and we need to see the area before the A4 road was built through Quarr Close.
Creation of the A4 road, 1761
The name Quarr Close means the enclosed piece of land with a house near the Quarry. Nowadays we think that the area lies just off the A4 but that road was only built in 1761 and the area had a long history before then. The name of the plot identifies it as just on the outskirts of Hazelbury stone quarries, possibly where the owner or manager built a house. All of this related to the old worn-out open caste quarries a century before the Victorian quarry boom sparked by discoveries under Box Hill when the railway came to the area.
When the new road was completed it was a marvellous piece of work perched precariously halfway up the valley side at Box Hill, going straight through the old communal Box Fields. It was a turnpike (gated) road, paid for by charging travellers a toll to pass, and it separated Hazelbury from its medieval connection with the By Brook.
The road was a long while coming. It was first proposed in 1756 as a direct route from Pickwick, cutting right through Hartham Park, owned by Thomas Duckett, MP for Calne, and down Box Hill.[1] A new trust was formed to promote the road named Bricker’s Barn Trust, after a property at the Cross Keys Inn, Pickwick. By December 1761, the work was complete and The Bath Journal announced: The New Turnpike Road leading from Bath through Box to Chippenham, Calne and Marlborough is now completed and opened, reducing the distance by 1½ miles.[2]
The name Quarr Close means the enclosed piece of land with a house near the Quarry. Nowadays we think that the area lies just off the A4 but that road was only built in 1761 and the area had a long history before then. The name of the plot identifies it as just on the outskirts of Hazelbury stone quarries, possibly where the owner or manager built a house. All of this related to the old worn-out open caste quarries a century before the Victorian quarry boom sparked by discoveries under Box Hill when the railway came to the area.
When the new road was completed it was a marvellous piece of work perched precariously halfway up the valley side at Box Hill, going straight through the old communal Box Fields. It was a turnpike (gated) road, paid for by charging travellers a toll to pass, and it separated Hazelbury from its medieval connection with the By Brook.
The road was a long while coming. It was first proposed in 1756 as a direct route from Pickwick, cutting right through Hartham Park, owned by Thomas Duckett, MP for Calne, and down Box Hill.[1] A new trust was formed to promote the road named Bricker’s Barn Trust, after a property at the Cross Keys Inn, Pickwick. By December 1761, the work was complete and The Bath Journal announced: The New Turnpike Road leading from Bath through Box to Chippenham, Calne and Marlborough is now completed and opened, reducing the distance by 1½ miles.[2]
1840 Map
The first glimpse we get of the area is in the 1840 Tithe Apportionment map. It shows how the new road (A4), then a rough piece of land between the roads (shown as reference 394) owned and occupied by quarry owner Thomas Strong, then Beech Road, shown as of similar importance to the A4. Of interest on the south side of the land is 394b, a Cottage, shop and garden owned & occupied by James Pillinger.
The first glimpse we get of the area is in the 1840 Tithe Apportionment map. It shows how the new road (A4), then a rough piece of land between the roads (shown as reference 394) owned and occupied by quarry owner Thomas Strong, then Beech Road, shown as of similar importance to the A4. Of interest on the south side of the land is 394b, a Cottage, shop and garden owned & occupied by James Pillinger.
1840 Tithe Apportionment map courtesy Wiltshire History Centre
The properties on the map that are of most interest are given below (names in bold are referred to later in this article):
98c Philip Johnson, occupier of the Rising Sun Inn, garden and cottage; the land owner was the estate of William Wiltshire;
98a Cottage & garden occupied by William Bradfield; the land was owned by Hannah Bradfield;
98b Garden owned & occupied by Marie Hancock;
98d Cottage & garden occupied by Thomas Fox; owned by the Northey estate
There appears to be confusion over the number order and the map may not be totally accurate but we can make more progress with the people named for the plots.
Wiltshire Family
William Wiltshire was not a quarryman but a yeoman (farmer), comparatively rare for this part of Box which was traditionally a quarrying area. We can also discover about other family members. In January 1806 William, aged 35, married a local girl from a good family, Martha Vezey, and they had a child Rebecca in that year and another, Martha Lydia, in 1828.
