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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: 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 Mr and Mrs Alan Karn 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 1905 wedding of Edward Baker (Ted) of Upper Highfield Farm and Maria Levy of Smallbrook Farm. 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 Mr and Mrs Ronald Francis 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 Cecily Ida (Sammy) Warner was born in Thursley, Surrey, England on August 9, 1922 to George and Edith Warner. Sammy and Bill (William Avery Tiner) met in Britain during WWII - Bill a member of the Royal Canadian Navy and Sammy a member of the Royal Air Force. Bill and Sammy were married on July 2, 1944 at St. Michael's and All Angels. July 2nd William Avery Tiner & 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 with her father, 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 Anthony Langdale & Susanna 'Sukey' Man 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 May 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 Thursley Parish Magazine in March and May 2026. It makes reference to the Murder of the Unknown Sailor, a crime so heinous that it still fascinates to this day. Thursley History Society is building up quite the library of interesting books all concerning either the village, its occupants, buildings and/or surroundings. These can be lent out as required and expect to see them at many of the Society’s events throughout the year. As we have designated this year to transportation and its many facets, this month I am including passages from a book in our archives called The Portsmouth Road by Charles G. Harper, first published in 1895 and acquired by our Chairman, Sally Scheffers in her research for our society's year of transport in 2026. It is a little jewel of a book, detailing the road from its London source, to its Portsmouth destination and everywhere in between. The road, of course, cut through our village and was a source of much folk lore and some incredibly mysterious goings on. I have included small extracts, but the book is a fascinating read with lovely illustrations by the author and “Old time Prints and Pictures”, a couple of which I have included here. “The Portsmouth Road was measured from the Stones’ End, Borough. It went by Vauxhall to Wandsworth, Putney Heath, Kingston-On-Thames, Guildford and Petersfield; and thence came presently into Portsmouth through the Forest of Bere and past the frowning battlements of Portchester. The distance was seventy-one miles, seven furlongs; and our forebears who prayerfully entrusted their bodies to the dangers of the roads and resigned their souls to Providence, were hurried along this route at the breakneck speed of something under eight miles an hour, with their hearts in their mouths and their money in their boots, for fear of the highwaymen who infested the roads. By 1821 the speediest journey was quoted as nine hours, performed in that year by what was then considered the meteoric and previously unheard-of swiftness of the “Rocket”, which, in that new and most fashionable of era of mail and stage-coach travelling, had deserted the grimy and decidedly unfashionable precincts of the Borough and the Elephant and Castle, for modish Piccadilly. They were jolly coach-loads that fared along the roads in coaching days, and, truly, all their jollity was needed, for unearthly hours, insufficient protection from inclement weather, and the tolerable certainty of falling in with thieves on their way, were experiences and contingencies that, one might imagine, could scarce fail of depressing the most buoyant spirits”. A Scene of the London to Portsmouth Road . At this juncture, I digress from my planned article and literally go down a rabbit hole as I read about Mary Tofts of Godalming. I previously wrote an article about Hammer Ponds, in which it was mentioned that there was an area of farmed rabbit warrens nearby (hence Warren Park) which had disappeared in the middle of the eighteenth century. It was supposed that rabbit meat went out of fashion, but perhaps it was a result of Mary Tofts legacy. “Godalming was a place notorious in the eighteenth century as the scene of one of the most impudent frauds ever practised upon the credulity of mankind. The story of Mary Tofts, if not edifying, is at least interesting. She was the wife of Joshua Tofts, a poor journeyman cloth-worker of this little town, and was described as of “a healthy, strong constitution, small size, fair complexion, a very stupid and sullen temper, and unable to write or read”. Stupid or not, she possessed sufficient cunning to maintain her fraud for some time, and even to delude some eminent surgeons of the day into a firm belief in her pretended births of rabbits. For this was the preposterous nature of the imposition, and she claimed to have given birth to no less than eighteen of them. Mary Tofts of Godalming A Mr Howard, a medical man of Guildford, who claimed to have assisted Mary in giving birth to eighteen rabbits, seems, from the voluminous literature of this subject, to have been something of a party to the cheat; and if we did not find him a guilty accomplice, there would remain the scarce more flattering designation of egregious dupe. But Mr Howard, dupe or rogue, was extremely busy in publishing to the world the particulars of this extraordinary case. Public attention was now roused in the most extraordinary degree, and the subject of Mary Tofts and her rabbits was in everyone’s mouth. The King (George I), too, was numbered among the believers, and things came to such a pass that ladies began to be alarmed with apprehensions of bringing into the world some unnatural progeny. “No one presumed to eat a rabbit”, and the rent of rabbit-warrens sank to nothing. But a German Court physician – a Dr Ahlers – who had proceeded to Guildford in order to report upon the matter to his Majesty, was rendered sceptical as much by the behaviour of Mr Howard as by that of his interesting patient. He returned to town, convinced of trickery, and finally Mary Tofts and her medical advisor were brought to London and lodged on the Bagnio, Leicester