Moores were well known selling fruit and vegetables at their shop in Crossways Road for over half a century (the shop is now the Gallery). This Ford model 'T' van would have been a familiar site around the district making the all important daily deliveries c.1926.

Next Friends Meeting

This will be on Tuesday May 8th 2012, when it is hoped we will be able to present an evening part related to Royal events including the jubilees of Queen Victoria and a look at life in Grayshott during the 60 years reign of our present Queen followed by any questions and hopefully forthcoming answers about Grayshott. Usual venue at ‘Jolleys’ café, Grayshott Pottery 7.30 for 7.45 pm.

Website

Continues with a good number of visits being made. Please use the system to comment and make suggestions. More interesting ‘Photos of the Month’ to follow.

New Acquisitions

The archive is grateful to Derek Hoy for the donation of a considerable quantity of postcards of Grayshott, found recently in a loft above a local shop. Dating from the early 1960s into the 70s the most obvious difference is the lack of or very little traffic in the views. These will be available for a small cost each at the next Friends evening.

Walt Winchester, Coal Merchant, Glen Road.

Many older local residents will no doubt remember the coal yard in Glen Road and the corn merchants shop in Crossways Road. By good fortune Walt having started using motor lorries immediately after the Great War and when gradually modernising keep the old lorries in the shed at Glen Road. In1954 these were sold to Jack Sparshatt, commercial vehicle dealer and bodybuilders at Portsmouth. Jack was a pioneer in preserving old commercial vehicles and the three lorries from Grayshott formed the beginning of an extensive collection. All three still exist and a picture has just come to light of one talking part in the first such rally held at the A.E.C. factory, Southall in 1958. This particular lorry had started life with Kinghams, provision merchants, Farnham in 1916, another old name remembered locally.

Books

Don’t forget there is always a good selection of local history titles available including “The History of Grayshott Fire Station 1906 – 2007”. There are several other new titles about walks in the district from Jo Smith. All are stocked at the Pottery and Grayshott Bookshop.

Richard Peskett
Grayshott Village Archive

Headley Road towards Hindhead c.1926, the Co-oP was on the left, same position as today, the walled garden beyond has now become the Square and on the right Arthur Pitts was trading as a fishmonger (now the Gurka Durbar).

Original hand tinted view of Headley Road towards Hindhead c.1905, the White Heather dairy on the right is now a hairdressers, beyond is now the shoe shop, PC man, the chemist and Kaighins butchers. The extensive vegetation on the left is now the Square.

“This house was built for Marian J James by G Faulkner Armitage
Anno Domini MDCCCXCIII”

Inscription above Fireplace

This inscription is carved in the woodwork above the fireplace in the present drawing room of the house known as West Down, Hindhead in Surrey. To elaborate on this carving:

George Faulkner Armitage (1849-1937) was the son of a prosperous cotton merchant in the North West of England but rather than follow into the family business he chose to become an architect and furniture designer. He became internationally famous. and his involvement with West Down is confirmed by books relating to his business where he gives Miss James as the client for a house, coach house, pigeon home, stable for six horses and semi detached cottages all between 1892-96. Incidentally he became Mayor of Altrincham in Cheshire during the whole of the First World War. The Armitage family were very involved with another family of cotton spinners that is the Bulleys. The Bulley family came from Devon and had migrated to New Brighton in the Wirral to continue their cotton spinning business. Samuel Bulley, the founder, had fourteen surviving children and by marriage they became intertwined with the Armitage family and they feature in the history of West Down

Given the quality of the construction of West Down Miss James clearly believed in Hillarie Belloc’s maxim that:

“It is the business of the wealthy man to give employment to the artisan”

The mosaic floor on the two levels of the entrance Hall, the cloak room and the front door oak porch is of the highest standard. Mr Tony Eddon of Grayshott, whose father had been a mosaic tile installer, was very impressed by the quality. The dining/ball room floor is of exquisite parquet laid wood and was underpinned by an extremely long rolled steel joint in the basement that extends the entire length and gives the floor a ‘sprung’ feeling. The windows of the dining/ball room are very imaginative, the window is set in a bay overlooking the garden and the panes of glass are themselves curved giving a good view by day but at night with total internal reflection look black. The main staircase is some four to five feet wide; it goes up on three sides of a square with two small landings at the turns. At the higher of the small landings is a mezzanine floor with windows looking over the north approach to the house. The staircase is made of walnut wood with elaborate carved twisted spindles. The landing at the top of the stairs was extremely large and was illuminated by windows on both north and south sides of the house, the mezzanine floor window and also by light let in through glass panels in the roof to a large nine panel horizontal stained glass window of intricate design set into the ceiling. The landing also had French windows that opened on to an 18 foot lead covered balcony with oak rails that gave a wonderful view towards the South Downs and Petworth hills. The house had an original and innovative domestic heating arrangement with a forced hot air system, in addition to the usual fireplaces. There was a large boiler in the basement using solid fuel and the resulting hot air was ducted to all the ground floor rooms and in the inner hall in the well of the staircase was a large metal grill that directed the hot air to the upper floor. On the roof between the glass panels there was a large flat lead covered area which had the function of collecting rainwater for domestic use. The water was held in enormous slate tanks in the attic. The pieces of slate were about the size of half a billiard table and were cemented and bolted together. One was marked “Stables” indicating the extent of the water system. The stables are on the north side of the house and were later used as garages but are now derelict. The Servant’s Wing was also on the north side of the main house and had connecting doors to the upper floor of the main house for domestic duties and at the ground floor level for service from the kitchen and for the butler to attend the front door. There were six living in servants for the benefit of the six residents! Grooms, carriage drivers, stable lads, footmen etc lived in separate accommodation between the main house and the main road referred to as The Lodge. Miss James’s eleven gardeners lived in two cottages near to Hazel Grove (Fir Cottage and Fir Tree Cottage).The other residents of the main house beside Miss James were from the Bulley family. Earlier mention was made of Miss James’s friend, Mrs Bulley (nee Annie Margaret Armitage) who was wife of Mr S Marshall Bulley. He was ninth of a Samuel Bulley’s fourteen surviving children. Marshall’s eldest sister Ella Bulley had married Rev Elkanah Armitage who two years later became Marshall Bulley’s brother-in-law when he married Annie Armitage, the sister of Elkanah. Ella Armitage and Mrs S Marshall Bulley were related to G Faulkner Armitage who according to the inscription built the house for Miss James. As well as the inscription above the fireplace the four sided finial at the bottom of the walnut staircase in West Down has the initials “MJJ”; “SMB”; “AMB” and “FMB” carved into heraldic shields. These are assumed to refer to the occupants; Marian Julia James; Samuel Marshall Bulley; Annie Margaret Bulley and Felix Marshall Bulley their son.