The Wiltshire family was comparatively wealthy. In a sale dated March 1832 four plots of leasehold land came up for auction in the area of Quarr Close: a cottage rented by Robert Newman; a cottage occupied by Widow Wiltshire (presumed to be William's mother), with a small court in front and a piece of garden; a cottage occupied by Robert Shell; and a Piece of ground used as a Freestone Quarry of about 2 acres in the rent of Thomas Strong.[3] The newspaper report goes on to say All the above premises are near the great Turnpike Road leading from Bath to London.
The Wiltshire family were well-known locally. There is a monument to them in St Thomas à Becket churchyard with a stone chest tomb and an inscription to M Wiltshire who died in 1824. Their affluence is demonstrated again in the 1841 census. William and Rebecca Wiltshire lived at Box Hill, near the Beer House run by John Newman, mason. Their daughter, Martha, aged 13, was one of ten pupils at the school run in the Church yard (probably Springfield House) by Mary Jane Mullins. The idea of a good education for a girl as old as 13 years was unusual and shows how the Wiltshires aspired to middle class status. Unfortunately it was all short-lived. Rebecca died in 1854 and Martha Lydia in 1856, causing the sale of the land in the first conveyance for the area dated
13 August 1858 (see below).
William Wiltshire was not a quarryman but a yeoman (farmer), comparatively rare for this part of Box which was traditionally a quarrying area. We can also discover about other family members. In January 1806 William, aged 35, married a local girl from a good family, Martha Vezey, and they had a child Rebecca in that year and another, Martha Lydia, in 1828.
The Wiltshire family was comparatively wealthy. In a sale dated March 1832 four plots of leasehold land came up for auction in the area of Quarr Close: a cottage rented by Robert Newman; a cottage occupied by Widow Wiltshire (presumed to be William's mother), with a small court in front and a piece of garden; a cottage occupied by Robert Shell; and a Piece of ground used as a Freestone Quarry of about 2 acres in the rent of Thomas Strong.[3] The newspaper report goes on to say All the above premises are near the great Turnpike Road leading from Bath to London.
The Wiltshire family were well-known locally. There is a monument to them in St Thomas à Becket churchyard with a stone chest tomb and an inscription to M Wiltshire who died in 1824. Their affluence is demonstrated again in the 1841 census. William and Rebecca Wiltshire lived at Box Hill, near the Beer House run by John Newman, mason. Their daughter, Martha, aged 13, was one of ten pupils at the school run in the Church yard (probably Springfield House) by Mary Jane Mullins. The idea of a good education for a girl as old as 13 years was unusual and shows how the Wiltshires aspired to middle class status. Unfortunately it was all short-lived. Rebecca died in 1854 and Martha Lydia in 1856, causing the sale of the land in the first conveyance for the area dated
13 August 1858 (see below).
Local People in 1851
Some of the people mentioned in the conveyances were still living in the Quarr Close area in 1851:
William Bradfield, age 59, mason, with wife Ann, 61, and son John, 19, also a mason;
Henry ??, 32, quarryman, with his wife Jane, 44, and their four children;
George Gale, 39, in the Rising Sun Inn, house proprietor, with wife Harriet, 36, eight children and a servant;
Ann Head, 37, innkeeper, and Martha Head, 63, mother-in-law;
Mary Razey, 45, cordwainer (shoe-maker), and eight children.
Hannah Bradfield was still living at Box Hill in 1841 but appears to have passed away by 1851. Similarly Thomas Fox seems to have disappeared by 1851. Maria Hancock, 71, in receipt of parish relief, was lodging with Nathaniel Butler at Box Quarries in 1851.
Milsom Family
The story of the Milsom family has been recorded in the article Rising Sun and is not repeated here. The conveyances below show how the family bought the property from Browne Pinniger, who is believed to be the person usually called Henry Broome Pinniger, a Chippenham solicitor, who married Sarah Mitchell in 1858 and took ownership of the property for only a couple of years.
