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From Wikipedia: In a heatwave in 2006, an out-of-control wildfire burned 60% of the common, but by 2010 the heath was regenerating, with heather and gorse spreading across the charred ground. Forty-five pairs of Dartford warblers were recorded before the event, and six pairs in 2010. See Jill Fry's timeline and annotations to the second batch of photographs. Map overlay by Sean Edwards Reporting by the BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/southern_counties/5180828.stm A vast amount of equipment and manpower was used to bring the fire under control: https://www.fire-appliances.com/Fire/United-Kingdom/County-Services-Current/Surrey-Fire-Rescue-Service/Thursley-Common-Fire-15072006/i-Mc4XP7D/A Jill Fry's account In April 2024, Thursley History Society was given a vast amount of records, photographs and CDs by Julia Connell who had sorted them from her mother and father's archives. Her parents, Ray and Jill Fry were great lovers of Thursley Common where Ray was the warden for X years. This comprehensive record of the devastating 2006 fire, with photographs from Jill, Tim Walsh, Sean Edwards, Steve Webster and Hugh Turrell-Clarke, along with a timeline, was taken from one of Jill's CDs Read Jill Fry's timeline of the fire from inception to regrowth - the numbers match the sequence of the photographs above: This letter of appreciation from Brian Moore, Deputy Chief Constable of Surrey Police speaks to the wonderful communioty spirit that we have in Thursley

Photographs only of this Grade II listed building (28th October, 1986) Hedge Farm Cottage was sold in 1952 as part of the break-up of the Cosford Estate: Mrs John Baker and daughters Joan and Marjorie From the Register of Electors, 1936 Surnames of previous owners include: Guyatt Snr; J Guyatt; Rickenberg Hedge Farm in 2002 Photograph by Sean Edwards The current owner has expanded and renovated the property since 2002. It enjoys this spectacular view: Photographs taken in 2024:

An article from The Surrey Advertiser, 4th August 2006, about this unique building that is in Thursley Churchyard. Thursley Dame School was replaced by the Thursley School in 1852. Pupils paid one penny per week and another penny for "manners". From a postcard published in the 1920's The Dame School was an implement shed in the 1980s Large scale plans are in the archive From The Surrey Advertiser: A LANDMARK building in Thursley has been restored as part of a major project to improve the facilities at the parish church.  The village has one of the few surviving dame schools in the area. Dating from the turn of the 19th-century, it was built in the churchyard of St Michael & All Angels.   The small oak-framed building with a fireplace and leaded windows was in very dilapidated but has taken on a new lease of life, thanks to a £120,000 church improvement scheme.   “It was a ruin,” said villager John Walshe, who led the project. “The dame school was put up for the children of the Thursley. They paid a penny a week and an extra penny to be taught manners. “We had advice from Jo Thompson, an expert carpenter from the Weald and Downland Museum, and an expert surveyor, Bill Percy. The builders, Crozon, have also done us proud.” Original features, such as the windows, hearth and part of the lath and plaster have been preserved. Mr Walshe hopes to include an information board tracing the building’s history. “We’ve been able to put it to good use, and we will use it as a vital storeroom for the church,” he said. The Dame School today, 30th April 2024 FromWikepedia.org : A  Dame school  was a private  elementary school  in English-speaking countries. The children were usually taught by women. The schools were most common from the 17th century to the 19th century. Most of these schools were in  Britain , the  United States , and  Australia .  The  Statistical Society of London  found almost half of all children in Dame schools surveyed were only taught spelling. Few were taught mathematics and grammar. Dame schools became less common in Britain after the introduction of  compulsory education  in 1870.  The Dame School prior to restoration These photographs show the beautiful leaded light windows, some with stained glass. It was too expensive to restore them but they still remain behind the new oak cladding The Restoration Project: A Report on the Structural Timbers and Joinery of the Dame School at St Michael and All Angels Church, Thursley, Godalming, Surrey for Thursley Parochial Church Council by Joseph Thompson, Dip Surv , Sussex Oak and Iron, The Downland Gridshell, Weald and Downland Open Air museum, Singleton, West Sussex, PO18 0EU, February 2005

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) 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 Festival of Britain was a national exhibition and fair that reached millions of visitors throughout the United Kingdom in the summer of 1951. Thursley celebrated the event on 4th May, 1951 The Festival of Britain Emblem, the Festival Star Ist Prize, Joan Sharland and other winners in the fancy dress parade of Festival Celebrations 4th May 1951 The Festival Queen was Joan Sharland, with attendants Joan and Margaret Baker. The chauffeur was Reg Cottle driving his Delage car Another view of Joan Sharland and Reg Cottle (in fancy dress!) Lionel Rapley, Sidney Hall, Marjorie Baker with Joan Sharland as she is crowned. Bo Peep and Balloon Lady (Mrs Cooper and daughter)

