Tilshead In The Last Century!

A Memory of Tilshead.

Tilshead was the place where I was born and have lived in for a long time.  It is a quiet village of around 400 or so people.  There was and still is a post office.  There was a pub called The Bell but is now a private thatched house.  There are still two other pubs, The Rose and Crown, and The Black Horse. There were three shops but now only one.  There was and still is a petrol station - which has grown a lot since 1966.  The village of Tilshead still has all but a (very) few of the houses which are shown on the photos on the Francis Frith website.  It is a really homely and friendly place where anyone who enjoys the countrylife would like to live.  


Added 21 November 2006

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Comments & Feedback

Hi Anita, My ancestors came from Tilshead in the 1800's. a Thomas Kite. I believe there is a house that has a flagstone dated about 1616 and this is the original Kite house. Do you know anything about this? A Robert Kite came to a family reunion in Windsor, Sydney, Australia around 1989 and mentioned it. I not sure if it is actually at Tilshead or in the surrounding area. Any help with connecting to anyone who knows the location would be much appreciated.
Cathy Nagle
Hi Anita
I have a photo of the Bell Inn - it can only be between 1916 and 1919 as an ancestor of mine was the publican and he is listed in the Gillman Devizes register as the publican in 1916 and he died in the Anchor and Hope in Salisbury in 1920. In my photo an additional lean to tiled roof outbuilding is visible and it is branded as an Ushers of Trowbridge pub.
We lived in Tilshead from 1973 to 1999. Both our children were christened in the church and my father was buried in the church h yard. He lived in post office cottage ( now incorporated into the old post office) from 1081 till his death in 19i9.

Our first house was built opposite the shop Duck or grouse call that because of the very low entrance!

We moved to Mill House in 1976.

There was a wonderful couple called Colli s she was called Sis and he told me he had walked to odstock hospital when she had one of their children. A good 17 miles each way.

The kite family were the farmers and leading lights in the baptist Chapel. The CofE church and the Baptists often shared services.

The celebrations for the Queens 25th jubilee were spe tabular and a village photo was taken, I don't think ma y people were not in it. This was before digital photography every one had to be looking at the camera at the same time, and we did it! I remember the cruises they lived in West end. (See previous comments). So much has changed in the 51 years since we moved to Tilshead, yet when we return so much is the same. The village gets in your soul, when my children who are late 40s early 50s are asked where they come from, they always say Tilshead! Both my husband and I would like to be buried there, near my Father and so many friends.

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