About Capel Third edition - 2010

A History of Grenehurst Park Estate & other essays

Source: ‘The Building News’, July 1874 Acknowledgements

Capel Local History Group got going in the autumn of 2006 and has worked to produce a booklet each year, this one being the third. Usually we have a number of different articles, but this time we have focussed particularly on the history of the Grenehurst Estate. We are very grateful to Carol Cobb, Mary Day, Bernice Forsyth, Bridget Patterson and Dick Thomas for all their input. Belinda Hood has, once again, helped by providing superb pen and ink drawings that help so much in developing this publication.

As always, we are grateful to Vivien Ettlinger for her technical support and for the resources made available to us by the History Centre. This year, the editing has been undertaken by myself, greatly supported by Mary Day and Dick Thomas to whom I offer my grateful thanks for spotting all the mistakes.

Capel Local History Group will start holding meetings again after the summer recess at the Friends Meeting House, 144, The Street, Capel Surrey, RH5 5EN. Please do contact either Mary Day (email: [email protected]) or Chris Coke (email: [email protected]) for further information. New members are always warmly welcomed. Contents

Researching the Grenehurst Park Estate 1 Early History of ‘Grenehurst’ 1 ‘Greenhurst Farm’ in the 19th Century 3 Grenehurst, the Railway and Thomas Lambert 6 ‘Greenhurst Farm’ changes to ‘Grenehurst Park’ 1863 – 1874 8 1873-1901. William and Emmeline Cazalet 9 1901-1920. James Hawke Dennis and family 11 1920-1924. Major Sir Philip Hunloke 11 1924-1945. Cecil Philip Adcock and his wife Violet Marianne 12 1945 – 1965. Emmanuel Elias Hadjilias 12 1965-1986. Elim Bible College 12 Grenehurst Park in the 21st Century 13 Recent memories of Grenehurst Park 14 Stylehurst Farm 16

The Memorial Hall 17 Postscript 21 Source material 22

Best Kept Secret 22

Old Surrey words 25

Capel’s Surrey Wagon 29 Researching the Grenehurst Park Estate

This project was inspired by a walk, led by Dick Thomas, which started in , , and took us past Vann House and Lake, (near the parish boundary between Ockley and Capel), which were formerly part of the estate.

The early history of Grenehurst can be traced, through manorial records, from 1282 until 1815. These have been expertly transcribed by Vivien Ettlinger to whom acknowledgment is due. Later maps and documents demonstrate how the property developed from a yeoman farmstead into a gentleman’s mansion and estate.

In the mid 19th c. the estate was bisected by the to railway line which caused a lengthy dispute with the landowner. We consulted the railway company’s records at The National Archives, Kew.

At its largest, the estate comprised 970 acres, much of it in Ockley parish. We were able to find more evidence of ownership and extent from deeds and sales particulars held at Surrey History Centre.

More recent history has been compiled from local knowledge (Peter Ede, Win Wright etc.) and even from a chance encounter in deepest Kent. We have consulted the RIBA library, Construction Industry (CIRCA) Trust, census records, rate books, directories, and parish magazines. Most fortunately, we have been able to visit the site, courtesy of Grenehurst residents, especially Anne Hambidge.

There is never an end point to this sort of project – perhaps we shall have more to tell another time. Research team: Carol Cobb; Bernice Forsyth; Mary Day; Bridget Paterson; Dick Thomas

Early History of ‘Grenehurst’

The name Grenehurst first appears in the surviving records of the Manor of with Capel in 1282 when Henry de Langenehakere (Longacre) was distrained for ‘a certain piece of land at Grenehurst’. The spelling of the name has varied over the centuries. In 1307 Agnes de Grenehurst held half a virgate of land, perhaps 30 acres, for a rent of four shillings a year and she was also under a feudal obligation 1 to ‘fence le Lese’ part of the lord’s demesne lands in Dorking and provide 2 hens and 10 eggs each year.

By 1380 the land was out of cultivation, (perhaps as a result of the ravages of the Black Death?) and was granted to John Kyngesfold for life for a token rent of ‘one red rose at Midsummer and 11s. 8½d’. It would be interesting to know if red roses were growing in Capel in 1380! By this time the property had become freehold and no longer owed feudal dues. (This picturesque ‘rose rent’ was still being quoted until at least 1815).

In 1390 a deed specified that the property now comprised one messuage (house) 73 acres of arable land, 3 acres of meadow and 40 acres of pasture. It had been sold for 100 marks. (1 mark = 13s.4d, or £0.67p in today’s currency.). The property was still subject to manorial control. In 1398 an enquiry was made as to whether the road in Grenehurst was a highway for carts and wagons or a bridleway. The occupants were required to scour the ditches in 1482 and 1516.

In 1622 the property was owned by John Young of , gentleman but by 1649 it had passed to William Prideaux, clerk, and was described in a manorial survey as ‘messuage, barns, outhouses, garden, orchard and lands called Greenhurst amounting to 124 acres’ (shown as ‘GREENE- HYRST’ in the survey map).

N

Fig. 01: 1649 map. Based on a document held in Arundel Archives

2 In the 18th century the property had several occupants before 1759 when Nicholas Branch became the owner. He was Constable of Capel. He also owned Knowle and Pickards croft, a messuage, farm, lands etc. of 90 acres which lies to south of Grenehurst and became for many years part of the estate. Branch died in 1785 and is buried in Capel Churchyard.

The Land Tax records show that by 1780 William Frankland was owner and occupier of both properties which had an annual rental value of £40.00 and £25.00. He also owned Peters Wood, valued at £2.00 p.a., which lies to the north of Grenehurst. By 1785 the farms had been let to Thomas and Philip Holland but Frankland retained ‘Peters, Knole and Greenhurst Woods’ valued at £17.00 p.a. He owned large areas of woodland in the district, perhaps to exploit the value of the timber.

