The Francis Frith Collection.
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Gastard, Wiltshire

Gastard photos

Displaying 3 of 5 old photos of Gastard.   View all Gastard photos

Gastard, Village 1907 photo

Gastard, Village 1907

Gastard, Village 1907 photo

Gastard, Village 1907

Gastard, Gastard House 1907 photo

Gastard, Gastard House 1907

Gastard photos
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Gastard maps

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

Gastard map

Historic map of Gastard

Wiltshire map

Illustrated Victorian map of Wiltshire

Gastard map

Historic Map of any Gastard postcode

Gastard maps
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Gastard books

Displaying 2 of 10 books about Gastard and the local area.   View all Gastard books

On Sale! 70 off

Devizes Town and City Memories
Paperback
rrp £11.99  £3.60

On Sale! 70 off

Malmesbury Photographic Memories
Paperback
rrp £10.99  £3.30

On Sale! 70 off

Salisbury Pocket Album
Paperback
rrp £4.99  £1.50

Gastard books
View all 10 Gastard and Wiltshire books

Memories of Gastard

Gastard memories
Read and share Gastard memories

Displaying a selection of personal memories of Gastard .
Add your memory of Gastard or of a photo of Gastard.

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.

Shared on 29 August 2008

Wiltshire memories

Glenthope South Street

34 South Street was my home from 1963 to December 2007! My grandparents Ellen and Lewis Edwards lived here along with my mother Anne and myself.
It is the second house on the left with the single window upstairs. (This was my grandparents' room.) I spent many happy years here and can remember playing in the street with all the other children who lived in and close to South Street and being most suprised when a car came down the hill... Mk 1 Cortina!
The street has changed considerably as now it is difficult to park along the pavement. in the distance you can see the building which I believe must be something to do with the station which would be directly behind the house. I have also got copies of the deeds that came with the house stating that this was originally a field and permission was given to build these houses. I believe also, that the ones to the right of the picture were built slightly later?  
Finally does anyone else remember the Friday night ice cream van which used to come down the street? What a treat that was!

Shared on 26 February 2009 by Karen Mcintyre.

Monks Lane Chapel

I don't really have a memory but went to visit due to family research. Monks Lane has a plaque inside referring to my gt grandad Arthur William Humphries that lived at Broad Stone Cottage with his wife and children. His wife's family being Jones lived in Monks Lane, the Vellys, also Lindley so Corsham is quite near my heart.

Shared on 23 September 2008 by Glynis Jones.

The old milk round

When I went to school in the High Street next to the Royal oak I can remember the milk man with his old horse and cart delivering milk all along the houses along the cobbled stone path. You had the cobbler's, it began with K I think, then opposite you had the dry cleaners, further on down you had Johnson's bakery with the fresh rolls just baked. What a treat in the morning for a small boy. I was born in Corsham in 1956 and left in 1977. I live in Bradford on Avon now but Corsham is still my home.
Things have changed a lot. I remember the  bus coming up the High Street.
Lord's toy shop, what a place that was, down the back for all the toys. Then you had Smith's for the school uniforms, as I went to Corsham Boys School I had a wide range of friends, some I still see to this day. Well I must go as the thought of fresh baked rolls has got my mouth watering.

Shared on 02 May 2008 by Terry Donovan.

Extracts From Gastard & Wiltshire books

Displaying a selection of extracts from Frith books about Gastard, inspired by Frith photos.

Chippenham Town and City Memories

This is the bridge over the River Avon. The limestone monument, dated 1698 (right), records Maud Heath’s bequest to the local community. In the 19th century the pillar was moved three times as the trustees sought firmer and safer footings.

This is an extract from Chippenham Town and City Memories.
Read more and see photos from this book.

Chippenham Town and City Memories

We are looking past a mature oak tree and the caretaker’s lodge to the main buildings of the secondary modern school for boys, constructed in 1959.

This is an extract from Chippenham Town and City Memories.
Read more and see photos from this book.

Chippenham Town and City Memories

The main entrance into the girls’ school off Hardenhuish Lane.

This is an extract from Chippenham Town and City Memories.
Read more and see photos from this book.