The Well House Collection

The Well House Collection A collection of Melksham social history, from the late 1700s to the 1920s. We might be able to help you with Melksham family trees.

The Well House Collection has been researching the family histories of those people who have had a connection to Melksham and nearby villages. Currently the information gathered has centred around the published census years, 1841 through 1911. The information is gathered from various sources, but it is not infallible. If you spot an error, please do let us know! If you would like to add informatio

n, we're anxious to hear it. (Out of respect for living family members, we will note your information but not publish details, either by your request, or our decision.) "On this day" is being published daily for the period of one year. The last entry will be 21 April 2016. If you have enjoyed this year-long series, please let me know if you have any thoughts on another daily series.

17/01/2025

On This Day: 17 January

BORN
1869 - Elizabeth Gerrish
1873 - Herbert Stratton Maggs
1873 - William James Higgins
1876 - Elizabeth Ann Sawyer
1879 - Lot Fennell
1880 - Henry John Pearce
1881 - Eben George Phillips
1883 - Lizzie (Turner) Organ
1884 - William Legge
1887 - Joseph Albert Chard
1888 - Herbert James "Bert" Drewett
1891 - Beatrice Louisa (Jackson) Friend
1896 - Nellie (Wakely) Reynolds
1900 - Doreen Devena (Salter) Wiltshire
1900 - Reginald M Webb
1902 - Robert E Smith
1902 - Rose Willison
1908 - Ellen Johnson
1908 - Florence Mabel Bodman
1909 - Charlotte Howard
1909 - Doris Agnes (Berrett) Harrall
1909 - Emily G Hamilton
1909 - Leslie Arthur Parfitt
1911 - William Bews
1912 - Caroline Ena (Gray) Parsons
1912 - Lilian Doris (Gale) Dixon
1916 - Alice Harden
1921 - Eric James Hayes
1921 - Esmie Doreen Cox

DIED
1811 - Edward Mattock Spire
1837 - Harriet (Avery) Salmon Harris
1837 - William Hayward
1844 - Charles Bigwood
1848 - Lucy (Neat) Lane
1892 - Anna (White) Blake
1894 - Edward Bulgin
1902 - Alfred Frederick Butler
1909 - Jane (Gotobed) Pocock
1916 - Hugh Leslie
1916 - John Taylor
1930 - Hesther Chandler (Downing) Marsh
1936 - Louisa Marie (Hinton) Martin
1938 - Edith F***y (Gregory) Gregory
1948 - Alfred William "Fred" Buckland
1954 - Lilian Rosina Jane "Lilly" Trueman
1956 - Margaret Frances Awdry
1957 - Edward William Jefferies
1959 - Alfred William Higgins
1963 - Lillian Blanche "Lily" (Cundick) Woodman
1979 - Albert Ernest Angell
1993 - Dora May (Titt) Taylor
1996 - Shaun Nicholas Inkpen

NEWSPAPER HEADLINES
1833 - Phelps removes from Brunswick House, taking former Hook premises
1842 - Selwood dies suddenly while taking down clothes line in Seend
1875 - Banker's clerk Stiles absconds, charged with embezzlement
1889 - Last tribute to faithful servant Maslen
1907 - Serious train accident at Thingley Junction injures 2 men
1920 - In Loving Memory: Pte Frankcom who died in 1919
1925 - Funeral of Ex-Inspector Millard
1925 - Proposed alterations to infill arches in Town Hall , offering ground floor offices
1925 - Secondary school for Melksham suggested at meeting
1942 - Extracts from our files from 1867: Accident to Waterloo Hero outside Bell Inn
1953 - Funeral of the late Mr Hudd
1953 - Funeral of the late Mrs Rogers
1953 - Noyes and Allan fined after boxing night scene in Whitley
1953 - The death of Mrs Poulsom
1953 - Two fires on High Street: Loveridge's, Brooks' Cottage Tea Rooms


On Bluesky .org.uk

16/01/2025

On This Day: 16 January

BORN
1806 - Edward Taylor Price
1810 - Louisa Christian (Phene) Phelps
1824 - Elizabeth Scott
1824 - Thomas Scott
1828 - John Stugess Flay
1830 - David Brooks
1881 - Albert William Sheppard
1881 - Edward Arthur Tonkin
1884 - Elizabeth Mary/Sarah "Bessie" (Smith) Alexander
1890 - Charles William "Willie" Spencer
1890 - Maud Mary (Salter) Roderick
1892 - Annie Caroline May Wickham
1893 - Charles Penruddocke
1897 - Frederick Thomas John Henry Williams
1899 - Gertrude Long
1900 - Florence Mabel (Law) Frost
1900 - Hilda Florence (Ash) Richards
1904 - Reginald Walter John Henry Tisdale
1907 - George William Maurice Bennett
1909 - Freda Florence (Spickett) Coombe
1909 - Ida Kathleen Ellen (Webb) Weaving
1910 - Christina Lillian (Taylor) Slade
1910 - Winifred Margaret Louise Chard
1913 - Sydney Chivers
1915 - Mary Davey
1917 - Leslie Gordon Rackley
1919 - Francis Alfred Hicks
1919 - Nora Hancock
1922 - Ronald Frank Law
1926 - Jane H T (Lawrence) Cassels
1930 - Barbara E Kelly
1932 - Myra Claire Hawkins
1938 - Janice (Winn) Pugsley