‘Greenhurst Farm’ in the 19th Century

By around 1800, ownership had passed to John Gorham, Esq. a wealthy merchant who owned several properties in the City of London and elsewhere. John Gorham died in 1801 and his will gives a clue as to what happened to Grenehurst (although not specifically named).

“I give and devise unto my said niece Rebecca Bliss ...... and also all those my freehold farms lands and hereditaments situate and being in the parishes of Ockley and Capel or elsewhere in the county of Surrey now or late in the respective tenure or occupations of Mr Dendy Mr F…, Mr Holland Mr Poltick and Mr Bravery with …and … of their appurtenances”.

Rebecca Bliss was the daughter of William Bliss and Sarah Gorham (the sister of John), She was born around 1749 and was baptised at Carey Street New Court Independent Chapel (London). It appears that Rebecca never married and she died in 1819. She was buried at St John the Baptist Church, Loughton, Essex. In her will, proved at London on 24th March, 1819, she left the lands in Ockley and Capel to her cousin Ebenezer Maitland.

Ebenezer Maitland (1752 – 1834) was a very wealthy merchant and the son of Robert Maitland and Ursula Gorham (another of John’s sisters). He married Mary Winter in about 1776. He was a director of the Bank of .

3 Fig. 02: From silhouettes of Ebenezer and Mary Maitland by Hinton Gibbs. (Reproduced by courtsey of www.wigsonthegreen.co.uk)

An interesting sale of the agricultural stock and implements, household furniture and other effects at ‘Greenhurst Farm, Capel’ took place in January, 1822, when the tenant, Matthew Hancock, gave up the Lease shortly before his death, aged 67.

From the auctioneer’s list of contents for sale it is possible to imagine how the farmhouse was furnished and the likely arrangement of the rooms. Two sets of fire irons and a ‘large standard kitchen range’ suggest at least two heated rooms. A ‘stout framed oak table 9 feet long’ was purchased for 11 shillings by ‘Mr. Poltock’ an earlier tenant. Four bedsteads with their bedding and ‘furniture’ (curtains) and mahogany chairs, Brussels and Kidderminster carpets, quantities of blue and white china, punch bowls, jugs and Queensware dishes hint at a reasonable standard of comfort.

The dairy and brewing equipment, housed separately, demonstrate the usual self-sufficiency found in local farmhouses. The farm animals comprised 10 horses, with names such as ‘Captain, Fuddler and Darby’, 6 milk cows in calf, named ‘Cherry, Nancy, Colly, Beauty, Flower and Fanny’. Five steers, 3 calves, 2 sows and 6 store pigs, 4 geese and a gander, a ‘Yorkshire’ duck and drake, 2 cocks and six hens, completed the stock.

4 The implements included 3 wagons and 4 dung carts, light cart, land roller, chaff-cutting machine, 3 ploughs, 3 sets of harrows and a winnowing fag and wheel. Five loads of corn sacks, ten hay rakes and ten cyder cloths were also for sale, showing what the farm produced. The total revenue from the sale was £305 13s. 0d. We do not know how much the Lease of Grenehurst Farm benefitted Ebenezer Maitland.

When Ebenezer died in 1834 he left his property to his wife Mary but she died shortly thereafter and her property was left to her son Ebenezer Fuller- Maitland. It is his name that appears on the Capel tithe map of 1839, owning 235 acres.

Ebenezer Fuller-Maitland was an extremely wealthy man. In 1807 he took the additional name of Fuller by grant of the King. It seems that he did this on the express wish of his wife (whose grandfather was William Fuller, a banker). He was an MP being elected for Lostwithiel in 1807, Wallingford in 1812 and Chippenham in 1826.

There is little evidence that he took much interest in the Grenehurst property and it was let to various tenants:-

1841 census – Fludger Hopkins – Farmer 1851 census – John Short – Agricultural Labourer 1861 census – Henry Patchen – Agricultural Labourer

Ebenezer Fuller-Maitland died in 1858. There is no mention of the lands at Ockley and Capel in his will and he may have sold them before his death. It isn’t clear therefore who owned the estate until Thomas Lambert, who certainly owned the estate in 1863 when he began to have protracted issues with the Horsham, Dorking and Leatherhead Railway.

5 Grenehurst, the Railway and Thomas Lambert

In 1862 the Horsham, Dorking and Leatherhead Railway Co. (the Company) was formed to construct a link between Horsham and Leatherhead. Many of the local landowners and farmers supported the scheme as it provided an excellent method of getting their produce to market at a time when roads were still difficult, particularly in winter.

Fig. 03: Location of railway and key farms on Grenehurst estate 1891.

6 At a fairly early stage the Company came up against Thomas Lambert who appears to have caused them quite a bit of trouble, mainly because the Company wanted to drive their line straight through the Grenehurst estate and it seems quite close to where he was planning to build his new house.

In October, 1863 the Company resolved to make payment of £500 to Mr Lambert pursuant to an agreement dated 24th May, 1863. This agreement provided for the line of the railway to be moved further to the west resulting in the track being further away from the house; presumably they thought everything was settled.

However in 1864 the Company resolved to make offers regarding unsettled land purchases to Messrs Lambert, Bullpit and Margesson and if not accepted “the Solicitor be instructed to take the necessary steps for summoning a jury to assess the amount of their compensation”.

