HEADLEY
MISCELLANY
Volume 6 – December 2004
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HEADLEY |
Link to Headley page - Index to other Volumes
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Contents |
Page |
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3 |
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Headley 1066-1966 –
final section |
5 |
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Charlie Payne of Wey Valley Farm, Standford, 1901-1992 |
21 |
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Grayshott in the 1870s |
27 |
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Counting heads in Headley |
33 |
| Index of Items in Volumes 1 to 6 |
44 |
Headley Miscellany is published by The
Headley Society
© The Headley Society and the
Authors
We end the serialisation of Canon Tudor Jones's book Headley 1066-1966 in this issue with his observations on the First Parish Council and on the thirty years immediately prior to his publication. He himself concludes with a number of short appendices in which he covers topics as diverse as water mills and the expenses in running a lime kiln.
Denis Payne, who now lives in Wales, has written an account of the life of his father Charlie and his own recollections of life in Standford at Wey Valley Farm where the family ran a dairy business from 1934 to 1976. As well as running the business, Charlie was a member of Headley Parish Council in the 1950s and 60s, including a period as chairman, and also a very acceptable lay preacher in local churches and chapels.
Out of the blue, Mike Powell sent us an e-mail to say that he had transcribed the contents of an old exercise book in which his grandfather Ernest had written down his experiences on coming to Grayshott in 1871. Even more interesting, his grandfather's mother was none other than Esther Clark who was the very first schoolteacher at Grayshott School. The result is an article which gives a rare insight into life during the early days of Grayshott's development, before it left the parish of Headley.
Finally, my own contribution to this issue is an extended note about my transcription of the Headley censuses of 1841 and 1851, and some of the conclusions I drew from it. Since doing this initial work, I and colleagues in the Headley Society have completed transcriptions of all the other available censuses up to and including that of 1901.
The Headley Society welcomes the submission of articles for future editions of Headley Miscellany - please contact Jo Smith on 01428 712892, or by post at 19 Kay Crescent, Headley Down GU35 8AH, or contact me by e-mail.
the late Canon J.S. Tudor Jones
In previous volumes of 'Headley Miscellany,' we published extracts from 'Headley 1066-1966,' written by the late Canon J.S. Tudor Jones in 1966 upon his retirement as Rector of Headley. The final excerpt from the same booklet covers his observations on the First Parish Council and other miscellaneous topics …
The first Parish Council, elected at a Poll taken on December 17, 1894, consisted of Rev. W. H. Laverty, Miss C. B. I'Anson (Grayshott), Messrs. C. H. Beck (the schoolmaster), George Bone (Bird's Nest Farm), Oliver Chapman (Grayshott), Thos. Carter (Eveley Gardens), Chas. David (Headley Green), Thos. Falkner (Standford), Albert Harding (Lindford), R. S. Gardner (Hatch House Farm), George Warren (Standford), A. Ingham Whitaker (Grayshott Hall). At its first meeting summoned by Sir Robert Wright as Chairman of the first parish meeting, Sir Robert was elected Chairman of the Council, and the Rev. W. H. Laverty was elected Clerk, a position he occupied till 1919.
Extracts from the Minutes show that the Council in 1895 "having examined the plans of the proposed new railway called the Portsmouth, Basingstoke and Godalming Railway, consider that such a railway would be of advantage to Headley parish, provided that there be a station within a mile of Headley Street". The proposal evidently found favour with the authorities for a later minute records that a letter had been received from the solicitor to the proposed Company "that to all intents and purposes it is settled that the station is to be at Curtis Farm House or near thereto".
In spite of the above assurance nothing more was heard of the railway and
Headley is still without its station.
Among other matters discussed at meetings of the Council prior to 1918 were
in
The Chairmen of the Parish Council in those days were Sir Robert Wright, Mr. A. Ingham Whitaker, Mr. W. T. Phillips and Col. F. F. Perry.
This chapter is perhaps the most difficult of all to write. Not only does it deal with incidents in which I, perforce, have taken an active part, but it is not easy, so soon after the events, to judge which of them is worthy of inclusion.
At my induction, the address of the then Archdeacon of Surrey (Ven. L. E. Blackburne) was based on the words 'Bear ye one another' s burdens,' and right well did successive Parochial Church Councils lead their fellow members of the laity in co-operation and mutual understanding of a Rector's task. The other notable feature of the day was, as the congregation left the Church, the sight of two very tall and somewhat gaunt figures, draped from head to foot in protective clothing, and causing some confusion on the road. It was the Misses Pack-Beresford taking a swarm in the Churchyard hedge!
These ladies, who, with their brothers, then lived at Brambletye, were known as the 'new people' though they had come many years before. The words are indicative of the fact that in those days life ran very slowly in what was still an isolated community, and possibly I saw more changes in thirty years than any of my predecessors. It was an elderly population then-hardly a child went to the Holme School from the direction of the Church or the Holly Bush. There was no such place as Church Fields or the Erie Estate, and hardly more than a dozen houses down the Liphook Road. Further afield, neither the houses on the cricket field at Lindford, nor those on the way to Headley Mill, nor the Alexandra Park Estate at Bordon had been built, and "commuters" and "commuting", whether applied to people or the act, were unknown.
In 1935 Mr. G. A. McAndrew of Headley Park, with his brother and sister, gave a set of six bells for the church (their father having given the Village Hall in 1925) and the same year Sir Charles O'Brien, who had represented the King as Governor first of the Seychelles and later of Barbados, unveiled a commemorative plaque on the Village Green to mark that King's (George V) Jubilee. The three beech trees planted at the same time did not survive.
In 1936 I revived the idea of 'treading the bounds' of the parish in spite of the fact that at the preliminary survey of the ground, Jack Lickfold, Len Maynard and I were chased first by a bull and then by the irate owner (until he saw who we were) in a far corner of the parish. In the same year Mr. V. A. Amos designed and executed the list of Rectors, which now hangs on the West wall of the Church.
In 1937 the Church was enriched by oak Altar rails given in memory of Mr. and Mrs. Squarey, and many members of the congregation at the same time completed the scheme for the interior by the gift of oak pews, costing at that time, £12 each.
From 1938 onwards the parish, with the rest of the nation, lived under the shadow of war and I see there is recorded in the Parish Magazine a word of thanks to the late Major Heaslop, Major (now Colonel) Dudgeon, Mrs. Heelis, the late Lady O'Brien and the Air-raid Wardens for 'the quiet and efficient way in which they dealt with the various branches of work for which they were responsible'. A list of all those serving was placed on the Church door, and twice weekly prayers were offered for their safe return. All men known to have served were after the war given a Certificate of Honour, designed by Hugh (now the Rev.) Thomson-Glover.
An association for boys and girls known as the Youth Fellowship was begun in 1941 and has continued ever since. At that time the idea of such a village club so interested the educational authorities at Winchester that an official was sent down post haste to see what it was all about, but, to put us in our place, the idea of something for youth was not really new. In an ancient document it is recorded that in 1649 Mr. Nicholas Moore built a gallery in the Church "for the youths of the parish"!
In 1949 an unusual event occurred-a Church became too small for its worshippers. Headley Down Church was considerably enlarged and beautified. Many of those who habitually attended the services were responsible for the additions and improvements, but to Mr. R. L. Robinson the chief credit was due. An expert carpenter, he designed and made the oak altar rail, lectern, clergy desk and seat. All are examples of wonderful workmanship, and it is pleasant to record that an oak reredos to his memory was made by the same Mr. Barnsley who was responsible for the War Memorial case in the Parish Church.
In June 1951 a considerable number of parishioners (some 180 in all) performed the Pageant of Headley, written by Eveline Clarke to commemorate the Festival of Britain. The story of the Pageant depicted, first, the Headley villagers repelling the Danish invaders of A.D.894, the granting of Headley Mill to a Norman Knight by William the Conqueror, the havoc wrought by the Black Death in the 14th century and the consequent labour troubles which arose at that time. It went on to give a representation of an envoy from Elizabeth to grant a Charter to hold a fair in 1601, the ejection of the then Rector by Cromwell's men because of his refusal to discontinue the use of the Prayer Book (1645), and a visit to the Lord of the Manor by William Cobbett (1800) and the beginnings of the education of the labouring man. A representation of Headley's part in the celebration of the Exhibition of 1851 led on to the last Episode-a vision of the future (2051) when all the inventions of science are devoted to the benefit, and not the destruction of mankind.