DIED
1796 - Mary (Harding) Granger
1821 - John Newman
1858 - Mary Ann (Collingbourn) Vincent
1879 - Elizabeth (Bryant) Gane
1889 - Jesse Gray
1901 - Hester (Cottle) Sawyer
1903 - Edward Harding
1905 - Emma (Hurn) Gingell
1909 - Frederick Jotham
1911 - Sarah Watts
1912 - Thomas James Perrett
1917 - Sara Henrietta Maria (Moule) Stewart
1919 - John Harrold
1919 - King George Westgate
1923 - Walter Lanning
1929 - John Rowe Pope
1932 - Harry Harold Petty
1933 - Elizabeth Harriett (Perry) Shaul
1936 - Mary Ann (Hitchcock) Poulsom
1940 - Albert Edward "Ted" Young
1942 - Albert John Tiller Bennett
1944 - Ada Mary Bevan
1950 - Mabel Augusta Holdsworth (Taylor) Bush
1951 - Kathleen Mary (Hill) Lucas
1952 - Diane Elizabeth Conaty
1959 - Mary Elizabeth (Bush) Lane
1967 - May (Fall) Sharpe
1971 - Charley Humpherson
1974 - Winifred Blanche (Stevens) Gape
1977 - Charles Godfrey Davies
1978 - Phoebe Doris (Drew) Gifford
1979 - John Stanley Thatcher
1980 - Elizabeth F***y (Hindon) Dixon
1995 - Richard Charles Gough
2006 - Margaret Smith (Sim) Hughes

NEWSPAPER HEADLINES
1826 - Moule, Son and Co Bank announces re-opening
1862 - Seven-bedroom Thornbank House to let
1890 - Ball at Town Hall tastefully decorated
1891 - Melksham women embezzled by piano tuner who turned out to be a bigamist
1897 - Police arrest thieves of coats from George Inn
1915 - A child's death from burns: Sad Occurrence at Redstocks
1915 - Classified: 12-16 Clement car for sale by Littlejohn Philip
1915 - Sympathy felt for William Cottle and his serious illness
1915 - The late Captain G R Wyld, Memorial Service at the Parish Church
1915 - The Roll of Honour: Record at the Rubber Works
1926 - Children's Christmas party introduced at Avon Sports Club


On Bluesky .org.uk

15/01/2025

On This Day: 15 January

BORN
1810 - Octavia (Brown) Jefferys
1825 - Robert Gunstone
1868 - Thomas "Tom" Davis
1869 - Rose (Park) Cottle
1871 - Joseph Chivers
1876 - Edward John Gunstone
1877 - Rose Edith Pearce
1879 - Caroline (Hayward) Butler
1884 - Jesse Gregory
1892 - John Cross Jones
1893 - Phyllis Gordon Ker (Steedman) Perryman
1894 - Nellie Elliot
1897 - Minnie Louisa (Townsend) Williams
1898 - Matilda Ruby (Smith) Yeulet
1899 - Florence Ellen (Fido) Edwards
1901 - Minnie Sarah Wood
1902 - Alfred Frederick Butler
1904 - Lilian May "Lily" (Coombs) Duck
1905 - Robert James Romain
1906 - William Herbert Reeves
1907 - Gwendoline Barbara Legg (Reeves) Pavey
1909 - Harold John Hunt
1910 - Elsie Mabel (Tayler) Wild
1917 - Arthur Alfred Ernest Barnett
1917 - Victor William Smith
1920 - Anthony Albert Edward Stevens
1920 - Joan Hayward (Watts) Brewer
1922 - Peter J Bond
1928 - William Henry Dent
1930 - Frederick W J Hobbs

DIED
1880 - Victoria Charlotte Marsh
1892 - Mary Ann (Keen) Alford
1898 - Sarah (Collings) Gaisford
1899 - Jane Mary (Hughes) Meas
1900 - Ellen Harding (Newman) Ruddle
1903 - Ruth (Reakes) Smith
1925 - James Henry Miles
1930 - Jane (Deverell) Sleightholme
1943 - William Charles Lamb
1957 - Archibald Cook
1960 - George Maxwell Warren
1968 - Cyril Wilfrid Little
1968 - Thomas Taylor
1974 - Elizabeth Mary "Daisy" (Escott) Cooke Merrett
1978 - Christopher Sheppard
1989 - Adelaide Rose "Rosie" (Watts) Johnson
2001 - Patrick Arthur Dent
2009 - Bernard Austin Burton

NEWSPAPER HEADLINES
1824 - Mrs Cochrane provides education for girls
1842 - Another Daring Burglary: Gum's home in Seend
1938 - Mrs Smith to celebrate 90th birthday at Lloyds Bank House
1949 - Death of Mr Nelson Brown
1949 - Funeral at Parish Church for the Late Mrs Salter
1949 - Mary Kennelly: Local lady bell-ringer ringing in London
1949 - Miss Flooks to sell 2 Place Road