Some of the people mentioned in the conveyances were still living in the Quarr Close area in 1851:
William Bradfield, age 59, mason, with wife Ann, 61, and son John, 19, also a mason;
Henry ??, 32, quarryman, with his wife Jane, 44, and their four children;
George Gale, 39, in the Rising Sun Inn, house proprietor, with wife Harriet, 36, eight children and a servant;
Ann Head, 37, innkeeper, and Martha Head, 63, mother-in-law;
Mary Razey, 45, cordwainer (shoe-maker), and eight children.
Hannah Bradfield was still living at Box Hill in 1841 but appears to have passed away by 1851. Similarly Thomas Fox seems to have disappeared by 1851. Maria Hancock, 71, in receipt of parish relief, was lodging with Nathaniel Butler at Box Quarries in 1851.
Milsom Family
The story of the Milsom family has been recorded in the article Rising Sun and is not repeated here. The conveyances below show how the family bought the property from Browne Pinniger, who is believed to be the person usually called Henry Broome Pinniger, a Chippenham solicitor, who married Sarah Mitchell in 1858 and took ownership of the property for only a couple of years.
THA Poynder
THA Poynder is referred to in the conveyance dated 24 June 1869. The Poynder family of Hartham Park were one of the great late Victorian dynasties. Thomas Henry Allen Poynder bought the estate in the 1850s and founded a family who inherited titles such as Lord Islington (Sir John Poynder Dickson Poynder, Member of Parliament for Chippenham), the sixth baronet Dickson of Hardingham Hall (Sir Alexander Collingwood Thomas Dickson), and friends of Winston Churchill, Prime Minister Asquith and Prince Arthur, third son of Queen Victoria.
THA Poynder is referred to in the conveyance dated 24 June 1869. The Poynder family of Hartham Park were one of the great late Victorian dynasties. Thomas Henry Allen Poynder bought the estate in the 1850s and founded a family who inherited titles such as Lord Islington (Sir John Poynder Dickson Poynder, Member of Parliament for Chippenham), the sixth baronet Dickson of Hardingham Hall (Sir Alexander Collingwood Thomas Dickson), and friends of Winston Churchill, Prime Minister Asquith and Prince Arthur, third son of Queen Victoria.
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On THA Poynder's death in 1875, the estate passed to his brother, William Henry Poynder, who in 1877 built Box's drinking fountain at the corner of the Market Place and the High Street.
It was a statement of power, an ornate gothic structure with pink granite columns and a grey granite base built at the height of British imperial splendour. Its purpose was to service man and beast, providing a human drinking bowl to the front and horse trough to the rear, under a richly carved arched screen.[4] Colonel Northey donated the land and arranged for piped water to be brought from Washwells to the site with facilities for the new schools and local residences. When the family sold the property in 1909 it was bought at auction by George William Joel Allen, a man from Birmingham. Photo left The Poynder Fountain (courtesy Box Parish Council) |
The acquisition of the area by a man from the Midlands is fascinating. George William Joel Allen was a Mineral Water Manufacturer who saw an opportunity to use the spring water in Box Hill by aerating it and selling it as a refreshing sparkling pop. After his death, Martha, his widow, sold the rights (and the know-how) to David Milsom who used the information to produce lemonade which he sold under the name of MAPS (Milsom's Aerated Products).
Sir Edward Northey
The reference to Major-General Sir Edward Northey (1868 - 1953) on 14 June 1921 is interesting because it shows how complex the Northey Estate had become by 1921. Sir Edward was part of the Epsom branch of the family, first cousin of George Wilbraham Northey of Cheney Court. Sir Edward lived mostly at Woodcote House, Surrey, when he was in England, but he spent time as Governor-General of Kenya after his service in the First World War. He was a second son but his older brother William was killed in the Great War, as was Anson Northey. The reference below to 1922 relates to his appointment as High Commissioner of Zanzibar.
The reference to Major-General Sir Edward Northey (1868 - 1953) on 14 June 1921 is interesting because it shows how complex the Northey Estate had become by 1921. Sir Edward was part of the Epsom branch of the family, first cousin of George Wilbraham Northey of Cheney Court. Sir Edward lived mostly at Woodcote House, Surrey, when he was in England, but he spent time as Governor-General of Kenya after his service in the First World War. He was a second son but his older brother William was killed in the Great War, as was Anson Northey. The reference below to 1922 relates to his appointment as High Commissioner of Zanzibar.
