Sumners at Vale View Nigel Johnson and Alan Payne July 2021
Most of the houses on the A4 at Box Hill were occupied by quarrymen, most tenanted, only a few owned. This article tells the story of John Sumner, an orphan who escaped a life of crime and bought and improved his family home at Vale View.
Almost every medieval village had a summoner, who would deliver summonses for people accused of committing sins or spiritual crimes. The name is very frequent in history and Chaucer’s Summoner’s Tale tells how corrupt they could be threatening people with summonses unless they were bought off. Of course, this was many centuries before the Sumner family of Box. John Sumner (1873-1952) was the son of John Sumner senior (1823-1873) a quarry mason in 1851, living at the Box Quarries with his wife Matilda (1819-) from Bristol. John junior never knew his father who died the same year as his birth and there is no later record of his mother.
|
John Sumner junior (1873-1952)
The first record of John junior was in 1881 when he was brought up as the stepson of Henry Fetcher (1841-), stone miner, and his wife Ann (1841-) at Box Quarries. It was a tough background, and Henry and his wife Annie both had feuds with their neighbours. Henry was barely literate and in later life living on Box Hill, labouring on quarrying or farm work as a 71-year-old. Henry’s son, step-brother of John, was Frank Fletcher (nickname Smuts), a notorious local boxer and poacher, frequently drunk and in trouble with the law, often serving time in prison. It is to John’s credit that he avoided the same fate. John Sumner was never a banker mason always a quarryman, described as quarry worker heavy work, indicating that he was a manual worker, loading and shifting blocks of ground stone. But his signature on the 1911 census is neat and controlled, probably indicating that he obtained an education somewhere. I like to think that he was one of the mature students who studied at Adult School, Clift Quarry Works. The impressive front porch of Vale View with a Romanised pediment built on top of square columns. It appears to be a later addition to the original cottage. (Photo courtesy Carol Payne) |
|
He married Rosina Dancey (1875-1949) in 1897 and in 1901 they lived in Corsham on the Bradford Road at Pickwick. Rosina was the older sister of Tom Dancey (1878-1970) from Hill View on the A4, who worked in the quarries for 64 years, most of them as a ganger at Clift Quarry. It is probable that John worked for the crane gang operated by Tom Dancey, reported to be a hard taskmaster but one who paid well and on time.[1]
John Sumner didn’t build the original cottage which was first recorded in 1884 but moved into it as a tenant before 1911 when he was employed by the Bath and Portland Stone Firm as a stone chopper.[2] At some point he bought the ground rent of the cottage from the Northey family, not as part of the 1923 auction but as a private transaction. The deeds say that the purchase was subject to a clause that there was to be no consumption of alcohol on the premises. The original cottage was 2-up, 2-down and is different in style to the front porch. It is probable that John built the porch as a later addition to improve his new home.
John Sumner didn’t build the original cottage which was first recorded in 1884 but moved into it as a tenant before 1911 when he was employed by the Bath and Portland Stone Firm as a stone chopper.[2] At some point he bought the ground rent of the cottage from the Northey family, not as part of the 1923 auction but as a private transaction. The deeds say that the purchase was subject to a clause that there was to be no consumption of alcohol on the premises. The original cottage was 2-up, 2-down and is different in style to the front porch. It is probable that John built the porch as a later addition to improve his new home.
The original small cottage (left) and later extension on the right (courtesy Carol Payne)
Children of John and Rosina
The house remained the centre of one branch of the Sumner family, although another branch lived at Albion Terrace. Each of the children was brought up at Vale View and the house remained the home of their grandchildren in due course. John and Rosina had three children: Reginald John, Dorothy Rose and Ivor Leslie.
The house remained the centre of one branch of the Sumner family, although another branch lived at Albion Terrace. Each of the children was brought up at Vale View and the house remained the home of their grandchildren in due course. John and Rosina had three children: Reginald John, Dorothy Rose and Ivor Leslie.
|
Reginald John (4 June 1901-14 August 1979) was a bricklayer and later fixing mason who married Violet Phillips from Penzance in 1935. He bought a small house, 4 Woodstock, Mill Lane in 1939 and lived there in one-room up and one-room down.[3] By 1941 they had three children, aged 4, 2 and a few months. He bought 2 Mill Lane which for 41 years had been tenanted by Lily Frances Stacey (nee Greenman), wife of Herbert Owen Stacey, and they had two grown-up sons. There followed a series of negotiations over the tenancy of 2 Mill Lane which ended up in court in acrimony. Reginald John moved into Vale View in the 1950s with his family: Helen, John, Roger and Julie.