Fields, where, in fear of combined threats of punishment and an artfully-pictured operation darkly hinted at by Sir Richard Manningham, Obstetrician, she confessed that the fraud had been suggested to her by a woman, a neighbour of Godalming, who, with the showman’s instinct of Barnum, told her that here was a way to a good livelihood without the necessity of working for it. The part taken by Mr Howard has never been satisfactorily explained, but as he was particularly insistent that Mary Tofts deserved a pension from the King on account of her rabbits, his part in the affair has, naturally, been looked upon with considerable suspicion. Doctor and patient were, however, committed to Tothill Fields, Bridewell. (a prison located in Westminster, Central London and demolished in 1834 – Ed.). Could this account for the disappearance of the rabbit warrens in Thursley? To read the original Warren Park article, please visit the website https://www.thursleyhistorysociety.org/post/warren-park-and-loseley-house The subject of transportation and the history of the Portsmouth Rd will be continued next month – with absolutely no mention of rabbits! Parish Mag Article May 2026 As we started the history of the Portsmouth Road last time (albeit distracted by rabbits), we continue again this month. The book source that a lot of the information is from is “The Portsmouth Road” by Charles G Harper first published in 1895. “A fine crowd of coaches left town daily in the 1920’s. The “Portsmouth Regulator” left at 8am, and reached Portsmouth at 5pm; the “Royal Mail” started from The Angel 7.15 every evening, arriving at The George, Portsmouth at 6.10 the following morning. Others had such inventive names, such as The Hero, The Rocket and The Perseverance. Elderly ladies, travelling by coach, were not unreasonably afraid of the Devil’s Punch Bowl. It does not appear whether it was entirely the awful depths that alarmed them, or the chance, that presented itself to their imaginations, of seeing Auld Hornie himself., very black and terrible, skulking among the bilberry bushes. The parasitic wild plant, the Lesser Dodder (cuscuta epithymum), also grows in the hollow of the Punchbowl, sometimes so abundantly as to resemble red seaweed. In Cornwall, the rustics call it “Devil’s guts”. It strangles many other growths. Here in Thursley, the country-folk used to style it the “murder-plant”, and said it appeared first after the murder of the sailor (I am not including details of the Sailor’s murder here, as it has been covered in past articles, but should you wish to acquaint yourself with this gruesome tale, please go to thursleyhistorysociety.org). We return to the elderly lady: A tale was at that time told of just such a nervous passenger who, with two or three nieces and servants, engaged the coach to London, on the understanding that the coachman should WALK the coach round the dreaded spot. It is a striking instance of how the anticipation of evil is generally worse than the realisation. When the coach came to the Sailor’s stone, overlooking the wildest spot, the coachman alighted and pretended to be making some trifling alterations to the harness; the old lady gazing complacently into the vast dell beneath. She asked its name. “Higgin-bottom, ma’am,” said the coachman. “What a delightful, but singular-looking spot!” she exclaimed; and then the coachman drove on. Arrival at Road Lane, the question often asked, “How far off to the Devil’s Punchbowl?” was repeated. “We’ve passed it, ma’am!” “Past it, and in safety? Bless me, where was it?” “Where I stopped, and you asked the name of that deep dell – THAT was the Devil’s Punchbowl – Higgin-Bottom’s the right name.” The body of the murdered sailor was buried at the little village of Thursley, and there, in the churchyard, shadowed by dark fir trees, stands a gruesome tombstone, an unconscionable product of local art, with a carving in relief of the three murderers in the act of dispatching their victim. Beneath this melodrama, the circumstances are recounted at great length, and some halting verses conclude the mournful narration. Thursley itself is situated on an old road that branches from the newer highway upon entering Witley Common, and rejoined the ordinary route near the Royal Huts Hotel, Hindhead. The village is rarely visited by strangers. The old church stands in a commanding position, overlooking a wide tract of country, including the Hog’s Back, by Guildford, and the scattered ponds of Frensham. An old sun-dial on the tower has the inscription Hora pars vitae, and, like most of our clocks and watches, perpetuates in the numeral “IIII” the long-exploded fiction of the infallibility of kings. I wonder if anyone remembers the origin of the substitution of “IIII” for “IV” on nearly all the dials, whether sun-dials or clock-faces, of civilisation? Here is the story. The first clock that kept anything like accurate time was constructed by a certain Henry Vick in 1370. It was made to the order of Charles V. of France, who was known as “the Wise”. Wise he certainly was, in some respects; but Roman numerals were not within the sum of his knowledge. When Vick brought the King his clock, he looked at its movements awhile. “Yes”, said he, at length, “it works very well; but you have got the figures on the dial wrong”. “Surely never, your Majesty”, said Vick. “Yes”, replied the King, “that IV should be IIII”. “But your Majesty is wrong”, rejoined that not very tactful clockmaker. “Wrong!” answered outraged majesty, “I am never wrong! Take it away and correct the error”. Vick did as he was commanded, and so to this day we have IIII where we should really have IV”. The church’s sun-dial: "Hora Pars Vitae" translates to "An hour, a part of life". As we know, the route of the old Portsmouth Road was eventually completed to its modern-day condition when, in 2011, the Hindhead tunnel replaced the single carriageway with traffic lights, that caused the incessant traffic jams up at Hindhead. The Royal Huts Hotel, mentioned in the text, became a Happy Eater and now has new houses on that corner site. Remember to visit the website for more info on the sailor’s murder and the Hindhead tunnel. www.thursleyhistorysociety.org.