This Grade II listed building (9th March, 1960) was once an extension to Boxalls to which it remains attached. Vine Cottage, The Street, c1925 Harry and Mary Seaford, 1977

Cosford Mill, a Grade II listed building (19th June 1991) is part of the 70 acre Milhangar Estate once owned by Queen drummer Roger Taylor. The Mill is set in large grounds adjacent to a stream and mill pond. The Vale of Cosford - from a print dated 1812 Cosford Mill and the Bakehouse Many other photographs of the mill can be found here: https://catalogue.millsarchive.org/informationobject/browse?topLod=0&sort=relevance&query=cosford+mill The lane of beech trees near Cosford Mill in 1990's COSFORD MILL (From an undated sales brochure)  Set in an idyllic, private location, a detached Mill House offering spacious accommodation, abundant natural light and a warm atmosphere in a peaceful setting with easy access to London Sitting room with Inglenook fireplace, large entertaining room, dining room, kitchen, master bedroom ensuite, three further double bedrooms, family bathroom, gardens, mill pond & stream, woodland   Cosford Mill is situated in between Bowlhead Green and Thursley. It is positioned offering excellent access to the A3 and mainline train station without compromising the peaceful environment.  A detached Mill House set an idyllic, private location. The property itself has been refurbished to a very high standard of finish, with generous accommodation and exceptional features. The property overlooks beautiful, calming views.   Tiled porchway leading to:- Kitchen - Tiled floor, electric oven, dishwasher, fridge/freezer, washing machine/dryer and ample wall and base units. Reception 1 - Wooden flooring, large open fireplace, ample lighting. Reception 2 - Stone flooring with under floor heating, spacious room with the added feature of the Mill workings, ample lighting. Reception 3/Breakfast room - Leading to kitchen. Bathroom - W/C, wash hand basin, bath. Main bedroom - A generous double bedroom with built in wardrobe, access to balcony, added feature of Mill workings, plus en suite containing, heated towel rail, under floor heating, W/C, wash hand basin, bath, ample wall units. Bedroom 2 - Spacious double bedroom Bedroom 3 - Double bedroom, attic access in airing cupboard. Bedroom 4 - Spacious double bedroom with beautiful views Spacious landing area which could be used as a study area or open plan living area. The stairs and entire first floor have wall to wall carpeting. Large gardens with large pond and river feature.   Tenure: Monthly   Situation: Cosford Mill is situated in between Bowlhead Green and Thursley. It is positioned offering excellent access to the A3 and mainline train station without compromising the peaceful environment.   Directions: Starting out at Savills Guildford, Quarry Street, turn right at the traffic lights onto Millbrook. At the Friary Bridge roundabout take the 2nd exit onto Farnham Road - A31.  Continue on Farnham Road up the hill and turn left onto Down Lane. Merge onto the Guildford and Godalming By Pass Road and come off at the Thursley and Bowlhead Green junction. Turn left heading back on yourself and the property can be found down the second track on the right.

By Sean Edwards The following notes result from a meeting, on Thursday 13th November with Capt. Streatfield-James to review the Churchyard trees. Subsequently a further visit was made with Mr Ray Herbert to identify some of the conifers and the churchyard has been surveyed to show tree positions. The Churchyard has an open character, with fine views to the north which it may be thought are worth retaining. The existing tree content is seen as complementing this character and some caution is recommended in the siting of any new planting which might change this situation. All of the trees seen are presently in fair to good health and not seen to be dangerous. The following comments on the species present may be helpful in planning future work.

This Grade II listed building (28th October, 1986) is situated at the end of The Lane and is undergoing extensive renovation. It was formerly known as Cherry Tree Cottage. We are grateful to the current owner for supplying the report below that was prepared by the HCUK Group. 1912 2025 1912 1969 Surnames of former owners include: Winter; Twyman; Holman Page 1 of a 21 page report on Shepherd's Cottage by HCUK Group. The pdf of the report is below.

