Box, Wiltshire

Box is a village located in Wiltshire, England, about 8 km (5 miles) east of Bath and 11 km (7 miles) west of Chippenham. It is quite a large parish with several settlements, apart from the village of Box, within its boundaries.

According to the 2001 census, the village had a population of 3,439.

It is in an area known for its fine stone and Box quarries were famous for their stone for centuries. Today Box is best-known for its Brunel-designed Box railway tunnel. But this is modern history from around 1840 to the present day and occupation here dates back at least to Roman times.

Geography

The parish is bisected diagonally by the steep-sided Bybrook Valley with settlements on the higher ground on either side. Although the Bybrook would have been an early communication route, later main routes by-passed the village of Box until 1761. Until then the Chippenham to Bath road followed a route to the south of the town, leaving Pickwick, near Corsham, passing through Chapel Plaister to the crossroads, now known as Box Five Ways. From there it took the route through Blue Vein and through Kingsdown to Bathford. In 1761 the road through Box was turnpiked under the Bricker's Barn Roads Trust, creating a more direct route (the present A4).

It was not until around 1830 that another main road was built into Box. This left the crossroads to the south of Chapel Plaister, thus turning it into Box Five Ways, and descended the steep into the older part of the village. This...
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