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Broughton Gifford

Broughton Gifford maps

Historic maps of Broughton Gifford and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis.   View all Broughton Gifford maps

Broughton Gifford area books

Displaying 1 of 12 books about Broughton Gifford and the local area.   View all books for this area

Memories of Broughton Gifford

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Wiltshire memories

Childhood Years

My name is Annette Deighton, and I was a child of five living in Atworth with my parents John and Betty Hopkins in 1965. I have fond memories of the primary school in the village which I attended with my brother Philip and my sister Lorraine. Mr Lowes was the headmaster at the time and was such a lovely man. I remember a teacher called Mrs Talford, and the nature walks we had in nearby fields close to the school. I have very happy memories of the village and people we knew there.

The Harp And Crown

The pub in the picture is the original H&C which was burnt down only a few years after this picture was taken. The pub was then rebuilt further back from the road. There are still elderly people in the village who remember their parents and even their grandparents going to the local for their usual.
One old lady's husband used to go to the pub a lot. Mrs Liddle lived at the top of Velley Hill until the 1960s I think, when a lorry drove through her living room and she was relocated to The (then relatively new) Close at the bottom of the hill before the pub. Sadly, she's now passed away after years of giving sweets to the village kids.
My younger brother was the first baby born in the village for many years, causing quite a stir and ending in many visits from the elderly village residents who knew the couple who lived in the house before us, and who are now buried in the village.

Childhood Home

Gastard House 1907
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I lived at Gastard House from 1953-1967. By that time it had been converted into flats, and we had the ground floor. There were other children there as well, and we had acres of space to play, in spite of part of the gardens being used as allotments. Every year we all had a big bonfire party on 5 November. I was told that it had been used by the military during World War 2. I believe it is very run-down now, but I have very happy memories of it.

No 1 And No 9 Lanes End, Gastard

I was born in Corsham in September 1949, and lived at Number 1 Lanes End, Gastard with my parents, sister and brother until my marriage in 1973. The cottage in the picture shows Number 3 Lanes End and around the corner is Number 9 Lanes End, where my grandparents lived throughout their married life. Aunts, uncles and cousins all resided within the village, so there was never a shortage of family life. My memories of the village as it was, when I was growing up, are very vivid, as both my grandfather and my father owned smallholdings in the village and much fun was had with friends collecting wild flowers in spring, haymaking in summer and harvest festival in the autumn. As much as I would have loved to have brought my children up in village life, property prices escalated to beyond the pockets of village children (first time buyers). However, I still visit the sleepy old village regularly and will never forget my roots. Nicola Wilkins

HIBBARD of Hilperton

My wife Lynne and I visited the Anglican Church to search the headstones for my ancestors.

On the day we visited, there was a Christening that had just been completed and the Vicar was chatting to the christening party.

Lynne got to chatting with the Vicar's lady assistant, while I went to the front of the Church where there were several headstones.

What a surprise ! I located my G-Grandfather's twin sister's headstone Dorcas HALL (nee HIBBARD) 27 July 1908, along with Thomas 5 March 1886 and a child Walter John 26 November 1877.

Hilperton is the town where my G-G-Grandfather Charles HIBBARD resided during the 1851, 1861, 1871 and 1881 Census, with 2 daughters' Sarah Ann and Louisa Mary.

In the 1891 Census Charles is in the Hilperton Rectory and listed as a pauper, which I find very unusual !.

G-G-Grandfather Charles is buried in the nearby town of Trowbridge.

G-Grandfather William's home in Aickmans Road, Christchurch, New Zealand was... Read more

The Old Ride

Frankleigh c1900
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I first saw Frankleigh House through the trees in the distance as I was driven there for my first day at The Old Ride Preparatory School for Boys. The school and its predecessor had been based there for many years. As a seven year old it was an inspiring sight. What seemed to be a huge building in acres of lawns and green fields. Tennis courts, a swimming pool and cricket pavilion just part of the grounds. Inside, a stunning hall with wood panelling, flagstone floor and the smell of furniture polish. The dining hall with a stage at one end swagged with red velvet curtains. A library with an elaborate plaster ceiling. Large dormitories smelling of disinfectant. And the classrooms with underfloor heating (supposedly). Boiled cabbage, tyrannical rules and even as a non-boarder, seven days a week with prep not finishing until 7pm. Happy days.

The Old Ride

Frankleigh c1900
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I was a day boy between 1966 and 1970. I was always in trouble and spent most of my meals on the punishment table. The ruling was tyranical, you had to eat everything on your plate and couldn't leave the table until you had done so; classical music was played during the main course at lunch time and talking was not allowed. The teachers were either eccentric or old fogeys found on the scrap heap. Plug, the head, ruled the place with a rod of iron, and after staff meeting on a Monday lunch time, on return to the school-room, he would see a line of boys against the window that had been pulled out by the equally tyranical head boy. He would stand there bolt upright, arms down by his side, one index finger rigid pointing, rapidly nodding his head as he scanned the row of boys, and getting redder and redder until he exploded - not a pretty sight. Snoop - he was so short sighted that when... Read more

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