You are here:
Bodenham
Bodenham maps
Historic maps of Bodenham and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Bodenham maps
Bodenham area books
Displaying 1 of 12 books about Bodenham and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Bodenham
Displaying a selection of personal
memories of Bodenham.
Add your memory of Bodenham
or of a photo of Bodenham.
Life in The Park.
I was born in Longford Park in April 1942, my father was "Bill" Ashman, head gardener to the Earl of Radnor from 1940 until 1965 (approx). My younger brother Peter and I were fortunate to have been brought up in the relative calm and prosperity of the Longford Estate immediately after the war. Many reminders of the estate's wartime role were still evident in those times especially the Nissen huts occupied by the American troops prior to their D Day landings.
The park in those days boasted four gate lodges at Britford, Bodenham, Nunton and Alderbury, although the Nunton lodge was demolished to assist in the improvement of the A338 main road to Bournemouth.
I am reminded of many characters from that era, Vic Gray the head keeper, Arthur Morril the butler later succeeded by Fred Gibson, Jim Wilson the chef, Freddie Sims the chauffeur, Frank Freeman the groom, all neighbours and all living within 200 yards of the castle.
As my brother and I came... Read more
Wiltshire memories
My Family
My father's family lived in Charlton from the late 1880s to the mid 1900s. My grandfather was a shepherd & after farm foreman for a Mr Charles Reid whose brother Bertie also had a large farm in the Charlton area. The village had a school which I attended in my early years & a village shop & bakery also selling haberdashery, my cousin Dorothy Dorothy West worked there. The baker was a Mr Duffy, the owner of the shop was a Mr Hodges. I was in the church choir. The vicar was a Mr Winterton & by the vicarage you could cut through to the Trafalgar Estate across beautiful meadows, in the meadow there was a lovely walnut tree where you could gather nuts when in season. There was also a pub & blacksmith. My father, also William Goodridge, left in 1909,serving in the Royal Marines for 22yrs and came back again in 1931. He had a house built called "Medina", named after a ship he served on. It was... Read more
Re Bodenham Village
Our Gould family moved from Buggs Farm to Bodenham and lived next door to the Post Office in a long row of cottages that can still be seen from the main road.
They must have moved somewhen shortly after 1901, g granny was still living there in the late 1920s. One of the sons, Horace was working on a farm or farmed at Odstock in 1923 or thereabouts. Do you have any recollections of the family?
G Grandad died in 1923.Our 2nd cousin ( her father and Horace were brothers) aged 86 yrs, clearly remembers staying with Granny, and we have photographs taken of them outside the front door, Granny in long skirts down to here ankles.
History From 1954
My mother and father lived in Downton, Wilts, and my brother and I joined the Royal Marines, and were in 'A' Troop, 40 Commando. I became the Light Welter Weight Champion of the Royal Marines when I was a recruit at Portsmouth. I married a wonderful girl from Downton, named Jean Slade, and we had six children, but one of them was killed at the top of Lode Hill, Downton in a road accident. My eldest son Gregory, also joined the 'Royal Marines' and was in 40 Commando. Downton is a wonderful village, and I taught many people to drive from there, I also ran the Boxing Club at Salisbury.
Maidment Family
My paternal grandparents lived in a house called "Chuzzlewit", opposite the Green Dragon. My grandfather was called Hedley and my grandmother was Francis Sarah. I lived for a time at "The Tetherings" in Whaddon and went to Alderbury School. My father (Dereck) and myself also sang in the church choir. My parents were married at Alderbury church in 1942. My maternal grandmother (Alice Brown) and my mother ( Aline nee Fyfe) lived in Whaddon in the 30's as well.
SORRY, BUT WE USED TO CALL IT GIBBS AND SPEW
Yes, I worked there when I was 15 with two other boys. I remember Tony Fletcher and Alan Blackman (are you still out there?). It was a dark warm place when on full tilt, it looked like London in the fog. I remember the characters like old Seth, he could drink beer straight from the fermentation tank whilst it was still hot, yes, it was free, we used to have a ration of two pints a day hence I was legless after my first, then I used to save it till the weekend to sell to the oldies who could drink as much as they could get. Seth was a bomb, he loved the gee gees but it would take him 26 minutes to go to the bookies and back so he devised a way of getting out. I didn't know where he did work in the brewery, only that every now and then he would come to where I was on the barrel wash, it was a monster to... Read more
The Town Path
Have seen this view many times in my younger days back in the late 1920s and early 30s, just after crossing the footbridge over the river, when on my way to see my dear old gran at Harnham. I can still remember the smell of the old mill.