Perhaps Messrs Bullpit and Margesson succumbed but it appears that Thomas Lambert continued to cause trouble. On 11th November, 1864 it was agreed that a common seal be affixed to a warrant to the Sherriff to summon a jury to assess the amount to be paid to Mr Lambert for land and compensation. That didn’t seem to work either because by 2nd January 1865 Mr Lambert had increased his claim for compensation from £1640 to £2100. The conveyance was finally made in June 1866 and a payment of £1700 was made at the end of the year when settlement was made to the majority of the landowners for land acquired by the Company.

Thomas Lambert was not finished yet though – in February 1867 it was reported that the injunction taken out by Mr Lambert to refrain from entering upon his field No. 75 in the Parish of Capel was ineffectual. No doubt the Company were wishing they had never heard of Thomas Lambert by now and in August they agreed that they would offer him a further £60 to settle all outstanding disputes. In the event a further £160 was paid in April 1868.

The Railway opened in 1867 but by October 1870 the Company had been absorbed by the Brighton and South Coast Railway Company.

Fig. 04: Signature of Thomas Lambert on a receipt for payment of the £ 500 as noted above. 7 ‘Greenhurst Farm’ changes to ‘Grenehurst Park’ 1863 – 1874

The change of status from Farm to Gentleman’s estate can be seen on successive editions of the Ordnance Survey 25 inch to one mile maps. Careful comparison of the maps shows that the mansion was built alongside the old farmhouse, which was probably left standing until completion of the new building. The creator of the new estate was Thomas Lambert.

Fig. 05: Sketch of relative position of old farmhouse and new mansion. Based on O.S. maps of 1871 & 1912

The combined minds of the history society have failed to positively identify Thomas. We know that he bought the estate and employed the architect J. P. St.Aubyn to design the mansion house. The house was not finished during his ownership of the estate. We also know that he disputed the compensation he was awarded for land needed for the Horsham, Dorking and Leatherhead Railway. This is well documented in the minutes of the railway held at the National Archive but he does not appear on any census returns for Capel. He may have been a member of the Lambert family of Bletchingly and Banstead who owned land in several sites in Surrey. 8 In October 1871 an illustration, description and floor plans appeared in ‘The Builder’ magazine announcing the proposed mansion house.

‘GREENHURST, NEAR OCKLEY, SURREY - This house is being erected for Mr. Thomas Lambert, and is distant from the Ockley Station about a mile…..The cost will be about £11,000 for the house, and £2,000 for the stables…… By 1874 the house had been completed – see front cover for an illustration.’

1873-1901. William and Emmeline Cazalet

The Cazalet family, who had been living in Brighton, bought the Grenehurst estate from Thomas Lambert in 1873. At that stage the mansion designed for Lambert by the architect J.P.St. Aubyn was incomplete but an amended illustration and description appeared in ‘The Building News’, dated July, 1874, giving precise dimensions and details of the rooms.

William Cazalet was the son of Peter and Olympia Cazalet. Peter was the Vice Consul in St Petersburg and also a banker who set up the Bank of St Petersburg. William was born in Russia. The 1841 census shows William living in Brighton with his family. There is no entry for him in either the 1851 or 1861 census. By 1871 he was living in London, married to Emmeline and has 6 daughters and 1 son Clement. Emmeline and Clement aged 1 were away from home in a hospital in Great Malvern. The census shows that 4 children were born in St Petersburg, (probably the reason why the family did not appear on the 1851 and 1861 census).

It is known that William and Emmeline had possibly been living in the area as they had leased a house ‘Bearhurst’, Capel, from Mary Louisa Labouchere, the wife of a banker, in 1863. After purchasing the Grenehurst estate in 1873 the house was completed and the Cazalet family took up residence. They were shown in the 1881 census living in the house with 13 house servants. They employed a further 6 servants living with their families in the Coach house, Stables and Lodge on the Estate. Anecdotal evidence shows that William was eager to employ as many of the unemployed locals as he could. He apparently had the driveway to the house extended to provide employment.

9 Fig. 06: Gardeners at Grenehurst circa 1900

William’s profession was given on the 1881 census as ‘Justice of the Peace for Surrey’. He died on 17th November 1890, aged 66 years. Details of his will printed in The Surrey Standard show that he left £136,652 net. (Using the National Archive calculator this sum would be £7 million pounds today.) The will mentions his other estates in Dorset and Devon. The family continued to live in Grenehurst and by 1891 they employed 19 house servants in addition to the stable and garden staff.

A plan attached to a Deed of 1901 shows that by this time Vann Farm, Holbrook Farm, Tiphams and Stylehurst farms had been added to the estate. The census result for 1901 shows the Pape family living at Grenehurst. (It can only be assumed that they may have rented the property as no sale documents have been found.) Edward Pape was born in North Cave, Yorkshire in 1857, son of William and Elizabeth. William (Pape) was a dealer in wool and flax. The 1871 census shows Elizabeth was now a widow and living with family in Grimsby. Edward was probably a scholar. There is no record of Edward on the 1881 census but by 1891 he was living in Hove, married to Annie, had 3 children and was employing 6 servants. No profession was given on the return. By 1901 the family had moved to Grenehurst with 4 children and 15 servants. His profession was given as Shop (ship)broker/agent. There is no record of any of the family in the 1911 census. 10 1901-1920. James Hawke Dennis and family

James Hawke Dennis bought the estate from Emmeline Agnes Cazalet, widow of William on 2nd May 1901 for the sum of £56,000. The estate then amounted to 954 acres. There was then a slight dispute between Emmeline and James re the amount of land, an independent assessment was of the opinion that any error concerning the acreage was so small as to be insignificant. In a document dated the same day as the sale Emmeline agreed to allow James to start renovation of the mansion and installation of electricity on immediate payment of £1,000.