The view taken near the corner of Sailors Lane from where The Pines now stands. The three houses are named Pitchfield Cottage, Quirral House and Cassingray Pitch Place, Long Acres (on Sailors Lane), built by Mr and Mrs Henry can be seen on the hill. The field that can be seen is known as Wonham's Field as Ben Wonham's father, George, farmed as a tenant of the Dye House Estate when the Gooch family owned it. The house in the picture was lived in by the Voller family. View From Kettlebury Hill, January 1985 Kettlebury Hill Houndown Houndown Cottage Houndown Cottage The swimming pool in June 1936 John and Annete Graham-Stewart, 1977 Little Houndown Photographs from when the property was last listed in September 2025: Pitchfield Cottage Cynthia Tann, June 1996 The Pines Tim, Margaret and Stephen Walsh, The Pines, Sailors Lane, June 1996 Weymoor From sales particulars c2020 Mulberry and Kettlebury Cottage These properties at linked by a common boundary. Prior to the development of Mulberry c2013, the plot comprised agricultural buildings as can be seen from the photographs below. Mulberry was developed from a former farming/industrial site in 2013. This photograph is c2022. Kettlebury Cottage is on the right side of the photograph. Photographs are from the sale brochure produced by Knight, Frank in 2024 Full details were available here in July 2025: https://www.onthemarket.com/details/15038201/ Oakenhurst From sales particulars c2020 https://assets.savills.com/properties/GBFARSCLV189291/CLV189291_LAC19002977.PDF Pitch Place Farm House Entry from Historic England: Pitch Place Farm House is a Grade II listed building (9th March 1960), built in the late 16th Century. Timber framed on rendered rubblestone plinth with whitewashed rubble and brick infilling, under plain tiled roof, hipped to right and with tile hung ends. Two storeys. Multiple ridge stack to left of centre. Four framed bays with chimney bay. Three C19 arched head casements to first floor under steep gabled dormers with scalloped bargeboards. Two plain casement windows to first floor. Two decorative C19 and two leaded casements to ground floor. Plank door to right end. Wing at right angles to rear and pentice to rear right. All probably pre-WW2, note the entrance porch which does not feature on later photographs Charles Barrington visited Pitch Place Farm when his grandfather lived there in the 1950s. Here he is with his grandfather. He has also written a book which includes his recollections of staying there. https://www.westernfrontassociation.com/world-war-i-book-reviews/what-did-you-do-in-the-great-war-grandfather-the-life-and-times-of-an-edwardian-horse-artillery-officer/: This aerial view taken in the late 1970s, shows Pichino and its garden at the bottom left before it became a separate property, Kettlebury Cottage on the far left, together with the agricultural barns that are now the garden of Mulberry Previous owners of Pitch Place Farm include: Marchant Pichino These photographs were provided by Salli Tomlinson and date from the 1990s Silver Birches From sales particulars in 2026: https://search.savills.com/property-detail/gbfarsfas240003 Wulmer Cottage Wulmer Cottage has the date of 1861 detailed in the original brickwork Illustrations taken from Estate Agent's brochure in 2024 Kettlebury View Images taken from Estate Agent particulars in April 2026 https://www.keatsfearn.co.uk/properties/21650507/sales#/

Tractors have been important vehicles and farm machines in Thursley for decades. This entry will attempt to capture as many of them that currently exist from the oldest to the most recent - and all shapes and sizes! A typical Thursley tractor gathering! This is a work in progress entry as many more tractors exist in the village, please send your photograph and details via the website: https://www.thursleyhistorysociety.org/contact Many thanks to Peter Goble, James Goble, Malcolm Coles and James Maclean for their help. Fordson Model N, built 1939, one of the last in orange as it was changed to green after war broke out. A Fordson Model N on parade during the village's celebrations for The Festival of Britain in 1951 The tractor is a Fordson. The Fordson brand was used on mass-produced general-purpose tractors manufactured from 1917 to 1964. The name originated from Henry Ford's surname and "son," referencing his son Edsel. Ford's ambition was to "lift the burden of farming from flesh and blood" by building experimental tractors from automobile components. The light construction and large production numbers made them affordable for farmers. This tractor was at a village event and is photographed by The Clump, probably in the mid to late 50s. It is a Ferguson