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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: 1700 February 24th John Callingham & Joan Searl February 27th John Penfold & Jean Ginner October 10th Henry Coapper & Elizabeth Searl   1705 September 21st Francis Steer & ?   1706 June 25TH  John Chandeler & Elizabeth Chitty   1708 December 9th Henry Sharp & Ann Mills   1709 May 12th Edmund Upton & Mary Habbins November 10th John Denyer & Ann Callingham   1710 October 1st Noah Brumell & Elizabeth Boxall   1711 February 26th Henry Hunt & Mary Allen   1713 October 23rd William Hall & Sarah Bedford   1715 February 14th Henry Vinch & Alice Welland October 25th Samuel Bajent & Elizabeth Bridger   1716 October 7th William Keens & Joan Carpender   1719 February 9th John Luff & Elizabeth Berry   1720 June 2nd John Stovold & Elizabeth Stilwell August 1st John Wackford & Elizabeth Perkiss   1721 December 7th Joseph Page & Jean Manfield   1722 June 7th John Lee & Mary Stovold   1723 September 19th Richard Mitchall & Elizabeth Court November 16th Thomas Stovold & Mary Philps   1724 April 7th Richard Searll & Ann Tuper May 28th William Edwards & Margaret Oliver September 28th James Older & Jean Ockly   1725 June 17th William Phillips & Mary Balchin   1727 February 25th George Bicknell & Sarah Courtness March 13th Joshua Pearcey & Mary Treyer May 4th George Manfield & Lucy Terry July 16th John Gunner & Jane Franciss   1730 April 9th John Hode & Elizabeth Childs   1732 October 3rd John Remnant & Ann Far   1735 March 4th James Simmons & Catherine Penfold   1736 December 27th John Morrise & Mary Hunt   1737 June 20th William Webster & Joan Faux August 27th John Clerk & Ann Halloway   1738 May 1st Thomas Fluter & Ann Yates November 30th John Spencer & Elizabeth West   1739 February 14th John Combs & Jane Freeland June 2nd Robert Earll & Joan Cooper June 14th Robert Bennet & Mary Bennifold October 2nd James Hooker & Sarah Fluter   1740 April 7th James Lampold & Esther Stovold May 22nd John Daviss & Sarah Halloway June 29th Richard Souter & Sarah Balchin   1741 March 1st Peter Bennet & Ann Stedman September 20th Harry Numan & Mary Souter   1742 October 12th John Buckmaster & Sarah Smith   1743 October 2nd William Steer & Elizabeth Ethrington December 22nd Edmund Moon & Mary Stovold   1744 March 29th John D           enyer & Sarah Snelling November 20th William Martin & Sarah Souter   1746 December 2nd John Souter & Ann Court   1747 January 9th Richard Searll & Martha Triming May 10th Peter Snelling & Jane Burges October 2nd Thomas Larby & Elizabeth Hone November 27th William Carter & Elizabeth Worsfold   1748 May 1st John Stent & Jean Numan June 30th Edmund Woods & Ann Yalden October 30th        James Denyer & Sarah May   1750 January 31st John Hawkins & Mary Stilwell February 17th Thomas Mitchall & Mary Mitchall May 13th John Lee & Mary Hockly June 4th William Numan & Sarah Chalcraft   1751 September 29th William Luff & Sarah Beatcher   1753 September 9th James Hooker & Ann Fluter   1755 April 7th Thomas Pink & Elizabeth Johns April 7th John May & Sarah Hone   1756 May 29th Thomas Stredwick & Mary Johns   1757 March 8th John Franks & Ann Remnant April 17th Richard Marshall & Elizabeth Ford April 18th William White & Ann Holloway May 30th John Woods & Ann Francis September 18th William Stilwell & Mary Carpenter October 15th James Wheeler & Ann Welland December 22nd Nathaniel Moon & Elizabeth Stovold   1758 January 23rd Edmund Holloway & Elizabeth Sturt April 9th William Austen & Elizabeth Walker April 16th John Standish & Mary Kinggett   1759 July 12th Thomas Court & Elizabeth Pound August 1st John Mitchell & Elizabeth Stilwell October 1st Charles Naish & Catherine Holloway October 7th James Budd & Elizabeth Stovould November 4th John Bridger & Ann Bicknell November 18th John Sewart & Ann Baldwin December 1st Robert Cover & Sarah Inwood December 23rd Thomas Dedman & Elizabeth Webb   1760 February 18th James Stilwell & Lucy Penfold October 7th James Lewer & Sarah Upfold December 4th Richard Holloway & Mary Holloway   1761 April 15th Thomas Hall & Elizabeth Parsons May 21st William Smith & Elizabeth Mitchell October 4th John Weekes & Mary White October 12th John Flutter & Ann Crafter November 19th William Cover & Phillis Hurst December 29th Edward Freshwater & Sarah Austen   1762 September 4th Edward Warner & Elizabeth Austen September 26th George May & Hannah Farley October 25th Daniel Budd & Mary Remnant November 28th John Colpiece & Sarah Dedman   1763 August 28th Thomas Mitchall & Ann Hoan October 1st Thomas Boxall & Ann Edwards October 16th Edward Goldring Hows & Mary Percy October 30th Joshua Percy & Elizabeth Dedman   1764 February 14th George Snelling & Mary Gunter March 5th Nathaniel Moon & Ann Dedman March 19th Richard Franks & Mary Kern November 4th William Trowell & Mary Austen   1765 May 14th Thomas Court & Honour Stevens May 21st James Mitchell & Mary Mills December 8th John Morley & Mary Hedger December 16th John Bowler & Elizabeth Palmer   1766 January 5th Thomas Pudwick & Mary Hardy June 3rd John Gibson & Joan Lunn June 8th Henry Hillyer & Joan Hurst September 29th Robert Karn & Sarah Monger October 11th Thomas Hall & Mary Dedman   1767 January 1st John Budd & Sarah Holloway January 10th John Hoan & Sarah Butcher January 29th Henry