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.

Following the storm at Boxfields on 25th January 2014 (shown above) which was the last event of note, we now have the most significant event in decades, the 2020 publication of Rosie McNamara's book The Boxfields Bungalows (front cover shown above) which recounts the history of this largely forgotten community which endured in this corner of north-west Wiltshire between the years 1942 and 1964 (see the 29th August 2020 article below).

3rd March 2026 - another disfigurement of the countryside at Boxfields. The fine avenue of trees in Boxfields Road, reminiscent of such avenues in France, has been felled. 'We' seem to be past masters of despoiling the countryside (see the 24th January 2025 article here: 24th January 2025 article). The first gallery below shows one photo of the avenue as it was and the others as it is now. The second gallery shows pictures of the avenue taken over previous years.

18th March 2026 update... The Forestry Commission has confirmed that a licence should have been obtained (or more likely refused) for the felling of the Boxfields Road/Quarry Hill tree avenue. An illegal felling case has been initiated which, all things being equal, should result in a prosecution. But this won't bring back those marvellous trees which are lost to us and future generations.

23rd March 2026 update... The remaining ten or so trees shown in the first gallery above have also now been felled - the current (final?) desolation is shown in the gallery below. The National Trust has started a campaign to call for urgent action to reverse the 'freefall' of nature in the UK. It says that the country is one of the most nature-depleted in the world. Millions of birds had disappeared in recent decades and only 14% of English rivers are in good ecological health. It is the first time in 15 years that the trust has urged the public to put pressure on ministers by asking for commitments to manage 30% of land for nature by 2030 and to stop weakening laws that protect nature.

15th April 2022 - a golden discovery at the site of the flat-roofed Boxfields Bungalows. Whilst walking his dog, Richard Chater came across the 1963 half-penny shown in he photograph below. The bungalows were demolished in 1964 so I reckon that this half-penny is a small relic which has been lying on the site for the best part of sixty years. And why golden? Well, the ship on the reverse of the half-penny is the Golden Hind. The design was created by T H Paget in 1937, and you will find his initials (HP) in the field below the stern on each coin.

29th August 2020 and, as indicated in the title text above, the most significant Boxfields event for many a long year sees the publication of Rosie McNamara's book The Boxfields Bungalows, the story of, as Rosie says in her introduction, "not just another prefab estate" but a neighbourhood whose "location, configuration, atmosphere and diverse population made it so much more. In reality it was more like a small village, which gave me a great sense of belonging and pride."

That sense of belonging and pride is undeniable as fifty-six years after leaving, Rosie has produced an outstanding book which is the first to recount the tale of Boxfields. The book is dedicated to Rosie's brother, Johnny, who was killed in a motorbike accident in April 1961.

The Boxfields Bungalows can be ordered directly from Rosie, with no post/packing charges, through the website:

http://www.theboxfieldsbungalows.com/

18th September 2014 - fiercest storm for many a long year in north-west Wiltshire

25th January 2014 - 10-minute storm, reported as mini-tornado

This occurred in mid-afternoon and did some minor damage in the area - slate blown from The Quarryman's roof, large shrub blown across the B3109, fence panels blown over and so on. The short movie below is taken from inside The Quarryman's Arms - just minutes before, there was a clear view to the other side of By Brook Valley. The children heard crying in the background had been caught outside and the family took shelter in the pub.

After the storm - the photos below were taken between Boxfields and Rudloe