TE20, which was an agricultural tractor designed by Harry Ferguson. By far his most successful design, it was manufactured from 1946 until 1956. The driver was Trevor Sprinks of Bedford Farm with Tom Ranson in bowler hat and tie on the trailer. Another Ferguson TE20, possibly part of the Festival of Britain celebration in 1951 And another Ferguson TE20 which had seen better days This is a Massey Ferguson FE35, known as the "Gold Belly" for its grey tinwork and bronze/gold engine. It is driven by Mr Mitchell during a parade to celebrate Thursley winning 'The Best Kept Village' award in 1960. The trailer hosts the British Legion float and on it are A Abels and Bill Good. Framall A, built 1942, is a small one-plow row crop tractor produced by International Harvester under the Farmall brand from 1939 to 1947. This is a Fordson E27N Major, a popular tractor produced by Fordson in Dagenham, England, from 1945 to 1952. It was initially known simply as the Fordson Major and was developed as a replacement for the Fordson Standard tractor. The driver was John Stovold on Sid Hall's tractor who he worked for at Mill Farm: he, Trevor and Tom were celebrating winning the best kept village in 1960! Anthony Langdale on his beloved Fordson Model N, built in the 1940s, and now owned by his son. Another village Fordson. After war broke out the colour was changed to green and there were fewer body panels in order to save metal. Field Marshall Series 1, built 1946, was manufactured by Marshall, Sons & Co. of Gainsborough, Lincolnshire Pat Coles spraying using a crawler, c 1950 Field Marshall Series 2, built 1947 Field Marshall Series 3, built 1947 Case LA, built 1947, powered by a 6.6L 4-cylinder engine, producing nearly 60 Hp, and considered a big tractor in its day. International Harvester B250, built 1958, has a 30HP 2.4litre 4 cylinder diesel engine The Fordson Dexta was a popular, compact utility tractor made by Ford's British division from 1957-1964, known for its 32hp Perkins-designed diesel engine, live hydraulics, and suitability for small farms, competing with Massey Ferguson. This Fordson Dexta was built in 1959 and fully restored 2018. The International Harvester B-275 utility tractor was produced by International Harvester at the former Jowett car factory in Bradford, England, between 1958 and 1968. It was designed to rival models like the Massey Ferguson 35 and Fordson Dexta and featured a 38 horsepower, 4-cylinder diesel engine and an 8-speed transmission. Massey Ferguson 35, built 1959, is a popular and versatile utility tractor produced from 1956/1958 to 1964 (United Kingdom) and 1955 to 1964 (United States). It was the successor to the Ferguson TE20 and was a well-regarded, dependable machine known for its agricultural, industrial, and vineyard applications, still remaining a practical and valuable tractor today. Thursley, Punch Bowl Farm, Barn Field, with Bill Edwards, mowing hay on his Massey Ferguson 35; photographed by Monica Edwards, undated but early 1960s. Massey Ferguson 35, built 1960. The model was launched in 1958, as the successor to the ubiquitous Ferguson TE20,and was a product of the merger of Massey-Harris and Ferguson. The Lamborghini 2R model is powered by a three-cylinder, air-cooled diesel engine, producing 39bhp fed through a four-speed gearbox with high and low diff settings. The Porsche-Diesel AP 18 is an air-cooled, two-cylinder diesel tractor produced in the mid-1950s, featuring a 1.6-liter engine producing approximately 18-20 horsepower. These two tractors are not strictly Tractors of Thursley as they belong to a private collection in Churt, just outside the Parish of Thursley, but they are sufficiently rare to warrant inclusion. A Massey Ferguson 35, built early in the 1960s and with a modified bonnet International Harvester B-275, built 1960 James Maclean in his 1964 Massey Ferguson 135 with a New Holland 174 baler (which has worked every year from 1972 to date!) attached. County 1004 Super Six, built 1966 in Fleet, Hampshire. It is based on a Ford and features a 100 hp (75 kW) six cylinder Ford 2703E industrial engine. Cowdray Cross; England; Surrey; TPX 13F; Thursley; Zetor 3045; tractor, August 1970 after tractor accident repair. The Zetor 3045 Four Wheel Drive Tractor built in Czechoslovakia and marketed in the United Kingdom by Skoda (GB) Ltd in 1967. Power was provided by a three-cylinder diesel engine of 32.5 horsepower. Photo taken by Salosh Edwards. The same tractor on non-agricultural duties at a Rag Day in 1967 on the King's Road, Chelsea. The Rag parade was for the 'Combined London Colleges', and the Zetor lead the parade. Clearly Health & Safety hadn't been invented then: Sean Edwards