Kinshot & Mary Walker November 27th Francis Bromham & Sarah Franks   1768 May 23rd Henry Holliss & Elizabeth Pink October 20th Jesse Smith & Ann Souter October 31st Charles Gammon & Hannah Wossom November 6th James Hampton & Elizabeth Wheeler   1769 January 10th William Grist & Elizabeth Percy July 25th Richard Stenning & Sarah Lambert November 24th George Mitchell & Mary Stilwell December 24th John Lawes & Elizabeth Coleman   1770 January 14th William Burchett & Mary Hardy February John Kern & Jane Stacy February 21st Thomas Pink & Sarah Cooper June 27th Richard Triggs & Sarah Boswell July 29th Richard Horsell & Elizabeth Johnson September 1st John Mathews & Hannah Pink   1771 January 31st John Cooper & Martha Compton July 15th John Fish & Elizabeth Wheeler August 8th Richard Etherington & Sarah Freshwater October 3rd David Underwood & Sarah Denyer October 17th Robert Luxford & Sarah Stent   1772 January 1st Isaac Holloway & Jemima Holloway January 1st John Austen & Sarah Seems June 14th Samuel Clues & Susanna Grace October 12th Henry Meers & Hannah Bridger October 18th Daniel Harris & Mary Randle October 20th William Mulford & Elizabeth Mitchell November 3rd Thomas Beaumont & Mary Richbell November 20th Robert Sparks & Mary Smithers   1773 January 2nd Henry Smither & Ann Knight February 22nd John Dedman & Elizabeth Colyer October 3rd Edmund Wheeler & Elizabeth Millton October 3rd William Newman & Ann Newell   1774 Edward Goldring & Mary Coulton February 9th John Souter & Mary Courtenage June 4th Richard West & Elizabeth Souter July 10th James Denyer & Ann Etherington July 27th Robert Boxall & Ann Burgess September 4th William Chitty & Mary Murrell October 1st Richard Kealle & Hannah Bowler   1775 February 27th Samuel Holloway & Ann Edwards May 24th John Farr & Lydia Jennings October 16th John Goodeve & Hannah Cook October 26th John Mitchell & Elizabeth Larby November 3rd Robert Walker & Catherine Keern   1776 January 30th John Hoad & Ann Lickfold November 18th Richard Bennett & Elizabeth Walker December 29th Richard Lunn & Elizabeth Soal December 29th John Kern & Elizabeth Snilling   1777 January 19th Henry Kern & Sarah Kingshott January 23rd Noah Greenfield & Ann Austen October 10th John Morrey & Mary Goodchild   1778 April 21st Thomas Cole & Ann Lampard May 17th William Hammon & Ann Boxall May 22nd John Castle & Mary Lea September 22nd Charles Winkworth & Elizabeth Lampard   1779 May 6th William Hammond & Ann Boxall May 9th James Morey & Elizabeth Finden May 16th Thomas Milton & Susan Forster June 13th John Randle & Elizabeth Courtenage July 25th Edward Colyer & Ann Larby November 11th John Faithfull & Mary Carpenter   1780 January 7th Thomas Bowler & Ann Wheeler January 22nd Edward Eede & Martha Goodchild February 7th Henry Smither & Sarah Souter June 24th James Windebank & Ann Diggins November 13th Edward Smith & Ann Goodchild November 22nd William Lewer & Mary Keen December 4th James Stilwell & Mary Woods   1781 April 30th Whitley Martin & Elizabeth Woods May 14th James Wheeler & Jane Punter July 8th Joseph Jennings & Mary Upfold July 10th George Edmead & Ann Haslett July 11th Edmund Hitchcock & Hannah Holloway August 25th Edward Walker & Elizabeth Austen August 26th John Boxall & Hannah Naish   1782 January 7th John Hill & Ann Valler October 13th Henry Morrey & Hannah Smith October 28th James Philips & Sarah Randall   1783 May 13th William Austin & Grace Elsley   1784 March 23rd John Strudwick & Ann Randall June 22nd John Blackman & Jane Auslett   1785 January 24th Daniel Milton & Sarah Wheeler October 3rd Henry Hilliar & Mary Bartholomew   1786 January 2nd Edmund Austin & Ann Berry February 13th James Holloway & Hannah Mitchell February 28th William Lasham & Sarah Rapley June 20th Francis Faulkner & Hannah Denyer August 20th Benjamin White & Mary Yalden September 7th John Souter & Sarah Mills September 14th George Woods & Elizabeth Diggins   1787 January 11th Richard Franks & Sarah Picket February 8th Anthony Stilwell & Hannah Rygate April 12th Robert Higgs & Elizabeth Martin June 29th John Hardy & Deborah Boxal July 3rd James Denyer & Ann Smith November 3rd William Manning & Sarah Cowderry December 17th John Sayers & Sarah Franks   1788 January 2nd James Heather & Elizabeth Ellis January 31st John Jackman & Hannah Combs February 20th James Budd & Leah Foster March 24th James Withal & Jane Courtnege April 1st Charles Berry & Elizabeth Varnell Souter May 26th Stephen Keen & Elizabeth Wheeler   1789 May 27th John Kearn & Elizabeth Higgs June 2nd Thomas Courtnege & Sarah Lewer October 15th Henry Streater Gill & Mary Hawkins October 18th Samuel Denyer & Mary Cover December 28th James Combes & Hannah Keene   1790 February 15th James Mayer & Hannah Forey February 15th Richard Seale & Elizabeth Flutter   1791 October 23rd Thomas West & Mary Tillbury   1792 October 22nd James Hone & Sarah May November 20th George Naish & Elizabeth Smith December 16th Thomas Court & Lucy Boxall   1793 July 7th George Stovold & Grace Baxter September 7th Samuel Holloway & Sarah Constable September 22nd James Pryor & Sarah Sowter October 13th Richard Lewry & Nanny Yandell October 25th George Copus & Elizabeth Christmas October 27th James Kearn & Elizabeth Dedman   1794 February 18th John Underwood & Mary Elliott April 19th John Gale & Ann Hardy April 23rd