Have you ever wondered what where you live, work or walk looked like over half a century ago? 

Our Community Engagement Assistant, Xander King, spoke to his grandfather, Roger Maidment, about his time working in Coombe Bissett in the 1950s and '60s and gives us here a flavour of village at that time.

Roger leaves school aged 15 in 1950 to commence work for a building firm in the village. He works there until 1969, leaving only for two years to complete his National Service duties. Roger is involved in some important moments that created the village we see today, including the construction of the village shop and the installation of mains water to domestic properties. 

There are fewer houses than you would see today; some large houses scattered around, belonging to landowners and local businessmen, and amongst those are the occasional row of workers' cottages built onto dirt floors with no running water. 

Opposite the Fox and Goose pub is a mill with a large barn, where wagons pulled by horses reverse in to deliver grain and collect flour. Next to the mill, you can cross over a brick bridge which will bring you to a detached farm house which belonged to the Kents, who distribute cattle feed throughout the local area. 

Walking along Blandford Road a bit further, you see a church in front of you and just along from it is Church Farm. Passing briefly by the graveyard, you can see some ornate Roma graves, hinting at the rich nomadic history of the Wiltshire chalk. If you head towards Homington, you will pass the row of workers' cottages and the smallholding site where, in the modern day, the village shop sits.

Passing a few more large houses, one belonging to the local brewers, Anchor Brewery, and one to the brother-in-law of Lord Langford, there is then a narrow lane called Shepherd’s Lane. This is where Roger’s boss and the local builder live, though Roger's boss is currently planning to build a luxurious Portland stone home on the corner by the chapel. Turning a sharp left down towards the river you see a bungalow and then a small footpath that will take you to Homington House, owned by the Radnors, and to the watercress beds that are farmed on the River Ebble.

When you go back on yourself and head towards the modern-day nature reserve and the farm, passing the chapel on your way, there is another large house that belongs to a talented local architect.

Reaching the nature reserve, you gaze out at the distinct Wiltshire landscape, with its managed hedgerows and a duller green than it is today (as the land has not yet been improved through the addition of nutrients). The Blandford Road stretches out before you and whilst is not busy, there are a few cars, the occasional horse-drawn cart and cyclists making their way to or from Salisbury. You may see children scrabbling on the downland in search of large chunks of chalk. These are used to polish up the tiles around a black stove for a clean, contrasting aesthetic. 

There is a strong Roma community in Wiltshire after the Second World War, and from the location of the current reserve car park, you look out and see a small Romani camp upon the edge of the opposite valley. A family stand by the side of the Blandford Road, waiting to cross over to the toilets that service their camp. Local workers trade with the Roma people, selling them rabbit skins for a sixpence a dozen, and purchasing hand-carved clothes pegs in return. 

The downlands on the Coombe Bissett side of the valley only feature grazing sheep, but as you look across Blandford Road, the land is farmed intensively by National By-Products for pork. The wildlife of Coombe Bissett has also changed over the years. If venture into Coombe Bissett in the 1950s you may see wild grey partridge, curlews, corncrakes and lapwings. Swarms of butterflies fill the air in the spring and summer, and cover the downlands on which sheep graze. Through the centre of the village runs the River Ebble, with a pebble bottom and crystal-clear water that you can drink. The wealthy landowners go shooting for snipe and woodcock, and the farmworkers regularly eat hare or eel for dinner. 

Roger remembers his time in Coombe Bissett very fondly and will happily talk about it at great length. His traditional Wiltshire accent seems to get stronger the longer he talks about it! He suggests that we should take a drive together and see what the village is like now and how the nature reserve has changed things - I definitely agree.  

If you would like to share your stories and photographs of life in Coombe Bissett please contact CBDProject@wiltshirewildlife.org

To learn more about rural life we would recommend visiting The Museum of English Rural Life, and in particular, their ‘Our Country Lives’ exhibit. For further information please visit https://merl.reading.ac.uk/