James Hawke Dennis was born in Redruth in 1840. By the time of the 1861 census he was living in Wavertree, Lancashire and employed as a metal broker. By 1871 James, still lived in Wavertree, and was married to Mary Martyn, had 3 children, Aimee, Stanley and James Jr. and employed 3 servants. He was now described as a “sulphate of copper manufacturer and metal broker.” In 1881 James appeared to have visited his father-in- law in Redruth. His occupation was now described as “Alkali Manufacturer”. The 1891 and 1901 census failed to show any of the family but in 1911 they were staying at the Royal Bath Hotel in Bournemouth. They were described as living on private means. The 1911 census shows the Grenehurst mansion servants in residence. James died in 1917.

1920-1924. Major Sir Philip Hunloke

Sir Philip Hunloke bought the 434 acre estate for £33,250 from Mary Jane Dennis (widow of James Hawke Dennis) and her children Stanley, James and Charles. Sir Philip was born Philip Percival on 26th November 1868 in London. He changed his name in 1905 after acquiring an inheritance through the female line of the Hunloke family. Sir Philip was married to Sylvia and they had 3 children. Their son, Henry, married Lady Anne Cavendish, daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire and went on to be an M.P.

Sir Philip was an accomplished sailor who won a bronze medal in the 1908 Olympics sailing an 8 metre yacht owned by the Duchess of Westminster. After World War I he was the first president of the Ocean Racing Club and was instrumental in creating the Fastnet Race, first raced in 1925.

In 1914 he was made groom-in-waiting to George V and in 1920 became his sailing master. He was generally recognised as one of the 20th century’s greatest sailors. 11 He was invested as a Knight Grand Cross, Royal Victorian Order (G.C.V.O.) He died on 1st April, 1947 in London and is buried in Northwood Cemetery, Isle of Wight.

1924-1945. Cecil Philip Adcock and his wife Violet Marianne

Adcock bought the house, with vacant possession and 1 other plot at auction in 1924 for the sum of £17,250. (Philip Hunloke was by this time living in his property in Malmesbury Wilts.) The rest of the estate was sold in lots on 13th October 1924; mainly to Walter Mercer Gillett, a merchant of Faversham, Kent.

(The Adcocks’ sons Douglas and Reginald were killed in action in World War Two. Reginald aged 30 in 1941 and Douglas aged 30 in 1944. The family moved to Redhill in 1945.)

1945 – 1965. Emmanuel Elias Hadjilias

He was a Greek ship owner who became a British citizen in 1948. A record of The Worlds Merchant Fleets in 1939 shows the Hadjilias family had an office in London. There is a record showing that he named ships Grenehurst and Stylehurst.

1965-1986. Elim Bible College

During this period, the Elim Bible College owned the estate for a number of years. It was used as a centre for training their ministers and missionaries. The mansion and grounds were well cared for during their occupation. After their departure, the house and gardens were owned briefly by Sir Richard Branson. What plans he had for the house are unclear but there was a suggestion of turning the mansion into a school.

12 Grenehurst Park in the 21st Century

The present estate was created in the early 1990s by Cala plc. The mansion house was divided up into 17 fine apartments and the stables and outbuildings converted to 11 cottages. Twelve new houses were built in the grounds and leisure facilities include an underground swimming pool and gymnasium in the vaulted cellars. The two acre walled gardens were sold separately and the garden buildings converted to domestic use. The whole complex, with its fine mature trees, is beautifully maintained – it is good to see such a successful conversion. We wonder if the gardens contain any red roses today?

Fig. 07: View of Grenehurst 2010

13 Recent memories of Grenehurst Park

Jean Dale is the eldest of two daughters of Mr & Mrs F. Goldsmith who was the last Farm Manager of Grenehurst Park. Before the Goldsmiths the farm was managed by Vera Kunz’z father – Mr. Appleby. However, his wife developed an allergy to pine tree pollen that was in abundance on the estate. So they moved on. Frank Goldsmith worked on farms all his life, so was in a reserved occupation which meant that he did not get called up for the second world war, but he did serve in the Home Guard. There were two farm workers at Grenehurst who reported to Frank – George Stone was one, Jean cannot remember the name of the other. The main enterprise was a Jersey herd of about 24 milking cows plus followers and a bull. The milk was collected in churns every day to be used by the Milk Marketing Board who had a dairy in Vincent Lane. It was collected by Mr. “Ding-Dong” Bell. Mr. Hadjilias was the owner. He had three daughters (Ebenear, Rene, and Lulu) and one son, Elias. Although Mr. Hadjilias was a member of the hunt, no hunt ever went across Grenehurst because of the electrified railway that cuts through it. Even so the hunt regularly used to lose one or two hounds because of it.

On Boxing Day there was a tradition of having a pheasant shoot in the morning, followed by lunch and then a clay pigeon shoot in the afternoon. On one occasion, George Stone (Not related to the Shiremark Stones) became a bit merry and was waving his 12-bore around a lot. Charlie Edwards (father of the current C. Edwards) saw what was going on as he came to join the clay pigeon shoot. Just as he was climbing over the stile George let off his 12-bore, and although there was no danger to Charlie, he fell over backwards and disappeared from view. This made George very agitated and when he saw Charlie coming up the drive with his arm in a sling and an apparently blooded hankie clasped to his forehead, poor George became distraught – only be told that Charlie was playing a practical joke (of which he was inordinately fond).

The original walled garden was used as a supply of vegetable and fruit for the house and Farm Manager’s family. They used to get a trug of vegetables every week. When the estate was broken up the walled garden was sold for £1,000 and the new owner built a bungalow in it.