John Denyer & Phillis Cover August 21st John Lemon & Elizabeth Stilwell October 10th John Walker & Mary Blunt October 19th James Wheeler & Ann Franks   1795 April 8th George Snelling & Catherine Walker April 11th John Walker & Sarah Mitchell October 13th John Hone & Elizabeth Paul December 1st Thomas Walker & Sarah Hone   1796 January 26th James Dalgress & Mary Pound April 7th James Mills & Sarah Souter April 14th George Stovold & Elizabeth Lewer June 13th John Hall & Mary Cornish July 4th William Stening & Elizabeth Hawker August 3rd William Cover & Ann Newman   1797 June 5th James Valler & Susanna Smith August 3rd William Lambart & Elizabeth Lunn September 27th Thomas Winter & Lydia Hall October 15th William Shepherd & Mary Hayes November 13th Thomas Mitchell & Charlotte Radford   1798 February 25th William Southon & Elizabeth Standish April 2nd David Underwood & Ann Franks June 20th Abraham Bicknell & Elizabeth Tribe July 12th Jacob Hogsflesh & Sarah Souter November 6th William Snelling & Ann Walker   1799 January 30th George Mitchell & Mary Berry May 25th William Berry & Sarah Owen December 9th William Craft & Elizabeth Wheeler

The coin was discovered by a metal detectorist in the vicinity of Punch Bowl Farm. It is an Elizabethan sixpence dated 1584. The coin shows the date and the Tudor shield and on the opposite side you can just make out the profile of Elizabeth I and to the left of the bush is the Tudor rose denoting that it is a sixpence. Around the outside of the coin the edges have been 'clipped'. This was common practice amongst forgers who took the clippings of the silver edges to forge new coins. The punishment was execution! As it has been 'clipped', not all of the legend can be easily read.

All in one article written by Jackie Rickenberg for the Parish Magazine in August 2023 Whilst rummaging through the archives the other day, I came across a couple of amusing little articles, which piqued my interest. The first one is an article from The Farnham Herald, date unknown but by deduction the year is 1967. “Pink Floyd Man in Flying Visit. On a flying visit to his native land last week, was Nicky Mason of the Pink Floyd Pop Group (sic), who has been staying with the Rutter family at Millhanger, Thursley. Lindy Rutter has won praise for her choreography of the Farnham Youth Theatre production “Double Take” and for her solo dance which opens the show. She is to teach at Frensham Heights and will also be taking movement classes at RADA. Nicky has just made an LP with the Pink Floyd, “The Saucerful of Secrets” which is number nine on the LP charts. The group has also recently ended a tour of the USA where they are becoming very popular. The trip took them from New York, through Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle etc, etc and but for the election rumpus in Chicago, they would have made a return trip there. Nicky spoke to Youth in Action on Friday, the day before he flew to Belgium to take part in a music festival. A busy life and rather different from what he imagined it would be like when a student of architecture at Regent Street Polytechnic, where the Pink Floyd originated three years ago. The group has been professional for about 18 months”. A quick Google search has since revealed that “Nicky” as he is called here, but now known as Nick Mason, and Lindy were married the following year, 1968, and had two children, before divorcing 20 years later. She is an accomplished flutist. He is the only remaining original member of the famous band. Note how the journalist refers to them as The Pink Floyd! Of course, they are known today as simply Pink Floyd. Another strange twist is that Millhanger was, of course, latterly purchased by Roger Taylor of Queen, who lived there until around 10 years ago. And the following article, date and publication unknown, will be of particular interest to the cricketers of Bowlhead Green. “Bowlers or Bowlhead. Controversy has long proceeded, following the right name of what the Ordinance Map calls Bowlers Green, the signpost, Bowlhead Green, and some of the older inhabitants, Bowler (as Boughler) Green. To settle the point Mr J C Squire wrote to Professor Allen Mawer, secretary of the English Place-Name Society. Professor Mawer replied: - “I gather you would like a note upon the relative merits of Bowlhead and Bowlers. There is no doubt that the former is correct. Mr Gover, who is working for us, draws my attention to thirteenth and fourteenth century forms Bouelithe, often misprinted Bonelithe, which are clearly to be identified with Bowlhead and are the source of the name. Bowlith by a process of popular etymology has clearly been corrupted to Bowlhead. The name means “above the slope” and is derived from Old English, bufan hlithe. Other similar names are Boveridge and Bucknowl for Boveknowl in Devon”. Mr Squire adds :- “That seems to decide the matter, though it may be argued that if the name can change from bufan hlithe to Bowlhead, it may equally be allowed to change from the meaningless Bowlhead to Bowlers, which has a pleasant smell of cricket”. It is rather amusing , and a warning to those who assume that English place-names mean what they appear to mean, that the name, as it were, has been turned round. The “head” part really refers to the slope, and the “bowl” to the top.”

