Whilst I was going through one of the many drawers of fossils that Warwickshire Museum hold, I came across a specimen which was donated by a William Boon. I checked the Warwickshire Natural History and Archaeological Society (WNHAS) annual reports and saw that he was listed as a member.
He was one of the lesser-known members of the Warwickshire Natural History and Archaeological Society. Research has uncovered that he was born in 1830 to John and Ann Boon at Far Gosford Street, Coventry. Ann was 10 years John’s senior. He had one brother, Amos who was born in 1840. William Boon married Catherine Hopkins in 1852 and they went on to have six daughters and four sons.
Around Coventry and Warwickshire
Census records over the years show him at different addresses in and around Coventry. He started out as a watch maker, taking up an apprenticeship but when his father died, he took over his management of Marston Quarries which was the family business. William also owned other quarries in and around Nuneaton including Windmill Hill, Caldecote, and Reservoir Quarries. For a number of years, he supplied the Coventry Corporation with stone.
In his later years, William Boon left the management of the Tuttle Hill quarry in the hands of his son, William Boon junior, whilst he continued to work as a road contractor. He was also a road surveyor for the Highways for the Parish of Holy Trinity. He is described in the Coventry Evening Telegraph (1892, p.3) as ‘although of a retiring disposition and unobtrusive manners, his geniality won him many friends. He had remarkably keen, shrewd features, and was undoubtably a thorough businessman.’.
Donated items
William Boon donated a few items to the WNHAS including specimens of manganese from one of his quarries (Windmill Hill quarry) near Atherstone, sometime between 1885 and 1891. He was also an active member of the Warwickshire Naturalists’ and Archaeologists’ Field Club where he took up the role of treasurer. His quarries were often the location of club trips.
His name lives on today through Boon’s Quarry, one of Warwickshire’s most important Geological Sites of Scientific Interest.
References
Ancestry (n.d) All results for William Boon (Accessed 29/07/2024)
Lee, P. (2011) Nuneaton & Bedworth. Coal, Stone, Clay & Iron. Forgotten industries in North Warwickshire. Amberley Publishing.
No author (1876) ‘Warwickshire lent assizes, 1876’. Coventry Herald Friday 31st March. [online] Available at: The British Newspaper Archive. (Accessed 29/07/2024)
No author (1893) ‘Death of a local Quarry Proprietor’. Nuneaton Observer. Friday 6th January. (Accessed 29/07/2024)
No author (1892) ‘Death of Mr William Boon’. Coventry Evening Telegraph. Friday 30th December. (Accessed 29/07/2024)
Warwickshire Geological Conservation Group (n.d) Warwickshire Geological Sites of Special Scientific Interest. (Accessed 29/07/2024)
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