14 During Mr. Goldsmith’s time, Mr. Underwood was Head Gardener with a Mr. Gardener being his deputy who took over when Mr. Underwood retired. The other gardener was Mr. Dewdney.

Although there were a succession of chauffeurs at Grenehurst – Adrian Kunz being one of them before Frank Goldsmith was there, most of the time during the 50’s Mr. Hadjilias used John Hamilton to drive him to London. John owned and ran a garage in Kingsfold. Just before the estate was sold Mr. Hadjilias employed Gordon Hill as his chauffeur.

Fig. 08: Chauffers in Capel – exact location of photo unknown.

15 Stylehurst Farm

The railway, opened on the outskirts of Capel, brought huge new Victorian mansions to the village such as Grenehurst and Wigmore. The wealthy owners bought up farms to enhance the size of their estates and the Grenehurst holding grew to nearly 1,000 acres and included the farms Stylehurst, Tiphams, Knoll and Holbrook. Because the farmland spread over different parishes the estates in Capel, Ockley and were very much entwined. This is shown in the formation of the Horticultural Society that was called ‘Capel Ockley & Newdigate Horticultural Society right up to the 1980’s when it was simplified to Capel Horticultural Society. Early issues of the parish magazine also combined the names of the three villages. An estate aimed to be self-sufficient. Grenehurst had all the latest fashions of equipment. It had a huge brick walled garden (now called ‘The Gardens’). As well as vegetables and flowers, it had fruit trees, mushroom beds, and greenhouses, some of which still remain.

Stylehurst was the Home Farm. The drive towards Ockley and Stane Street with its lodge for Grenehurst (now called Vann Cottage) goes past Stylehurst. Peter Ede told us that Mr. Dendy from Ockley was still making deliveries in the 1940’s along the vehicular drive with its bridge over the Vann Lake dam. Stylehurst was the farm manager’s house. Originally called ‘Stileres’ from the family name it is a late 16th century building with additions made in the 19th and 20th centuries. Across the lane was the granary, dairy, oasthouse and stables. All of these have now been converted into separate houses. The noisy engine house, forge and sawing shed with its Ransome circular saw (to cut valuable timber) were at Stylehurst. This was used not only to power the farm tools but also to provide electricity for the main house as a cable was laid under the railway line and on to Grenehurst. It was still in use until 1934 when mains electricity came to Capel.

Elizabeth Ticehurst, who was born at Stylehurst in 1928, remembers the unmade up drive being in good condition since she walked over the level crossing to Old Mead in order to share lessons with the governess who lived there. Her father built the bungalow, now called ‘Paddock House’, for his gardener. Research by Carol Cobb

16 The Memorial Hall

Fig. 09: Cover of Souvenir programme 1956

In May 1945, the end of World War Two was celebrated and, at a large meeting held in the Church Room, general approval was given to build a Memorial Hall to commemorate those killed. Although still a mainly agricultural village with numerous farms, the social makeup of Capel had changed considerably since l912 when the Church Room opened. The Mortimers of Wigmore had sold up in l944, the Calverts of Capel House Farm had moved away. The only large estate left was the Lyne Estate of Captain Broadwood. Commuters had moved in, people were better off with rising expectations and ambitions and more time for leisure activities. Electricity and gas had arrived in l934. Village affairs were run by the well established Parish Council, inaugurated in 1894, and the influence of the Parochial Church Council, who ran the Church Room, had diminished. During the war, the Church Room had been used for lessons for evacuee children.

17 The Capel Village Hall Memorial Fund , to honour those who served in the war, l939 – 1945, was formed, led by Waldo Porges, K.C., of Osbrooks, a Barrister. No political parties were to be involved. A Conveyance of 27th October, l945, shows the purchase of extra land from the Parish Council for £50 and a Committee of Management was set up. The new Hall was to be for ‘physical and mental training and recreation and social, moral and intellectual development through the medium of reading and recreation rooms, library, lectures, classes, recreations and entertainments ...for the benefit of the inhabitants’. In accordance with the Trust Deed, the Management Committee is made up of a representative from each village organisation plus further elected members. The organisations represented at that time were Parish Council, PCC, Methodist Church Leaders, Methodist Guild Committee, Society of Friends, British Legion, W.I., School Managers, Horticultural Society, Nursing Association, Cricket Club, Football Club, Tennis Club, Bowling Club, Mothers’ Union.

A loan from the National Council for Social Services was secured and £3,550 from the Carnegie Trust, an equal amount to be raised by villagers. Villagers started raising money in earnest, holding fetes and concerts and jumble sales. It seemed absurd to have 2 Halls adjacent, one for the Church and one for the village and an offer was made to the PCC for the Church Room, to be enlarged and updated to meet modern needs. Ambitious plans were drawn up featuring an imposing new main entrance approached from the North side, with access to the existing Church Room to one side and a new social centre to the other. The Trustees of the Church Room agreed to sell for £1,500 but would require alternative premises - many villagers were incensed as they felt that the Church Room already belonged to the village since it had been paid for by voluntary subscriptions with the land gifted by the Mortimers. The Church found the Room ‘a heavy financial burden’; the coal shed and urinals were under rotten rusty corrugated iron roofs. It was stalemate. Win Wright, who was caretaker, helped by her husband, Walter, for 40 years from l948 – l988, remembers helping her mother to stoke the boiler in l946 when a temporary surgery was held in the Committee Room by Dr. Holloway while the new surgery was being built.