On Bluesky .org.uk

14/01/2025

On This Day: 14 January

BORN
1837 - Cranmer Kenrick
1858 - Lot Mizen
1859 - William Alfred Sydee
1862 - Catherine "Kathleen" (Harding) Porter
1877 - Arthur Stanley Clark
1885 - Florence Annie (Shadwell) Jones Holland
1888 - William Shadwell Cook
1890 - John Arthur Perrett
1891 - Amy Sheppard
1891 - Frederick George Perry
1893 - Charles Edward Wiltshire
1894 - Percy Henry Smith-Keen
1894 - William Howard Roy
1895 - Lily Honer (Wadhams) Trueman
1897 - Herbert Wilson Seymour Clark
1900 - Charles J Smith
1900 - Ellen Maude "Nellie" (Hudd) Rivers
1900 - Hilda Dorothy May (Missen) Phillips
1910 - Alfred Ivor Bertie Chalk
1910 - Sydney George Sheppard
1913 - Bertie Love
1913 - George J Simmons
1914 - Doris L Carter
1915 - Edward R Drew
1915 - Ivor Henry W Ponting
1918 - Reginald William Hams
1921 - Raymond Francis Richard Franklin
1925 - Doris K Gray

DIED
1837 - George John Thickness Touchet
1848 - Mary (Wiltshire) Crook
1859 - Thomas H***e
1879 - Sarah (Stockwell) Chivers
1897 - Thomas Fraser Grove
1898 - Thomas Mann
1909 - George Tucker
1919 - Reginald Claude Frankcorn
1920 - Alfred Redman
1928 - Olive (Hayward) Gee
1931 - Nathaniel Restall Dyer
1935 - John Edward Jennings
1935 - Mary Ellen E (Matthews) Tuck Franklin
1940 - Julia Emilie (Gilbert) Fricker
1946 - William H Chandler
1948 - Clara (Pothecary) Cooper
1955 - Eileen Florence (Morris) Davis
1955 - George Turner Davis
1965 - Florence Emily Clark
1977 - Mary Sophia Elizabeth (Escott) Arthur
1995 - Olive Nora (Hunt) Taylor
2004 - William Paul George Reeve
2007 - Pamela Joyce Lilley
2015 - Jean C (Ayles) Lynch

NEWSPAPER HEADLINES
1835 - North Wilts Banking Company opens in several Wiltshire locations including Melksham
1836 - North Wilts Banking Company: List of Board of Directors
1837 - Lord Audley death announced; interred in Melksham
1864 - Town planners discuss option of purchasing Place House by subscription
1886 - Trustees of Mrs Hayward list properties for auction
1899 - Sheppard pleads guilty to assault of 9-year-old
1933 - Daring raid on Sawtell factory similar to Trowbridge heists
1950 - Family of 12 Emigrate to Australia


On Bluesky .org.uk

13/01/2025

On This Day: 13 January

BORN
1787 - Thomas Joyce
1805 - Edward Morton Daniel
1833 - Thomas White Jeffreys
1848 - Wadham Neston Diggle
1851 - John William Kelk
1868 - Emma (Langley) Higgins
1869 - Georgina Alice Robbins
1871 - Sarah Smart
1872 - Louisa Jane (Webb) Lock
1873 - Maggie May Stirling (Smail) Henderson
1873 - Thomas Edgar Phillips
1874 - Alice Louisa (Perry) Munckton
1875 - Sarah (Merrett) Gumm
1877 - Phoebe Catherine Keevil
1879 - Rosa Sarah Cottle
1882 - Albert George Hurn
1883 - Annie E Hughes
1886 - Herbert John Crossey
1887 - Edith Emma Gingell
1887 - Edith May Watson
1887 - Joseph Colbourne
1892 - Dorothy Lilian (Cook) Williams
1893 - Louisa Jane (Webb) Prior
1896 - David Henry Sawyer
1896 - Florence M (Matthews) Cullwick
1898 - Dorothy Jane (Bodman) Wilkins
1905 - William Sheppard
1906 - Thomas Stephen Ball
1907 - Edith Annie (Gumm) Clifford
1908 - Doris Graham
1909 - George William Walker
1909 - Sidney Raymond Hawthorne
1910 - Dora Agnes (Brewster) Frost
1910 - Wallace Cleverley
1911 - Joseph Walter Clarke
1912 - Ida Winifred (Keen) Scott
1917 - George A Spoors
1924 - Douglas G Cooke
1924 - Stewart J Brunton
1926 - Mary Dorothy (Bigwood) Mays
1931 - Gerald A Wood

