Welcome to the Rudloe and environs website.

Here you will find news, articles and photos of an area that straddles the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in north-west Wiltshire.

Contributions in the form of articles or photos are welcome. Even those with completely contrary views to mine!

Thanks to the website builder 1&1 and Rob Brown for the original idea.

Rudloescene now, in January 2014, has a sister, academic rather than anarchic, website about Box history here: http://www.boxpeopleandplaces.co.uk/

It contains thoroughly professional, well-researched articles about Box and its people.

Contact rudloescene through the 'Contact' page.

Lower Pockeredge Lake off The Carriage Drive - December 2010. It's a man-made lake used by Chippenham Angling Club. Lots of yellow flag irises in spring/summer. Images of Pockeredge over the years may be found in the gallery towards the foot of this webpage.

29th October 2024 - through Pockeredge to the site of Corsham Station and South Street with memories of Bruce Cunningham who passed away earlier this year. A trial Saturday service has commenced between Oxford and Bristol Temple Meads. If the service is successful, it may be extended to weekdays which, in turn, could provide a strong argument for the re-opening of Corsham and Wootton Bassett stations. I thought that Bruce would go far. At Chippenham Grammar School he was a wheeler-dealer buying, repairing and selling bikes. But his entrepreneurial  skills remained local to a circle of like-minded hommes d'affaires including Esther's dad, Jimmy. He and Bruce were oppos, denizens of local scrapyards including the long-gone 'Smarties' at Beanacre which was a favourite.

Hudswell 'Common'

Pockeredge Lower Lake

Pockeredge/Pockeridge Drive or the Carriage Drive

Pound Mead and the site of Corsham Station

As indicated in the introductory paragraph, a new Saturday service has been introduced between Oxford and Bristol Temple Meads. If successful, the service may be extended to weekdays. This reintroduces (as such a service was advanced years ago but came to nothing) the possibility of reopening Corsham (and Wootton Bassett) stations. However, the work involved would be immense: new platforms, buildings (waiting rooms?), access roads, car parks (where?), a footbridge. An alternative may be a Chippenham/Corsham Parkway station at Thingley Junction. The access road (from the foot of Chequers Hill) is wide and there is ample room for parking. If used widely, this would reduce considerably the volume of traffic using Station Hill in Chippenham - the access road to the biggest cul-de-sac in Europe.

Bruce Cunningham. Bruce passed away in April 2024. He lived in the family home in South Street. As indicated in the introductory paragraph, Bruce was the archetypal wheeler-dealer from a young age. His reputation with his bike 'dealership' reached almost legendary status at Chippenham Grammar School in the late 50s/early 60s.

The Pockeredge Drive area over the years. Click on image to enlarge and view caption.