Two years later, since no progress was being made and the extension of the Recreation Ground was going ahead, a completely new site was considered for the new Memorial Hall. Efforts continued to get a licence from the Ministry of Works because of the shortage of building materials; no steel was available at all. To cut costs, suggestions were made to only build

18 part of the Hall, use voluntary labour, use cloakrooms as sports changing rooms. Finally another offer was made to the Church Room Trustees who were also needing funds for the upkeep of the Room since radiators had burst in the cold winter of l948 and redecoration was badly needed. Regular fetes were held in the Vicarage garden to raise funds for the Church Room. Nine years after the Fund was formed, the Church Trustees offered the Church Room for conversion for £2500. The following year, with still no sign of any Memorial Hall, the original Fund Committee resigned en bloc.

Archibald Ray Carter became the new Chairman of the Memorial Fund Committee, new plans drawn up by W. Dudley Arthur were accepted as the original plans were too costly. Arthurs were also the chosen builders. The foundation stone was laid on 7 July l956 by Waldo Porges and the official opening followed in November by Maurice Markham.

Fig. 10: Plan for Village Hall

19 The old Committee Room and kitchen were converted to a stage - originally there was to be an extension flap to the stage but this proved impracticable. The new extension provided a new, larger Committee Room, modern kitchen, toilets and a spacious hallway. An oil boiler replaced the old solid fuel boiler. To help raise the final funds needed for furnishings, memorable Donkey Derbys, organised by Gay Kindersley of Hillhouse Farm were held on the Recreation Ground in the late 50s and early 1960s.

And that is the story of how the Memorial Hall metamorphosed from the Church Room.

Fig. 11: Foundation stone being laid

20 Postscript

The use of Capel Village Memorial Hall, to give it its correct title, confirming that it belongs to the Village, as well as being a Memorial Hall, reflects the continuing and changing needs of the Village.

The earlier tradition of fund-raising continued, to help keep rents reasonable for village organisations, and to cover maintenance. At first, there was a regular February Jumble Sale and a Fete in June. This Fete was the big Village Day with varying themes – gymkhanas, ‘It’s a Knockout’. This continued until 1977 when, to celebrate the Silver Jubilee, there was a huge Children’s Tea Party and, in order not to clash, a Hall Autumn/Winter event began. Happily the Horticultural Society now encourages a Village Day.

School meals were served in the new Hall for many years and at midday a crocodile of children could be seen walking along from the School to the Hall for their lunches. This ceased in l976 when Capel School had become an Infant School, with children moving on to the at 8 years, giving space at Capel School for lunches on site. A small library was established in the Committee Room. Apart from the groups mentioned above on the management Committee, the Hall was used by the Civil Defence, Young Wives and Registrar of Births. The National Westminster Bank rented the Committee Room twice a week. There was a busy Catering Group that catered for weddings and other events. The Hall was let out for Brownie Pack Holidays in the summer. Country Markets were held in the early 80s. In 1985 the Playgroup set up in the Hall, moving out in 2006 when their new building was opened in the School grounds.

It did not prove satisfactory to have Youth meetings in the Hall and it was recognised that they needed their own premises, so in l962 a large builders’ hut was purchased for £380 and refurbished. This was placed on Memorial Fund land and was used until the brick replacement was built in l985. In l960 a second entrance to the Hall car park was made via Mortimer Road, where houses had recently been built.

21 Source material

Capel Parish magazine Capel Parish Council Minutes 1894 – 1913; 1913 – 1916; 1936 1959 (Surrey History Centre) Parochial Council Minutes (Surrey History Centre) Correspondence re ‘Use of Church Rooms’ 1936 – 1949 (Surrey History Centre) Research by: Carol Cobb.

Best Kept Secret

Whilst using Peter Ede’s copies of the Capel Parish Magazine 1942-1951 to research the names on the War Memorial I came across a reference to a meat pie scheme. The article appeared in the magazine January 1947

“The Best Kept Secret of the War”

After a year’s work, the Committee of the W.I. Pie Scheme revealed that they had £200 (profit on sale of pies) to distribute amongst various village organisations. After careful thought the Committee have allocated the various sums, and so far no dissatisfaction with their decisions has been expressed! This is indeed high praise. We heartily thank the Committee for all their voluntary work in providing us with this extra food supply and for the substantial financial help.”

The meat pie scheme had started earlier in the War supported by the Ministry of Food. I have found references to the Cranleigh branch of the W.I. in the Surrey Life web site. It states “Surrey members contributed to the Second World War effort by knitting over a ton of wool into comforts for the troops – and the Cranleigh W.I. ran a pie scheme by offering the hard working house wives a home delivery service of freshly baked pies.”

The village web site of Shipton Bellinger in Hampshire reports that the W.I. produced 320 pies every Thursday using the local baker’s ovens. The minute books of Capel W.I. for the period 1944-1954 contain numerous references to the Pie Scheme but do not give any information on how and where the pies were made. We do not know how they were distributed

22 The next reference to the Pie Scheme in the Capel Parish magazine is in February 1948:

“Women’s Institute. The Pie Scheme Committee has again earned the gratitude of us all, in that by unremitting work and sacrifice of time every week they have increased the weight of our ration baskets, and also, by generous donations have decreased the weight of care shouldered by the committees of many village organisations as regards finance. The success of the Institute for another year is assured as Mrs. Potter has kindly consented to lead it again as President.”

In February 1950 a further reference.

“Capel Pie Scheme The whole village thanks the devoted Committee not only for the weekly supply to our Larders but also for gifts of money to twenty organisations from the profit earned by their untiring voluntary work every Tuesday in the year.”