DIED
1809 - Lydia Hipsley
1867 - John Pead
1874 - Susanna (Rutty) Brinsdon
1889 - William Bigwood
1894 - Edward Morton Daniel
1908 - Hannah Breach (Hitchcock) Cottle
1915 - Mary (Waight) Oliver
1918 - Edward Randell
1918 - Eleanor "Ellen" (Hurn) Humphries
1918 - Mary Willoughby (Percy) Matravers
1919 - Geoffrey Walter Akerman
1919 - Jerry James Haines
1922 - Elsie Perry (Coombes) Richards
1923 - Henry George Finn
1924 - Elizabeth (Silk) Chivers
1931 - Sarah Maria (Harding) Day
1943 - Violet Amelia (Gunton) Costin Morris
1946 - Edwin George Hayward
1950 - Sidney Edward David Huggins
1953 - Louisa Ann (Gerrish) Poulsom
1956 - Iris Muriel (Pretty) Ponting
1958 - James Bull
1965 - Ada Brown
1972 - Alexandra Demkiv
1972 - Herbert William Hiscocks
1975 - Edward Charles Crook
1985 - Cecil Henry William Reed
1986 - William Albert Henry Bradbury
1988 - William Arthur Spiers
2002 - Gladys Greene

NEWSPAPER HEADLINES
1870 - Shaw House School to re-open under O'Connor
1900 - A Gratifying Send-Off for Constable Arthur
1906 - Funeral of F Meech, solicitor who died from a fall off a horse
1917 - Alleged Unfounded Assertions: Gray is not the only practical watchmaker in town
1917 - Medical officer reports 4 cases of German Measles and abnormal amount of influenza
1934 - Well-known miller Noad found shot dead in Seend
1940 - Bateman/Wicks married at Lacock
1940 - Fire breaks out in outbuilding at Beltane |School
1945 - Death of Mrs E Bigwood
1945 - Soldier C Merchant killed in explosion
1951 - Deadline for Additional Fallen Names for War Memorial
1951 - Death of Mr Althoff from influenza


On Bluesky .org.uk

12/01/2025

On This Day: 12 January

BORN
1785 - James Shaul
1800 - Richard Buckland
1835 - William Henry Matthews/Milton
1838 - Thomas Ettwell Milsom
1845 - Jane Rosa Phelps
1865 - Harriet Dicks
1866 - Alfred Skuse
1868 - Mary Ann Skuse
1872 - Alfred John Hurn
1873 - Annie Selina Salter
1877 - Florence (Dodimead) Sandford
1879 - William Freegard
1881 - Charles Stokes
1882 - Gertrude Laura "Gerty" (Robbins) Hood
1883 - Wilfred James Alford
1884 - Annie Ethel (Olive) Gray
1884 - Edgar Arthur Henry Govier
1885 - William George Arlett
1886 - Edith Eliza (Hodges) Adams
1887 - Herbert Thomas Tilke
1887 - William John Pickard
1888 - Elizabeth F***y "Lizzie" (Missen) Hornblow
1892 - Violet Mabel (Ricketts) Beaven
1899 - Lily Smith (Carter) Scott
1899 - Violet M Burton
1900 - Eveline C Johnson
1900 - Mabel Dorothy Nellie (Haddrell) Fuller
1902 - Florence Annie Elizabeth Porter
1907 - Doris M S Patten
1910 - William Logan Kennedy
1911 - Phyllis Doreen (Woodman) North
1911 - Violet Edith (Harvey) Horne
1913 - Douglas Colville Gardner
1916 - Dorothy E (Sommers) Wolfendale
1916 - Lucy Kathleen (Taylor) Head
1918 - Dorcas Alice Sharp
1922 - Cecelia "Jo" (Perrett) Martin
1927 - David Mathew
1929 - Graham S Cooper
1930 - Malcolm Terence "Tony" Duck
1931 - Leslie G Hayward
1935 - Enid Iris (Park) Box

DIED
1833 - George Drinkwater
1848 - Anne (Hulbert) Cooper
1854 - Ellen Witts
1865 - Charles Bance
1867 - William Hawkins
1875 - Emily Sarah Nutt
1901 - Cecil Stanley Manning
1902 - Sarah (Curnick) Collett
1905 - Edward Frowd Keevil
1907 - Mary (Clark) Spragg
1908 - Walter John Benjamin Baines
1912 - Mary Green
1915 - Violet Doris Perrett
1947 - Arthur Charles Crook
1948 - George Frederick Bull
1952 - Sarah (Wilshire) Escott
1954 - Agnes Ham (Pople) Brice
1957 - Sarah Ann (Pearce) Petty
1960 - Maud (Hobbs) Orchard
1961 - Annie Dorothy (Annal) Shaddock
1961 - William Charles Dyer
1973 - Annie "Nance" (Johnson) Ward
1982 - Brian Maxwell Vooght
1984 - Albert Edward Salter
2017 - Olive A (Jupp) Albutt

NEWSPAPER HEADLINES
1830 - Beanacre child of poor man Cook burns as spark alights his clothes
1830 - Clifford killed instantly as dung cart runs over his head
1865 - Partnership Dissolved: Rowland and Andrews
1888 - Penny Reading given by Miss Stratton
1888 - Rev. Warre's letters from Egypt chronicling his travel up the Nile
1907 - Medical Officer: 4 deaths, 4 births; diptheria at Magg's buildings; flu rampant
1929 - Funeral of the late Miss Stratton


