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When preparing for the Wedding Belles exhibition (see separate entry) in 2008, this list of the vicars of St Michael and All Angels was compiled to coincide with the dates covered by the exhibition. To this distinguished list must be added: 2010 John Jeremy Page 2020 Hannah Thérèse Moore Work in progress, so this is just the beginning of entries about our vicars: Francis Harcourt Gooch, 1886-1901 The Revd F H Gooch at Dye House, 1918 Alfred Perceval Pott 1901 - 1907 Charles Kaye Watson, 1914 - 1918 C K Watson was vicar of Thursley throughout the First World War. Here is a letter to parishioners that was in the Parish Magazine: Addison James Wheeler, 1925 - 1932 From Durham University The Addison Wheeler Fellowships are funded by a bequest from Addison James Wheeler, who died in 1967 at the age of eighty-five. Having read Theology at Durham University, Wheeler became a schoolmaster and afterwards took Holy Orders. Ill health prevented him from achieving his ambition of a career in scientific research. During his lifetime this remarkable man devoted himself to building up sufficient capital to support young scholars, whom he hoped would be able to make a significant contribution to knowledge that he himself had been unable to achieve. As reported above, the Vicarage suffered a terrible fire in 1930. Unfortunately some church records were destroyed in the blaze as the vicar had taken them home having removed them from the church safe. Revd Wheeler was responsible for uncovering the 12th Century sedile ( a group of stone seats for clergy in the south chancel wall of a church, usually three in number and often canopied and decorated, OED ) in the church and for discovering in 1927 the Saxon windows in the chancel. After the fire, the Revd Wheeler bought the Haybarn field at Smallbrook Farm and converted a yard and barn used for the cattle and known as "The Hovel" into a bungalow, which then got rebuilt by Paul Wedge. Sadly, the Revd Wheeler could not stay due to his asthma induced by the cattle. He had to sell and move away. He and his wife divorced and he left the ministry. Mary Bennett said that he ran off with his ward. He was vicar of Thursley from 1925 - 1932. H Gordon French, 1932-1959 The Revd French with Mrs Lettice Fisher Kenneth Mathews, 1968 -1977 This memoir of Revd A K Mathews, OBE, DSC, was based largely on an obituary in The Daily Telegraph and an article in the Thursley Parish Magazine of February 1993. It also appears in The Lives of the People of Thursley, published by the History of Thursley Society, which can be found on this website. Not mentioned in the article is that he was the progenitor of the Thursley Harvest Supper in 1972 which has recently been resurrected. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Mathews https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-the-rev-kenneth-mathews-1564982.html A John Stephens, 1977 - 1983 From the Church Times : STEPHENS.  — On 13 October, the Revd (Archibald) John Stephens: CMS Missionary (1950-52); Manager and Chaplain of Ado-Ekiti Hospital (1950-55); Priest-in-Charge of CMS Training Centre, Akure (1955-56); E.T.C., St John’s College, Owo (1956-59); Principal of Bishop Phillips Hall, Owo (1958-60); Hon. Can of St Stephen’s Cathedral, Ondo-Benin (1957-71); Assistant Curate, of Christ Church and St Mary, Swindon (1968-70); Hon. Canon of Owerri since 1971; Curate-in-Charge of Ash Vale Conventional District (1971-72); Vicar of St Mary’s, Ash Vale (1972-77); Priest-in-Charge of Thursley (1977-82); aged 100. William David Lang 1992 - 2010 John Jeremy Page 2010-2020 https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2020/6-march/features/features/ordination-would-i-do-it-again-no Hannah Thérèse Moore 2020 - https://parishesofetsph.org.uk/team-members/rev-hannah-moore/ Here is a complete list of Rectors, Vicars and Patrons from a photograph taken in the Church:

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. Mercy Fosberry and her daughter Mary - Copy of a painting by Eveline Lance c1930 (Mary Kalinowski, nee Fosberry, has the original) William and Mary Ann Karn, blacksmith of Thursley, July 1907 Mr & Mrs William Fosberry taken outside what is now know as Vean Cottage, date about 1920 Mr Harry Fosberry, Mrs Mercy Fosberry and their daughter, Mary, early 1940s

The climax of the national celebrations came in early June. On the evening of Monday 6 June, The Queen lit a bonfire beacon at Windsor which started a chain of beacons across the country. On Tuesday 7 June, vast crowds saw The Queen driven in the Gold State Coach to St Paul's Cathedral for a Service of Thanksgiving attended by heads of state from around the world and former prime ministers of the UK. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3hfM1R4Xvw An estimated 500 million people watched on television as the procession returned down The Mall. Back at Buckingham Palace, The Queen made several balcony appearances. Street parties and village parties started up all over the country: in London alone, 4,000 were reported to have been held. The final event of the central week of celebrations was a river progress down the Thames from Greenwich to Lambeth on Thursday 9 June, emulating the ceremonial barge trips of Elizabeth I. The journey ended with a firework display, and a procession of lighted carriages took The Queen back to Buckingham Palace for more balcony appearances to a cheering crowd. In Thursley, a whole host of events (for every age and predilections apparently) were planned under the watchful auspices of Norman Ratcliffe, then the village bobby, living in the police house on The Street. It all took place on Tuesday 7th June and I am guessing the following day must also have been a Bank Holiday as it was a busy old day, culminating in dancing until midnight! The programme of events from Norman was such: HORSE SHOW At 10am at Haybarn stables. Programme and entry form available from Thursley Stores, Thursley Post Office, the Police House and the Red Lion garage. OLD PEOPLE’S LUNCH At 12 noon in the Village Hall, a lunch and entertainment will be held for our senior citizens. PROCESSION At 2.30pm the procession will go from The Red Lion to the cricket field. Anyone is welcome to join in. Please come in fancy dress, on foot or horseback. You can organise a group float, decorate your cycle or car and just join in the fun. CRICKET MATCH At 3pm the Half Moon (one of three pubs in the village – Ed) will do battle against the Three Horseshoes, in a not too serious match. DOG DISPLAY At 5pm on the cricket field, there will be a display by Guardwell Security Dogs. CHILDRENS PARTY At 5.30pm all children of school age will be welcome to a party in the Village Hall. This will be tea and a magic show. DANCE AND CABARET The dance will be 8pm to 12 midnight on the cricket field. There will be a cabaret during the evening. Dancing will be to The Gold Top Roadshow. This is a show in its own right. There will be a bar. The rider is Elizabeth Norman from 1 Church Cottages