is the driver! John Deere 1120, built 1971, is a utility tractor produced from 1967 to 1975 by John Deere in Mannheim, Germany. It features a 53 hp (39.5 kW) gross engine. David Brown 885, built 1979, was a popular British utility tractor produced from 1971 to 1980 , known for its reliability and performance. It featured a 47-horsepower 3-cylinder diesel (or gasoline) engine, a 12-speed transmission, and David Brown's Selectamatic® hydraulics. Manufactured in Meltham Mills, West Yorkshire. This David Brown 996 was registered in 1973/74 and is a utility tractor powered by a diesel engine. It was produced from 1971 to 1980 by David Brown at Meltham Mills, Huddersfield. Peter Scheffers in his Massey Ferguson 565 tedding the silage in the "Top A3" field in the late 1980. The Massey Ferguson 565 is a British-made, 60 horsepower, 2WD row-crop tractor produced from 1977 to 1982 as part of the 500 Series, powered by a Perkins 236 engine. International Harvester 684 utility tractor built in Doncaster between 1977 and 1984. It is powered by a 3.9-litre, four-cylinder diesel engine that produces 69 horsepower. The standard transmission was an eight-forward and four-reverse speed synchromesh gearbox. The International Harvester 84 Hydro Tractor with a 4.0L 4-cylinder diesel engine. It was built in 1978 to 1983, mainly in Doncaster. This is a Case IH 956 XL tractor and was produced by Case IH in Neuss, Germany, between 1985 and 1992. It is powered by a 95 hp (70.8 kW) International Harvester 5.9L 6-cylinder diesel engine. The tractor is available in both two-wheel and four-wheel drive variants. Massey Ferguson 390, is a utility tractor from the 300 series, produced from 1987 to 1997, available in both 2-wheel and 4-wheel drive versions. It typically features a 76-80 horsepower Perkins engine and a 12-speed transmission. David Brown 1494, built 1987 is from the David Brown 94 series, produced between 1984 and 1988. It was part of the last David Brown tractors built at the Meltham factory, which was later acquired by Case. Ford 1910, built 1987, a compact utility tractor produced from 1983 to 1987. It features a 32 hp Shibaura 1.7L 3-cylinder diesel engine, with tested PTO horsepower at 28.60 hp and drawbar horsepower at 24.76 hp. The tractor was built by Shibaura in Japan and distributed by Ford. It came in 2WD and 4WD variants. The 1988 Ford 8210 was a powerful row-crop tractor from the Ford 10 Series, known for its durability and suitability for medium to large-scale farming. This model, manufactured between 1982 and 1991, featured a 6-cylinder, turbocharged diesel engine, offering approximately 105 PTO horsepower, and came in two or four-wheel drive options. The Valmet 8100 (4WD) is a four-wheel drive tractor. Valmet is the former name of the Finnish tractor manufacturer now known as Valtra. Valmet tractors were originally produced in Finland starting in 1951. Case IH 5140 Maxxum tractor that was manufactured by Case IH from 1990 to 1997 as part of the Maxxum series. The tractor is a 4-wheel drive model and powered by an engine with around 109-117 HP. Eure Trad - VST 180D, built in India in the 1990s by VST Tillers. It features an 18.5hp (13.8 kW) VST Shakti engine. Photograph by Philip Traill. JCB Fastrac 185-65, built c1995, is a high-speed agricultural tractor series manufactured by JCB Landpower. Production began in 1991, with continual development to the present day. Generally the maximum speed of most models is 65 km/h (40 mph), but slower (40 km/h) and faster (80 km/h) versions are produced. This appears to be a McCormick CX-series tractor, most likely from the CX80 / CX90 / CX100 range (early–mid 2000s). McCormick tractors are manufactured by Argo Tractors, an Italian industrial group. The product line ranges from compact models to high-power tractors up to 310 HP. The brand has invested in advanced digital platforms for precision farming, enhancing performance and efficiency. This is a John Deere 6000-series tractor fitted with a Trima +5.0P front loader, probably a John Deere 6830 Premium model from around 2009. The Trima +5.0P is a heavy-duty front-end loader attachment. Features of the loader can include parallel control, vibration dampening, and a multi-coupler system. The tractor itself could have features like a 50kph Autoquad gearbox, air brakes, and cab suspension. John Deere 7530 which has a 6-cylinder diesel engine with a power output around 180 hp, which can boost up to 203-205 hp. The John Deere 7930 is a 220 hp row-crop tractor (2007-2011) featuring a 6.8L 6-cylinder diesel engine, with PTO power around 180-203 hp, and options for advanced guidance systems like StarFire RTK. Case Puma 160, built 2014, is a 4 wheel