On Bluesky .org.uk

11/01/2025

On This Day: 11 January

BORN
1771 - Sarah Curnick
1797 - Mary Ann (Butler) Oatley
1811 - Elizabeth Mary (Ray) Schomberg
1823 - Henry John Gurney Jefferys
1839 - Jane Hulbert
1851 - Mary Jane Gunstone
1855 - Henry John Harding
1857 - Martha (Coombs) Hobbs Tucker
1874 - Catherine "Kate" (Robbins) Haigh
1875 - Frederick William Harrall
1882 - Henry George Webb
1882 - Mary Ann Gerrish
1884 - Albert James Colbourne
1885 - Ethel (Bishop) Campbell
1885 - Mary Ann (Marshman) Parker
1885 - Violet Gertrude (Mann) Catesby
1886 - Ethel L Davies
1891 - Jesse Herbert Ovens
1891 - Lily (Haddrell) Eldridge
1891 - Percy Robert Taplin
1894 - Lily Nora (Chard) New
1895 - Edith Kate Coleman
1895 - William George Gregory
1896 - Margery Louisa Blanche (Gunstone) Inkpen
1896 - Winifred Sarah Mercy "Winnie" (Chandler) Mortimer
1897 - Bruce Hamilton Kinch
1898 - Ethel C "Tessa" Edwards
1899 - Evelyn S (Franklyn) Newman
1900 - Ethel Bollen
1902 - Elsie M Chapman
1904 - Violet Edna (Franklin) Bolwell
1920 - Gertrude (Cuthbertson) Parsons
1936 - Mary E Hobbs

DIED
1857 - Sarah Jane Alma Plimmer
1897 - Stewart Beauchamp Gwatkin
1900 - Emily (Ricketts) Pocock
1919 - Albert Edward Webb
1925 - Albert Millard
1926 - Mary Ann Hiscocks
1931 - Eliza Glass
1932 - Mary Jane (Hayward) Harrold
1934 - F***y Eliza (Missen) Richards Skuse
1945 - Lucy Louisa Breach
1946 - Arthur Mortimer
1946 - Thomas Edmund Longman
1955 - John William Hufton
1961 - Guy Langton Warren
1962 - Herbert Stanley Harrold
1969 - Nellie Louisa Rowde (Watson) Edwards
1970 - Margaret Julia (Warren) Stoodley
1978 - Abel Edward James Townsend
1981 - Arthur Sleightholme
1995 - Arthur Chivers
2001 - Ernst Bulova

NEWSPAPER HEADLINES
1808 - Ladies boarding school at Lowbourne House recommences
1838 - Serious accident causes baker Watson's concussion
1842 - Burglary at 3 am in Gum's Seend home
1842 - Daring early morning robbery of George Gum and his sister Sophia
1862 - Shaw House School re-opens; Alonzo Badham headmaster
1872 - Belmont House School reopens January 1872; C F O'Connor, headmaster


On Bluesky .org.uk

10/01/2025

On This Day: 10 January

BORN
1804 - Peter Watson
1821 - William Edwards
1825 - Thomas Hale
1832 - Dorcas (Hayward) Blake
1859 - Rebecca Light
1866 - Ellen Rebekah Diffell
1872 - George Dicks
1877 - William James Bowsher
1880 - Alfred Ernest Hunt
1886 - Ellen "Nellie" (Rutty) Williams
1889 - Frank Thomas Oram
1890 - Gwendoline (Clarke) Gow
1891 - Elizabeth Edith Brenda (Phillips) Davis
1892 - Phyllis Amy (Janes) Cotton
1893 - Florence M (Gay) Grant
1894 - Elizabeth White
1895 - Edward James Hobbs Orchard
1896 - Edith Hyacinth Bessie (Bryant) Hulbert
1896 - Edward John Fuller
1896 - John "Jack" Roberts
1898 - William Quinn
1899 - Ivy Margaret Crook
1904 - Doris Dorothy May Watson
1911 - Hilda M (Hayward) Angell
1914 - Francis Emily Annie (Hornblow) Perrin
1921 - Thomas John Guy
1924 - Warren White

DIED
1840 - Rebecca Fowler
1864 - Harriet Miller
1864 - Joseph Berry
1892 - Frederick Lodge
1909 - Eliza (Bushell) Jones
1917 - Dorothy Margaretta Wyatt
1919 - Alfred George Self
1919 - Ivy Kathleen Law
1920 - Sarah Lewis Bulgin
1922 - Elizabeth Jane (Crook) Skuse
1930 - Elizabeth (Ellis) Raybould
1940 - Herbert George Merchant
1941 - Philip Huxtable Balsdon
1945 - Claude Victor Merchant
1945 - Ernest George Edward Cundick
1945 - Rose (Park) Cottle
1949 - Nelson Thomas Brown
1953 - Amelia "Minnie" (Rawlings) Rogers
1954 - Clara Ann "Annie" (Benham) Lindsey
1960 - Ernest John Escott
1974 - Edward Razey
1978 - Arthur Frederick George Brewer
1986 - Arthur Ivor Rogers

NEWSPAPER HEADLINES
1822 - Spa Assembly Rooms opened with ball
1828 - Advert: Phelps' Classical, Mathematical and Commercial Academy, Lacock
1833 - Upper houses at the Spa to be let
1839 - Fire breaks out in King Street cottage; whole completely burnt down
1839 - Practitioner blamed for death of woman during childbirth; found innocent by coroner
1839 - Stone and Bulgin indicted for Hayward assault
1920 - Body of farmer Ellis found in ditch; died of heart failure
1934 - Noad found dead in field from gunshot wound
1939 - Fire breaks out in thatched cottage, spreading to 3 adjoining behind King Street
1950 - The Kents, a Beanacre family of 12, off to Australia
1953 - Extracts from 1878 files: Water drainage found to be inadequate