Grade II listed buildings, 2nd August 1977. See pdf report made by Surrey Domestic Buildings Research Group January 1992 March 1992 Mike and Debbie Spencer with Edward, 1997 Photograph by Sean Edward s

Truxford Cottage is at one of the extremities of Thursley Parish. It lies up a lane leading from Truxford Corner which is on the Thursley Road leading to Elstead. Truxford Cottage and Barn Taken from sales particulars in 2025

Grade II listed building, 9 March 1960 Historic Planning Permission Documents (list the cottage name as 'Sunset View Cottage') Report on the property by Domestic Building Research Group, April 1977 The whole report is in the pdf below: Sunset Cottage, photograph by Valérie Ferris Sunset Cottage, the old bakery. View of The Institute. Can also see the old walnut tree. Robert Goble used some of the wood for his harpsichord. From a photograph taken in 1938 Sunset Cottage in 1997 Anthony and Anna Kentish, 1997 Map of the village c1999 This map was given to the Macleans in 1999 when they moved in Sales details 1999: Two sets of sales details May 2003 : Sonya, James, Ben and Holly Maclean just before they moved to Hill House Farm in May 2003 Sales details when the house was sold in May 2003 :

In 1990, Hill Farm Barns, opposite the Church on Highfield Lane in Thursley, was purchased as a derelict farmyard comprising an assortment of redundant agricultural buildings. Photographs courtesy of Mike Spencer. Aerial photograph showing the Hill Farm Barn complex. This must have been taken before November 1977 when the giant Chestnut tree in the churchyard was brought down in a storm. The complex included a main threshing barn, a three-bay cart shed, an old piggery and cow shed, and a small detached granary standing on traditional staddle stones near the north-east corner of the site. The Granary, clad in corrugated iron, before the site was acquired. (THS archive) Original Condition (1991) At the time of purchase, the granary was in a state of advanced decay. The original weatherboard cladding had long since deteriorated, and the structure was enclosed in sheets of corrugated iron to keep it standing. The staddle stones supporting the raised timber floor remained in place, though the frame itself was distorted and partially rotted.  The granary covered in corrugated iron prior to dismantling. Dismantling and Storage In 1991 the structure was carefully dismantled. Sound timbers were numbered, recorded, and transported to Suffolk for storage and eventual restoration by a specialist in historic timber framing. The intention from the outset was to retain the original material wherever possible and to return the structure to its original position once repair became feasible. The repaired granary frame re-erected in Suffolk prior to cladding. Reconstruction of the Frame in Suffolk The salvaged frame remained in Suffolk for many years. Around 2015, the craftsman responsible for its care wanted to retire, and instructions were given for the structure to be repaired and re-erected. Before this work was fully completed, sadly he passed away, leaving his son, together with an assistant, to complete the task of reassembling the granary’s oak frame. The same firm worked on other parts of Hill Farm Barns: this photograph shows the green oak repairs to the roof of the cow barn in their Suffolk workshop. Re-erection at Hill Farm Barns In 2022, after over thirty years since it was first dismantled, the restored granary returned to Thursley. It was reinstalled on its original staddle stones in the same corner of the Hill Farm Barns site. The frame was re-clad in the traditional manner using feather-edged boarding and reclaimed clay roof tiles in keeping with the other restored buildings on the property. The completed granary at Hill Farm Barns (2022). Significance The reinstated granary represents the final phase of a 35-year programme of conservation and restoration to preserve the agricultural group at Hill Farm Barns. Its return has reinstated an important element of the traditional farmstead layout - an elevated granary on staddle stones, once essential to the working life of the holding and now an authentic component of the site’s historic character.

Thursley Institute , now Prospect Cottage, was originally built as a working men’s club. The Parish register states – ‘the site for the institute was given by Captain H Rushbrooke, the architect was Sir Edwin Lutyens , the builder was Mr W K Fosberry. The building was formally opened and given to the Parish Council on February 11th, 1901’. Captain Rushbrooke paid for much of the building itself and took a paternal interest in the running of the club. Reg Fosberry gave Thursley History Society one of the original Lutyens architectural drawings, as shown below, now in their Archives. The Institute with The Lodge in the distance The   Institute comprised a reading room, a billiards and games room and accommodation for the caretaker. Until 1914 one of the bedrooms was used by the Thursley Parish Nurse. The institute was disbanded in 1959 and was sold for residential use in 1968. The, then, conditions of sale included an interesting clause, presumably inherited from the rules of the institute, forbidding the purchaser to use the building for the ‘discussion of political or religious subjects ….or for the consumption of intoxicating liquors’ . Prospect Cottage, 1988. Surnames of previous owners include: Goble; La Mare; Jones; Richmond Prostpect Cottage 1997 Barbara Richmond in 1997; and with neighbour, James Maclean, in May 2003. She lived in Prospect Cottage for many years, was an actress and her husband was involved in the theatre. She trained dogs for the blind for many years and is pictured here with two of her guide dogs that she demonstrated with.