As part of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, individuals and organisations were invited to lead the nation's tribute to Her Majesty the Queen by lighting beacons at 9.45pm on 2 June 2022. Thursley lit their tribute at the Three Horseshoes. Photographs and video by Andrew Kaplanovsky

On Saturday, 1st June 2024, more than 50 villagers turned up at the village hall to witness the launch of the Thursley History Society website. The site was designed by Helena Traill, a daughter of the village and founder of Nooh Studios, and the content was populated by David Young from a variety of sources. In recognising the rich source of material available to him, David mentioned Tim Walsh in particular, the society's former digital archivist, who had done such diligent work over the past many years. Photographic sources came from three photographers the village is lucky to have: Valérie Ferris; Jill Fry; Sean Edwards. Before the site was demonstrated by Helena and David, villagers were entertained on the village hall's new big screen by scrolling photographs which were part of the digital archive and put together by Alie Hanbury. Jackie Rickenberg had, with help from other members of the committee, made some superb crudites, and Thursley badges, produced by Peter Rickenberg and Gillian Duke, were sold alongside copies of Thursley Remembered. Leon Flavell welcomed everyone and introduced the two presenters, Helena Traill and David Young: David praised Helena for producing such a well-designed and easy to use site and then proceeded to demonstrate some of its attributes: And a good time was had by all:

Surprising as it may seem to us in 2024, the existential crisis that preoccupied Thursley villagers in the early 1980's was the threat of Nuclear War. As can be seen from the Government documents below, and the extraordinary plans put together by Michael Williams, this was a threat taken seriously not only by the Government but also Waverley District Council and in Thursley village. The pdf below shoes a leaflet that was widely distributed in the 1980s The pdfs below constitute a whole booklet, Thursley Nuclear Survival Plan, created by Michael Williams and dated September 1981. Two of the individuals who had responsibilities delineated in this document - Michael O'Brien and Tim Wakeley - confirmed that they had a meeting or meetings about these plans. One anecdote was that Michael Williams wanted to place a sub-machine gun post on the lawn of the Vicarage as it held a view up and down Dye House road and thus could defend the village from incursions by refugees coming from London and Elstead. The vicar of the day, The Reverend John Stephens, dismissed the request saying that it was 'The most un-Christian request he had ever encountered'! The two pdfs below are of correspondence from and to Michael Williams The following provide further context: Civil Defence in the 1980s https://www.subbrit.org.uk/features/civil-defence-in-the-1980s/#:~:text=There%20was%20no%20requirement%20for,the%20Protect%20and%20Survive%20booklet. The strange death of UK civil defence education in the 1980s https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0046760X.2014.979253 Protect and Survive https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protect_and_Survive As an aside, while researching this blog, I came across this article about a BBC programme made in 1984 about this issue:\\https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20190925-was-threads-the-scariest-tv-show-ever-made#:~:text=Threads%20was%20born%20out%20of,fend%20off%20a%20nuclear%20attack. When the Wind Blows, which is a 1982 graphic novel, created by British artist Raymond Briggs, commonly known for its critiques against government issued preparations for nuclear war: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_the_Wind_Blows_(comics) All of the above relates to the 1980s but concerns were being expressed in the village in 1956: For the launch of this website on 1st June, 2024, an interview, hosted by Sally Scheffers with Michael and Marion O'Brien and Tim Wakeley, was filmed about their recollections of being part of Thursley's preparations for Nuclear War...