On Bluesky .org.uk

09/01/2025

On This Day: 9 January

BORN
1806 - Thomas Jefferys
1852 - Robert Thomas Wiltshire
1857 - Annie Gould Wilcox
1874 - Frederick Ward
1875 - William Joseph Atkins
1876 - Annie Maria (Hiscock) Carnell Derham Tanner
1879 - Arthur Edward Hewes
1880 - Elizabeth (Bolter) Cainey
1888 - Winifred Maud Hampton
1892 - Herbert Nelson "Bert" Reynolds
1893 - Arthur Henry Hill
1895 - Arthur John Mizen
1897 - Ethel Dorothy (Bishop) Pearce
1898 - Arthur Vivian John "Viv" Shadwell
1898 - Florence Mildred (Little) Arthur
1901 - Arthur George Gilbert
1902 - Edith E Perry Shepley
1902 - Hilda Susan (Neate) Hudd
1903 - Charles G Brook
1903 - Elizabeth Latham
1904 - Marjorie Edith Cora (Avons) Angell
1907 - Walter Henry Slade
1909 - Charles W Alway
1913 - Joyce Emma Marion (Ferris) Norris
1914 - Violet M (Hodges) Trimnell Fleming
1917 - George William Cole
1918 - Nora A Byrne
1924 - Moyra Davis
1930 - Ronald B Cooper
1931 - Norman D Strong
1933 - Doreen (Harvey) Crook
1934 - Gordon J Dolman

DIED
1738 - Ambrose Awdry
1817 - Jacob Self
1823 - Ann (Reeves) Spragg
1836 - Thomas Ricketts
1847 - James Gum
1854 - Hester Pearce
1861 - Ann (Bolwell) Knee
1865 - Thomas Cooper Clark
1869 - Jane (Heale) Cadby
1872 - Sarah Baber (Sage) Jones
1872 - Susanna (Smith) Salter
1886 - William Holly
1889 - David Miall Maslen
1901 - Charles William Daniell
1902 - James Breach
1920 - Eli Martin
1920 - John Harvey
1920 - William Fry Ellis
1928 - Thomas "Tom" Park
1931 - Henry Hill
1931 - Job Alford
1931 - John Fry
1931 - Joseph Fry
1933 - Frederick William Ellis
1934 - Percy James Noad
1937 - Ernest Benjamin Humphries
1940 - Kenneth Leigh Goldsmith
1953 - George Dicks
1958 - William Leonard
1961 - Harry Viles
1963 - Ronald Sawtell
1973 - Alfred William James Gilmour
1974 - Annie (Pearce) Mayell
1975 - Francis Ernest "Frank" Harvey
1981 - Albert Jonah Frederick Reed
1981 - Mary Frances Downs
1986 - Edith Maud (Clark) Fivash
1991 - Frederick George Smith
1999 - Jean Pearl Ruth (Stovold) Elliott
2013 - Priscilla Edith (Hulbert) Watts

NEWSPAPER HEADLINES
1800 - A Eyles and A Jones succeed Mrs Ball in boarding school
1834 - Dunn resigns school; school taken over by the Misses D**e
1875 - Gunstone steals oak wood from Lord Methuen's Beanacre property
1875 - License application for White Hart receives good testimonials
1875 - Promising lads Hunt and Bartlett caught poaching rabbits on Queenfield Farm
1886 - Mrs Box bled to death; could have been avoided
1891 - Melksham collects 2,874 varieties of 360 species of wildflowers, placing 2nd in Bishop's collection competition
1909 - William Kempster weds Mabel Dicks
1943 - Golden Wedding of Mr and Mrs J Smart
1954 - Death of Mr Bowsher
1954 - Death of Mrs Rudman
1954 - Vicar Howe leaving Melksham to take vicariate at Preshute


On Bluesky .org.uk

08/01/2025

On This Day: 8 January

BORN
1798 - William Eyres
1833 - George Pargiter Fuller
1855 - Andrew Lochhead
1859 - Emma (Robbins) Gould
1871 - Margaret Lucy (Ware) Singer
1876 - Arthur Charles Watson
1879 - Frank William Webb
1883 - Edith Emily Keen
1884 - Ann Maud "Annie" (Webb) Harrold
1886 - Amy Whatley
1891 - Hilda Mary (Coombs) Love
1894 - William Julian Phillip Dwyer
1895 - Ernest Henry Burgess
1895 - Janet Manetta Gregory
1895 - Kathleen May (Burgess) Legirard Parkinson
1897 - Albert Arthur Connor
1897 - Evelyn Elizabeth (Dicks) Stott
1897 - Winifred G Braund
1901 - Albert W Webb
1904 - Joseph Edwin Alec Hunt
1906 - Phyllis Evelyn (Crew) Salter
1908 - Walter Yates
1908 - Wilhelmina G P (Sinclair) Gregory
1912 - Christopher George Wynter Blathwayt
1913 - Violet A (Godden) Leeves
1914 - Bernard John Francis Waldron
1915 - Edith E C Parfitt
1917 - Douglas Arthur Raymond Drew
1920 - Constance Noble
1920 - Kitty Margaret Jeanie Taylor
1920 - Priscilla Edith (Hulbert) Watts
1921 - Lionel Evelyn Eades
1923 - Richard D C Gannett
1928 - Thelma (Sheppard) Hodgskin