The land on which The Vicarage was built in 1932 is thought to have been owned previously by the Lutyens family. The first Vicar to live in the house was Revd Gordon French (Frenchy) who stayed until 1959 when Revd Bill Mills came to the village. Bill Mills was succeeded by Revd Ken Mathews in 1968, followed by Revd John Stevens who with his wife, Rosemary, lived there until he retired in 1982 and when the Parish of Thursley became a plurality with Elstead. The house was sold by the Church Commissioners in 1983 to Eddie and Sheila Hawkins who stayed only a few months. Pat and Hilary Barr lived at The Old Vicarage from 1984 and altered and extended the property The Old Vicarage , 1990's Surnames of previous owners include: Hawkins, Broomrigg, Phipps, Barr

WORK IN PROGRESS - Photographs only and see separate entries for The Three Horseshoes, The Old Vicarage, The Village Hall, The Corner, The Clump, The Dye House and Brook and Horn Cottages FOLDSDOWN The Patrick Family, Foldsdown, 1997 Surnames of previous owners of Foldsdown include: Parker; Jobson; Matthews THE VILLAGE HALL* VEAN COTTAGE Photograph by Sean Edwards Vean Cottage, November 2027 THE OUTLOOK Reg Fosberry in 1996 The Outlook was originally the workshop of the builder, William Karn Fosberry, he and his family lived at what is now known as Vean Cottage. He eventually converted it into living accommodation. As you can see, a studio was built at the back for the use of his brother-in-law, Henry Tozer, who lived at The Clump when it was a shop and Post Office. Eveline Lance, the artist, rented the house in the summer months, eventually coming to live there permanently in 1929. The studio was then used by her. After the Fosberry family sold Vean Cottage, they moved into The Outlook, where Reg, William's grandson still lives. Compiled in 1996. The Outlook faces Thursley Common and lies behind The Clump and Vean Cottage THE CLUMP THE CORNER* THE OLD POST HOUSE The Old Post House 1932 Old Post House and Sawyers c1965 The Old Post Office was extensively remodelled in 2022 Surnames of previous owners of The Old Post Office include: Davidson; Wonham; Wishart SAWYERS Sawyers c 1980 Sawyers, Mary Rapoley and Elizabeth Copeman 1996/7 Surnames of previous owners of Sawyers include: Ellison; Arnold; Gabriel; Sparks; Copeman Sawyers in 2025 From sales particulars in 2025: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/details/e4f55920-dde7-44c7-8602-dedfd1030af2?v=media&id=media1&ref=photoCollage THE THREE HORSESHOES* THE WELL HOUSE BEAR'S BARN* THE OLD VICARAGE MAGPIE COTTAGE Magpie Cottage was sold in 1952 as part of the break-up of the Cosford Estate: THE OLD STORES Information to come STORES COTTAGE Rodney and Tone Badcock, 1997 OVERDALE and CRICKETS Crickets , below, was built by the Canadian Army in World War 1 for the recuperation of wounded soldiers and is the original construction. Overdale , above, was built in 1985 and replaced a similar building to Crickets. FORGE COTTAGE Forge Cottage, September 2025 Sale Particulars in September 2025: https://www.knightfrank.co.uk/properties/residential/for-sale/dye-house-road-thursley-nr-godalming-surrey-gu8-6qa/gld0125845199331ea8c9b72&csg=34d3e8edf97180a5d7b02f5c163b59f66a8062d5dd02fed71b44555796fbb3bc&#/?channel=RES_BUY SOUTH HOUSE, RED LODGE Simon, Joyce and Christopher Hall, South House, Red Lodge, December 1966 BROOK COTTAGE & HORN COTTAGE* THE DYE HOUSE*

As part of the History of Thursley Society's Wedding Belles exhibition held in 2007, this list of marriages that took place in St Michael's and All Angels was compiled. For ease of research a complete file of the marriages from 1613 to date can be found at the end of this post. Overall, the most popular month to be married is October and March the least: Thanks to the Wedding Belles committee of 2007-8, we have been able to add this pdf which contains photographs of the Register of Marriages from 1910 - 2007: 1900 February 5th Thomas Wisdom & Flora Rathbone April 14th Percy Denyer & Annie Snelling April 16th Henry Miles & Alice Edwards June 4th Leon Philemon & Louise Bywill Miller November 17th Henry William Hardy & Annie Chitty December 8th Henry James Keen & Eliza Ellen Paris   1901 April 27th Alfred Vowels & Annie Elizabeth West May 25th Edward Hardy & Ellen Underwood November 9th George Court & Lucy Hayden November 30th John Sheet & Ellen Grevitt   1902 April 26th Charles Lillywhite & Elizabeth Mansell May 20th Arthur Ford & Sophia Annie Barnard July 26th Walter Wilfred Hardy & Jane Timms September 18th Alan Edward Karn & Mary Ann Barnard November 6th Henry Young & Rosie Jane Penfold November 18th Anthony Astley & Margaret Lily Gooch December 29th William Henry Males & Emily Court   1903 January 20th Henry Young & Ann Boxall January 24th Wilfred Lillywhite & May Amelia Winter   1904 April 18th Arthur Hill & Kate Harris April 30th John Forey Karn & Mary Ann Keen December 24th Raymond Snelling & Mary Cousall   1905 April 24th William Bowbrick & Emily Baker June 15th Edward Baker & Maria Levy October 19th Frank Gulliver & Annie Watkins October 23rd William George Pink & Elizabeth Baker   1906 February 6th Henry Boxall & Emily Mary Clarke June 6th Albert Edward Harbut & Mabel Sarah Brown   1907 March 30th George Clarke & Harriet  Cunningham May 15th Alfred Court & Ellen