drive tractor manufactured by Case IH since 2012. It has a weight of 11 tons and is powered by an engine with a power output of 99.3 kW. It has a travel speed of 40 km/h. Kubota LA1854 built in has a lift capacity of 1810kg (3990lbs), max height of 3700mm (145.7 inches), and a max raising time of 4.2 seconds. JCB Fastrac 4220 iCONtractor acquired in 2018 and equipped with a Quicke 6M front loader. This model is a leader in agricultural tractors, known for its speed and full suspension. Fendt 720, built 2020, is available in different generations with varying specifications, including Gen6 models with ~148 kW (~201 hp) and a maximum speed of 50 km/h, and the newer Gen7 series which offers 164 kW (223 hp) maximum power Fendt 516, built 2022. Specifications vary by model year, but generally feature a powerful engine around 165 HP, Vario CVT transmission, a top speed of 50 km/h, and dimensions like a width of approximately 2.5 meters. The TLE3410 is Iseki’s Premium Economy tractor, built 2022. It is a 40hp tractor ideal for the farm, estate or sports pitches – from muck scraper to harrow or mower to loader. Manitou MT series telehandler, built 2024

This Grade II listed building (9th March, 1960), dating from the early 18th century, is situated on The Street. The Doctor, passing the Lodge, on his rounds wearing his top hat The Lodge, a painting by Arthur Robertson 1889 The Robertson family in front of the Lodge with a tricycle Michael and Marion O'Brien, 1997 Surnames of previous owners include: Robertson; Terry; Watson; Sadler Photograph by Sean Edwards

This article was published in Country Life, date unknown, and written by one of their regular columnists, Michael Hanson, who was their property correspondent for 27 years and was named Property Journalist of the Year five times. It describes how Gertrude Jekyll met the 'Young Ned Lutyens' and how their professional and personal relationship lasted over 40 years. It also covers Warren Lodge, now Warren Mere. Gertrude Jekyll by William Nicholson, 1920. Commissioned by Sir Edwin Lutyens. National Portrait Gallery NPG 3334 Here is a tribute to Michael Hanson from the Lutyens Trust: https://www.lutyenstrust.org.uk/portfolio-item/a-tribute-to-michael-hanson-1936-2015/

Burial registers for St Michael & All Angels have been kept from the 17th century onwards and the oldest historical records are stored at the Surrey History Centre in Woking: https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/culture-and-leisure/history-centre Current records There is a Register of Burials kept in the church. The first burial, that of Arnold Henry Foster, took place on 15 December 1963. In total there are 318 burials recorded, the latest being that of Richard Charles Bates on 7 February 2026. The margin notes can denote if an individual is buried in the grave of another, almost invariably of the same family. DD denotes double depth. Title page of the Register in current use Page 1 of the Register in current use, note the comments in the margin The list of burials in the Register are in chronological order and are in the pdf below: As this list of burials consists of photographs of each page of the Register of Burials it is not a searchable document. The majority of the information from the Register has now been transcribed into a Word document, and page 1 is shown below. The headings correspond to the Register of Burials with the page number column denoting the relevant page in the Register and the complete file (23 pages as at April 2025) is in the pdf below. Although the records should be chronological, this is not always the case, eg see page 13 of the Register, but the dates shown in the Register have been followed. NB: details of plot numbers etc. ie the margin notes, can be found only in the pdf of the Register of Burials. In typing these records, sometimes a best-guess had to be made where the handwriting was difficult to decipher. If you are aware of an error please use the contact tab on the website: https://www.thursleyhistorysociety.org/ The work of the West Surrey Family History Society The comprehensive file below was acquired from The Revd Peter Muir in the early 2010s, without any provenance or authorship indicated on the file. The presumed origin is from the West Surrey Family History Society survey, 1990 (the latest grave date in this file is 1982). The list refers to the churchyard Sections (or Divisions) A-F on the file ‘thursley stitched plan.jpeg’ dated 1993, by Tim Wilcock, where the boundaries are not at all clear. An interpretation of these boundaries has been made by Sean Edwards on a file: ‘Thursley_Churchyard_20141121_divisions.tif’, extended to the west with Divisions ‘Gn’ and ‘Gs’, as a basis for Churchyard management. This File The ‘ThursleyStMichael.pdf’ file was converted to a word-processed file (WordPerfect) to allow formatting inconsistences and typos to be corrected, and to enable updating. Otherwise no other errors have been corrected. It has now been converted to Word and here is page 1: NB: A great deal of work has been done, mainly by Amanda Flint and Alie Hanbury, to improve the accuracy of these records where they have been able to either correct or add to the entries on the gravestones. Their work has not yet been incorporated here, but over time their work will be reflected by updating the above file which should not, in the meantime, be regarded as approaching 100% accuracy. Other efforts to map the churchyard: Guy Singer's "Tales from a Country Churchyard: St Michael and All Angels, Thursley", recounts fascinating tales of those interred in the churchyard. His stories include: the Unknown Sailor; the man who taught King George VI to ride horses; a Titanic Survivor; many family histories. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tales-Country-Churchyard-Michael-Thursley/dp/B0B4DXPGRB

From Historic England: House. C17 extended in C20. Sandstone rubble with brick angle quoins and dressings, and brick extensions, under plain tiled roofs, hipped to right. Two storeys with gable lit attics over basement plinths. Plat band over ground floor and rear stack to left. Two first floor and one ground floor casement window, one window on each floor and one in the basement storey on the left hand return front. One five-light casement window between the timbers of the gable end. Ribbed door to right in pentice roofed porch in the re-entrant angle formed by the two ranges. Wooden C17 window mullions in window adjacent to re-entrant angle on wing. From an undated painting by Eva Webb Below is the lease for Pitlands 1560 Another map of the fields, note all the change of names! Keen Family Wedding in Pitlands This picture was painted by Eveline Lance who lived at The Outlook c1920 Field map of Punch Bowl Farm John and Mary Keen at the turn of the 20th Century and other contemporary photographs Stables at Punch Bowl Farm Aerial views of Punch Bowl Farm Photographs of Peter, Jo and Sally Scheffers and the farm taken in the 1970s Punch Bowl Farm, formerly known as Pitlands or Pit Farms, retains a three bay timber-framed house dating from the 16th century with a large smoke bay at the southern end. In the 17th century a stone parlour wing was built in front of the original two-storey house. This wing has two storeys plus an attic as well as a cellar underneath. The farm was formerly part of the Cosford Estate until its sale, by auction, to Monica and Bill Edwards who acquired it in 1947 (the conveyance was on 13th November 1947). It was bought as Pit Farm but immediately renamed Punch Bowl Farm. It was then immortalised in print by the numerous books written by Monica where it was referred to as Punchbowl Farm, the most famous being “The Unsought Farm’. I the late 1960s, Monica and Bill retired to the bungalow they had built above the farm but close to the badgers Monica still holds so dear. The Scheffers moved into the farm in September 1981. Four years later the land at Upper Highfield Farm was purchased from John Robertson and both farms are worked as one producing beef cattle and sheep. In 1994 the Punch Bowl Fold of Highland Cattle was formed and are grazed, during the summer, in the newly fenced northern section of the National Trust’s ‘Devil’s Punch Bowl’. As well as the farm animals we also have three horses, two cats, a goose and one elderly, but very naughty donkey, ‘Briar Rose’. Josephine, Peter and Sally Scheffers at Punch Bowl Farm, 1976 Surnames of previous owners: Keen; S Hall; J Hall; Edwards; Chalmers Punch Bowl Farm, 2014. Photographs by Sean Edwards Bill Edwards mowing Barn Hill

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 (formerly Lea 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. Endless 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.' Coverage of the trial from a contemporary newspaper report: 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. An undated magazine article on Witley Park: Witley Park today: These contemporary photographs were taken by Sean Edwards in 2018 From Wikipedia: Witley Park, formerly known as Lea Park, is an estate dating from the late 19th century between Godalming and Haslemere in Surrey, England. Its landscaped grounds include three artificial lakes, one of which conceals an underwater conservatory and smoking room. The mansion house, rebuilt for the swindler Whitaker Wright, was gutted by fire in October 1952 and the ruins were demolished in January 1954. In the early 21st century, a new house was built on the site. At its height, under Wright's ownership at the start of the 20th century, the estate covered 9,000 acres (36 km2; 14 sq mi). Following his death in 1904, it was sold and became increasingly fragmented. Much of Hindhead Common, Witley Common and Thursley Common was bought by local residents and presented to the National Trust in December 1905. From Google Earth, both looking north:

