by admin | Apr 8, 2020 | People & Places
Son of Dr Richard Bethel of Bradford on Avon, he is reputed to have been a boarder at the Hungerford Almshouse School, before gaining a scholarship to Wadham College in 1818. In 1823 he was called to the Bar, attaining Queens Counsel in 1840. He was responsible for...
by admin | Apr 8, 2020 | People & Places
Many generations of Corsham citizens have filled the comprehensive office of Town Crier/Ale Taster/Inspector of Weights & Measures. Whether Charles Bethel managed to contend with all these ‘strands’ is questionable, but there is no doubt that the bell and voice of...
by admin | Apr 8, 2020 | People & Places
The Batley family probably came to Corsham in the early 1880’s. They were farmers, and John Batley, who originally came from Suffolk, had farmed at Sheldon Manor, Chippenham for many years, before coming to Corsham to take on a farm at Pockeridge. The 1881 census...
by admin | Apr 8, 2020 | People & Places
Born in 1827, Richard Balch was married at the age of 24 and running the family business at no 11 High Street. Balch was an elected trustee of local charities, and a director of the troubled Gas and Water Companies of the day. He was appointed coroner for Corsham, an...
by admin | Apr 8, 2020 | People & Places
The Baines family seemed to have settled in Corsham around 1870. John Baines, who had been born in Bradford on Avon, and his wife Maria and four children are recorded in the 1871 census as living in High Street. He was a chemist, stationer and bookseller, and he also...
by admin | Apr 8, 2020 | People & Places
Corsham can proudly boast an actor of world renown with one of its Victorian sons, Felix Edward Aylmer Jones, born in Alexander House, Corsham on 21st February 1889. He was the second child in the family of five boys and one girl, fathered by Major, later Lieutenant...