Young June 20th Albert Elliott & Maria Baker August 4th Harry Egbert Spokes & Edith Emma Winter September 14th Percy Frost & Olive Kate Fosberry October 7th William Toone & Laura Mabel Goodall   1908 April 18th Harry Mylward & Ellen Elizabeth Boxall August 3rd William Israel Pichard & Flora Poland September 16th Herbert Glendinning & Ada Brown October 31st George Potter & Ethel Jane Carter   1909 June 5th George Warner & Edith Keen July 8th Frank Brown & Ada Jones August 2nd  Charles Ward & Annie Beatrice Rowe  August 9th Conrad James Reed & Alice Mary Fosberry September 22nd Walter Woodin & Lucy Baker   1910 February 19th Albert Mansbridge & Emma Ward April 12th Arthur John Levy & Sarah Baker June 1st Charles Price & Rose Nash June 29th Frederick Harold Nash & Ellen Adams August 31st Charles Barnard & Margaret Bowden   1911 April 14th Herbert Henry Cripps & Edith Pullen April 14th Robert Keen & Daisy Pullen October 2nd Frank Hunter & Alice Abigail Smithers October 26th  Arthur Boxall & Margaret Edwards   1912 March 7th Sydney Doy & Alice Keen   1913 June 25th Arthur Shadrach Spooner & Clara Pullen July 16th William Coombes & Adelina Chalcraft July 23rd Ralph Marshall & Louisa Chalcraft July 29th Ernest Churchill & Mary West December 31st Maurice Wisdom & Florence Catchpole   1914 April 23rd Edward Mansey & Florence Lawes September 23rd Dennis Mann & Louisa Alice Nash   1915 August 7th George Robert Manning & Martha West August 9th James Fisher & Ellen Karn Matthews September 2nd Archibald Pitchers & Mary Tozer September 4th Frederick Budd & Daisy Hole September 25th Walter Wright & Edith Johnstone   1916 June 17th William McLeod & Lilian Phillips June 17th Henry Court & May Randall December 25th Thomas Collins & Eliza Keen   1917 April 15th William Lailey & Harriett Wheeler   1918 February 4th Angelo Astri & Agnes Pullen June 4th Ernest Wilkinson & Emma Goodchild September 16th Wesley Abe Bolton & Harriet Milton   1919 February 6th James Barrett & Alice Sharland February 19th John Keen & Lilian Fosberry March 27th Oliver Hewton & Alice Karn Matthews April 23rd Walter Cullen & Alice Howard May 31st John Forey Karn & Barbara Williams August 2nd Edwin Burmingham & Emily Hayden December 22nd Leonard Felix Rapley & Florence Nash   1920 February 28th Stephen Norman & Lily Nash April 3rd William Goodeve & Esther West May 5th William Ferrer & Aileen Chalcraft November 10th Gerard Staveley Gordon & Marjorie Worsley Smith December 4th Alfred Chuter & Ellen Hayden December 16th Charles Vesey & Mary Dorothea Loring   1921 June 13th Ernest Croft & Gladys Powell June 15th John Lamboll & Edith Jacobsen June 18th Charles Crane & Ethel Milton October 10th Frederick Fosberry & Mabel Warn October 15th Mark Ellis & Ethel Little November 19th Thomas Karn & Florence West   1922 February 22nd George Fry & Angelina Ware April 15th Walter Norman & Caroline Nash July 18th Henry Sharland & Charlotte Lillywhite November 4th Thomas Upfold & Mary Raggett   1923 September 20th Vernon Rapley & Margaret Walters October 3rd Alfred Hayden & Annie Baker December 8th Maurice White & Ada Rice   1924 January 12th Alfred Court & Harriet Snelling June 9th William Pullen & Eva Chalcraft June 15th Leonard Fisher & Ada Dora Simmons September 23RD Tom Bishop & Edith Mary Sharland   1925 January 31st Arthur Charles Winter & Maude James May18th Benjamin Wonham & Eva Brockhurst September 26th Sidney Osman & Mona King   1926 February 1st Charles Boxall & Florence Colvill May 1st William  Norell & Ivy Grace Beaven September 29th William Snelling & Gertrude Harrod October 23rd Richard Gillard & Louisa Mary Wisdom November 27th Harry Court & Ada Maud Rose   1927 April 30th Alfred Pullen & Emily Kate Ridout October 15th Frank Walters & Doris Minnie Hamm December 26th William Boxall & Elsie May Roberts   1928 June 16th John Baker & Matilda Alice Price auust 11th Ernest Ware & Dorothy Alice Christian August 25th Frederick Monk & Minnie Worsfold December 8th Frederick Miles & Dorothy Karn Matthews   1929 April 13th Ernest Greenagh & Ruth Leah Gregory June 17th Harold Lewis Barrington & Gertrude Richardson June 21st Richard Henry Anstruther Morris-Marsham & Iris Rose Sophia Locking December 28th William Gilbert Messenger & Maggie Booty   1930 June 7th Charles Sole & Annie Boxall June 10th Alan Wilkinson & Evelyn  Birch Reynardson July 19th Eric Wynn & Emily Wade   1931 April 18th Robert Collard & Hilda Grace Snelling June 1st Ernest Watts & Annie Wonham October 10th Arthur Herbert Williams & Ellen Keen October 13th Henry Hounsley & Frances Richardson December 26th Leonard Harris & Emily Lucy Court   1932 April 26th Arthur Cecil Stuart & Dorothy Bateson June 11th Edward Winchester & Agnes Poultney   1933 January 7th Albert Hammond & Bertha West September 30th Harold Hibbin & Beatrice Nelly Court October 28th Henry John Nash & Gladys Amelia Wood November 4th Walter Thompson & Anita Carton de Wiart Major-General Carton de Wiart, VC   1934 March 7th Stanley Horne Gale & Ethel Mary Boxall March 24th Harold Parsons & Frances Kate West March 31st Alfred Cottrell & Emily Evelyn West   1935 March 30th Walter Hobbs & Margaret Boxall August 5th Bertram Holden & Violet Grace Smith September 12th William Penfold Grey & Alice West September 21st Frederick Howard & Miriam Leggett December 21st William