In 1953 Mrs. Clarke's genius produced another Pageant "Salute to Elizabeth", portraying eight Queens of England's past history, all in honour of the Coronation of our present gracious Queen. Both Pageants were performed in the spacious gardens of Wodehouse, then the home of Mr. and Mrs. Reginald Thackeray, to whose generosity the parish owed so much, and not least the gift of the Thackeray Pavilion on the Playing Fields.
Mention of the Playing Fields would be incomplete without a reference to the oaken gate placed at the village end of the Fields in memory of John Heather, a Youth Fellowship boy, "who played the game to the end".
"The Church among the people" was the heading of an article quoted by the Farnham Herald in September 1952 describing the blessing of the houses on the Alexandra Park estate. In the same month a most generous offer of £300 was made to start a fund for the provision of some religious/social centre which was completed in 1955 at a cost of £1700.
'Has Headley a history?' When the Pageant of 1951 was being planned, this question was asked more than once. It was then hoped that at some future date a history of the place, which many of us had come to love, would be produced, and what Eveline Clarke so imaginatively wrote has now been supplemented in more prosaic fashion. Here it is, then, with all its imperfections, offered to all who would read with the same affection as Horace showed towards his native place.
In the early spring morning in our Farnham garden we hear the birds singing, and the volume of their song seems greater than I have ever heard before. On the first page of the first bound volume (1874-1877) of the Headley Parish Magazine (joined then, as it is still, to a national Church publication), there is an exquisite little sketch of a village church, a bird singing on a gravestone, and an old man pausing to look at a milestone outside the churchyard gate. The following lines are printed as an inset into the sketch. They may well have been remembered by Wallis Hay Laverty as he drew near to the end of his long service to his God in Headley, and they certainly have their message to his very unworthy successor:
I hear it singing, singing sweetly,
Sweetly in an undertone;
Singing as if God had taught it-
It is better further on!
Night and day it sings the same song.,
Sings it while I sit alone:
Sings it that the heart may hear it-
It is better further on!
Sits upon the grave and sings it,
Sings it when the heart would groan;
Sings it when the shadows darken-
It is better further on
Further on? But how much further?
Count the milestones one by one?
No! No counting, only trusting-
It is better further on!
Mr. F. W. Simmonds of Rowledge, who is an authority on the subject, has very kindly sent me the following notes.
Like most other localities favoured with streams, Headley parish had its water mills from the earliest days, probably from Saxon times. Through the centuries water was the only power other than human and animal muscle-except in those places where windmills were developed later.
The Romans may have introduced water mills to this country. The Saxons certainly had them, for no fewer than 7,500 were numbered in William the Conqueror's famous Domesday Book, of which 318 were in Hampshire. Unfortunately, there seems to be no record of those, if any, which were then in Headley, but Headley Mill, still working in 1966, is thought to be a successor to a mill there at the Normans' great census, and Lower Barford Mill is said to have been another. [This is in fact the Middle of three water mills at Barford, the Upper and Lower being paper mills]
Every Saxon manor had its mill, at which the inhabitants were bound to have their corn ground-with a toll for the lord of the manor. The water mills through the ages, right up the advent of steam, electricity and modern transport, were vital to the life of the community.
The southern branch of the Wey, which forms part of the Surrey-Sussex boundary nearer its source, had already powered several water mills before reaching Headley and it supplied at least six within the parish before going on to join the northern tributary at Tilford. There were 11 mills between Alton and Farnham, seven in Farnham and another three dozen before the waters of the various Wey tributaries reached the Thames at Weybridge.
These figures, probably surprising to many people, indicate the importance of water mills to the small population of the past.
Water power, however, was used for other purposes besides grinding corn for humans, animals and poultry. At least two mills in Headley manufactured paper of various classes, including paper for the Bank of England. One of these was Stanford, or Standford, Upper Mill, which was operated for many years in conjunction with the larger paper mill, formerly an iron mill, in neighbouring Bramshott.
There was a paper mill at Bramshott in 1689 and paper making is mentioned at Standford in 1739. Early last century both belonged to William Warren, later William Warren and Sons, and finally Warren Brothers. The Portal family, originally from France, the earliest makers of banknote paper in England and still at Laverstoke, seem to have taken over these two mills and were here until about 1924.
Rags for paper making were brought by road from London, the carrier returning with hops and possibly other agricultural produce. Paper used to be subject to excise tax, hence some of the records available, but the early history of water mills is difficult to ascertain.
Certainly one of three mills which was at Barford, on the little stream which forms the Hampshire-Surrey boundary for several miles until it trickles into Frensham Great Pond, also made paper for at least 100 years. It was mentioned as such in 1777 and in the late 1880s and was working at one time in conjunction with Spicers, who had a paper mill at Alton from 1840 until 1909.
Reference has already been made to the five mills mentioned in the reign of Edward II.
The 1859 edition of White's extensive History and Directory of Hampshire credits the parish with two paper mills and several corn mills. Names given include: Oliver George, corn miller; William Warren and Sons (George Roe and Andrew), paper makers, Standford Mills (also at Reynolds and Hatch Farms); John Lickfold, farmer and miller, Lower House Farm. Farming and milling often went together, of course, and many millers were also maltsters.
Here may be interpolated a paragraph from Shorters' Paper Mills in Hampshire, published in volume XVIII of the Hants Field Club's Proceedings.
"I am indebted to Mrs. J. M. E. Stevens for sending me a complete list of the paper-makers mentioned in the records of Headley Parish; some of the entries may be connected with Bramshott, Barford and Standford papermills, but others cannot be separately linked with any one of these. The first relevant entry, William Eade, paper maker (daughter buried in 1739) may be connected with Standford, as may other entries of paper makers in the 18th century: Richard Beck (daughter baptised 1761), Sarah Wills, a paper-maker's daughter from Whitchurch (buried 1762), John Gosling (examined 1763).
The Headley Parish Registers record the following paper-makers at Standford: 1813, Richard Smith; 1828 James Tilbury and Richard Curtis (1828-31); 1830 Robert Puttick; 1832-6 Thomas Tilbury; 1832 James Stubble; 1836-41 James West; 1849-57 George Elstone; 1859 Edwin Eggar; 1874 William Suter, senior, foreman in Messrs. Warren's Mill, Standford."
Messrs. Warren Bros. owned the Mill for the remainder of the 19th century. In 1885 and 1890 the following products were advertised as made by this firm at Bramshott and Standford Mills: Cartridges, White and Coloured Royal Hands, Small Hands, Middles, Browns and Paper Bags. These were made on two machines 54 inches in width. Later Directories, up to 1920, state that Bank of England papers were made at Bramshott by Messrs. Portal on a machine 72 inches in width. The mill last appears in the 1924 edition of these Directories. (See Directory of Paper Makers 1885 and 1890.)
Mr. Simmonds' notes now continue.
When it was published in 1908 the Victoria County History said there were
"now" six mills:
1. Headley Park, formerly corn, now electricity and pumping.
2. Headley, corn.
3. Lower Standford, formerly corn, now disused.
4. Upper Standford, electricity, formerly paper making.
5. Barford Upper Mill, corn.
6. Barford Lower Mill, disused, formerly flock, previously paper.
The first two were larger mills with four pairs of stones each. Upper Standford Mill, now a ruin, and more recently known as Eveley Mill, became a laundry for the Eveley estate. The corn mill was the middle of the three Barford mills; the upper one was the paper mill.
Map showing water mills in Headley Parish [Alan Crocker]
Today undoubtedly the most interesting mill in the parish is Headley Mill, picturesquely situated by its large pond alongside B3004, the Bordon-Liphook Road. It has a breast-shot wheel, new in 1927 and still working daily to drive modern animal and poultry food machinery. Above are four pairs of the old style mill stones, which are kept in working order and occasionally started up to demonstrate the ancient craft of milling.
Nearly 4 ft. in diameter and 10 ins. thick, each stone scales about 15 cwt. The upper stone has to be perfectly balanced and adjusted to run close above the nether stone and the works as a whole form one of the most complete and latest sets of stone grinding machinery as it was before this system finally succumbed to the more efficient steel rollers.