This article written by Jackie Rickenberg was published in the Parish Magazine in June 2020 As we missed our planned VE Day celebration in the village hall on May 8th, we thought we would stick with the theme for a few months more for our peep into the archives. We have such interesting records of past and present Thursley residents’ recollections from this time, that it’s worth reminiscing and trying to imagine just how they felt when the announcement was made and the war was finally over. We start with “Cocker” Keen, who very sadly recently passed away. Here is his story: Recollections by “Cocker” Keen “I’ve lived in Thursley all of my life and in this house in Homefield since 1937. At the start of the war I was at school in what is now the Village Hall. I left when I was 14 and started work for Reg Cottle at the Red Lion Garage (still there today but now called X). I stayed there until I was called up into the army between VE and VJ Days. I already had some military experience having served in Thursley’s Home Guard. I joined the Home Guard in 1942 when I was 16. There were 28 of us in it when it started, 6 of us on duty every night. You had 2 hours on duty and 4 hours off through the night and then you were back to your regular job the next morning. We would meet at the servant’s quarters at Foldsdown; the servants had gone to war and so their wooden annexe building at the back of the main house had been vacated. After D-Day, the night duties ended and we just played around; attacking the RAF pylon up at Gibbet Hill and practising firing live ammunition on the rifle range at Longmoor. In the village at this time was also the AFS (Auxiliary Fire Service), based in the studio of Red Lodge and the Air Raid Wardens who were based at the Village Institute (now Prospect Cottage). During the war the village was always full of troops. The Tank Corps were here when they came out of Dunkirk and were camped up in the trees in Dye House, the Canadians were at Tweedsmuir and the Free French were up at Rodborough. As a result, the pubs were always short of beer! Mr Fosberry, the landlord of the Three Horseshoes, kept the villagers happy by closing the pub but allowing the regulars round the back door and into the kitchen where they could enjoy their cherished pint! I remember once, a German bomber was being chased and jettisoned his bombs. One landed in the Hall’s barn field where the dairy cows were, killing all of them. A bomb also landed in the folly, the valley below Hedge Farm. Another couple fell on the fields of Upper Highfield Farm but it was only the Halls’ who lost their animals. They reckoned the bombs had been destined for the Armoured Corp, who were up in the woods with the troops. The Canadians used to drive their Sherman tanks up to the Punch Bowl and it became a desert from all the tank activity up there. They also blew up the remains of George May’s farm, Highcombe Farm, down in the Punch Bowl. Mr Gorringe from Upper Ridgeway Farm cleared up the rubble and used it to convert the barn into the cottage where Malcolm Cole now lives. We would go down to the Moat when the troops were water-proofing their vehicles and watch them drive through. They’d give us a ride; those Canadians didn’t care! The Canadians were good fun and once the war was over, we had to get back to the quiet life of a rural community. For me, that meant that some of my neighbours had been killed and my sister was married (to a Canadian soldier) and living across the Atlantic. The Parker’s lived at Foldsdown and their son was killed in Holland. His name is inscribed on his parents’ headstone in the churchyard. A neighbour from Homefield, Ronald Francis, was killed in a Bren Gun carrier (a light machine gun armament) out in France and Bob Sharland who lived at Number 7 Homefield was also killed”. Fascinating to see the war from a youngster’s perspective. The trauma and horror of the reality, only latterly impacting on the excitement and enthusiasm of a teenage boy. More recollections next month. Cocker Keen's Obituary: Alfred Frank Keen or “Cocker” born to Agnes and Frank Keen on 8th September 1926 at their home The Cabin (now The Well House) next door to the pub. Cocker was the 3rd child of 6 with older sisters Dorothy and Jean and younger brothers John and Don and youngest sister Hazel, ‘plenty to have a fight with’ he would joke! Cocker enjoyed what he described recently as ‘a good childhood with plenty of room to run about’ and displayed early signs of his mischievous character by tying the door handles of cottages together! He attended school just across the road in what is now the village hall. In 1936 aged 9 the family moved up to Homefields where he was to live the rest of his life. Cocker’s first paid work came at the age of 13 in the form of delivering milk to Cosford House before he left school and became a garden boy at Milhanger. At age 16, Cocker joined Mr Cottle at Red Lion Garage, now Mathwall, where he would work during the war and learn his skills as a mechanic. Village life during the war was tough and Cocker and his younger brothers John and Don used to catch rabbits and poach pheasants, the only time meat was served at home, and every inch of ground would be dug to grow vegetables. After the war in 1947 Cocker was posted to Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire to serve his 2 years National Service in the army before returning to Thursley. On returning to Thursley Cocker worked at Pitlands farm (now Punchbowl Farm) and Upper Highfield Farm. He enjoyed playing cricket for Thursley and became a very accomplished vegetable gardener. After farming he moved into livestock transportation with a firm named Keen (no relation) in Witley. It was following this move that Cocker saw the opportunity to become an owner/operator, he bought his own livestock lorry, parked it at Hill Farm Barns and started to transport livestock all over Surrey and beyond. We met Cocker in 1990 when we bought the barns and that was to be the beginning of a near 30 year friendship. Around this time he retired and seemed to spend all his spare time helping us. He tirelessly worked with us to establish the garden we have today and in doing so became a big part of our family’s life here in Thursley. During his retirement Cocker looked after his mother, who he lived with in Homefields, and spent much of his time helping others around the village. Cocker will be remembered by his family, friends and all those who he helped in the village. He is irreplaceable and as one villager said to me ‘they don’t make’em like that anymore’. The end of an era. The eulogy for Cocker Keen written and delivered by Mike Spencer Alfred Frank Keen or “Cocker” born to Agnes and Frank Keen on 8th September 1926 at their home The Cabin (now The Well House) next door to the pub. Cocker was the 3rd child of 6 with older sisters Dorothy and Jean and younger brothers John and Don and