Good & Lucy Winifred Karn   1936 January 25th Royston Bartlett & Kathleen Rose West August 31st Reginald Messenger & Dorothy Warner 1937 July 17th Digby Dent & Barbara Henty July 24th Horace Fullbrook & Emily Rose Boxall September 11th Ernest Holmes & Mary Chapman October 2nd Reginald Cyril Parr & Jessie Wilson December 23rd Henry Baden Keen & Phyllis Joan Trott December 27th Eric George Adams & May Giles   1938 June 2nd Herbert Smyth & Peggy Warren Meade   1939 September 9th Edwin Hall & Norah Kathleen Robinson September 19th Harry Howard & Minnie Madge West October 27th Julius Norman Gems & Olive  Dewhurst December 9th John Edgerley & Anne Parker   1940 March 11th Owen John Reddick & Doris Keen March 16th Frederick Albert Miller & Pansy Taylor March 23rd Leonard Raggett & Elizabeth Keen July 18th John Constable Jackson & Irene Stainer July 27th Ronald Francis & Florence Lavender August 16th Clifford Gibbs & Gwendoline Burrows August 17th Alan Priestman & Marjorie Kennersley September 5th Charles Jones & Patience George September 6th Frederick Sugden & Lillian Clode September 21st Harold Swatton & Doreen Hughes October 17th Maurice Clifford & Dorothy Blythe October 22nd Walter Martin & Zillah Alice Cole October 26th Alan Paice & Joan Curtis November 12th Basil Millar & Lorna Nichols December 7th Cuthbert Norris & Cicely Hurcomb December 26th Ray Hall & Marjorie Warner   1941 January 4th  John Wonham & Gwendolen Nicholls April 2nd Albert Ayres & Unis Symes April 19th Charles Weeden & Elizabeth Maria Baker August 16th Thomas Brown & Alice Rose Miller September 30th George Hasler & June Russell October 1st Lawrence Pink & Evelyn Hayter   1942 January 4th  William Zuschlag & Lilian Marshall April 25th Sidney Budd & Hilda Mary West May 2nd Leonard Cousens & Gladys Page August 15th Harold Whittle & Anna Gaeser August 15th Frank Dovey & Gladys Ida West   1943 August 17th Charles Campbell Graham & Helen Elizabeth Keen October 9th John Grant & Hazel Avril Jones   1944 February 26th Deryck MacDonald & Brenda Pitts March 25th Ernest Yates & Olive Winter March 28th William Wesbowsky & Florence Rapp April 27th William Brown & Lily May Price June 30th John Ellison & Rosemary Tephi Pitts July 2nd William Finer & Cecily Ida Warner August 19th Frank Day & Sylvia Mary Brown December 14th David Bridger Austin & Diana Bush   1945 April 17th Peckles Crawford Greer & Caroline Talbot September 15th George Kenefick Rae & Mary Pitts December 8th Peter Barrington & Joan Warren Meade   1946 June 8th Robert Morgan & Edna Hall December 26th James Kelly & Phyllis New   1947 April 5th Albert Jack Merrifield & Barbara Joan Hall   1948 April 10th Norman Graffham & Betty Lee June 19th Leonard Linegar & Annie Simmonds July 24th Wladyslaw Wozniak & Jane Mary Davidson   1949 November 26th Mieczskaw Kalinowski & Mary Fosberry   1950 April 27th Reginald Crook & Nan Tavender Wilton June 17th John Olive & Betty Mary Keen August 5th Robert Seville & Elizabeth Gibb September 16th Richard Partington & Peggy Sayers   Dick and Peggy Partington 16th September, 2025 - 75 years to the day later, Richard and Peggy returned to St Michael & All Angels. They lived in Heath View (now Acorns) for five years immediately after their marriage. They are photographed with their daughter (next to Richard), daughter-in-law Sheila (next to Peggy) and friends Paul and Sandra Cheeseman from Elstead. 1951 July 7th Patrick McEvoy & Peggy Kimbrey   1952 July 10th Ramon John Beesley & Anne Collins October 11th Clifford Fausset & Barbara Wilton   1953 March 21st John Graham Stewart & Pearl Annette Gems October 15th James Gray & Patricia Holford   1954 March 20th Keith Garland & Jeanne Hawkes April 3rd Derek Sharland & Marjorie Baker Mary Williams & Bert Williams on Mary's wedding day April 24th Cecil Arthur Rapley & Mary Williams October 2nd Derek Rosser & Nina Hoare   1955 February 19th John Welland & Olive Morland February 26th John Wheeler & Kathleen Clay November 19th Martin Fausset & Eva May Smith   1956 March 10th Edward John Baker & Maureen Meanwell June 2nd Robert Cowan & Sheila Ann Watts September 1st Bertram Webb & Joan Good   1957 April 20th Lindsay Pibworth & Patricia Reed July 13th Frank Miller & Dorothy Grove   1958 August 30th Roland Moss & Elsie Allwright September 20th Roland Palmer & Joan Sharland   1959 April 4th John Heard & Mary Middleton June 27th Eric Walters & Sheila Ware September 12th Douglas Sheehan & Ann Sharland   1960 January 23rd Jim Ellis & Christine Wordsworth April 2nd Robert Watt & Rosemary Rapley July 16th Ralph Cusack & Barbara Jobson September 10th Victor Moseley & Monica Reed September 17th Patrick Harvey & Tamzin James   1961 April 3rd David Williams & Pamela Ware August 16th Stephen Waters & Maureen Cottle September 30th Robert Latter & Susan Scott   1962 July 21st Richard Kent & Hazel Keen   1963 August 31st Peter Darlow & Paula Brooker   1964 March 28th Michael Reffold & Linda May July 18th Martin Auger & Elizabeth Holt August 22nd Malcolm Gee & Ruth Loarridge October 10th Patrick Gray & Jane Mary Barrow   1965 July 3rd Peter Mead & Susan Villiers Susan Brockbank and her father, Russell Brockbank, on their way to her wedding. Brockbank was working on a commission for Rolls Royce and they lent his this rare 1906 Silver Ghost for the occasion. September 4th