The final reference to the Pie Scheme is in December 1951. “Readers will be interested to know the extent to which the village has benefited by the Capel Meat Pie Scheme, and will like to offer very cordial thanks to the officers: Mrs. Cooper, Mrs. Lumsden, Mrs. Pearce, Mrs. Potter, Miss. L Stedman, and a strong band of helpers. The Scheme has now been finally wound up. During the period November 1945 to November 1951, a profit of £871 8s 6d was made and has been distributed as follows:

Table: List of donations Organisation Organisation £ s d £ s d Capel Women’s Institute1 209 0 0 War Memorial4 20 0 0 Nursing Association2 60 0 0 Mothers’ Union 20 0 0 Churchyard Fund 50 0 0 Surrey Federation of Women’s 15 0 0 Institute British Legion Club 48 8 6 Children’s outings & party 15 0 0 Tennis Club3 40 0 0 Hospital Flats 10 10 0 Capel Memorial Hall 35 10 0 Capel Youth Club 10 0 0 Beare Green Youth Club 35 0 0 Capel Women’s Adult School 10 0 0 Church Room 30 0 0 Capel Choral Society 10 0 0 Beare Green Social & Sports 30 0 0 Capel Band 10 0 0 Club Capel & District Horticultural 30 0 0 Children’s corner in Recreation 5 0 0 Society Ground Football Club 27 0 0 St. John’s Ambulance (Capel 5 0 0 branch) Cricket Club 27 0 0 Wesley Guild Youth Club 5 0 0 Bowls Club 27 0 0 Sunday Schools – Capel C of E 1 0 0 Wesley Guild 25 0 0 Beare Green Mission Room 1 0 0 Extension of Recreation Groun 20 0 0 Methodist Seniors 1 0 0 Capel School 20 0 0 Methodist Juniors 1 0 0 Old Folk’s parties 20 0 0 TOTAL 871 8 6

23 Notes 1. Including a special donation for the Silver Jubilee Party and £50 to found a bursary to Denman College 2. Including cost of analgesic outfit 3. Including extra donation towards cost of their unfortunate law-suit 4. Donations towards inscribing names etc

If the total sum is converted to today’s value using The National Archive currency converter the result is £19,851.06. A truly amazing amount of money.

Capel also benefited from overseas aid during the period of rationing after the War.

In February 1947 the magazine reported:

“Another parcel of good things has been received and it was distributed to 103 small households. Many letters of thanks from the recipients have been sent to the organisers in the countries from which the parcels came.”

In February 1949, a further report stated . “A gift of 150 tins of various foods have been received from the people of Melbourne to help with the food problem. These were distributed, as far as possible, to households with only one, or two, ration books, as it was felt that they find most difficulty in providing. Many letters of thanks have been received; these will be forwarded all together to the organisers in Melbourne”.

An article written by Anne Stamper the Hon. Archivist of the National Federation of the W. I. outlines the work that the W.I. did throughout the whole of the War.

The section on food production and preservation shows that the W.I. received a Government grant in 1940 to administer the national fruit preservation scheme. This was an extension of the Produce Guild set up to encourage food production in 1939. The National Federation bought £1,400 worth of sugar and distributed it round the country. In 1940 W.I. members made 1,631 tons of preserves.

W.I. members also helped with the collection of wild culinary herbs and rose hips an important source of Vitamin C. Research by: Bernice Forsyth 24 Old Surrey words

The following is an edited transcript of a photocopy of the handwritten document made by the Reverend T. R. O’Fflahertie who was latterly the Vicar of St. John the Baptist Church, Capel for 46 years. Because of limited space, about 10% of all the words that were recorded are shown in this summary. A complete record is available for those who might want to research a bit further.

There are a number of words that could be called ‘in use’ such as ‘lief’, ‘fudge’, ‘cropper’ whilst others like ‘hacker’ have completely changed their meaning in the intervening century or so. Of great interest is the fact that some of the following recorded words and their meanings are still in use in Capel today, so that “To go acorning” still means that cattle will go searching for acorns in the autumn. Rotten wood is still referred to as being ‘drucksy’, and raking out ‘cavins’ from beneath the threshing machine is still remembered as being a dirty, dusty and tiring job that was usually given to small boys. Even the term ‘cheese bugs’ or ‘cheesy bugs’ cropped up when some young boys were doing gardening at school and found some woodlice in the Spring of 2010.

The examples, to explain the meaning of the words, give an interesting sidelight on the society as it was as is the terminology to describe occupations such as ‘bailiff’, ‘fettler’ and ‘shepherd’. Grumbles about aches and pains are recorded, as are derogatory terms applied to men with airs and graces above their station. Above all the constant battle with the weather and nature to prepare, grow and harvest crops keep appearing demonstrating just what a hard job it was (and still is).

Terminology is mainly derived from the conversations with, or overheard, by Mr. O’Fflaherrtie his gardener, servants and farm workers in the village. There are a sprinkling of what might be termed ‘gentry’ and even one attributed to his wife. Most of the words were collected between 1870 and 1888. The earliest is recorded as being in 1836 from a Miss Mitford.

25 Surrey word Meaning

Acorning “The children haven’t been acorning, acorns are very scarce this year”. (November 1871) Tom Dale (2006) often refers to the term in connection with yearling stock who go ‘acorning’ in September.

Adder spears Dragonflies. “I was getting over the stile & broke a little vein in my leg. There were a lot of adder-spears flying about and I thought one had stung me, for they will sting, you know.” Mrs Burberry. June 1876.

Cavins The short straw and bits not good enough for straw. “This fagging is not so good as reaping. They get so many seeds among the straw which go with the cavins into the yard amongst the manure and get carried onto the land, there is chaff and the cavins.” James Stenning. 1873. Recalled, on prompting by Tom Dale. Cavins were often used in the poultry house.

Cheese-bugs Woodlice. “Whenever I take up the cover (on the Communion table) I find a lot of cheese-bugs.” J. Bowers 1873. Spontaneously called out by a seven year-old pupil at a local school 2010.