Headley Mill is owned by Messrs. J. Ellis and Sons Ltd. who are still using
stones for grinding wholemeal flour at their Neatham Mill. Mr. John Ellis, whose
father bought Headley Mill in 1914, is one of the churchwardens.
You remember the Biblical maiden behind the mill stone? She had to pound corn
between a circular hand-stone and a larger flat stone. Headley's mill stones
also have their "damsels", mechanical rocking devices to feed the
corn to the stones. Some of the timber in the mill is believed to date from
the 16th century.
Also by the same road, Standford Lower Mill, already mentioned, has been converted within the last two years into a delightful residence. It used to have two pairs of stones and I believe it was working much later than V.C.H. indicates. Nothing remained of the wooden water wheel, but Mr. George Matthews has retained the big vertical shaft and its spur wheel in his drawing room and a mill stone in the bedroom above, which used to be the milling floor.
The larger upper pond at Barford must have powered a sizeable mill at one time and this was the paper mill. I can remember the desolate ruins there nearly 50 years ago, but no trace remains today except the dam and some modern cottages.
Barford Middle Mill ground corn and was working until after World War I, probably until about 1930, when one of the Barford dams broke. Mr. P. Dighton restored the mill house before the last war and Mr. B. Fairclough and his sister now live there. The vertical shaft, or spindle, about 15 ft. by 15 inches, now forms the newel post of the staircase. The gardens, woods and mill pond, with delightful show of daffodils in the spring, are occasionally opened to the public.
Barford Lower Mill was formerly a flock mill, preparing rags for paper making (probably for the upper mill) and was a derelict, completely gutted ruin for many years. It was converted into a residence about a decade ago by the late Major J. H. Virgo and, has an attractive water garden. This mill is on record as having had the largest water wheel in Surrey, but the buildings are in Hampshire and the wheel was in the stream which forms the boundary. It also had auxiliary steam power at one time. The house was built in 1738 and the mill worked until about 1890 or 1900, employing 50 people. It, like Barford Middle Mill and probably others, is reputed to have been used by smugglers to hide contraband spirit brought from the coast, in a secret chamber reached through the water wheel. Middle Mill had a hidden staircase.
Headley Parish registers have a number of entries around 150 years ago of Batchelors, of Barford, Barford Upper Mill and Plastow Farm, Barford. Would this family have been connected with Mary Batchelor, who married Thomas Simmonds, of Bourne Mill, Farnham, in 1797, and Amelia Batchelor, who married William Simmonds, of Froyle Mill and Willey Mill, Farnham, in 1801, in each case at Farnham Parish Church? Probably brothers marrying sisters.
Mrs. Sarah Bennett, The Green.
Edmund Bettesworth, farmer and hop grower, Bayfields. (He was also a Churchwarden.
Hops were then grown in the parish.)
James Campbell, Hilland House.
Richard Curtis, draper and general furnisher, Churchgate.
Thomas Faulkner, wheelwright, shopkeeper and postmaster, Standford.
Chas. Fillmore, National schoolmaster.
Hon. Fitzalan Foley, Broxhead. (Now the official residence of the O.C., Bordon.)
Theophilus Sigmond Hahn, Headley Grange.
Mrs. Mary Joliffe, Headley Villa. (Where was this?)
Sir Henry Keating, P.C., Headley Park.
Wm. Langrish, Curtis House.
John Lickfold, farmer and miller, Headley Mill.
Mrs. Mary Ann Marden, victualler, White House (now Frensham Pond
Hotel).
Mr. Edward Petar, farmer and hop planter, Headley Wood.
William Speakman, postmaster and parish clerk, Arford.
James Upperton, vict. Holly Bush.
Leslie Walker, Alexandra Park (Timothy White, the founder of the well-known
firm of the same name, also lived there.)
John Wood, M.D., surgeon, Standford.
The Directory also states "the parish includes the small hamlets of Lindford, Standford, Hollywater, Deadwater, Bank of England, Wishanger, Herne, Barford, Whitmore and Greyshott". Where was 'Bank of England'? I have a recollection that, even in my time, there was a district or house at the far end of Chase Road which old folk called by that name. Can anyone help here, perhaps for later editions ? And why 'Bank of England'? [We now think it to have been a public house by the Bordon Fire Station crossroads]
£ s. d.
For Digging One Load of chalk 2/-
For Bottle and Bag-more Worth 1/ -
sub-total 3/-
* 7 times this Sum Repeated for 1 kiln = £1. 1. -
To Carriage of 7 Loads of Chalk £3. 10. -
To Cutting 5 Loads of Heath at 2/6d = 12/ 6d
To the Keeper' s Fee 1/- per Load = 5/ -
sub-total £4. 7. 6
To the Limeburners 5/ -
To an Assistant 3/ -
For Victuals and Drink 4/ -
sub-total 12/ -
Total £6. -. 6d
Note:
That one large Load of Chalk put into the Kiln, will produce, when burnt, 45
Basket-bushels, to a Load.
My Kiln, on the Common, will hold 10 or 11 Loads of Chalk which will be sufficient
for Four Acres, i.e. about 12 Dungcarts full. It must be Observed, there is
a full load difference in laying or placing in the Chalk, and the only way to
Reconcile that Matter is, by a Cup of Ale now and then, to the Burner.
Inform. THO. BENNETT. JOHN OSBORNE. GEO. WHEELER.
* For Digging a Load of Chalk W.C. says, is 1/6 Only, and three-pence per
Load, instead of Bread and Cheese, which is much the Cheapest Way.
– On the Other Hand –
You Commonly send 2 or 3 Quarts of Drink – 2 pound of Bread, and one pound
of Cheese.
From Sir T. Gatehouse' s notebook.
A Court of the Small tithe in the year 171?
? of cows as many as you milk you must pay a penny a Cow to the Minester; for
tithe, Calves if you have seven, there is one due for tithe, and if seventeen
there is two and if there is ten, the seventh Calf as you have is due for tithe.
Let him be good or bad, and where is not seven Calves for each Calf you must
pay a penny to the Minester and if you weane them you must pay a half penny
a Calf for the sale(?) of them and if you kill then you must pay the right Shoulder,
and you are to keep a Calf a month after his ? before he is tithable;
What dry sheep you sell at the spring of the year in the Wool you are to pay
a penny a sheep some say it is Three half pence a sheep, and if their is seven
Lambs there is one due for the tithe and if their is two? ? seventeen and on
? if their is ever so many the oner [owner] is to take up the first two Lambs
and the Parson the next…. Then the oner takes nine and the Parson the next and
so on if there be ever so many.
The tithen day for Lambs is St. Mark's Day, and if their is not seven lambs
you must pay a half penny a Lamb. Pigs if their is seven you are to pay one
to the Parson, the oner is to take up two and the Parson the next, the Pigs
are to be three weeks old before they are tithable.
Ester dues you are to pay a penny or five Eggs and a penny garn and a penny
Smoke and two pence for Offering Money as many as are above sixteen years of
Age.
Apples and pears when you do or have gathered them you are to send the Parson
word to come and take his tithe which is the tenth.
Gee's the same as Lambs.
No Latters (?) Grasse paid for tithes in Headly.
Trench Ground four shillings an Acre for tithe.
John Clear, John Bristow
(5) In Headley Parish are 700 inhabitants, as
computed accurately, in February 1771, and proved from the Proportions of the
Christenings and Burials-being the Same with those of Stoke Damerel (in Devonshire)
a most healthy Place, and from the number of People there; for in each Place
the Births are to the Burials, as 1 to an Half;
The Births at Headley, at a medium for Six Years last are 26-and the Burials
13; and the Number living 700.
At Stoke, aforesaid, the Births 122, the Burials 62, and the number Living 3361.
Whence, at each Place, the Deaths yearly are nearly 1 in 54.
But, yearly–
at Norwich, 1 in 30
at Rome, 1 in 22
at Berlin, 1 in 19
at Madeira, 1 in 50
at Breslaw, 1 in 28
In the whole Prufsion 1 in 40
In London, 1 in 18
This shows, that Headley and its Environs, is as healthy as any Place perhaps
in the World, and the Inhabitants, if all Continued, or Remained, here would
be doubled in 40 years; In the Healthy Parts of America they are doubled in
25 Years, more Children being born there because they Marry all their Servants
and Negros.
April 10, 1773.