Sir Edward retained many Box connections and was General of the south-west area of the Territorial Army, based in Bath, until his retirement in 1926. His most notable contribution to Box was the donation of the Upper and Lower Farm Mead, in association with Mr George Kidston, an area which we now call the Rec.[5]
Bristol Brewery Georges & Co Ltd
On David Milsom's death Quarr Close was sold to Bristol Brewery Georges & Co. The brewery was founded in 1788 by Philip George as a brew house and a malt house with a warehouse and cooperage in Tucker Street, Bristol. Its Black Ale was very popular in 1802 just before the outbreak of the Napoleonic Wars with the motto, Peace, Plenty and Porter. After the business became a limited company in 1888 it embarked on a series of acquisitions of other breweries and individual public houses, including the Rising Sun in Box.
On David Milsom's death Quarr Close was sold to Bristol Brewery Georges & Co. The brewery was founded in 1788 by Philip George as a brew house and a malt house with a warehouse and cooperage in Tucker Street, Bristol. Its Black Ale was very popular in 1802 just before the outbreak of the Napoleonic Wars with the motto, Peace, Plenty and Porter. After the business became a limited company in 1888 it embarked on a series of acquisitions of other breweries and individual public houses, including the Rising Sun in Box.
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At times the brewery was a fabulously wealthy business extending its brewery by building a raft of concrete over the River Avon in Bristol and making an enormous cellar under the river to keep its stock cool and dry for a year as the beer matured.
It owned almost a thousand pubs throughout England in the 1930s as the Tied House system of licensed premises ownership increased. Traditionally Box Brewery had provided the beer for Box pubs and they were acquired by the Ushers pub chain. But Georges owned the Queen's Head after 1919 and The Rising Sun after 1926. In 1961 Georges was taken over by Courage the London brewer. |
Bristol Brewery (copyright Rick Crowley)
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Going Down Box Hill, Right Side of Road
Brookwell
By the end of the Victorian period the area at the top of Box Hill had become well developed with houses, shops and factories.
The Abrahams family of butchers lived at Brookwell on Box Hill, going down the lane leading to Millsplatt and Drewett's Mill.
In 1911 four generations of the Abrahams family lived in six rooms there: Rhoda Evans, widow, born 1846; Ernest Edward Abrahams and his wife, Frances; their two sons Edward Bodin and Francis George (called George) and grandson Ernest Edward Callaway, whose family story is told at Callaway Family. The reminiscences of Elizabeth Abrahams, the wife of Francis George, are recorded elsewhere in this issue. When the house was owned by the Abrahams they had a small slaughterhouse there for their butchery business.
Prior to the Abrahams family, Brookwell was owned by the Cogswell family, who appear to have divided it into two properties. In 1891 Mark Cogswell, late GWR servant, retired on pension, and his wife Elizabeth lived next door to William and Leah and their children Maud, Harry James and Percy Mark, whose stories are recorded elsewhere on the website.
The Loader family are believed to have lived in the house later and at some point it came into the possession of Mr Norris. There is a local anecdote that Brookwell had a lean-to scullery at the back, which was undergoing some reconstruction by builders.
The story continues that, when the outhouse was removed, the house fell down.
Brookwell
By the end of the Victorian period the area at the top of Box Hill had become well developed with houses, shops and factories.
The Abrahams family of butchers lived at Brookwell on Box Hill, going down the lane leading to Millsplatt and Drewett's Mill.
In 1911 four generations of the Abrahams family lived in six rooms there: Rhoda Evans, widow, born 1846; Ernest Edward Abrahams and his wife, Frances; their two sons Edward Bodin and Francis George (called George) and grandson Ernest Edward Callaway, whose family story is told at Callaway Family. The reminiscences of Elizabeth Abrahams, the wife of Francis George, are recorded elsewhere in this issue. When the house was owned by the Abrahams they had a small slaughterhouse there for their butchery business.
Prior to the Abrahams family, Brookwell was owned by the Cogswell family, who appear to have divided it into two properties. In 1891 Mark Cogswell, late GWR servant, retired on pension, and his wife Elizabeth lived next door to William and Leah and their children Maud, Harry James and Percy Mark, whose stories are recorded elsewhere on the website.