Dorothy Rose Sumner, only daughter of John, married William C Suter in 1939 at the United Methodist Church with reception at the New Hall.[4] The bride wore an ivory satin dress trimmed with a pair of diamante clips and a headdress of orange blossom and silver pearls. The wedding and its notice in the local newspaper shows the aspirations of the Sumner family to become established in the social life of the village despite their difficult roots. But whatever would the founders of the United Methodist Church have made of such extravagance? Left: Reginald John Sumner (courtesy Richard Pinker) |
The younger son Ivor Leslie Sumner had a more colourful character. He was stopped by PC Gape in 1935 and charged with driving a motor cycle without tax and insurance, along with Stanley Sheppard, both from Box Hill. They tried to escape by giving false names but Ivor gave Stanley’s name and Stanley gave Ivor’s. Little wonder that the magistrate took a lenient view of their stupidity and fined them both 10 shillings each but no suspension. Ivor was a rubber tyre worker in 1939, possibly with Avon Tyres, Melksham. He married Kathleen May Hemmings from Bath in 1946 and they lived at Rustic Cottage, Box Hill, just around the corner from Vale View. Sadly, Ivor died two years later in 1948 at the Winsley Sanatorium, Bradford-on-Avon, a tuberculosis hospital.
Later Family
The children of Reginald and Violet, Helen, John, Roger and Julie, were well-known and popular in Box village in the years after the Second World War. Roger was a Box cricketer for many years before he married Hazell Hurst in 1965 when they moved to Chippenham. These children are no longer alive and none of this branch of the Sumner family live in Box. For many years Vale View was the Sumner house. All that is left of them is the building where they lived, which now stands as a testament to the story of this Box Hill quarry family and the opportunities for even the most disadvantaged children in the late Victorian period.
The children of Reginald and Violet, Helen, John, Roger and Julie, were well-known and popular in Box village in the years after the Second World War. Roger was a Box cricketer for many years before he married Hazell Hurst in 1965 when they moved to Chippenham. These children are no longer alive and none of this branch of the Sumner family live in Box. For many years Vale View was the Sumner house. All that is left of them is the building where they lived, which now stands as a testament to the story of this Box Hill quarry family and the opportunities for even the most disadvantaged children in the late Victorian period.
Above: Roger Sumner in 1954 front row second left (courtesy Les Dancey) and Below: Helen Sumner in 1949 front row second left (courtesy Eileen Bradbury)
Sumner Family Tree
John Sumner senior (1823-1873) married Matilda Ann Bishop (1819-). Children included: George Sumner (1859-1924) who married Kate Louisa Hayward in 1879; and John Sumner junior (9 January 1873-26 May 1952)
John Sumner junior (9 January 1873-26 May 1952) married Rosina Dancey (21 February 1875-17 November 1949) in 1897. Children:
Children of Reginald John and Violet Sumner:
John Sumner senior (1823-1873) married Matilda Ann Bishop (1819-). Children included: George Sumner (1859-1924) who married Kate Louisa Hayward in 1879; and John Sumner junior (9 January 1873-26 May 1952)
John Sumner junior (9 January 1873-26 May 1952) married Rosina Dancey (21 February 1875-17 November 1949) in 1897. Children:
- Reginald John (4 June 1901-14 August 1979) who married Violet Phillips from Penzance in 1935;
- Dorothy Rose (30 March 1911-2000) who married William C Suter (born 7 October 1914) in 1939;
- Ivor Leslie (24 June 1914-48) married Kathleen May Hemmings from Bath in 1946.
Children of Reginald John and Violet Sumner:
- Helen Elizabeth R (26 June 1936-1992) who married Gordon Wills in 1962,
- John K (1938-),
- Roger Claude (22 December 1940-1 April 2018) and
- Julia Ann (24 March 1944-22 July 1979) who married Barry E Petty in 1965.
References
[1] Roger J Tucker, Some Notable Wiltshire Quarrymen, Free Troglophile Association Press, p.22
[2] Details of origin from property deeds
[3] Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette, 8 February 1941
[4] Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 12 August 1939
[1] Roger J Tucker, Some Notable Wiltshire Quarrymen, Free Troglophile Association Press, p.22
[2] Details of origin from property deeds
[3] Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette, 8 February 1941
[4] Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 12 August 1939