Chaggly Dry and lumpy. “The ground turns up so stiff and chaggly.” R. Lloyd. 1882.

Clacker, The valve of bellows. “On the night of Derby Day May 28, 1879, clacker-hole the water came halfway up the bellows and into the clacker-hole of the bellows in the blacksmith’s shop at Clockhouse.” G. Worsfold. 1879.

Crumped Crumpled or doubled up. “He’ll go to school and set them all laughing saying you crumped him with your umbrella.” Mr. Wright 1879.

Cuddy Very hard words. “A long dictation with very cuddy words.” (About an examination for the hospital).

Death Deaf. George Comfort. 1872.

Dirty (of fields) Infested with weed.

Dither Shaking. There was a dither of the ground and a rumbling noise during the earthquake.” Friday 17th March 1871 at a party in Leeds.

Doddle Totter, shaking. “his hand was all of a doddle.” Mrs. Burberry 1876. Figures: ‘Bugs’ by Belinda Hood 26 Dogset Weak, very weak. “I am dogset weak.” Mrs. Kempshall.

Doles The two short handles on the sneath, or the long handle of a scythe. George Harling. 1876.

Dottle The fag end of tobacco in a pipe kept for smoking again. Miss Marks. 1882.

Double-hilted egg Egg with two yolks. Miss Kerrich. 1874.

Dracksy, drucksy Sleepy or rotten. “You must not leave those pears too long or they will get sleepy.” “Oh! Dracksy you mean?” John Capon 1871. Also still in use by Jean Dale to describe rotten wood (2008).

Drazzling Drizzling. “A regular drazzling day.” R. Lloyd. 1879.

Dencher-ashes The red ashes made by burning a heap of earth and rubbish in the garden. “They are first rate for potatoes.” R. Lloyd. 1881. Also used by Tom and Jean Dale (2008). See references to denchering.

Ferrick Fork. There’s a lot of couch grass there, and when I come to dig the ground I’ll ferrick it all out.” Parker. 1872.

Graft The long thin straight spade used in draining. Jeffrey Rice. 1871. Referred to by Philip Toogood in 1980 when taking part in a Vicarage working party. Also know as a ‘Grafter’.

Hog-headed Obstinate. C. Hayler. 9 January 1884.

Jowry, Jowlly Heavy, confused. “Does your headache?” “No, but it feels jowly.”Mrs. Jenkins.

Lent-fruit A fig. “I eat some lent-fruit; do you think that would hurt one?” A Newdigate farmer. 1875.

Liverified Close and sticky. “Ground that is not dug up and trenched before winter gets what we call ‘liverified’ and you can’t make no season.” R. Lloyd.

Longtails Pheasants.

Mog A snob. “He looks a regular mog.” Florence Chaldecott. 1872.

Niff, niffy Offended. “I dare say he’ll be niffy if spoken to about his debts.” 1879 “I dare say some of the tradesmen will take a niff at being asked to pay ready money.” H. Nash. 1878.

27 Peep Noise made by chicks. “You can hear the chicks peeping in the shell.” Bourke. 1871.

Plim To fill out, swell, plump. “You must leave room for the pudding to plim out.” 1875.

Pumming A soft mass of bruises. “I caught the bull by the horns and he knocked my hands all into a pumming.” Mr. Burberry. 1874.

Puck-stool Toadstool. J. Wales. 1871.

Shukish Catchy, uncertain weather, showery. T. Brown. 1876.

Sneath Handle for a scythe.

Squeaker A swallow. Mrs. Brown. 1873.

Vamps Stockings.

Widdy waddy Uncertain. “He is widdy waddy you can’t depend on anything he promises.”

Winter-pick A sloe. Research by: Chris Coke

28 Capel’s Surrey Wagon

Fig. 13: Surrey wagon model

The following article was published in the Capel Parish Magazine in January 2010.

An interesting discovery has recently been made in the village. The new occupants of No. 114 The Street found a beautiful model wagon in their garden shed. They brought it to a meeting of the Capel History Group and asked us what we knew about the former residents of their house.

Peter Ede and Win Wright were able to tell us that the maker of the wagon was Ernie Mitchell, a carpenter who worked for Atkinson and Potter Bros., at their workshop next door but one to the carpenter’s house.

29 The model appears to be a ‘Surrey Wagon’ and looks similar to one shown in a photograph dated 1915 which is captioned ‘Capel Adult School outing to ’. A brass plate attached to the model reads ‘E. Mitchell and Sons, Haulage & Cartage, Capel Dorking, Surrey’.

The model has now found a new home and will be kept in the village. Any further information about the wagon or its maker would be greatly appreciated.

Following the publication of the above article in Capel Parish Magazine, Valerie Webb contacted us. She now lives near Peterborough and is a relative of Ernie Mitchell. We are most grateful for the interesting information she sent us about the family.

Mr. Ernie Mitchell was her uncle, on her mother’s side of the family. In his retirement years he made several items showing his very professional carpentry skills. He made carts and original gypsy caravans, also an enormous Doll’s House. Valerie remembers him building it and watching him cut all the roof tiles individually.

Valerie lived with her parents and grandparents for the first eight years of her life in Woodfield Cottages, where the wagon was found. Mr. and Mrs. George Mitchell owned the house and the one next door where her other uncle lived.

Her grandfather conducted the Capel band where Ernie and one of his brothers played. Friday night was band practice which was held in the large workshop at the top of the garden where the wagon was found. This was also used for the building business ‘George Mitchell and Son’ which Valerie’s grandfather owned. Her own father worked for him in latter years after working for many years in the Auclaye Brickyard, until its closure. Research By: Mary Day

30