DIED
1730 - Judith (Whitaker) Awdry
1827 - William Keevil
1837 - Sarah Breach
1847 - Jane Shaw
1873 - Mary (Harding) Ferris
1876 - John Chapple
1891 - Alfred Glass
1902 - Benjamin Smith
1907 - Charlotte (Humphries) Richards
1914 - Nicholas Vincent Wise
1922 - Abel Mortimer
1925 - Martha Honywill
1929 - Ellen Oakford
1949 - Elizabeth (Chivers) Salter
1955 - Charles William "Will" Maggs
1957 - Frederick Albert Roberts
1958 - Lydia (Mortimer) Mortimer
1987 - Ivor Ernest Hazell
1991 - David Kenneth Webb
2000 - Annie (Hard) Gray

NEWSPAPER HEADLINES
1835 - Brunswick House Academy resumes by Phelps
1863 - In separate case, Oatley brothers and Whatley charged with not supporting parents
1863 - Silverthorn summoned for being drunk and behaving indecently in public
1863 - Wakley and Collet charged with assaulting Golden Fleece landlord Austin
1870 - Charged: Shocking attempt at murder by brother-in-law Rich
1870 - Shaw House School reopens
1898 - Cottle summoned for refusing to support his parents
1912 - Gunter dies of Lockjaw following infection after shooting toy gun
1916 - Another War Victim: Private Sawyer met death in Persian Gulf
1916 - Depression through Nash's ill health leads to su***de
1916 - New Wiltshire Baronet: Sir Richard Burbidge, Enterprising Business Career
1927 - Death of the Rev B J Shaul, a Native of Melksham
1941 - Allotment of house numbers on Sandridge Road argued by Sterry: "Did Hi**er really die?"
1942 - Milk distributing changes by Ministry
1949 - Death of Mrs Sarah Drew


On Bluesky .org.uk

07/01/2025

On This Day: 7 January

BORN
1715 - Bourchier Wrey
1786 - Rachel Moxham
1829 - Joseph Self
1834 - James Heaton Perrett
1834 - Thomas Lewington
1855 - Emily Louisa (Gunstone) Wilcox
1856 - Ellen (Russell) Hiscock
1873 - Walter John "Jack" Lewington
1874 - Percy Price Porter
1881 - Ada Louisa (Truman) Ohlemacher
1882 - Charlotte (Brain) Jenkins
1884 - Georgina (Galllichan) Hammond
1884 - Herbert Tom Cainey
1885 - Hannah E (Burrett) Benison
1887 - Beatrice Maud (Collett) Pearce
1887 - Elsie Mabel Smith Keen
1889 - Clement Walter "Clem" Hurn
1889 - Frank Harold Kitley
1891 - Florence Ellen "Flo" (Burford) Martin
1893 - Daisy Elizabeth Jane (Bilby) Escott
1896 - Ralph Hughes
1897 - Gertrude E Mary Munckton
1899 - Alfred Ernest Candy
1902 - Ralph Edgar Chilcott
1902 - Redvers W Whatley
1903 - Isle (Simachowitz) Bulova
1904 - Annie Elliott
1904 - Leonard Hamer
1906 - Evelyn Amy (Croucher) Commander
1907 - Percy George Ferris
1908 - Herbert Thomas Burton
1908 - Leslie James Hewitt
1909 - Florence Amelia Hewett
1910 - Elizabeth F Shafto
1912 - George J Richardson
1912 - Stanley George Weston
1913 - Ronald Henry Saull
1920 - Vera Joan (Haskell) Longdon
1923 - Leslie H Bailey
1927 - Joyce H R (Annison) Clarke
1932 - Royston Martin
1935 - Michael Cannings
1936 - Brian Donald Brown

DIED
1813 - Thomas Cooper
1842 - Joseph Coombe
1855 - John Bendy
1872 - William Henry Anstie
1881 - John Edward Wilton Fournier
1885 - Sarah (Torey) Bradley
1891 - Thomas Wilshere
1916 - William Isaac Wilshire
1920 - Edward Bodman
1926 - Lewis Fuller
1928 - Eliza Jane (Baker) Shadwell
1933 - Mary
1941 - Mary Laura Steedman
1949 - Arthur Meddows Taylor
1951 - Alfred Dyer
1951 - Francis Holden Sylvester
1955 - Mervyn Victor Hawkes
1958 - Frances Annie Williams
1958 - Walter George Sydee
1965 - Edgar Arthur Henry Govier
1967 - Frederick Charles Canning/Escott
1971 - Albert Edwin Oliver Merchant
1971 - Ethel Mary (Wilkins) Ansell
1973 - Maria (Reeves) Mizen
1974 - Hilda Marjory (Bennett) Elmes
1974 - Paul Ayshford Methuen
1975 - Julian Francis Hughes
1981 - George Charles Field
1983 - William Ernest "Willie" Fowler
2005 - Derek Thomas James Watson