(6) The Sum Total of the Inventory of the household
goods and furniture of the Rev. Dr. Holmes of the parish of Headley in the County
of Southampton Deicesd; taken this 3 day Debr. 1765.
£ s. d.
The parlor next the garden 8. 8. 0
The best parlour 11. 8. 0
The........ 1. 19. 6
The scarlet Bed Chamber 24. 19. 0
The yellow Bed Chamber 10. 4. 6
The Grene Bed Chamber 14. 3. 6
The Plad Bed Chamber 6. 17. 0
The Kitchen 11. 7. 8
The Milk house 0. 12. 4
The Brew house 8. 10. 0
The Ale Setter 4. 12. 0
The Maid's Roome Garrat 10. 12. 3
Bottles 4. 0. 4
Inn Goods 117. 9. 1
Out Goods 10. 5. 3
Marble Chimney Pieces 2. 1. 0
Total Sum 129. 15. 4
It was agreed that certain sums might be paid to an Informer upon the conviction
of an offender, over and above any reward by Act of Parliament: For Burglary,
Horse Stealing, Arson, etc., £40; Cattle Maiming £20; Stealing Poultry
£ 15; Stealing Wood or Underwood or Gates £5; Breaking Hedges, Stealing
Turnips, etc., £2.
Members paid Subscriptions from 10/- upwards, according to the size of their
holdings.
There were 19 Members of the Association including
Mr. John Clear, of Kingsley.
Mr. Charles Collins, of Headley.
Mr. Daniel Knight, of Headley.
Mr. Richard Knight, of Headley.
Mr. W. Langrish, of Headley.
Mr. Daniel Knight was the Treasurer, and the Solicitors were Messrs. C. and
H. Trimmer, of Alton.
There was a Committee of nine, any five of whom were entitled to commence a
Prosecution.
Charlie Payne, born in 1901 and the youngest of the four children of Harry and Flora Payne, came to Liphook as a three year old when his father took up a position as foreman at Griggs Green brickyard. The family had moved from Wokingham, Charlie's birthplace. He attended Bramshott school, at that time under the headship of a Mr Crowther, a strict disciplinarian who believed in the maxim 'Spare the rod and spoil the child' as Charlie would testify when recalling his schooldays.
Nevertheless the no nonsense approach of the staff brought results, and Charlie having passed the leaving examination at the age of twelve was able to start work, initially as an errand boy for W.A. Coyte of Liphook. He later worked for W.A. Stoneman & Co. of Haslemere as a lorry driver, delivering building materials to sites in the area. His vehicle was an American built Pierce Arrow two ton truck with solid tyres and a top speed of sixteen miles an hour. (This vehicle's handbook is still in our possession.)
In 1921 the family moved to Hollywater Farm, and in 1934,having had a grounding in farming in partnership with his father he decided that he would make it his life's career and he and his wife and young son, (his daughter was born two years later) moved into a new bungalow at Wey Valley Farm, where on a holding of thirty acres they managed a herd of a dozen dairy cows and some three hundred chickens.
Before leaving Hollywater Charlie and his father had already started selling their home produced milk and eggs locally, and following the move to Standford the business grew rapidly. By the start of World War Two in 1939, Charlie was delivering over three hundred and fifty pintas daily, as well as fresh eggs and cream. Initially the means of delivery was by motorbike and sidecar. Soon however the combination was totally inadequate and was replaced by an Austin Seven van, to be superseded in 1939 by a much more aerodynamic looking Austin Eight.
Incidentally the motorcycle combination figures in a great story concerning a runaway pig! Charlie was taking the pig to Farnham market with the pig secured by netting in the sidecar. However the pig overcame the restrictions and made a bid for freedom in Alice Holt Woods. He (or she) was only recaptured after a lengthy chase and with the help of the local constable who fortunately enjoyed the whole incident immensely!
Charlie, assisted by his father who was now living in semi retirement in his cottage at Standford Hill, rose at 4.30am daily, and after helping with the hand milking of the herd would set off at 5.45 on his delivery round. The route was as follows: Standford Hill (although during WW2 his first delivery was to Passfield Mill which had been taken over by J. Sainsbury as a distribution centre after their depot at Blackfriars in London was destroyed in the Blitz), Hollywater Road, Whitehill, (including Sandy Lane), Bordon, down Chalet Hill, (including the numerous side roads), Headley Mill Road, Branson's bungalows and then back to Hollywater crossroads, up to Standford Hill (top road) arriving home around 9am.
After a breakfast of either a boiled egg or fried egg and bacon (no cholesterol
problems for Charlie!) he would set off on the second leg of his round, which
included the Headley Mill area, Lindford and Headley.
Meanwhile the deliveries in Standford village were being made by his one full
time employee, an Irish girl called Betty (who later married and settled in
Standford). Her transport was a sturdy bicycle, the handlebars of which supported
four large and strong leather bags containing quart, pint-and-a-half and one-pint
capacity bottles (a very hazardous operation on the icy winter roads!)
During WW2 the round continued to grow, and the supply of home produced milk soon became insufficient to meet the demand. The answer was to buy in additional supplies, which were brought on the 'milk train' from Petersfield and collected from Liphook station around 6pm each day. This came in ten-gallon churns and had to be bottled by hand, a process taking a good part of the evening. The washing of the 'empties' took place in the morning after the round had been completed, another task which took up to three hours to complete, and was carried out by a young woman called Ruth from Hollywater.
With the influx of Army families into the area trade prospered, and while the majority were as honest as the day is long, there was the odd occasion when a customer would 'disappear' without paying the bill. This was considered to bring shame on the integrity of the British Army and on more than one occasion a word in the appropriate regimental ear would result in the defaulter paying up.
Petrol was of course in short supply during the war and Charlie found great difficulty in managing on his 'ration'. Fortunately he had several good friends whose supplies of the precious fuel were more generous, and he was grateful for the additional 'coupons' that sometimes came his way. There was one morning though when a kind benefactor had left two cans of petrol on his doorstep for Charlie to collect on his rounds, but which he was unable to appropriate as an officer of the law was in the vicinity. The donor was mystified by Charlie's apparent non interest in the gift until the reason for his non acceptance was explained later!
In spite of Charlie's business being a fourteen hour, seven day a week job, (which increased to eighteen hours at haymaking and harvest) he still found time during WW2 to serve as an A.R.P. (Air Raid Precautions) warden, although he was once branded as 'unpatriotic' by the area organiser, a retired WW1 colonel, for failing to turn up for practice drills at haymaking time.
Haymaking in those days was very labour intensive and Charlie was able to call on several locals, 'strong men and true', to help. Among them were Jack Gardner (who married the aforementioned Betty), Charlie Brand and Roy Harding. However although plenty of refreshment was provided it was all of a non-alcoholic variety as Charlie was a strict teetotaller. Abstinence was not a way of life shared by all and it was fortunate that the route from the hayfields to the farmyard passed close to the 'Robin Hood' where those who wanted something stronger than tea or lemonade were able to satisfy their needs!
Two regulars at the farm for much of the war were Neil Ross and Harry Coventry, members of the Canadian Forces stationed at Bordon Camp. They were fortunate to have spent much of their service life in Bordon, except for a period after D-Day when they served on the continent, and they never missed an opportunity to get away from camp and relieve the monotony and discipline of army life by spending time at Wey Valley Farm. Charlie was glad of their help, and for Neil particularly it was really 'home from home' since he came from a farming background. They became lifelong family friends, and although Harry died some ten years ago, Neil, now a sprightly 90 year old, still rides his beloved horse 'Patches' in the local agricultural fairs in his native Prince Edward Island.
As a member of a devout Christian family Charlie even found time to conduct services in local churches and chapels as a very acceptable lay preacher. In 1986 he, and his brother Fred (who had a jewellers shop in Liphook for many years)† were presented with certificates marking sixty years as lay preachers in the Methodist Church.
Charlie was on the Headley Parish Council in the 1950s and 60s, including a period as chairman. He could become very firm in his control of the members, so much so that he had many heated exchanges with certain councillors, but it was a measure of the respect in which he was held that he remained firm friends with them in later years.
Back on the farm, Charlie had sold out the milk round to Farnham Dairies in 1946, installed a milking machine to speed up the process of getting the milk from the cow to the dairy, and from that time until his retirement from farming in 1976 all the milk produced at the farm was collected daily by lorry and taken to a creamery at Guildford.
