A Boitle

If anyone wonders if we have mis-typed the title of this blog then no, we haven’t. This post is about an item which locals call a boitle.  Just as a matter of interest, we have also heard them call...

Dew Ponds

The Smith family of Market Lavington were renowned pond diggers throughout the south of England. In 1969 the Country Life magazine featured the work of the last of the pond digging Smiths. Here we ...

The Smith Family at Work

The Smith family, of Market Lavington were dew pond diggers by trade. The family passed the skills from generation to generation and prepared ponds over a period of at least 160 years, starting in abo...

The Smith Family

Earlier this year, as a display was being developed, we featured Charles Smith in mannequin form but with a singularly bald head. One of our stewards – a fantastic group of people – has now found ...

Jacob and Mary Ann Smith

Jacob Smith was one of the famous family of pond diggers who hailed from Market Lavington. Our photographer seems to have chosen to have the people upright rather than the landscape. We have some i...

The Smiths

Names and occupations can be awkward. In Market Lavington we have Bakers who were tinsmiths, Potters who ran a bus service and many of our Smiths were pond diggers. Pond digging is not a major occupa...