NEWSPAPER HEADLINES
1788 - M Ball reopens school for next term
1788 - Rev Honywill announces new school term
1836 - Mrs Cochrane re-opens to offer young ladies education
1860 - Gilchrist announces Academy Re-opening
1864 - Joseph H Maggs continues hempen trade
1882 - The county asylum Committee of Visitors Annual Report
1892 - Retired Police Inspector Priest dies; known for his clever capture of the Beanacre murderers
1899 - A Drop Too Much; Page falls into brook, drunk
1899 - A Family Matter: Park summoned to contribute to father upkeep
1899 - A Well Deserved Acknowledgment: presentation for Newman
1899 - Rev Beard seriously indisposed, unable to attend Congregational meetings
1899 - Youths caught stealing Christmas sweets from railway station
1904 - Advertisement: 40 eggs for 6d, effect of egg-producing poultry powder
1904 - Keevil accused of causing bodily harm to Webb
1909 - Jones ordered to pay child support for daughter
1911 - Funeral with full military honours given Private Andrews
1928 - Funeral of Mr H S Annal
1956 - George Inn: Licence transfer from Moody to Beer


On Bluesky .org.uk

06/01/2025

On This Day: 6 January

BORN
1789 - John Ledyard Phillips
1828 - Hannah Breach (Hitchcock) Cottle
1837 - Datter Hazeland
1838 - John Joseph Hazeland
1840 - James Martin Taylor Price
1858 - John George Wallis
1859 - Ellen (Prew) Wey Lye
1865 - Samuel Clark
1871 - Caroline (Mortimer) Webb
1878 - Beatrice A (Hunt) Taylor
1879 - Sarah Ellen (Hole) Sheppard
1880 - Edith (Mortimer) Davis
1881 - Herbert John Alexander Merrett
1881 - Joseph Hibberd Stanton
1882 - Francis Herbert "Frank" Burchell
1883 - Arthur Henry Parker
1889 - Elizabeth E (Brown) Midwinter
1890 - Walter J Pearce
1891 - Francis Jesse "Frank" Park
1891 - Lilian Edith (Lush) Holt
1896 - Milson Howard Hawkins
1897 - Margaret A (Greenhill) Guley
1898 - Winifred (Ramsden) Wilkins
1901 - Edith Mary (Tanner) Faulkner
1901 - Reginald Langford Farnell
1904 - Ernest James Harris "Jim" Fowler
1904 - Gladys Ruby Gorse
1905 - Gladys May Hatherall
1907 - Frederick Townsend
1907 - Graham Frederick Richard Medway
1907 - Violet Olive (Newbury) D**e
1910 - Marjorie C (Blackmore) Giles
1912 - Frank C Harding
1912 - Winifred Gladys (Keel) Petty
1914 - Mary Doris Kathleen Harvey
1916 - Margaret Joan Few
1919 - Kenneth W A Rudman
1920 - Michael Anthony Crook
1926 - Ivor Donald Newman
1926 - Joyce U (Martin) Bultz
1926 - Vivienne C Crew Gee
1927 - Irene Joyce (Remnant) Blake
1927 - Joan F Granger
1973 - Garry Derek Vines

DIED
1879 - William Buckland
1890 - Anna Perkins (Stancomb) Mann
1898 - Francis Henry Hallett
1900 - Christopher Curnick
1912 - George Edward Gunter
1929 - Mary Elizabeth (Matravers) Gaby
1937 - Walter William Rogers
1944 - F***y (Parfitt) Walton
1950 - Lawrence Kirkpatrick Hall
1951 - William Joseph Althoff
1952 - Emily (Ashley) Crew
1955 - Sidney Herbert Joyce
1968 - Ivy Augusta (Howell) Barnett
1970 - Ernest James Harris "Jim" Fowler
1972 - Christopher Walter Painter
1972 - Hubert Abbott
1975 - Violet Alberta (Thorne) Meaden
1976 - Lillian Irene Gerrish
1977 - Wilfred Victor Pyne
1998 - Edward George Whitfield
2004 - Geoffrey H Baines

NEWSPAPER HEADLINES
1825 - Robbery and attempted robbery reported in Shurnhold
1870 - Committal of the Beanacre Burglar Worthy Rich
1912 - Summers of Bridge House accused of assaulting New Inn's Cooper for insulting him
1934 - First issue of bi-monthly "Melksham Baptist Courier" announced
1934 - New heating apparatus proposed for Congregational Church
1934 - Passing of cattle dealer Jack Summers of Semington Bridge
1934 - Weekly report for Cottage Hospital
1940 - Allowances increase for evacuees; no action for support agreed
1945 - Change of Lowbourne Headmaster; Linley to succeed Watkins
1945 - Death of cheesemaker Frank Cox
1945 - Fusilier Chilcot captured and held as POW in Germany


On Bluesky .org.uk

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