Charlie spent his retirement in his bungalow at Standford Hill. He had many visitors, including former customers, and they always received a warm welcome. He always had a story to tell, and his recollections of life in a country parish in bygone generations were always illuminating and informative. His wife of 58 years, Irene, died in 1987, and Charlie continued to live alone until the final few weeks of his life when he moved to live with his daughter near High Wycombe. He was blessed with a long and healthy life (and this following an accident with a horse and trap when he was a boy which resulted in severe injuries causing fears for his recovery. Indeed there was even a rumour circulating widely at the time, clearly false, that he had succumbed to his injuries!). He was a fund of local knowledge, and as is so often the case with such characters, so much more could have been gleaned of that long and happy life in a country parish.
He died on the 27th of March, 1992, four weeks after his 91st birthday, and as a committed Christian who believed in the afterlife, who is to say he isn't at this moment enjoying talking over old times with his many friends
Mike Powell writes "I have in my possession an
old exercise book in which my grandfather (Ernest Arthur Clark, born 29th August
1869) has written down his experiences on coming to Grayshott in 1871. His father
had died in Brighton when only 26 years old, leaving a widow (Esther) with two
young children and no means of support. Apparently the daughter of the vicar
of St Marks, Brighton knew Miss I'Anson and arranged for her to move to Grayshott
as the first teacher at the new school there."
The following is an edited transcript of Ernest Clark's notes, written presumably
towards the end of the 19th century:–
Now Miss I'Anson had just built a school but had difficulty in obtaining a teacher and so, finding my mother had had a good education, offered her the post, which she accepted. This school was just finished but there was no proper approach to the door except by a gap in a bank covered with furze-bushes and which gave to a very primitive cart track which led in one direction, to the Headley Road (now a street!!!) and past the school, in a straight line to a concave cart track, with deep ruts, made, I should think, by the Ancient Britons, about the early part of the Year 1, which led to the lane which leads past what is now the Church Corner, to Whitmore Bottom and on to Churt and Farnham.
After a long journey, at least to my sister and I, being mere babies, ie. from Brighton to Haslemere via Havant, and a drive in the carriage from the station to Greyshott, we were put to bed. Now Miss I'Anson had no house for us and so she had hurriedly arranged with her coachman's wife to set apart a spare room to accommodate us until our house was built. We arrived at our new home in the late evening and I well remember the dank and farmyardy smell of the air which surrounded the place. We, my sister and I, were put to bed in an unfurnished room.
A good fire was burning in the grate, but there was no fender. I saw a piece of red hot coal fall from the fire and burn its way through the floor boards. It set fire to the roof of the harness room below. Shortly after we were hurriedly removed to safety. The alarm spread rapidly. Mr John Tullock, the general foreman, rushed up the steps to the hay loft in order, I suppose, to see he extent of the fire. Presently we heard a succession of loud yells, and on investigation, discovered John suspended from the ceiling of the harness roof by the large hook used to hold the straps while being polished. Now John had a voice as powerful as a fog horn, although his stature was short and his circumference great. Eventually he was released, but the damage to his attire necessitated an unsightly patch before he could sit comfortably.
Our house was soon furnished and my mother secured the services of Lucy Crawte of Whitmore Bottom to care for my sister and other domestic requirements, I being allowed to go to the school - so that I was the first pupil. There were few children at first and my mother had to be somewhat strict in order to command attention, as none of them had ever been to school before. On one occasion she had to cane a boy and the result was a rumour that some of the fathers had threatened to hang her on a tree!! This sprit, however gradually died out and one of the mothers said "She's strict but anyway my girl can read like a parson".
Shortly after commencing duties as a teacher, my mother, although fully able to teach, was not in possession of the Certificate required by the Education Act recently passed in Parliament, so she had to attend the necessary examination - and passed. The children each paid one penny per week, which however Miss I'Anson returned to them in proportion to the number of attendances made during the year. The schooling, therefore, to those making full time was free.
The Government gave a "grant" to those schools able to show a certain percentage of passes at the annual examinations, conducted by H.M. Inspector. The highest class or "standard" as it was termed, was at first Standard V as it was considered at Westminster that that would be about as high as the common people's capacity would reach. However these "Commoners" passed so well that nearly all these schools earned the full amount granted. In order to reduce the public expense "Standard VI" was introduced. This alteration, to their surprise, was not as successful as they had anticipated for, to their astonishment, they discovered that these common people had brains!! As a last endeavour to check the cost, Standard VII was added together with, I believe, a smaller grant to be earned. This latest standard contained, among other difficulties, broker's stock and averages - a subject rarely understood by the teachers themselves. It was also found that there was a shortage of teachers able to cope with the requirements of the profession and in consequence teachers colleges were instituted.
Boys, as well as girls, were taught needlework! All H.M. Inspectors were men and many women teachers did not like the idea of their work being judged by a man. That reminds me of an incident that occurred on one occasion. The Inspector asked one of the pupils, a girl, what the garment was which she had made, and on being told it was a shirt was praised by him for her fine needlework but, with a sly glance at the lady teacher, he said to the girl "button it up, please". She endeavoured to do so but was unable as the button holes were too small, or, if you like, the buttons too large. "Ah!" said he with a smile, "even a man can sometimes detect an error in needlework" - he gave her full marks for her good work though.
An afternoon service was held in the schoolroom each Sunday, the Revd. W.H. Laverty driving over from Headley in his dog cart for the occasion. Most of the men, some of whom came from a considerable distance to attend, were dressed in their best smocks, a loose garment with the upper part gathered in lines of sewing and usually dispensing pro tem with the customary straw between the lips. One man nearly always entered the room just before the service began although he had arrived early. We always knew when he came in as he had a club-foot and walked very heavily with the defective member. He could read and followed the instructions given in the church prayer book as to the responses, especially the Amens, with the greatest power at his command.
There was no Chancel at the time of which I am speaking, that was added some years later, as was a small classroom to accommodate the younger children as the number increased - many came from Bramshott and Headley Common and others from a considerable distance. My mother presided at the harmonium except when, on occasion, Miss Emma I'Anson would volunteer. Her performance at that instrument however was somewhat erratic as her touch was unsuitable, being too brief to allow sufficient air to enable the notes to sound unless sufficient pressure was obtained by extra pedal work. She was an expert at the piano - that was perhaps the explanation of her poor performance on the slower-speaking instrument.
One of the natives, Mrs Rogers, was employed in scrubbing and cleaning the school room. Her husband I saw only once was a man who was, I suppose, a frequent visitor to the Royal Huts Inn, Hindhead - close to the Punch Bowl - now a Trust House hotel! And very often he would pass the time after the closing of that place in beating his wife. We always knew when this happened as the few neighbours filled their tea kettles with small stones and rattled them so vigorously that the noise could be heard at least a mile away.
Sound at night travels a tremendous distance in that otherwise silent valley. Mrs Robinson's voice calling her son home "Hen-re" well above an ordinary pitch of voice was audible at a radius long enough for the whole of Greyshott. Mrs Robinson's shop, I remember, was one room of a fairly large house and across the ceiling on strings hung a number of rush lights, tallow candles and a few wax ones which latter must have been there years as few of her customers could afford such luxuries. Tin candle-sticks with snuffers to trim the cotton wicks and an extinguisher were among her wares. Black treacle in drums with a tap to each stood in a row at the back of the counter, also a row of glass jars filled with bulls eyes, sticks of toffee bars twisted and "hundreds and thousands" - little balls of hard sweetmeat, about the size of small shot and various colours. She sold marbles, too - the cheaper sort were of brown baked clay, but she also sold glass ones which, at least locally, were called Taws and in a game a Taw was counted as worth five to ten of the common sort as its value was dependent upon its internal colouring and size.
A very large oven was in another room. It was like a dome-shaped cavity, the sides and roof were brick lined and the floor of large flat stones like pavement slabs. On baking day a long row of dough-loaves were placed on a wide plank opposite the oven. To heat the oven, faggots were placed in the dome and set alight. Sometimes the heat was so great that the bricks looked red hot. After the wood had burned out the ashes were removed with as long handled heather broom and the loaves put, one at a time, upon a shovel-like tool - called a "slice" - also with a long handle because of the great heat - and by a jerky movement the loaf was deposited in its place on the stone floor. When filled, the big iron door was closed and the baking began. The bread at that time was very good indeed - practically "home-made" - and would keep fresh a long time. Mrs R. made a small loaf for each of us - Ada and I - at times.
