William Karn Fosberry

David Young
Nov 14, 2023
2 min read

Updated: 3 hours ago

Taken from an article in the Parish Magazine, November 2022, written by Jackie Rickenberg

Fosberry is a name that has come up in many articles written for the Parish Magazine. It seems whenever Lutyens and his life and influence on Thursley is discussed, Fosberry’s name crops up. Hugh Semper, who lives in “The Outlook” has asked if the Society has any more information on the man who built, not only his house, but many others locally.

“William Karn Fosberry was born in 1853 and was the village builder in Thursley from the latter part of the last century until the 1930’s. In the 1870’s he married Elizabeth Smithers whose parents lived at “The Corner”. At that time, it was a general store and baker’s shop supplying bread to the inhabitants of the village. (The rest of this article can be downloaded below).

Here is some fascinating information about the sculptor, Julias A Gems, and his subject, written by his grandson, Chris Gems:

"In 1939, Julius Albert [Gems] decided he would enter a model for the summer exhibition of the Royal Academy. There was a very aged builder named William Fosberry in Thursley Village, who had a long beard and very large hands. The old chap agreed to sit for Julius but, when he did so, as he was deaf he insisted on putting one of his hands up to his ear to hear what was being said to him, so Julius modelled him in this position and, not only was the model accepted by the Royal Academy, but it was placed on a pedestal in a very prominent position in the exhibition.