The Loader family are believed to have lived in the house later and at some point it came into the possession of Mr Norris. There is a local anecdote that Brookwell had a lean-to scullery at the back, which was undergoing some reconstruction by builders.
The story continues that, when the outhouse was removed, the house fell down.
Brookwell (courtesy Sheila Bartlett)
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Entrance to the site of the propety (courtesy Carol Payne)
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The hard core base on the level land lying below the main road, was the site of Brookwell (photo courtesy C P).
Down the A4 from Brookwell was Dorma (pictured below left), the site of David Milsom's mineral water factory, and then the Rising Sun Inn (adjacent to the bus shelter).The catastrophic explosion of the Rising Sun Inn in 1957 was an event engraved in the memory of village residents. Many readers have told us that they heard the sound of the explosion or saw the flames from the gas pipes rising waist-high into the air from the road at the top of Box Hill. The tragedy deeply affected village life and is still referred to in reverential terms when thinking of the couple and the young child who lost their lives. The area of ground was donated by Courage the Brewers back to the local authority at Wiltshire County Council as a permanent memorial to the deceased.
Then came Clare Cottage, today called Hillcot (below right) which was a bakers shop operated in 1911 by John Fell Jones and his wife Ada. For two decades previously the bakery was operated by Charles and Rebecca Hancock. After Hillcote was Ivy Cottage, remembered as the home of Charles and Joan Woodgate, then further down the road Fogleigh Barn.
The pub tragedy affected the whole area at the top of Box Hill. Instead of being a little hamlet on the outskirts of Box, residents were concerned about future problems and the shops gradually closed.
Then came Clare Cottage, today called Hillcot (below right) which was a bakers shop operated in 1911 by John Fell Jones and his wife Ada. For two decades previously the bakery was operated by Charles and Rebecca Hancock. After Hillcote was Ivy Cottage, remembered as the home of Charles and Joan Woodgate, then further down the road Fogleigh Barn.
The pub tragedy affected the whole area at the top of Box Hill. Instead of being a little hamlet on the outskirts of Box, residents were concerned about future problems and the shops gradually closed.
Dorma the site of the aerated water factory (courtesy C P)
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Hill Cote (photograph courtesy C P)
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Hillcot
Up to the 1930s Hillcot was owned by William Charles and Mary Elizabeth Bradfield. William was possibly related to a stone mason, William Bradfield, born in 1821 and his wife Matilda was 25 years his junior. In 1871 they had two young children: Jessica, aged 4, and Alberta, 11 months. William Charles died in 1932 and Mary Elizabeth in 1958, being buried in Box Cemetery.
By 1939 the house was occupied by Walter Hodgson, aged 53, who got his name in the local newspapers when he was knocked down by a car outside his home, possibly due to wartime blackout restrictions.[6] In the next issue we are including a fuller history of Hillcot and the people who lived in the house and the immediate area.
Up to the 1930s Hillcot was owned by William Charles and Mary Elizabeth Bradfield. William was possibly related to a stone mason, William Bradfield, born in 1821 and his wife Matilda was 25 years his junior. In 1871 they had two young children: Jessica, aged 4, and Alberta, 11 months. William Charles died in 1932 and Mary Elizabeth in 1958, being buried in Box Cemetery.
By 1939 the house was occupied by Walter Hodgson, aged 53, who got his name in the local newspapers when he was knocked down by a car outside his home, possibly due to wartime blackout restrictions.[6] In the next issue we are including a fuller history of Hillcot and the people who lived in the house and the immediate area.
Going Up Box Hill, Right Side of Road
Below you can see some of the properties on the right side going up Box Hill, which are now all residential houses. At one time this was a little hamlet with shops and a vibrant communal spirit. Nowadays the volume of traffic on the A4 limits this and for travellers, rushing past, we often see little of the houses that make up this fascinating area.
The first property was Vale View (below left), the home of Nigel Bence, one of Box's best ever cricketers recalled in the story by his brother Geoff at Bence Family. Then came a property called Magna (below right) once known as Mr Maynard's shop (colloquially the owner was called Poshy Maynard).
