Box Postcards Part 1 Alan Payne September 2026
All postcards in this article are courtesy Box Parish Council
Maurice Hewlett's gift of postcards to Box Parish Council encouraged one of the first attempts to tell Box’s story from its roots in roads, buildings and topography. Before the opportunities offered by the internet, David Ibberson researched local memory mostly from Vicar Tom Selwyn-Smith, Phil Lambert and Eric Callaway, as well as the archives in Trowbridge. The book is still the starting point for much historical research, but its very format limited the amount that could be said about any individual picture. The idea of this article is to look again at the photos for more detailed investigation.
Village Overview
Village Overview
This view of central Box was not included in The Box Collection, possibly because it was too dark to reproduce successfully in black and white. The postcard is dated April 1933, sent from Undercliffe, Beech Road, to a person in Birmingham. The photo was taken from the top of Quarry Hill. It shows notable buildings, including the Bingham Hall just off Chapel Lane. The building had a library in the extension to the right, which decades before was used as a public bath house. Charlotte Cottage is prominent at the top of Chapel Lane and, on the opposite side of the road, the newly-built Browning’s Garage (opened 1933) with its notable curved roof. The Comrades Club is in operation as a social club for ex-servicemen and you can see a couple of men gathering outside. Several houses have coal smoke billowing out of their chimneys, possibly around lunchtime.
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Above Left: Bingham Hall; Middle: The Comrades; Right: Browning's Garage
Marking out Box Old Cemetery
This curious image of the Box Cemetery shows substantial portions of the old cemetery laid out for new burial plots. We can’t get a timeline because the postcard is undated and was never sent.[1] You can see the chest tomb of Robert Shell (died 1878) and railings around one grave (possibly that of Edwin Hobbs who died in 1918). The grave plots shown are west of the chapel door.
Over-burials are common in cemeteries and graveyards. Most plots are tenanted for 50 to 100 years, after which the plot reverts to the authorities and could be used again. This was particularly true in Victorian times where headstones were less common and unmarked infant graves were often used. Until the purchase of the New Cemetery field in the 1940s there were many over-burials in Box.
The Market Place
Over-burials are common in cemeteries and graveyards. Most plots are tenanted for 50 to 100 years, after which the plot reverts to the authorities and could be used again. This was particularly true in Victorian times where headstones were less common and unmarked infant graves were often used. Until the purchase of the New Cemetery field in the 1940s there were many over-burials in Box.
The Market Place
This fabulous photo shows the bottom of the Market Place when it was the centre of Box village, full of shops such as Bence’s Stores, the Chequers Inn, and a butcher’s shop next to the bay window. Box Brewery was just up the hill and this would have been the shortest delivery for the dray cart. The houses on the right are Grade II Historic Listed buildings, early 1800s and built at the same time. The postcard is dated June 1914, a few days before life changed totally with the outbreak of the Great War at the end of July.
David used the photo in his book and pointed out that the name of the pub may have originated from the tree seen in the grounds, a “wild-service” or “Chequers Tree”.
Station Road (incorrectly called Devizes Road)
David used the photo in his book and pointed out that the name of the pub may have originated from the tree seen in the grounds, a “wild-service” or “Chequers Tree”.
Station Road (incorrectly called Devizes Road)
David used this postcard in his book and correctly stated that it is the A4 road out of the village, no longer called the Devizes Road. On the right is the entrance gate to the Box Cemetery.
Central Box
Central Box
This is one of my favourite postcards. It shows the tall chimney of the Box Brewery behind the line of people in the middle of the A4 road. The brewing process needed considerable power to heat the liquor (water) to extract nutriments from the mash (crushed grain). Because of the amount of steam produced by the stationary engine, breweries were often called steam brewery. The steam is visible, fogging the air around the buildings. The buildings in front of the chimney were called The Clock House and were used at one time as the estate office of the Northey Trust.
The photograph is undated but probably was taken between 1907, when the Methodist Hall was built, and the outbreak of the war in 1914.
London Road
The photograph is undated but probably was taken between 1907, when the Methodist Hall was built, and the outbreak of the war in 1914.
London Road
With the present levels of traffic, this photograph could never be taken today. The road was called "Wharf Road" as it reached down Box Hill to the GWR Railway Wharf for loading Box stone.
Reference
[1] The postcard is incorrectly referenced as 1905 in The Box Collection Volume 2, but that dating is for another image, that of the chapel from the south.
[1] The postcard is incorrectly referenced as 1905 in The Box Collection Volume 2, but that dating is for another image, that of the chapel from the south.