youngest sister Hazel, ‘plenty to have a fight with’ he would joke! Cocker enjoyed what he described recently as ‘a good childhood with plenty of room to run about’ and displayed early signs of his mischievous character by tying the door handles of cottages together! He attended school just across the road in what is now the village hall. In 1936 aged 9 the family moved up to Homefields where he was to live the rest of his life. Cocker’s first paid work came at the age of 13 in the form of delivering milk to Cosford House before he left school and became a garden boy at Milhanger. At age 16, Cocker joined Mr Cottle at Red Lion Garage, now Mathwall, where he would work during the war and learn his skills as a mechanic. Village life during the war was tough and Cocker and his younger brothers John and Don used to catch rabbits and poach pheasants, the only time meat was served at home, and every inch of the garden would be dug to grow vegetables. After the war in 1947 Cocker was posted to Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire to serve his 2 years National Service in the army before returning to Thursley. On returning to Thursley Cocker worked at Pitlands farm (now Punchbowl Farm) and Upper Highfield Farm. He enjoyed playing cricket for Thursley and became an accomplished vegetable gardener. After farming he moved into livestock transportation with a firm named Keen in Witley. It was following this move that Cocker saw the opportunity to become an owner/operator, he bought his own livestock lorry, parked it at Hill Farm Barns and started to transport livestock all over Surrey and beyond. Debbie and I met Cocker in 1990 when we bought the barns in Thursley where he parked his lorry.He was always mysterious about his age saying he was ‘as old as my tongue and a little bit older than my teeth’ but he had reached retirement and seemed to spend all his spare time helping us.That was to be the beginning of a near 30 year friendship.Aged 30 and naive we had embarked on a huge project to convert the barns to a home and we really couldn’t have done it without him.He was endlessly resourceful, always had the right tool for the job, strong as an ox and worked tirelessly.Cocker was many things to usA good friendA kind of grandfather to our boysHe was always looking out for us even when we weren’t around. And he was a teacher: Yes, he was a teacher He taught me everything I know about gardening:When we first moved to Thursley we had nothing but a tumbled down building and 6 foot high weeds and even before we did the renovation and moved in - cocker had established a beautiful veg garden for us. We probably had the worst house in Thursley at that time but the best vegetable garden, we didn’t have a proper kitchen but we ate the best new potatoes ever!Every spring come rain or shine he would come and help plant the potatoes and start off the beans on the bean poles he’d made - and after a couple of years he gave me the flattering title of Head Gardener but clearly I was still the novice and he was the font of all horticultural knowledge. Cocker would say Mike was the labourer who wasn’t much good at digging as the ‘ground was too low’...He had a great sense of humour he liked to tease me - like when the clocks changed in the spring and autumn he would say he’d been busy climbing the church spire to change the sundial. And he would say I should garden at night to prevent weeds and used to say he whoever can grow parsley wears the trousers so I got a new title- Petticoat Government.So when spring comes next year I will think of Cocker as I double dig the veg plot the way he taught me , I’ll sow the potatoes over the Easter weekend, I will plant green beans and courgettes in May , I will be trimming the box hedges on Derby day never before and late summer when I harvest the tomatoes and dig up the potatoes I’ll hope I’ll hear his voice saying- im not doing badly for a Head Gardener!We’ll miss you Cocker but you’ll always be with me in the garden.

The Young Lutyens And His Thursley Houses by Wing Commander D. Q. Watson. *Former name of Thursley History Society Contrary to some local belief, Edwin Lutyens was not born in Thursley but in London, His parents were living at 16 Onslow Square when Edwin, their tenth child, was born in March 1869 and they did not move to Thursley until some seven years later. Lutyens' father, Charles had been an ambitious artillery officer: he had invented an instrument for judging distances called a Stadiometer which was used by the Army for nearly forty years. However, early in his career, he found that he preferred painting to being a soldier and he retired from the Army in 1859 when he was only twenty eight. Three years later the first of his paintings was accepted by the Royal Academy and he exhibited there regularly until 1903. The house Charles Lutyens leased in Thursley was called “The Cottage”; it was built for the Knowles family in Regency times and was probably so called because it was considerably smaller than the near-by mansion which was their main home. Although The Cottage was a fairly substantial house with a large garden it was not, as claimed by Mary Lutyens in the biography of her father, “by far the largest house in the village”. Charles Lutyens did much of his painting from his Thursley home. His principle subjects were racehorses and portraits but he also produced a number of small watercolours of putti*, possibly as pot-boilers, for his financial state deteriorated as the years went by and his eyesight weakened. Several of his paintings can be seen at Goddards, the house at Abinger Common built by Frederick Mirilees as a rest home for “ladies of small means” and now the headquarters of the Lutyens Trust. Charles died in 1915 but the Lutyens family continued to rent The Cottage for many years and several Thursley inhabitants still remember “Miss Lutyens”. She was Aileen, one of Charles' numerous daughters who, amongst other things, ran a kind of club to keep the young boys of the village occupied in their spare time. She held that girls, with their domestic duties and their sewing, were well able to look after themselves, but that boys, unless suitably guided, developed into hopeless drifters. Aileen Lutyens died in 1926 and the house was then let for a while to various tenants including army officers from Aldershot. It was afterwards sold, first of all to a Mrs. Patricia Peto, a widow, who soon re-married and in 1956 it came into the possession of Captain R. G. Tosswil RN. By then it had become “Lutyens House” as it was thought that the former name was inappropriate. In 1970 the property was bought by a Mr. & Mrs. Nicholas Charrington who were then living at The Dye House, a short distance to the west. The Charringtons added an additional wing increasing the size of the house by twenty to twenty five prercent. Street House The work was sympathetically done and the external symmetry