Shop toys for children were non existant and hand-made by the boys themselves. Among them were bows and arrows, and as woods of all kinds grew in profusion within a few yards anywhere at Greyshott the bows and arrows were excellent in quality and the strings were often of real cat gut, thicker than the G strings of a violin. Another toy was a "hummer" which consisted of a piece of oak or other hardwood about two inches long and a quarter of an inch thick. The edges were cut with V shaped notches as in a coarse-cut saw. Near the top end a hole was made through which a length of whipcord was fastened and the other end - at a suitable distance - formed a handle. The "modus operandi" was to swing the wood in a circular direction until it revolved and it would give a loud hum, varying in pitch with the speed with which it was swung.
Then pop-guns were made. They were pieces of elder wood, about one and a quarter inches in diameter, perfectly straight and cut between knots and about ten inches long. The pith was removed and the inside cleaned out. This formed the barrel. Then a piece of wood, smaller than the barrel was made to form a ram. Next a small quantity of tarpaulin string was chewed in the mouth (the boys!) until by mastication it became malleable. Two lots like this were required unless a suitable cork was handy. The length of the ramrod was about as long as the barrel plus a length over this size to form a handle. To use the gun you first put the piece of tarpaulin or cork tightly in the end of the tube and then force another plug into the other end of the tube. Now by smartly pushing the ramrod through the tube, thus driving the plug inwards, the air being compressed caused the plug (or cork) to fly out as a bullet a good distance (if well made) and with a bang.
Some of the boys were quite expert in the making of slings. They consisted of a strip of soft leather with a length of whipcord attached to each end. A chosen stone of suitable size was placed in the centre of the leather - one end of the cord was wrapped around the hand to prevent it slipping and the other end just nipped with the thumb, in order to release it at the moment the stone was to leave the sling. The sling was then swung around until its velocity was judged to be sufficient to impact the stone with sufficient force to travel the distance required. Much practice was needed to become proficient as to the direction aimed at, as the moment of the release of the end held by the thumb determined the success of its flight.
Whistles also must be mentioned. Some, giving a single note, were made from a short length of wood cut from a branch in the Spring, while the sap was fresh. The mouthpiece cut to shape and also the slot, before removing the bark. This latter act was generally easy to do by merely twisting it off, but in some cases it required a gentle tapping all round with the handle of the pocket knife before it could be removed. A longer whistle, with holes for the different notes, as in an ordinary commercially made tin whistle, were occasionally attempted and as to appearance were quite good looking but were rarely successful owing to the difficulty of deciding the correct position of the holes, a point essential to its usefulness as a musical instrument.
Catapults, many capable of killing a rabbit at ten yards or so, were quite a common possession with the older boys.
Ernest's mother Esther remained in charge of Grayshott
School until June 1885, when she left to marry a fellow Grayshott teacher Mr
F.E. Child. When the school started in 1871 there had been just 7 pupils - by
the time she left there were 51.
Ernest Clark won two silver medals with clasps engraved Transvaal, Relief of
Ladysmith, Orange Free State, Cape Colony and South Africa 1901-2. He married
Edith Agnes Woods in Essex in 1903, but after the birth of a daughter (Mike
Powell's mother) in March 1904 he seems to have disappeared. Mike recently discovered
that he died in Leyton in 1953 aged 83, a retired locomotive driver, but is
still trying to find out what happened in between, as it was never discussed
in the family.
While writing the story of the Headley Workhouse Riot of 1830, I kept coming up with questions which seemed to have no immediate answer.
What happened to the family of Matthew Triggs, the only Headley man to be transported for the affair? Did his uncle 'Tuckey' get out of the workhouse and go to live with his sisters? Was the workhouse repaired and used as a poor-house again? Can we find any trace of the James family who lived in the forest? Who was the malevolent Richard Rook, and why did he testify against Robert Holdaway?
I thought that perhaps some of the answers might lie in the census returns of the time, but the first detailed census didn't occur until 1841, eleven years after the event. However, since there seemed to be no other source of information, I decided to spend a few hours looking through the handwritten lists to see what I could get out of them.
The photocopied sheets were not easy to read and, to make it easier to reference them later, I started typing relevant parts into a computer - and I typed and I typed - until some days later I found I had transcribed so much that it seemed a pity not to complete the job. Not only that, but I had also begun to look at the next census, of 1851, in order to try and decipher some of the more illegible names in the first. And once I'd started ….
So with two full census returns in the computer, I not only had printouts which were considerably easier to read than the originals, but also the means of doing some analysis on the information, and in doing so I found a number of stories based on the results; some happy, some sad, some conjectural, some corroborated.
In the early nineteenth century, the parish of Headley was bounded by the parishes of Bramshott to the south, Selborne and Kingsley to the west, Dockenfield to the north and Frensham to the east, the last of these being in the county of Surrey (Dockenfield was in Hampshire until 1895).
At that time it included Lindford and the relatively unpopulated districts of Grayshott, Bordon and Whitehill. Only in 1902 did Grayshott become an independent parish, and it was not until well into the 20th century that Whitehill civil parish (covering Whitehill and Bordon) was carved from areas of Headley and Selborne parishes. The small civil parish of Lindford is a relative newcomer, dating from 1982.
There were no regular lists made of population in England and Wales until 1801 when, at a time of growing concern about the rate of population increase, the Government decided it needed to take a simple count of heads every ten years, analysed by sex and, later, by age. The enumerators chosen were local men, and generally made a list of householders in the parish by sex and noted their dependents. They were also asked to record how many houses were inhabited and uninhabited, the number of families occupying them, and the trades or occupations of the people in the parish.
Censuses were taken in 1801, 1811, 1821 and 1831 with minor changes in the information recorded. In 1821 the first attempt was made to grade people by age. The ages quoted were not intended to be precise - a 'five year banding' or 'quintuple' system was used, whereby ages were rounded down to a figure ending in '0' or '5' - thus a 29 year-old would be recorded as aged only 25, but a 31 year-old as aged 30 - a significant difference.
The totals were sent to the Government by way of the High Constables or Clerks of the Peace. They were then published as summarised Census Reports, the original notes being usually destroyed. Some original manuscript schedules still exist among the records of certain parishes, but we cannot find them for Headley.
In some parishes there are a few even earlier lists. When Napoleon was expected to invade in 1798, a list (Posse Comitatus) was made nationally of all men from 16 to 60 with occupations, and these were kept by the Lord Lieutenant ready for the call to arms, and at various times lists have been made of property owners (for Land Tax assessments), householders and the number of fireplaces they had (for Hearth Tax), of paupers, bachelors, aliens, and any number of other lists, nearly all for the purposes of imposing national taxes or local rates. Those for Hearth Tax and some for early ratepayers have survived relating to Headley.
It was hardly surprising that when, with the Population Act of 1840, the Government decided it needed more information than it had collected hitherto, reaction was "sharp and unfavourable". Some objected on religious grounds, believing that 'numbering the people' was blasphemous, but most objected on the more practical grounds that it was probably a ploy to extract more taxes. For this reason the Government continued using local residents as enumerators rather than sending in strangers from London, and decided to restrict the amount of information asked for to what they considered the bare minimum. Hopefully local men would get more co-operation, and would be more likely to know if they were being deceived.
In 1841, the country was divided up into 2,193 Registration Districts, based on the existing Poor Law Unions, and these were further divided into about 36,000 Enumeration Districts, none with fewer than 25 or more than 200 inhabited houses. Headley parish was split into three Enumeration Districts, within a greater Registration District which also included Bramshott and Kingsley under a Superintendent Registrar at Farnham.
Towards the end of May 1841, the enumerators sent to each household in their Enumeration District a form to be filled in on the census night of 16th June. They then collected these, checked them, and copied the information into printed books of blank forms. These Enumeration Schedules, or Census Returns, were sent to the Registrar of the Registration District for further checking, and revision if necessary, then to the Superintendent Registrar of the District before being sent finally to the General Register Office in London.
