Box, Wiltshire

Box
Wiltshire
Box from Quarry Hill
Location
Grid reference:	ST826685
Location:	51°24’54"N, 2°15’7"W
Data
Population:	4,404  (2021)
Post town:	Corsham
Postcode:	SN13
Dialling code:	01225
Local Government
Council:	Wiltshire
Parliamentary constituency:	Melksham and Devizes
Website:	boxparishcouncil.gov.uk

Box is a large village in Wiltshire, in the Cotswolds about three miles west of Corsham and five miles north-east of Bath.

The village is in the north-west of Wiltshire, close to the borders of both Somerset (a mile away) and Gloucestershire (about two miles away); the place where the three counties meet being marked by the Three Shire Stones.

The wider civil parish includes Box itself and such villages and hamlets as Ashley, Box Hill, Alcombe, Blue Vein, Chapel Plaister, Ditteridge, Henley, Kingsdown, Middlehill, and Wadswick. To the east the parish includes much of Rudloe, formerly a hamlet but now a housing estate, and the defence establishments and related businesses on the site of the former RAF Rudloe Manor.

The area is known for its fine stone, and for centuries Box quarries were famous for their product. Today Box is perhaps better known for its railway tunnel, Box Tunnel, designed by Brunel.

The parish is on higher ground above the steep-sided valley of the Bybrook River, a tributary of the Bristol Avon. Limestone rock is found in much of the parish. Box Ground, a hard-wearing variety of Bath stone, was extracted at quarries such as Box Mine which are now closed. By 2015, the remaining source of Box Ground was Hartham Park quarry at Corsham.

History

View from Box Hill

Prehistoric settlements in the area were hilltop forts such as Bury Camp, four miles north of present-day Box village. There is evidence in the form of numerous re-used standing stones that there may have been a stone circle on Kingsdown.

A Roman road, the Fosse Way, runs two miles to the west of Box. Near the village church is the site of a Roman villa, first excavated during the 19th century. There was a major rebuilding in the late 3rd or early 4th century which made this into the largest villa in the Bath area. It had one of the richest collections of mosaic floors of any building in Roman Britain, with remains found to date in 20 rooms, there being 42 rooms positively identified in the main villa and 15 more under investigation. Room 26 appears to be a major presence chamber in the manner of that at Trier. A villa such as this would have been the centre of a large estate and the focus of interest for at least six possible subsidiary villas or farmsteads at Ditteridge, Hazelbury and Shockerwick (near Bathford) and those further afield at Colerne, Atworth, and Bradford on Avon.

The Domesday Book of 1086 records 25 households at Hazelbury and six at Ditteridge. The earliest record of Box is from 1144 when Humphrey II de Bohun was a landowner. The village is shown on a 1630 map and by this time cloth weaving was an important home-based industry, supplying clothiers in nearby towns such as Bradford on Avon.

Box railway station in 1963

The Great Western Main Line railway (from London to Bristol and the South West) crosses the parish, and the Box Tunnel, a mile and three-quarters long, was built under Box Hill. Construction took place between 1838 and 1841 with up to 4,000 men employed under the direction of Isambard Kingdom Brunel. At first Box Station was built close to Ashley, where the A4 crosses the line; Box Mill Lane station was built a mile closer to Box village in 1930. Both stations closed in 1965 when local services were withdrawn.

Stone quarries

Stone found in the archaeological investigation of Box Roman Villa is of local origin and Roman masonry may be seen at the base of the wall between the church of St Thomas a Becket and Box House.

Legend has it that St Aldhelm, Abbot of Malmesbury (c. 639–709) threw his glove on Box Hill, saying, "dig here and you will find treasure". Box stone was used for the construction of Malmesbury Abbey in the late 7th century.

Stone quarried in the parish was used in the late 12th and early 13th centuries for the abbeys at Stanley and Lacock, and in the 15th and 16th for Great Chalfield Manor and Longleat House.

Transport of stone was improved in 1727 when the Avon was made navigable between Bath and Bristol, and again in 1810 when the Kennet and Avon Canal provided a route from Bradford to London. The railway made transport much cheaper, and the excavation of the tunnel revealed vast beds of stone on both sides of the line. Underground quarries were carved out between Box and Corsham, with stone carried by narrow-gauge railways to yards at Box and Corsham stations.

Hillsides above part of the village

The peak period for quarrying was between 1880 and 1909 when millions of tons of stone were cut. The quarries continued working until 1969. As of 2015, quarrying continues on a smaller scale at Corsham, where the Box Ground stratum has been re-encountered at a lower level in the Hartham quarry, from which the stone for the obelisk at the Box Rock Circus (below) was extracted.

Churches

St Thomas a Becket Church

There were Saxon churches at Ditteridge and Hazelbury, and possibly at Box.

The Church of St Thomas à Becket in Box has 12th-century origins. Alterations were made in the 14th century and a bell chamber and octagonal spire in the "decorated" style were added to the Norman tower in the 15th. Further restoration began in 1713, and in 1831 the church was extended with a south aisle; the interior was restored in 1896–7 by H.W. Brakspear. In 1960, the building was designated as Grade I listed.

The church of St Christopher, Ditteridge stands over a former Saxon church. It was rebuilt by the Normans and re-dedicated in 1087. It consists of a single nave and chancel and is Grade I listed.

The church of All Saints in Hazelbury fell into disuse before 1540. It stood on a knoll in an area north of Hazelbury Manor shown on the 17th century map as "Olde Church Feilde". Excavation by Kidston in the early 20th century indicated a single-cell church with a semi-circular apse at the east end. The stone sarcophagi now at St Thomas a Becket came from here. Kidston notes that carved masonry from the church was re-used in Hazelbury Manor.

Chapel Plaister has a small roadside church, rebuilt in 1340 and linked to a hostel for travellers; it is also Grade I listed.

The location of the Chapel of St David at Fogham has not been discovered.

Box Methodist church was built in 1897, replacing a smaller Ebenezer Chapel built on the same site in 1834. An adjacent hall and Sunday school, opened in 1907, were sold for residential use in 2001. Methodist chapels were also established at Box Hill (1867) and Kingsdown (1869, rebuilt 1926). Both closed in 1967 and the congregations joined with Box church.

About the village

The Selwyn Hall was built in 1969, and named for longtime vicar of Box, Rev. Tom Selwyn-Smith (1912–2003). It is used for community functions and houses the village library.

The village has sporting facilities including a lawn bowling green, two tennis courts, a cricket pitch, a |football pitch, and even a small basketball area. These are all located in or around the Recreation Ground (a piece of land with an area of about eleven acres.

A sports pavilion, the Box Parish Sports, Youth and Community Pavilion, was opened in 2009.

Also on the recreation ground is the unique 'Box Rock Circus', a 22-foot diameter circle which is an earth-science educational facility. It was constructed during 2012 by local craftsmen with stone donated by numerous companies.

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Box, Wiltshire)

• Box Parish Council
• Box Rock Circus
• Box Roman Villa

References

• McCamley, Nick: 'Secret Underground City' (Pen & Sword Books Ltd, 2000) ISBN 0-85052-733-3