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 seven 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 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:

This remarkable collection of old postcards was put together over many years by Kay Cottle. Her husband, John Gunner, has bequeathed the collection to the Haslemere Museum. In the main, the back of the postcards are blank but occasionally, when the message is legible or interesting, it has been reproduced. Bowlers (now Bowlhead) Green; Brook Cottage and Horn Cottage; Broom Squire's Cottage; The Camp Churt Road to the Pride of The Valley; The Clump; Thursley Common; Cosford House; Cosford Mill Thursley Cricket Field; Devil's Jumps; Devil's Punch Bowl Devil's Punchbowl; The Dye House; Entrance to Thursley; The Four Brothers; View of Thursley; Greetings from Hindhead; Greetings from Thursley; Greetings from Witley Camp Greetings from Witley Camp; The Half Moon, Thursley; Hammer Pond; Heath View; Hill Farm; The Hindhead Story (aka The Sailor's Murder), a collection of hand coloured postcards Hindhead, Devil's Punch Bowl; Hindhead, Devil's Punch Bowl, Keeper's Cottage; Huts Corner, Hindhead; The Institute; Kettlebury, Thursley; Lea Park House; Lea Park Lake; Lea Park; Lea Park, The Fountain; The Lookout, Hindhead; Milford Camp, 1903 Milford Camp; Old Dame School; Old Parsonage; Peperharow, Yew Hedge; Pitch Place, Portsmouth Road Post Office, Thursley; Punch Bowl Farm; Red Lion Inn; Red Lion Inn, Thursley, The Garden from the South; Red Lion, Thursley; Red Lion Inn and Portsmouth Road; Red Lion Inn and Red Lion Garage, 1925; The Ridgeway; Rocky Lane, Thursley The Royal Huts Hotel; The Sailor's Stone, Hindhead; Sailor's Stone and Gibbet Hill; Sailor's Stone and Devil's Punch Bowl; The Sailor's Tombstone, Thursley Churchyard; Scenes of Beauty in and Around Thursley (Brook Cottage and Horn Cottage); Smallbrook Farm, Thursley; The Stream, Thursley; The Street, Thursley. The Street; The Three Horseshoes; Thursley - view; Thursley Church Thursley Church; Thursley Common, Pathway to Moat; Thursley War Memorial; Thursley, In Denvil Copse; Thursley Sign; Thursley - views; Thursley, The Firs; Thursley, The Hollow; Thursley - view; Truxford The Vicarage; View at Brook; View at Thursley; View from Devil's Jumps; View from Gibbet Hill; View near Gibbet Hill; View from Gibbet Cross; View from Thursley Church; View in Thursley; "Peace" in Thursley Views of Thursley; Village Hall; The Street; Village, Thursley; Village, Thursley; White Horse, Hindhead; Winding Road, Hindhead; Witley Camp, "I'm Thinking of You Everyday; Witley Camp Post Office View from Racks Close from a postcard posted in 1910. The two large deciduous trees are no longer there and on the left is the granary of Hill Farm Barns, then Hill Farm House, The Old Parsonage, HatchCottages and St Michael & All Angels. Witley Camp Witley Park

Photographs only: see separate entries for: Street House; Wheelers Farm; Opening of Wheelers Farm Granary; Wild Goose; The Lodge; Boxalls; Vine Cottage; Sunset Cottage; Prospect Cottage; Streetfield; Little Green; A Walk Through Old Thursley: * denotes separate entry. HATCH COTTAGE Hatch Cottage, the extension was built on for the Hacks. According to Ann Levy there had been a village shop at the other end No 1 and No 2 Hatch Cottages. Surnames of previous owners include: No 1 - Court; Williams; Knight; Thompson; Dupont; Knight - No 2 - Court; Hack; Hockley; Campbell; Ashley; Boyd Bert and Nellie Williams outside No 1 Hatch Cottages Hatch Cottages were sold in 1952 as part of the break-up of the Cosford Estate. The entries below are from the auction catalogue. THE COTTON HOUSE, formerly RACKS CLOSE Racks Close is an unmade road on the left immediately after Hatch Cottages Racks Close in the early 1990s It has now been extensively modernised and renamed 'The Cotton House'. View from Racks Close from a postcard posted in 1910. The two large deciduous trees are no longer there and on the left is the granary of Hill Farm Barns, then Hill Farm House, The Old Parsonage, HatchCottages and St Michael & All Angels. Sisterly angst on the rear of the postcard! THE LODGE* Wheelwrights and The Street. John Goble and his wife moved to Wheelwrights in Thursley in 1902 to become the village blacksmith and wheelwright. Cruiser Mk IV tanks of 5th Royal Tank Regiment, 3rd Armoured Brigade, 1st Armoured Division, drive down The Street in July 1940 WHEELWRIGHTS* Wheelwrights (HM Land Registry Map below) Mr Goble and son Robert Jean and Arthur Moss Sale particulars in September 2025: https://www.knightfrank.co.uk/properties/residential/for-sale/the-street-thursley-godalming-surrey-gu8-6qf/gld150270 SUNSET COTTAGE* WILD GOOSE* PROSPECT (formerly THE INSTITUTE)* THE GRANARY, WHEELERS FARM* WHEELERS FARM* LITTLE GREEN STREET HOUSE*