Christopher Ellis & Susan Brockbank   1966 March 26th Rowland Bloomfield & Wendy Darlow March 26th Keith Tipping & Marilyn Joan Cooper April 23rd Richard Timberlake & Patricia Jobson September 3rd William Good & Penelope Darlow December 24th Anthony Walker & Hazel Deverall   1967 June 3rd Robert Banks & Diana Payne Crawfurd September 2nd Martin Pritchard & Caroline Lawson   1968 September 21st David Hepburn & Jane Slater September 21st Sydney James & Stephanie Morrison September 28th Brian Taylor-Jones & Rosemary-Anne Barnard September 28th Malcolm Reece & Brenda Francis   1969 July 19th R   R   & Fiona Payne Crawfurd September 13th Robert Ranson & Susan Thomas September 20th John Beamont & Sandra Hallam   1970 April 11th Bryan Shelley & Shirley May Drake July 11th John Lodder & Barbara Ann Good August 25th Graham Ramsey & Rosemary Holt   1971 August 14th Nigel Miller & Janet Holt August 28th Gerald Fox & Norma Ruth Gems September 3rd Robert Morris & Dianne King September 11th Geoffrey Redwood & Judith Goddard   1972 January 29th Anthony Langdale & Susanna Man May 18th Rolf Unwin & Amy Rowe July 22nd Kenneth Lawson & June Lawson September 25th Alan Wisely & Anita Aveline   1973 April 28th Stuart Aldridge & Carol Ann Hard John Gunner & Kay Cottle with the legendary Reg Cottle and his wife Elsie next to Kay September 26th John Gunner & Kay Sonia Cottle   1974 July 6th Andrew Constable & Mary Lintott August 24th Duncan Beal & Margaret Ranson   1975 July 26th Stephen Loveday Jupe & Jane Petherbridge August 30th David Hoare & Janet Shorter September 20th Michael Stead & Josephine Karn   1976 April 14th John Brown & Victoria Seymour-Sloan May 29th Robert McNeilly & Philippa Jane Watson September 18th Kenneth Smith & Brenda Rees September 25th David Corbett & Peggy James   1978 April 29th Malcolm Graham & Diane Louise Smith   1979 April 7th Anthony Hawkes & Jennifer Anne Collins May 5th Stuart Millichamp & Wendy Effer   1980 May 3rd Graham Keen & Jacqueline Hill July 12th Geoffrey Smith & Christine Butt   1981 October 17th Peter John Goble & Teresa Ellen Boxall   1982 June 5th Peter Davis & Rebecca McCreath June 5th Eric Warren & Sandra Valerie Platfoot June 12th Vladimir Bojoric & Annabel Clery November 20th Paul Davis & Sharon Piggott   1983 July 30th Keith Conrad Moseley & Anne Palmer August 20th David Grimes & Petronella Matthews October 8th David Brazier & Judith Keen   1984 May 19th Grantley Pearson-Wright & Caroline Wilson August 4th Robert Brown & Emma Frances Bevan   1985 August 24th Michael Walker & Nicola Jane Watt September 21st Nigel Lelend & Elizabeth Norman   1986 February 15th Martin Simpson & Maureen Andrew March 15th John Giddens & Marie-Louise Clayton   1987 May 2nd Michael Huntley & Alison Jane Phipps May 16th Michael Stuart Arnold & Sandra Macleod June 27th Russell Segalov & Melissa Bristow July 25th David Redwood & Penelope Briscoe September 26th Harry Sutherland-Hawes & Catriona McLean   1988 January 6th Carlos Manuel Garcia Hiraldo & Lynn Ann Pearson-Wright June 4th Richard Foster & Shan Suzanne Davies July 23rd Stephen Riedlinger & Sula McKinnon September 3rd Andrew Keen & Sharon Selmes October 1st Christopher Wallis & Amanda Drayson   1989 May 20th Kim Clive Platfoot & Anne Bulley July 29th Emile Pinco & Nicola Susan Mann September 23rd Hugh Latimer & Tracey Hammond   1990 June 2nd Stuart Chapman & Bryndis Forberg September 28th Paul Redden & Charlotte Cordy-Simpson   1991 April 20th Louis Cotterell & Yanine Hughes June 1st Christopher Holuj & Kirsten Hamilton June 29th Piers Germain Van-Mol & Helen Price June 29th Neil Randolph & Robyn Morley August 3rd Spencer Hutchings & Caroline Clark   1992 March 14th David Gregory & Gillian Briscoe May 30th  Nigel Jones & Katy Jane Middleton June 6th Robert Ellerby & Rachel Royall July 17th Gary Fannin & Zena Khan August 8th Timothy Metherell & Philippa Sprinks   1993 22nd Michael Spencer & Debbie Myerscough July 31st David Andrew Storey & Jillian Bird September 11th Philip Traill & Angela Bury   1994 January 9th Charles Malcolm Coles & Sarah Dwyer May 14th Paul Howling & Joanna French September 3rd James Thoden van Velzen & Amanda Gadd   1995 May 13th Julian Watt & Kirten Cawsey September 9th Christopher Leyshon & Sally-Ann James   1996 June 29th Edward Lear & Annabel Palmes September 14th Stuart Wilkinson & Catriona Wilson   1997 August 23rd Anthony Wybrott & Wendy Faulkener September 20th Christopher Simson & Rosalind Taylor   1998 February 7th Steven Moffat & Susan Vertue March 21st William Westbroek & Carolyn Venner