Thus the population of each city, town, village, hamlet, and even isolated farm, or travellers' camp, was listed, household by household. There was a separate section to be filled by the enumerator for his best estimate of the number of "persons (if any) who, on the night preceding the day of enumeration, have slept within the Enumeration District in boats or barges, mines or pits, barns or sheds, or in the open air, or who from any other cause, although within the District, have not been enumerated as inmates of any dwelling house." Nobody was recorded in this section for any of the Headley districts.
For each person included in the main body of the census, the following six pieces of information were supposed to be recorded: Location, Surname and one forename, Sex, Age (using the' five year banding' principal for adults, but exactly for children up to 15), Occupation, Birthplace (but only whether they were born 'in this county' or not, unless they came from Scotland, Ireland, or 'Foreign Parts').
Households were normally set out in 'natural order' with father first, then mother and the children, then other relatives, servants, employees, lodgers and visitors - but no relationships were stated, and one can sometimes be misled by unusual combinations, of brother and sister, nieces and nephews, etc. An example [in the booklet] shows the information transcribed from the 1841 census for a part of Headley High Street.
The Location given is very general. Even where a property is obviously identifiable, such as a pub, a shop or a rectory, no indication was normally written down. The second column has a '1' entered against each Head of Household, or a 'U' if the property was unoccupied, and can be used to count the number of families visited in the census. It does not necessarily equate to the number of buildings, as families (households) often shared a property - Suters in the High Street, for example, was sub-divided into at least three parts at one time, and some of the entries shown may in fact relate to that building.
Surnames and Forenames can be difficult to read - not only because early nineteenth century handwriting is different from ours in style, but also because some of the writing is now so very feint. For instance, I had read Hampton as Bampton until I checked with the 1851 census where it was written more clearly, but this was of no help when it came to the family below them, whose name remains unknown to me (my guess is 'Parfect').
Ages were put in separate columns for males and females, and this is sometimes the only way of telling a person's sex if you can't read their Christian name. They should all have been rounded down to the nearest 'multiple of five' for adults, but you can see from the example that this particular enumerator did not always stick to the rules. Sometimes the figures are difficult to read, and it is easy to mistake '6' for '8', '0' for '9', and so on when transcribing - so beware if you see any 'impossible' ages.
An occupation was supposed to be entered for all, but this was not consistently applied. Abbreviations were used for common occupations, the most familiar being Ag Lab for 'Agricultural Labourer'. Others shown in the example are: Ind for 'Independent Means', M.S. for 'Male Servant', and F.S. for 'Female Servant'.
The column for Born in County is neither particularly accurate nor, in this area next to a county boundary, very useful. The 1841 enumerator implies that Mr and Mrs Hampton and their eldest daughter were all born 'out of county' - however the 1851 census tells us that while he was born in Farnham, Surrey, his wife and daughter were born in Headley.
The three Enumeration Districts for Headley in 1841 broadly corresponded to the south-east, south-west and north sections of a 'pie' centred at Bayfields Farm. They were numbered Districts 5, 6, and 7 respectively by the supervisors at Farnham and had the following populations:
District 5 84 inhabited houses, 201 males, 222 females (423 total)
District 6 117 inhabited houses, 315 males, 275 females (590 total)
District 7 35 inhabited houses, 120 males, 94 females (214 total)
Workhouse 19 males, 19 females (38 total).
Total 237 inhabited houses, 655 males, 610 females (1,265 total)
- an average of 5.2 per house (excluding the Workhouse).
We can see from the handwriting on the forms that three different enumerators were selected for Headley, but we only know the name of one of them, Charles Collins, taking the south-east district. The names of those taking the south-west and north districts seem to have been lost, but we do know that a fourth man, Edward White who was Master of the workhouse at the time, was responsible for recording the occupants and inmates of the workhouse on a separate sheet.
It is interesting to note that, although census night was supposed to be 16th June, Charles Collins signed his schedule as complete on 10th June, and passed it to Charles Berry, his Registrar, on 12th June - a full four days before the census night! It was delivered to Mr WJ Hollest, the Superintendent Registrar, on 18th June. This was evidently not an isolated instance, as the neighbouring Kingsley schedules were signed off on 11th and 14th June, and Edward White's schedule for Headley Workhouse was signed as early as 7th June.
When the second general census took place on 30th March 1851, the amount of
information demanded was increased. Additions were:
- Full forenames
- Relationship of each person to the Head of the household;
- Marital status;
- Exact age in years;
- Details about employees, and how many acres owned;
- Parish and County where born;
- Whether people were blind, deaf or dumb.
The example shown [in the booklet] is a transcription for the same area of Headley High Street as before.
Instructions to an enumerator in 1851 included the following:-
"He should in the 1st column write the No. of the Schedule he is about
to copy, and in the 2nd column the name of the Street, Square, etc, where the
house is situate, and the No. of the house if it has a No., or if the house
be situate in the country, any distinctive Name by which it may be known.
"He should then copy from the schedule, into the other columns, all the
other particulars concerning the members of the family (making use if he pleases
of any of the authorized contractions); and proceed to deal in the same manner
with the next Schedule.
"Under the last name in any house he should draw a line across the page
as far as the fifth column. Where there is more than one Occupier in the same
house, he should draw a similar line under the last name of the family of each
Occupier; making the line, however, in this case, commence a little on the left
hand side of the 3rd column."
Each household was given a sequential number in the leftmost column, but in Headley the location column was even less well completed than for 1841, and the instruction to draw a partial line between the families of occupiers in the same house seems to have been ignored. Some of the farms were named, and in the example so was the Holly Bush, but our knowledge of where other families lived comes chiefly from noting the locations recorded for them in the previous census, and assuming that they stayed largely where they were for the next decade.
In the 1851 census forms the names are generally more legible than in 1841. Relationships of all residents to the head of the household were stated for the first time, combined with marital status (married, unmarried, widow/er). Ages were recorded to the exact year, rather than to the nearest 5 years.
Occupations were given somewhat more thoroughly. Tradesmen were defined as 'master', 'journeyman' or 'apprentice' and the number of employees of a master stated. Farmers gave acreage and number of employees by sex. Children at school or not employed were 'scholars' and this occupation is sometimes even given for infants of a few days old.
Birthplaces were given by parish and county.
Compared with 1841, Headley parish was divided differently this time into
four Enumeration Districts numbered 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d, and broadly corresponding
to:
- 2a: all that part west of what is now the B3004 through Lindford;
- 2b: the rest of the parish (except as below);
- 2c: the Grayshott area;
- 2d: the centre of Headley and Arford.
Four enumerators were chosen, respectively: 2a, William Bayley (64), parish clerk, farmer and ex-schoolmaster; 2b, Henry Powell (57) a carpenter in Hollywater; 2c, John Bayley (22), son of William; 2d, John Dawes (57), a land surveyor born in Devon, then living in Headley.
Interestingly, apart from Mr Dawes, the enumerators did not live in the area
they were given to count.
This time the Superintendent Registrar was at Farnborough rather than Farnham,
but he was the same man as 10 years previously, Mr William Hollest. The Registrar
for Headley District was a different person, Harvey Hoare. The schedules were
all signed off by the enumerators on 7th April, eight days after the census
night, then signed by Mr Hoare on 10th April, and passed to Mr Hollest on 17th
April.
So what do we find when we compare the two census lists? Well firstly, we can fill in a few of the entries where the 1841 documents are virtually illegible by referring to details of the same families in 1851. For the technically minded, I merged the two lists and sorted by surname and then Christian name, looking for the same individuals appearing twice. This allowed me to double check on spellings of names, on ages, occupations and locations where these were doubtful. Generally I was able to add corrected names to the 1841 entries, and locations to the 1851 entries.
I also looked at the parish records for baptisms, marriages and burials for
the 10 year period, as well as a number of other sources such as Mr Laverty's
notebooks, and added relevant information when I found it.
If I identified duplicate entries, I made them into one. In doing this I reduced
the two individual census lists of 1,265 and 1,424 names respectively down to
one of 2,049 names. From the arithmetic, you see that I identified 640 people
as being on both lists.
Do these figures mean that only 640 people, about half the population in 1841, remained in Headley parish during those 10 years? I expected to find a much higher number. A few extra could possibly be accounted for by the handful of names which we are still uncertain about on the 1841 census, but I wondered if perhaps the main difference was to be found in considering those girls who married and stayed within the parish. They would be shown on the second census under their married surname, and therefore appear twice in our merged list, but I found only 84 marriages recorded in the parish during the whole period, and for only 36 of these were the wives included in the 1851 census - presumably the others moved away.