was in no way spoilt. Nicholas Charrington was not, however, a lover of Lutyens' work, so he gave the property the rather boring name of Street House. Edwin Lutyens, always known to his family as Ned, was a delicate boy and not sufficiently robust to go to a boarding school. Instead, most of the time he shared his sisters' governesses and supplemented his education by meandering through the Surrey countryside on a bicycle, looking at old buildings and comparing them with the new ones going up. He is said to have carried with him a small pane of glass and, with a small sliver of soap, drawn the outline of any building he found interesting. He also spent hours in the carpenter's shop, then owned by “Old Tickner” of Milford, watching him at his craft and questioning him on why he did things in a certain way. By the time he was fifteen it was clear, both to himself and to his father, that architecture was to be his profession. The family still leased the house in Onslow Squre and in 1885 Edwin was sent to the South Kensington School of Art to study architecture, He did not finish the course: after two years he decided he had learnt all that the school could teach him and in 1887 he became an apprentice in the practice of Earnest George. With hindsight this may be considered a strange choice as George's style was very different from that of Edwin's architectural heroes at that time: Norman Shaw, then in his classical period, and William Morris of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Whilst he was still apprenticed to George, Ned Lutyens worked at night on his own designs and it was presumably during one of his visits to his parents that he succeeded in interesting Edmund Gray, then living at The Corner, the house opposite the Lutyens' family home in Thursley. He commissioned young Ned, still only about nineteen years old , to design a drawing room for The Corner, with two bedrooms above it. To this day Edmund Gray remains something of a mystery. In the first place the house was not his property; it was owned by William Karn Fosberry, the local builder, and leased for twenty years to a certain John Gray, who was possibly Edmund's son. A conjecture is that Edmund, after his wife's death, came to live with his son, the house having to be enlarged to accommodate him. It had originally consisted of two joined cottages, built about 1700, one of which contained the village shop. These had been made into a single building some time before John Gray leased it. The Corner The original plans and a photograph taken when the work was almost complete, show that Lutyens' design was accepted without alteration. The Grays were obviously satisfied with it as, in 1895, Ned was asked to draw up plans for a morning room and a bedroom above to be built on the southern side of the house, and for four smaller rooms to be added to the west. These extensions were grandly described as “two additional wings”. They were duly completed about 1896, the work having been carried out by the building's owner, W. K. Fosberry, who had also built the first extension. Since the turn of the century, apart from a narrow bay being added to the drawing room, there have been no changes to the exterior of the house. Lutyens' only other building in the actual village of Thursley is what is now known as Prospect Cottage. It was originally built as a working mens' club, and the Parish Register held in the chuch, contains the following record “the site for the institute was given by Captain H. Rushbrooke, the architect was Mr. E. L. Lutyens, the builder was Mr. W. K. Fosberry. The building was formally opened and given to the Parish Council on February 11 1901”. Actually it seems that Captain Rushbrooke, who lived nearby at Cosford House, did rather more than just give the land; he is said to have paid for much of the building itself and to have taken a paternal interest in the running of the club. Plan for The Institute The institute comprised a reading room, a billiards and games room and accommodation for the caretaker. Until about 1914 one of the bedrooms amd the sitting room were used by the Thursley Parish Nurse, thereafter the whole of the private part was used by the secretary, his wife who was also the caretaker, and their family. Prospect Cottage, formerly The Institute The institute was disbanded in 1959 because the building needed more money spent on it than the Parish Council was in a position to pay. There was much controversy in the village as to the future of the building but it was eventually sold in 1968, planning approval having been given for conversion to residential use. The 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”. The building was bought by a Mrs. Le Marx, who instructed local architects to modernise the interior and this has been further improved in recent years but the exterior still retains virtually all of Lutyens' original design. Edwin Lutyens first met Gertrude Jekyll in 1889 when he was still returning fairly frequently to the village. Robert and Barbara Webb, who lived at Milford House, befriended the rather shy young architect and it was they who introduced him to Miss Jekyll who was, of course, many years his senior. Their work together in later years is well chronicled and although there is no known collaboration between them in Thursley, when the garden of The Corner was remodelled between the wars, several of the features appear to have been copied from examples in the neighbourhood. In Thursley churchyard, not far from the grave of the poet John Freeman, is a cross designed by Edwin Lutyens, bearing the names of his parents and his sister Aileen. Nearby is Edwin's memorial stone to his nephew, Derek Lutyens, who was killed in 1918 whilst serving in the Royal Air Force. Warren Mere Apart from the buildings in Thursley village already described, on the outskirts of the parish Lutyens designed two lakeside boathouses for Whitaker Wright in Witley Park. This was probably in 1890 when he was still studying under Earnest George. In 1901 he built the cottages at Warren Lodge and in 1909 he planned alterations to the main house there. Many of his more famous houses are in the neighbourhood, for example Munstead Wood (1896) and Tighbourne Court, Witley (1899). Munstead Wood and Tigbourne Court In later years of course, Lutyens achieved great fame, particularly with his designs for the Viceroy's House and other buildings in New Delhi and for the Cenotaph in Whitehall. Only the crypt was completed of what he considered his finest design, the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King, Liverpool, on which he worked, off and on, for fourteen years (1929 – 1943). He died in 1944, believing that this vast building would be built when the war had ended. *Putti is the plural of putto (Italian) meaning the figure of a child, especially a cherub or cupid-like. It is usually used in connection with Rennaissance paintings.