Help in Thursley is a volunteer driving scheme and was founded in 2017 and which was launched in the village hall. Help in Thursley: Constitution Help in Thursley responds to the pandemic And here, we hope, is another piece of history: The current committee comprises: David Young, Chairman Peter Hunter, Treasurer Jo Kelly Julie Langley Sallie Roles

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: 2000 August 19th James Ainsworth & Amik Nadia Steven Stephen Langley & Julie Holloway September 9th Stephen Langley & Julie Holloway   2002 June 14th Giles Parker & Lauraine Anderson September 7th David Slater & Emma Joan Scales   2003 July 5th Adrian Hugh George Linegar & Eulando Florendo Rimando July 26th Andrew Simon Ruffell & Joanne Jobson   2004 October 16th Christopher Melchior Richmond Hall & Louise Jane Burgess   2005 April 1st Simon Nicholas Richmond Hall & Amanda Jane Wood June 11th Theo Ivanovic & Martha Georgina Harvey August 27th Kerry Porter & Katherine Erika Sealy September 3rd Andrew Martin & Susannah Lindsay Prain September 9th Philip Patrick Collier & Abigail Christie Anderson   2006 May 6th Nigel John Hall & Fenella Duyland Wakeley August 26th Peter Rouse & Amanda Baker September 23rd Joseph Douglas Mercer Nairne & Melissa Emily Wakeley Scene from a Wakeley wedding   2007 September 15th Mark Ralph Godman & Katie Helen Cripp 2009 May 2nd Mark Lawrence Gordon Adams & Sarah Anna Maria Keating June 27th Ricardo Nuno Bugia Pires & Hayley Joanna Jutsum July 11th Gilbert Thinghi Yule & Michelle Anna Axford July 17th Christopher James Mendelssohn & Caroline Louise Morris July 25th Michele Ernesto De Gregorio & Catherine Selvarani le Doux Edwards September 12th Paul Tyers & Lynette Mary Jean Lawson November 7th Kevin Dass & Liza Ann Devi Gray December 28th Richard Charles Miller & Anna Hutton-Potts 2010 April 24th Nikolaos Minas & Lydia Laura Stephen May 28th Mehrdad Rahbar Sehat & Charlotte Mary Ford June 12th Edward James Alsford & Lara Camilla Patrick July 24th Deane Richard Eales & Annabel Charlotte Sophia Timberlake November 6th Andrew Neil Peters & Hannah Ellen Ford 2011 June 18th Benjamin James Russell Stoneham & Chloe Ria Rankin November 12th Mark John Fisher Foster & Emily Jane Ockenden 2012 June 30th Alan George Andrew Weir & Hailey Louise Wilkinson July 12th Maximillian Michael Collins & Shannan Louise Keen September 1st Benjamin John Whitehead & Katherine Jeanne Morris 2014 July 12th Benjamin David Clutterbuck & Francesca Louise Goodwin 2015 May 23rd Charles Simon Treadwell & Anne Herforth Finnerup June 6th James Peter Goble & Lucy Kate Wall-Palmer August 1st Peter Edwin David Swabey & Magali Clotilde Marie Webster-Nicol 2016 May 28th Alistair Matthew Smith & Louisa May Hunter 2018 June 30th Peter Justin Rickenberg & Jacqueline Jean Brown 2019 March 15th Ryan John Birse & Amy Louise Rapley June 29th Thomas Clermont Lake Davies & Pollyanna Louise Russell Stoneham 2021 July 30th Toby Oliver Simon Downes & Leonora Susan Chisholm Schofield Historical note: Covid masks worn by most 2022 April 2nd Calum Alastair Gee & Jemma Elizabeth Corridan 2023 May 27th Neil Geoffrey Lankester Woods & Lisa Catherine Rickenberg Neil Woods & Lisa Rickenberg September 9th Rupert Terence Bulkeley Perrier & Elodie Camilla Pendred 2024 April 27th Bradley Patrick May & Charlotte Mary Cruickshank Bradley Patrick May & Charlotte Mary Cruickshank July 20th Cameron Burns Dow & Lila Kate Flint Roberts Cameron Burns Dow & Lila Kate Flint Roberts 2024 Photo: James White Photography September 14th Patrick Hugh Hudson & Matilda India Tess Warner (Wedding Blessing) 2025 June 7th Edward James Spencer & Sophie Baker Edward James Spencer & Sophie Baker August 9th James Fitzroy Cordy-Redden & Olivia Frances Palmer-Jeffery August 16th Michael Joseph Barrett & Katherine Julia Woods Michael Joseph Barrett & Katherine Julia Woods August 30th Angus Frederick Secrett & Olivia Fae Welch 2026 Liam Thomas Herlihy & Virginia Finovola Cordy-Redden

From Kay Cottle's postcard collection From Kay Cottle's postcard collection 'Farewell to the Pylons across Thursley?', from a calendar dated January 2014. Truxford Cottage and barns Painting by the Moat The Moat, c1990