Below you can see some of the properties on the right side going up Box Hill, which are now all residential houses. At one time this was a little hamlet with shops and a vibrant communal spirit. Nowadays the volume of traffic on the A4 limits this and for travellers, rushing past, we often see little of the houses that make up this fascinating area.
The first property was Vale View (below left), the home of Nigel Bence, one of Box's best ever cricketers recalled in the story by his brother Geoff at Bence Family. Then came a property called Magna (below right) once known as Mr Maynard's shop (colloquially the owner was called Poshy Maynard).
Vale View (courtesy C P)
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Magna (courtesy C P)
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Going up Box Hill were three buildings, one at the corner of Beech Road, then Alma and Ebury. At one time this was called Elmer, where Reg Cogswell lived.
At corner of Beech Road (courtesy C P)
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Alma (courtesy C P)
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Ebury (courtesy C P)
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Two of the older houses come next called Hill View (below left) and Jessamine Cottage (below right).
Hill View (courtesy C P)
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Jessamine Cottage (courtesy C P)
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Then came one of the most interesting parts of Box Hill. Set back off the road was The Old Masonry (below left) where Maurice Sheppard once lived. The name of the house recalls the history of the area because in front of it, running along the roadside and now covered in greenery, was the stone yard owned by Carpenter and Sheppard Ltd.
The Old Masonry (C P)
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The original Post Box (C P)
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Prominent on the road was the old Box Hill Post Office (below), which still has its letter box (above right) and telephone kiosk as well as the original formal exterior as befitted a house representing Queen Victoria's Royal Mail. The Post Office is now called Highway, and, at times, was divided into two properties. Does anyone know when the business was converted into residential use?
The Old Post Office, Box Hill, now called Highway (courtesy C P)
Going up the hill comes the garage (below left) now run by PJ Motor Services and next to it The Perch (below right) set back off the road, the name of the house again reflecting its location.
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Two modern bungalows came next, again set back off the road to give views and privacy: Panorama (below left) and Briardale (below right). Between the two houses is the footpath called The Drum, seen below right. Panorama was the home of Wilf Barnett in the 1960s and Briardale was the home of Tom Dancey.
Panorama (courtesy C P)
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Briardale (courtesy C P)
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At one time the whole area would have been a hive of activity. From the stoneyard, stone blocks were loaded onto trolleys and hauled up the hill to Bath View where they were loaded onto trucks and allowed to run freestyle downhill on a rail line parallel to the A4, going under the road and then to the Wharf area for dispatch by national rail.[11]
Rail track to Bath View seen alongside the A4 (courtesy Box Parish Council)
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Bath View had a steam engine which was kept in the garage to pull stone trucks back up the hill from the railway wharf. It was also a local bakery which housed the delivery horse.
Bath View was occupied by Albert Sheppard (b 1876) in 1911, where he lived with his wife Flora (b 1880) and two children Dorothy and Percival. Albert was described as Banker Mason worker for Bath Freestone. Probably Bath View was the family house because in the 1901 census his parents David Sheppard (b 1836 at Atworth), a Quarry Man (Manager?) lived at an unidentified property on Box Hill together with Albert. |
Nearby Bath View in 1901 lived Alfred and Ada Hancock and at 1 The Rocks was David Milsom and his wife Jane.