Anyone who was up late on Friday, 10th May 2024, will have seen the spectacular and very rare sight of the Northern Lights lighting up the skies above Thursley and most of the UK. The photographs below were taken by Rich Owen on an iPhone 13. This photo which features Guildford Cathedral was taken by MatSnaps:

This account was contributed by Mr Michael Jupe of the Well House. Since it was established by the Local Government Act of 1894, Thursley’s Parish Council has no doubt seen many periods of varying activity; the recorded minutes through its first 50 years leave very much to the imagination. However, there can be no doubt that the activity during the past 20 years has steadily intensified. The present council was elected on 13th May 1965 and consists of seven members, namely Messrs J H L Bozward (businessman), S J Hall (farmer), Mrs F G Jupe, Messrs M L Jupe – Chairman (Member of the Stock Exchange), C Petersen (solicitor), Mrs C M Williams and Mr B W Wonham (Post Office). The Clerk is Mr B A Ashley (school master). This council succeeds to a period in which the major interest was the acquisition of the former village school building to serve as a new Village Hall. In regard to the latter, the council serves only as a trustee but has been greatly involve in the negotiations and has a continuing concern for the effective establishment of the “new” hall as a village centre offering the widest possible range of facilities. A Parish Council’s powers are limited to a relatively humble field of interests and even within this field its activities are limited by its finances as it may, in general, spend only a four-penny rate; this may be increased to an eight-penny rate by reference to a parish meeting. At present, in the parish of Thursley, a one-penny rate yields approximately £100. Even so, our Council finds enough business to necessitate approximately monthly meetings throughout the year. One of its most important, if unspecified, functions is to receive and transmit to the higher authority requests and complaints about matters of local concern. For instance, complaints about the irregular running of the school bus which is organised by the County Education Authority. The Parish Council has no official powers in the field of planning, but it is being increasingly accepted that the Parish Council is a useful watchdog and has most useful local knowledge, and in the Rural District outline details of all planning applications are now referred to the parishes for comment, if desired. The parish extends well over 5,000 acres to Gibbet Hill, Hindhead, almost to Elstead, and from the Churt Road to Brook, with a population of approximately 650. This area lies substantially within the officially designated Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is probable that, later in the year, the region will be subject to visitation by the Local Government Commission which has powers to recommend sweeping changes in the regional boundaries. As Thursley lies near the county boundary, it is possible that it may be affected if any changes are recommended. If not, at this stage the possibility exists at a later stage when the County Council will review internal boundaries. Members of the council are conscious of a general lack of public interest in their activities. The election this year occurred with no apparent topic of contention as a background and the top candidate received 106 votes from an electorate of 453. The highest poll in recent years has not exceeded 35 per cent and this was very high compared with the average. The council is a member of the Surrey County Association of Parish Councils which is affiliated to the National Association, the latter body having been responsible for much enhancement of the status of the parish council generally.

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This account was contributed by Mrs Malins. On May 31st 1965, the Queen gave a Garden Party at Buckingham Palace to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the WI. One member from each Institute was invite – about 9,000 in all. I was lucky to be drawn in the ballot to represent Thursley. Fortunately except for one short shower the day was fine though cold. A large number of WI members went by special train or coach, others by car, etc. The vehicles were given a large X to display on the windscreen so that the police would give them pride of place. We drove through the main gates and alighted in the outer forecourt. We then went in two processions on either side across the inner court and thence round to the gardens. As we were allowed entrance well in advance of the Queen’s arrival, it enabled us to have a good look round the grounds. The big pond in the centre with the pink flamingos attracted much attention. Unfortunately, the roses were not fully out but rhododendrons and azaleas were still blooming. We also saw the caravan used by the Royal children. There were two large tea tents – one for the Royal party and their chief guests and the other for us. Promptly at 4:00pm the band played the National Anthem and the Queen and the Duke and their party came out on to the terrace and were introduced to the important members of the WI. They descended and with the Duchess of Gloucester and Princess Marina and Princess Alexandra circulated among the crowds and made their separate ways to the Royal tea tent. I found myself quite close to the Duke who chatted freely to all and sundry near him. The Queen, who was dressed in a very pretty shaded pink costume and pink hat, was proceeded by six Gentlemen at Arms with the tall halberds. The Duke came up in the rear with cheery words to us all. We were a crowd – practically all women in gay costumes and hats which was most colourful. We then made our way back going this time up on to the terrace and through the Palace and so home. Thus ended a most enjoyable and unforgettable day. Many thanks to Her Majesty for giving members of the WI such a wonderful party.