Box, Wiltshire
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Box is a village located in Wiltshire, England, about 8 km (5 miles) east of Bath and 11 km (7 miles) west of Chippenham. According to the 2001 census, the village had a population of 3,439. It is in an area known for its fine stone and Box quarries were famous for their stone for centuries.
The village is famous for Isambard Kingdom Brunel's Box Railway Tunnel, a two-mile long tunnel, then the longest in the world, built between 1836 and 1841, at the cost of the lives of about 100 construction workers, as part of Brunel's broad-gauge Great Western Railway. The tunnel links Corsham and Box through the Cotswolds.
The creator of Thomas the Tank Engine, Rev. W.V. Awdry, lived there as a boy at the Lorne House on London Road, now a Bed and breakfast.
Box today is the home of singer Peter Gabriel and his Real World Studios, and musician Midge Ure, the Band Aid/Live Aid organiser, former lead singer of Ultravox and solo artist.
[edit] See also
[edit] Further reading
- McCamley, Nick (2000) Secret Underground City, Pen & Sword Books Ltd, ISBN 0-85052-733-3
[edit] External links
- Map sources for Box, Wiltshire
- Lorne House website
- Population information for Box (1801-2001)
- Article about Box and the tunnel
- Real World Studios
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