This article written by Jackie Rickenberg was published in the Parish Magazine in January and February 2022 Many of you, like me, may have been intrigued over the last year or so with the current refurbishment of Witley Park. The number of contractors vehicles entering and leaving daily, the shielded scaffolding over the lodge houses, and not least the whisperings of grandiose extravagance are all rather eerily reminiscent of past times when the Victorian mansion was originally created. Here is the tale of the history of the great house, as written by Jane Brown, in a booklet from the archives, entitled “Portrait of S.W Surrey”. “Whitaker Wright was one of the last great eccentrics of the Picturesque – a movement that has seemed singularly attracted to Surrey ever since Charles Hamilton started building Painshill Park in the 1730’s – and the creation of Wright’s fantasy, Witley Park, was the last act of a suitably bizarre life. He was born in the north of England in 1845 – and surely with a sense of adventure and a “nose” for an opportunity – because he studied chemistry and metal assaying and set out for the United States when he was only 21. He went to the metal mining boom areas of the mid-west and by the early 1870’s he rose to the ranks of the fortune makers. After moving to Philadelphia, Wright became a pillar of East Coast society – more than a millionaire at aged 31. However, for some reason, his American business failed, and so he returned home to England in 1889 with just enough money to start all over again. Of course, Wright now knew enough about the metal mining business to exploit it from the actual “centre”, the City of London. In 1891 he bought his first mining company, the Abaris Mining Corporation, and then he floated the West Australian Exploring and Finance Corporation. He was on the road to success again, and his companies got bigger and bigger and his flotations ever more daring; his power over the stock market seemed such that the whole City shook at the mention of his name. During the late 1890’s he was at the peak of his fortune and reputation again. With his business life secure again, it was time for the fulfilment of dreams. Despite owning a palatial house in Park Lane and the most magnificent yacht, in 1897 he bought what was then Lea House, one of the old Witley manor houses, and its surrounding land, which included at the time, Hindhead Common and the Devils Punchbowl. He pulled down the old house and built an enormous Victorian mansion, which has been variously described as “hideous” or “clever free Tudor style”, but which was certainly in the big league of baronial mansions, with 32 bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, a drawing room, two dining rooms, a library, a theatre, a palm court, an observatory, a velodrome, stabling for fifty horses and even its own private hospital . E ndless spooky corridors were hung with hunting trophies and suits of armour. With his home comforts secured, Wright turned his attention to his real dream, which was to leave his name in the list of great “gentlemen-amateurs of the Picturesque” by creating and constructing a truly marvellous landscaped park. His first task was probably to enclose his park – a considerable feat in itself – as the great stepped wall runs for over a mile down the A286 from Milford Lodge to Brook, and then can be followed for over another mile beside and above the lane to Bowlhead Green. In 1903, The Royal Magazine told “how the sombre, silent man from the City strode about his park, carrying a great oak stick and superintending. Everywhere he saw chances of improvement. “We will have a great lake here” he said, with a wave of his oak staff, “this hill blocks the view – take it away. Cut down this wood. Here we will have a grotto. An Italian fountain would look well here! It was a standing joke among the workmen to say, every time they saw the oak stick waving ‘there goes another hundred pounds’” And so the land at Witley was moved about by many men, at the will of one man – hills and valleys were manufactured the three great lakes: Upper Lake, Thursley Lake and Stable Lake were dug and filled from the tributary stream of the Wey. Wright imported fantastic ornaments for his park, one fountain of a dolphin came from Italy to Southampton docks but the railways refused to deliver it because it was too wide to go through their tunnels! Undeterred, Wright sent a tractor engine to haul the load home by road, and when it reached a bridge that was too low to get beneath, he ordered the road to be cut away until the dolphin could progress safely. He was not short of imagination either and had a tunnel dug beneath Thursley Lake – it was 400 feet long, lit with chandeliers and wide enough for four people to walk side by side – and it led to a great chamber of curved glass 80 feet in height, known as the ballroom. It had tiled floors and the glass walls allowed the fish swimming in the lake to be observed. Apart from the underwater ballroom, there was also the grotto, approached by a secret water passage from the lake. The grotto itself was a “fairy-like cavern, with trees high above, forming the roof within their branches” and it led to galleries and chambers carved out of rock and decorated in the Oriental manner”. Parish Mag article February 2022 Witley Park – Part 2 Last month we learned about the early life and times of Whitaker Wright, the entrepreneur businessman (AKA swindler and fraudster – keep reading!) who bought and built Witley Park at the turn of the twentieth century. This first passage continues Jane Brown’s excerpt from the publication “Portrait of S.W Surrey”. “Whitaker Wright obviously also had an eye for local talent, for he gave the then 19-year-old Edwin Lutyens from Thursley, one of his earliest commissions for two boathouses on the lakes. The biggest of these is a beautiful classical building, a real Lutyens minor masterpiece built on two levels – the top floor with a small room and balcony for sitting and viewing, with boathouses and steps for swimming from on