On the face of it then, according to our best information from both census and parish records, only 676 people remained in the parish between the two censuses, which means that some 589 either moved out or died.
We know that 185 burials were recorded, but only 101 of these relate to people who we can find on the 1841 census. So we are left with the conclusion that 488 people, or 38% of the 1841 population, seem to have moved out of Headley to some other parish, or at least were not recorded as being in Headley in the 1851 census. This is considerably more than most of us thought likely, for in those days the Settlement Act, restricting movement across parish boundaries largely to the wealthy or the skilled, was still in force.
I had hoped to use the comparison of the two censuses to give a better indication as to where particular individuals lived. However, the enumerators were not very specific about naming locations - especially in 1851 - and usually the best you get is an indication that a property is in a general area such as Arford, Headley, Lindford, Hollywater, etc; and even then we know of some inconsistencies, particularly in the areas of Barford/ Whitmore Bottom/ Grayshott/ Waggoners Wells, where a number of families put in one location by the first census are very definitely put in another by the next.
Overall, very few house names are mentioned, and we cannot even be sure that the entries are written in a logical sequence. For example (see previous transcriptions), where we think we can identify specific properties, in the middle of Headley, the 1841 census lists them in the sequence: Slade's (later Wakeford's), Holly Bush, other, other, other, other, other, Chalcraft's (now Crabtree House), Rectory; while the 1851 census has them in the sequence: Chalcraft's, Slade's , Holly Bush, Rectory.
Neither order seems particularly sensible. The 1841 version puts Chalcraft's out of sequence, but at least includes properties between the Holly Bush and the Rectory (perhaps Suters and Church Gate Stores); the 1851 version has them in the correct order, but misses out the other properties. If we cannot even identify locations in Headley High Street, there is seemingly little hope of identifying specific properties in other areas of the parish.
The main exception to this is with the major farms. Farmers holding large acreages were some of the most important people in the parish in those days, as can be seen from a 'Poll of Headley' list produced in 1836 showing the 20 most significant men in the parish at the time. Of these all but six are farmers, the exceptions being the Rector, two mill owners, a wheelwright, a publican and an absentee landlord. Perhaps it is not surprising then that their farms are generally identified by name in the censuses, although this is by no means always the case - some which are named in 1841 are not named in 1851, and vice versa. In the latter census all farmers' acreages are also shown (along with the number of labourers they employ) even if the farm itself is not named.
It is only comparatively recently that we have come to spell the names of people and places consistently, and even now we don't always agree - take the local spelling of Whitmore Vale, or is it Whitmoor Vale? Between the two censuses I found several variations in the spelling of place names, for example Slaford for Sleaford.
When we look at the names of people, the situation is even worse. If you are a Combes, not a Coombes, and think the difference significant, I have to tell you that your ancestors were probably spelt one way in 1841 and the other in 1851, and the spelling you ended up with was likely as not a pure accident. In merging the two censuses I had to decide which spelling to use, and opted for the 1851 version where there were differences.
There were about 200 surnames recorded in each census, with some moving in and others moving out. For example the surnames Upperton and, significantly, Warren appeared during the period, while Lintott and Wheatley disappeared. Fullick was by far the most common name throughout, followed by Shrub(b), Burrow, Marshall and Belton. Together these names accounted for some 16% of the parish population. Today there is hardly a Fullick in the neighbourhood.
There was less variety in Christian names - I noted 102 different ones in 1841, and this rose only slightly to 115 in 1851. In both years the 'top 10' positions were filled by the same names: William, Mary (or Mary Ann), James, John, George, Sarah, Elizabeth, Henry, Ann(e), and Jane, closely followed by Thomas, Charles, and Harriett in its various spellings. Fewer than two dozen names covered 80% of the parish population, and some which are popular today were not used at all - not a single Chris or Pat (of either sex), Den, Don, Geoff, Ken, Paul, Phil, or Ray, nor a Jan, Jean, Jenny, Joan, or Pam - far less a Kylie or an Elvis!
However, this hardly excuses the Powell family of Hollywater, and he an enumerator in 1851 no less, who seem to have been so short of ideas as to call two of their daughters Mary.
John Owen Smith
All seven censuses 1841-1901 for the parish of Headley have now been transcribed in full by members of the Headley Society and are available to researchers. They are also shown sorted by surname on the village website.
Arford Lodge - photograph 4
Arford: The Alderbed Dispute of 1806/7 2
Boundaries: The Perambulation of 1890 5
Canadians forces in Headley, 1942 & 43 2, 3
Church: All Saints' in 1842 - sketch 2
Church: from Headley 1066-1966 2
Church: Lych Gate making - photograph 2
Church: St Francis, Headley Down 1
Cobbett: William Cobbett in Headley 5
Coombes: 'Gunner' 1950 - photograph 3
Coombes: Edward, Broomsquire - photo 5
Croucher: Reminiscences of Ted & Cyril 1
Fauntleroy: from Headley 1066-1966 5
Fete: Programme for 1904 4
Grayshott in the 1870s 6
Grayshott: Mystery Mugs - photograph 6
Hall: Moor House Farm by Edna Madeleine Morgan (née Hall) 4
Hall: Sidney Hall - photograph 4
Harnett: 'Hartie' Rowswell (née Harnett)
Harnett: William Harnett - photograph 4
Headley 1066-1966: serialised 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Headley Archives 1
Headley: First two censuses 1841 & 1851 6
Headley: Essay on Headley written in 1925 1
Headley Grange (old workhouse) - photo 2
Headley History On-line 3
Headley: Mystery Mugs - photograph 6
Headley: Notes on Headley written in 1975 3
Headley Park & Headley Wood, 1945-49 3
Headley: Valuation of Headley 1822 6
Headley: Engravings & Lithographs 5
Hollywater: Hollywater and Standford 1950s 4
Holme: Dr George, rector 1718-1765 1
Holme: The George Holme Memorial 2
Holme School: from Headley 1066-1966 4
Holme School: Diary of Mabel Hussey 5
Holme School: Teachers - photograph 5
Hop growing - photographs 1
Huntingford Cottage and Forge - photo 4
Hussey: Diary of Mabel Hussey, 1940/41 5
Indenture in 1862 of Jesse Bone 2
Kehoe: Edgar, racing driver (1903-2004) 1
Knight: Henry Knight (1805-1903) 2
Laverty, Rev: from Headley 1066-1966 5
Laverty: Rev with family, 1912 - photo 5
Laverty: Rev in 1903 - photograph 5
Map: Parish boundaries, past and present 6
Map: Local map of 1776 5
Map: Rivers in and around Headley 2
Map: The Hanger 1806/7 2
Map: Water Mills in Headley parish 6
McAndrew: Patsy (later Mrs Barnard)
and her daughter Caroline, 1946 - photo 3
Mellow Farm, 1952 - photograph 4
Mellow Farm: Early Days at 4
Mill: Barford Corn Mill - painting 2
Mill: Headley Mill from the air - photo 2
Mills: from Headley 1066-1966 6
Mills: Map of Mills in Headley parish 6
Mills: Old Mills by the Stream 2
Monumental Inscriptions in All Saints' 1
Pageant: The Pageant of Headley, 1951 3
Parker: A scandal in Wishanger, 1876 3
Payne family in 1910 - photograph 6
Payne: Charlie and Irene Payne - photo 6
Payne: Charlie Payne (1901-1992) 6
Piggott: A Piggott descendant returns 2
Pond: Fullers Vale pond 1912 - photo 2
Pond: Memories of Fullers Vale Pond 2
Rowswell: Frederick - photograph 4
Standford: Charlie Payne (1901-1992) 6
Standford: Hollywater and Standford 1950s 4
Triggs: Matthew and the 1830 Riots 2
Tudor Jones: Canon JS - photograph 3
Village Hall: 1925 and 1983 - photos 3
Wheatsheaf, Arford circa 1908 - photo 3
Wheatsheaf, Arford: Inventory of, 1864 3
Whittles: Aerial view of, 1964 - photo 4
Wilks: Influence of Dr Wilks on Headley 1
Wishanger: A scandal in Wishanger, 1876 3
Wishanger: Memories of Moor House Farm 4
Wishanger: Moor House Farm - photo 4
This site maintained by John Owen Smith