Timeline
Patty Baldwin, November 2014 This timeline of Box was compiled by Patty Baldwin from information available at the time. To put it into context,we have added details of national events. Perhaps you can bring personal knowledge to some of these events and make the timeline even more accurate? If you are able to add to or amend the Box details, Patty would like to hear from you, via the Contact tab. Left: Ogilby's map of the area in 1675 shows the route into Box for travellers. |
Box Events 1840 - now National Events 1840 - now
1841 30th June Box Tunnel was opened, without ceremony
1851 Alice Sudell, sister-in-law of the vicar of Box, gave land at Henley to build additional schoolhouse (now Henley Cottage) 1857 George Pinchen lived at Hatt House 1857 Cemetery, Lodge and Chapel built on London Road by Poulton and Woodman of Reading 1864 100,000 tons of stone per year were being dispatched from Corsham Station, reaching Birmingham at 1s.5d per cubic foot, Plymouth for 1s.4d and Newcastle 1s.7d. Locally stone only cost 6d per cubic foot. 1864 Box Brewery built in Market Place 1865 Quarryman's Arms rebuilt as beer-house 1867 Free Methodist Chapel built on Box Hill 1869 Kingsdown Methodist Chapel built 1870 Box Cricket Club founded at The Chequers Inn 1875 Box Church of England Schools built by Bladwells of Bath. 1875 Rudloe Park Hotel was built for HR Pictor by James Hicks 1877 Poynder Fountain was erected in the centre of the village 1879 Box Poorhouse sold for private residences 1880 Adult House was built as an Adult Evening School 1880 Kingsdown Golf Club formed at The Swan Inn 1881 Fogleigh House built for quarry owner CJ Pictor 1887 Amalgamation of several local quarries into Bath Stone Firms Limited 1896 Parish Council formed 1897 The Parish Council authorised a two-faced clock to be built at Box School at a cost of £65 1897 Methodist Chapel opened on High Street 1897 St Thomas à Becket Church restored 1906 Methodist school room and hall built 1906 Bingham Hall built 1906 Box Rifle Club founded 1907 Roman Villa excavated by Sir Harold Brakspeare 1910 Box Scouts formed 1912 Sale of the Northey Estate 1920 War Memorial dedicated 1920 Longsplatt stone quarry closed 1924 Box Girl Guides formed 1925 Mr Kidston gave the Recreation Ground to the village 1929 The Bassetts built 1930 Box Halt at Mill Lane opened 1935 Electricity installed at St Thomas à Becket church 1937 Library started in Bingham Hall 1940 German airmen temporarily buried in the village 1940 Evacuation of London children to Box 1942 Underground aircraft factories built at Hawthorne, Leafield and Box Hill 1943 Box Highlands School (now Corsham Primary) established at Box Fields 1945 Bargates built on the old Fete Field 1954 New Scout Hall built 1957 Rising Sun Inn explosion on Box Hill 1964 Box Railway Station and Halt closed 1967 Singer Frankie Vaughan visits Box 1967 The Lamb Inn on Devizes Road closed 1968 Vine Court built 1969 Selwyn Hall and Library built 1970 The old Bingham Hall closed 1977 Jubilee Youth Centre redeveloped 1978 Parish Council took over Box Common 1982 Box Revels started 1983 Box School new entrance built 1998 Lovar water garden built 2000 Millennium Woods donated by George Lacy 2008 The Chequers Inn in the Market Place converted to private house 2014 The Bear ceased trading as a pub |
1842 Peacetime Income Tax
introduced
1845 SS Great Britain sails to USA 1845 Irish Potato Famine 1846 Repeal of Corn Laws 1851 Great Exhibition opens 1854 Crimean War 1859 Darwin's Origin of Species published 1861 Prince Albert dies 1863 London Underground started 1864 John Hanning Speke dies 1865 Lister develops antiseptics 1866 Barnardos Homes started 1867 Second Electoral Reform Act 1867 Nelson's Column built 1868 Disraeli then Gladstone became Prime Minister 1869 Suez Canal opened 1870 Charles Dickens dies 1870 Compulsory primary schools 1872 Agricultural Labourers Trade Union formed 1872 First Football Cup Final 1876 Queen Victoria becomes Empress of India 1880 Compulsory education for under 10s 1881 First domestic electric light 1883 Married women allowed to own property 1883 Robert Louis Stevenson writes Treasure Island 1888 Jack the Ripper stalks London 1891 Thomas Hardy writes Tess of the d'Urbervilles 1894 Parish Councils formed 1897 Marconi invents radio 1899 Second Boer War starts 1900 Relief of Mafeking 1901 Labour Party formed 1901 Queen Victoria dies 1908 Olympic Games in London 1908 Old Age pension started 1911 National insurance against sickness and unemployment 1912 Titanic sunk 1914 World War 1 starts 1917 Russian revolution 1918 Flu epidemic in UK 1919 Paris Peace Conference ends WW1 1926 Baird invents television 1927 BBC started 1928 All women get the vote 1929 Wall Street crash starts Great Depression 1936 Edward VIII abdicates in favour of George VI 1936 Jarrow march of unemployed to London 1939 Start of World War 2 1942 USA enters the WW2 1944 Free secondary education starts 1945 End of World War 2 1948 National Health Service formed 1951 Festival of Britain 1952 George VI dies, Elizabeth II succeeds to throne 1955 ITV starts 1965 Death penalty abolished 1966 England win World Cup 1969 Concorde makes first flight 1971 Decimalisation of currency 1973 Britain joins EEC 1978 Winter of Discontent 1979 Margaret Thatcher becomes Prime Minister 1982 Falklands War 1984 Miners' Strike 1990 Poll tax riots 1991 First Iraq War 1997 Princess Diana dies 2001 World Trade Centre bombed 9/11 2003 Invasion of Iraq |
This timeline starts with the opening of Box Tunnel. We are going to publish earlier details in subsequent issues of the website.
Meanwhile, you can see more
of Box's timeline at http://www.boxparish.org.uk