the lower level. And then, of course, disaster struck again. Perhaps Wright was too involved in his dream landscape to keep tight enough control on his City activities, or perhaps those he thought were his friends, let him down, but his shares tumbled and the giant London and Globe Finance Corporation crashed in late 1900, bringing many members of the Stock Exchange and many subsidiary companies down with it. However, at first it seemed that Wright would escape; the Official Receiver’s report revealed the expected manipulations, deficits and false accounts, but no reason for public prosecution (in fact the Government ran scared because of the number of highly influential members of high society involved – Ed.). However, one creditor, a Mr John Flower, decided to act on his own account and obtained a warrant for Mr Wrights arrest in late 1902. Wright was in New York and eventually arrested the following March. Extradition failed and he returned home in August, of his own accord, to face the charges. Wright’s trial took place at the Law Courts in January 1904; he was found guilty of fraud and convicted to 7 years penal servitude. After sentencing he was allowed a private meeting with his lawyers. He gave his watch to one of them saying that "I will not need this where I am going" and after requesting a whisky and cigar, swallowed a cyanide capsule he had smuggled into court. He died minutes later and was buried at All Saints Church, Witley. The pity of it all was that Whitaker Wright, in seven short years, had found a real place in the hearts of the people who worked for him and lived near him at Witley. His time at the Park was marked by constant acts of generosity – great lunches, bazaar’s for charities and entertainments for Friendly Societies, Working Men’s Clubs and all kinds of ordinary people much less fortunate than himself. The day of his funeral was a very sad day – the villagers wore violets as a mark of their sadness – and his coffin was hauled from the Park to Witley Church by the men who worked for him”. The collapse of Wright’s companies was largely unforeseen and took place on the last trading day of the nineteenth century. It was a true fin de siècle moment. Thousands of investors were ruined or suffered huge losses, and 20 firms of London stockbrokers went under. The story was headline news. With masterly understatement, The Times of London commented that ‘the last settlement of the century has certainly terminated in a deplorable manner.' Following Wright's dramatic exit, his estate was parcelled up and sold off. The locals, who had been concerned about his landscaping efforts, banded together and bought the sections of the estate which included the Devil's Punch Bowl and Hindhead Common, at auction in 1905. The locals then donated the land to the National Trust in 1906, becoming, in the process, the first Trust property to be managed by a local committee. In 1909 the house was bought by William James Pirrie (Viscount Pirrie) - famous as the designer of the SS Titanic and chairman of 'Harland and Wolff' the shipbuilders. He lived there with his wife until his death in 1924. The house was then bought by Sir John Leigh, created Baron Leigh of Altrincham in 1918, who was a wealthy newspaper owner, cotton industrialist and property financier. Photos of the house and interiors - possibly dated to around 1948 - show the fine and elegant style in which the house was kept. Sir John was considered a good owner and used his wealth to keep the estate and house in the style to which it was accustomed. Sir John was not to end his days at Witley Park. Sometime around the early 1950s, he sold the estate and moved to Juniper Hill in Surrey where he died in 1959. Following the sale, the fortunes of the house now declined markedly. The new owner, one Ronald Huggett, bought the house and quickly held a sale to auction off anything possible, significantly stripping the house and leaving it a shadow of its former self. The die appeared to be cast for its eventual demise, as was to be the fate of many houses in the 1950s. However, the end for Witley Park was almost as sudden as that of its former owner. In October 1952, a fire broke out (or was possibly started deliberately) in the ballroom and swiftly destroyed the house. What remained was levelled by another property speculator – and by 1956 all that remained were the domestic buildings, stables and the extensive parkland including the lakes with their now Grade-II listed buildings. The stables eventually became a conference centre - and even had a meeting room named Whitaker - with the grounds maintained as parkland. However, this was about to change. In 2003 a planning application was submitted and approved to build a house "...of classical design, with a main axis and two forward projecting bays at each end. A full height portico marks the front entrance and the garden elevation includes a projecting domed semi-rotunda, centrally set in this elevation." That was 18 years ago and now, today, the former house and parkland are receiving yet another much needed injection of love, care, attention and funding. We welcome and wish good luck to the new owners and long may it continue to be one of the finest houses in Surrey. These contemporary photographs were taken by Sean Edwards in 2018: