Boxford

Category: Boxford History Project (Page 1 of 4)

BHP Dates for your 2025 diary & The Boxford Classic Car Show

17th July 2025 /

Boxford History Project – Remaining dates for the Diary 2025:

Saturday August 30th Boxford Classic Car Show 12.00 – 16.00 Recreation Ground Boxford Fund raising event for the BHP
Thursday September 25th Local Roman Roads – Keith Abbot 19.30 Boxford Heritage Centre Free entry/donations welcome
Thursday October 16th Researching Family Trees – Steve Smart 19.30 Boxford Heritage Centre Free entry/donations welcome
Thursday November 6th  Blacksmiths to Admirals – Liz Butcher 19.30 Boxford Heritage Centre  Free entry/donations welcome
Boxford Heritage Centre  is open every month on the first Sunday 2-5pm  Free entry/donations welcome
The BHP’s first fund raising event will be the Classic Car Show on Saturday August 30th. We need to generate funds, for as you can see, we do not charge for talks or open days at the Heritage Centre but we obviously have outgoings. Since all the vehicles are 20th Century including WW2 vehicles, we are happy to consider this a history project! The BHP covers a huge range of Boxford History, dating from 6000BC to 1999AD and to that end we will be giving an exhibition of the most important, including some from WW2, in the Village Hall!
This event is being co-ordinated by Andy Brown in Westbrook. He is looking for additional volunteers for marshalling  both visitors car parking and ticket office in Bell Meadow between 12.00 -16.00 and Classic Cars entering through the Recreation Ground from 10.00 – 12.00. He is also looking for extra bar help – not usually a difficult problem! He’s hoping that helpers will be covering only hourly slots if he has enough volunteers.  Importantly, he’s looking for help to set up on Friday 29th afternoon  and even more importantly to clear away on Sunday morning – men and ladies with muscles most welcome – exact times to be discussed.
Further information and offers of help especially please contact Andy asap: ‭07720 885915‬ or email andytammy@aol.co.uk>
For information about other events and reservations for seats at the Heritage Centre as places are limited, please email: boxfordhistoryproject@boxford.org.uk

 

For full details of the Classic Car Show please click on the link.

Boxford Classic Car Show

 

Boxford Heritage Centre Opening Times 2025

3rd February 2025 /

Apart from January, the Heritage Centre will be open to the public on the 1st Sunday of each month from 2-5pm. In November and December it will close earlier at 4pm.

Additionally, we open on demand to local historical groups and schools as well as individual visitors. Please contact boxfordhistoryproject@boxford.org.uk

We hold a wide selection of maps, family histories and slide shows of Old Boxford as well as artefacts from different periods of Boxford’s history including finds from the three Roman sites recently excavated by the community and the worked timber of aMesolithic Bog Oak, known as the Boxford Bog Oak which was found during building work. We also have a large photo courtesy of David Shepherd of The Boxford Mosaic and slideshows of the excavations.

Boxora to Boxford – the latest history book and The Boxford Mosaic book- about the 2019 excavation  are available from the St.Andrew’s Church or Boxford Heritage Centre. The Boxford Mosaic book is also available from all booksellers.

 

Boxford Bog Oak Talk

29th August 2024 /
The Boxford History Project is hosting a talk by Gill Campbell from Historic England entitled
The Boxford timber: its conservation and what it tells us about Mesolithic life.
This follows on from the exciting find in Boxford of worked bog oak dated to the Mesolithic period, so well before Stonehenge and is the earliest piece of worked timber so far found in the UK. We knew Boxford was an ancient settlement but this find has taken our breath away.
The talk is being held in Boxford Church on 16th October at 7.15pm. Parking will be in the field opposite the The Mill and will be signed.
Visitors are welcome but as we don’t charge for our events, we gratefully appreciate individual donations to help defray our costs.

BOXFORD HISTORY PROJECT AGM AND GUEST SPEAKER

6th March 2023 /

The Annual General Meeting of the Boxford History Project will be held at 7pm on 10th March 2023 in the Heritage Centre

1. Welcome
2. Approval of the AGM Minutes held on 8th MARCH 2022
3. Chairman’s Report for 2022
4. Election of trustees (new trustees welcome to stand)
5. Inspected Financial Report for approval
6. Latest find in Boxford
7. To receive suggestions for the BHP Programme for 2023
8. Any questions

All Boxford residents past and present are welcome to join this meeting. We are always looking for new trustees and members for the BHP and welcome ideas and suggestions for the BHP programme for the future. At 7.30pm, following the Annual Meeting, Dr Philip Smither, Berkshire’s Finds Liaison Officer, will talk about his role and the work of the British Museum’s Portable Antiquities Scheme. If you have any finds or artefacts for him to evaluate, please bring them with you. Please RSVP to boxfordhistoryproject@boxford.org.uk or phone 01488 608422

Excavation Report MHV19

18th November 2020 /

The Excavation Report produced for the BHP by Cotswold Archaeology for the excavations at the Mud Hole Villa in 2019  is available to download. It makes for interesting reading – particularly surprising is the “bone” report – not one usually at the top of the reading list. Mud Hole Villa is compared to other Roman establishments including Fishbourne Palace on account of the lavish meals consumed and suggests a possible use of the building – a hunting lodge. Was this the Michelin starred eatery of its time? The bulk of the report is devoted to the scholarly interpretation of the mosaic by Anthony Beeson to whom we are greatly indebted.

Also available to download is a review of the book “The Boxford Mosaic” by the Journal of Roman Archaeology. This majors on Anthony Beeson’s interpretation of the mosaic but also refers to the colour photographs of our talented volunteers David Shepherd, Chris Forsey and Richard Miller.

The unpublished Excavation Reports for Hoar Hill 2015, Wyfield Manor 2016 and Mud Hole 2017 are held by the authors Steve Clark and Lindsey Bedford – for details of their reports email: archaeology@westberks.gov.uk

THE BOXFORD MOSAIC BOOK

20th February 2020 /

The book written by Anthony Beeson and Matt Nichol with a foreword from Joy Appleton tells the story in words and wonderful photos of this extraordinary Roman find in Boxford. Sales are going well. According to publisher Countryside Books, over 1000 copies of The Boxford Mosaic book have been sold. The book is now available from many bookshops including Blackwells in Oxford and online.  Copies are also available from St.Andrew’s Church or the Heritage Centre in Boxford. Please email: boxfordhistoryproject@gmail.com

 

 

The Boxford History Project introduces the story of The Boxford Mosaic

26th November 2019 /
Anthony Beeson – Iconographer extraordinaire
Matt Nichol – Senior Site Project Archaeologist
Duncan Coe – Head of Cotswold Archaeology’s Exeter and Andover Offices
Joy Appleton – Chairman Boxford History Project
The Boxford Mosaic book – published by Countryside Books

at the Corn Exchange, Newbury

November 19th – An evening at the Corn Exchange with around 300 in the audience, excellent speakers and a book launch! All in all, a fitting tribute to the Roman Boxford Mosaic and the community group that worked to bring it back to life, this summer.
What a wonderful way to close the project!

Photos kindly supplied by Chris Forsey

email: boxfordhistoryproject@gmail.com

Hot off the press!

7th November 2019 /

Anthony Beeson’s article about the Boxford Mosaic in the Current Archaeology magazine should be out today.

Speaking of printing ………………the new book “The Boxford Mosaic” authors Anthony Beeson and Matt Nichol, will be on sale from Monday 18th November. If you are coming to the Feedback Session on Tuesday 19th November at the Corn Exchange you can pick up copies there. Otherwise W.H.Smith in Newbury is stocking it or it’s available online from the publishers Countryside Books https://countrysidebooks.co.uk

The Boxford Mosaic

29th October 2019 /

Hear All About It and/or Read All about it!

In anticipation of a bumper crowd after the Open Day in August, the Boxford History Project has arranged a Feedback Session called The Wondrous Boxford Mosaic at the Corn Exchange in Newbury with speakers Anthony Beeson and Matt Nichol with an introduction by me.
Date: 19th November at 7.30pm
Tickets are available from the Corn Exchange Box Office £5 per adult; children under 16 free.0845 5218 218 or online at https://www.cornexchangenew.com


A new book entitled The Boxford Mosaic (authors Anthony Beeson and Matt Nichol) will be available on the same evening and can be pre-ordered with ticket purchases through the Corn Exchange Box Office at £12. Alternatively books can be purchased from WHSmith in Newbury or online at the publisher – Countryside Books https://countrysidebooks.co.uk Countryside books are offering a discount on 2 or more purchases. The book is due to be out on November 18th.

Hope to see you on November 19th!

Joy

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