Other Sheppard Quarry Businesses
Another member of the family, W Allen Sheppard, the cousin of the owner of the stone yard, ran five quarries at Keinton Mandeville, Somerset, which he sold to the Hard Stone Firms Ltd in 1897.[12] This company had extensive quarry land in Somerset and Cornwall and was operated by some of the most important quarry owners including HRN Pictor, Isaac Sumpsion and RE Giles, who all operated in Box as well. The business was almost crippled from the start with a 7¾ month strike by 222 quarrymen seeking regular wages rather than payment by piecework but later revived and focused on the production of kerbstones.[13]
WA Sheppard became Managing Director of the Corsham Bath Stone Co Ltd who fought against the recession in the quarry trade by promoting production of standard-sized freestone blocks, 4½ inches thick and 6¼ inches high, which could be used for building as readily as bricks.[14] Whilst the Goverment advocated Homes For Heroes after the Great War, the economic recession was against the quarry trade and the cost of mechanised saw-cutting machinery depended on high and consistent production volumes. The company merged into the Elm Park and Corsham Down Bath Stone Compnay Ltd in 1921 and started selling its product to America.[15]
AW Sheppard was a quarry owner but the business got into financial problems and was sold to the Bath and Portland Stone Firms.[16]
Another member of the family, W Allen Sheppard, the cousin of the owner of the stone yard, ran five quarries at Keinton Mandeville, Somerset, which he sold to the Hard Stone Firms Ltd in 1897.[12] This company had extensive quarry land in Somerset and Cornwall and was operated by some of the most important quarry owners including HRN Pictor, Isaac Sumpsion and RE Giles, who all operated in Box as well. The business was almost crippled from the start with a 7¾ month strike by 222 quarrymen seeking regular wages rather than payment by piecework but later revived and focused on the production of kerbstones.[13]
WA Sheppard became Managing Director of the Corsham Bath Stone Co Ltd who fought against the recession in the quarry trade by promoting production of standard-sized freestone blocks, 4½ inches thick and 6¼ inches high, which could be used for building as readily as bricks.[14] Whilst the Goverment advocated Homes For Heroes after the Great War, the economic recession was against the quarry trade and the cost of mechanised saw-cutting machinery depended on high and consistent production volumes. The company merged into the Elm Park and Corsham Down Bath Stone Compnay Ltd in 1921 and started selling its product to America.[15]
AW Sheppard was a quarry owner but the business got into financial problems and was sold to the Bath and Portland Stone Firms.[16]
The Quarr Close area is just a field as you can see from the picture above. But it has been owned and associated with some of the most important and interesting people in Box village. If all this history can be traced from the records of such a small area, just imagine what can be traced from your property. We would love to hear from you if you can tell us more about Quarr Close or about your property.
References
[1] John Poulsom, The Ways of Corsham, p.10
[2] The Bath Journal quoted in Daphne Phillips, The Great Road to Bath, 1983, Countryside Books, p.40
[3] The Bath Chronicle, 8 March 1832
[4] Historic Buildings
[5] Bath Chronicle and Herald, 24 July 1926
[6] Bath Weekly Chronicle and Herald, 23 September 1939
[7] Kelly's Directory, 1939
[8] RJ Tucker, Scripta Legenda: Box Quarries Vol1, 1974, Free Troglophile Association Press, p.36
[9] Frank Elms, Tanky Elms, 1984, CJ Hall, p.61
[10] Michael Marshman, The Wiltshire Village Book, 1987, Countryside Books
[11] Frank Elms, Tanky Elms, p.61
[12] The Bath Chronicle, 28 October 1897
[13] The Bath Chronicle, 7 December 1899
[14] The Bath Chronicle, 1 May 1920
[15] Western Daily Press, 26 April 1921
[16] Roger J Tucker, Some Notable Wiltshire Quarrymen, Free Troglophile Association Press, p. 16
[1] John Poulsom, The Ways of Corsham, p.10
[2] The Bath Journal quoted in Daphne Phillips, The Great Road to Bath, 1983, Countryside Books, p.40
[3] The Bath Chronicle, 8 March 1832
[4] Historic Buildings
[5] Bath Chronicle and Herald, 24 July 1926
[6] Bath Weekly Chronicle and Herald, 23 September 1939
[7] Kelly's Directory, 1939
[8] RJ Tucker, Scripta Legenda: Box Quarries Vol1, 1974, Free Troglophile Association Press, p.36
[9] Frank Elms, Tanky Elms, 1984, CJ Hall, p.61
[10] Michael Marshman, The Wiltshire Village Book, 1987, Countryside Books
[11] Frank Elms, Tanky Elms, p.61
[12] The Bath Chronicle, 28 October 1897
[13] The Bath Chronicle, 7 December 1899
[14] The Bath Chronicle, 1 May 1920
[15] Western Daily Press, 26 April 1921
[16] Roger J Tucker, Some Notable Wiltshire Quarrymen, Free Troglophile Association Press, p. 16