Mill Lane East | Pirb Props Hist

Mill Lane - East

This section deals with the area from Cove Bridge on the east to Lindfield on the west. All these houses are on the south side of Mill Lane (because the Hodge Brook runs alongside the north side of the lane).

We will start our history with a section on the earliest days to 1923. Then we will work from the east and proceed westwards, covering houses in the following order:

Tangles
Ferndale
Rapleys Field Nos 1-22
3-11 Mill Lane
Lindfield

We have shown a copy of the current OS map below (with thanks). The area covered by this section is coloured blue. We have also included a table showing when each house was built.

Early history - 1923

Looking at the 1805 survey map below, it is easy to identify the blue area shown on the current map above. In case anyone has difficulty, we have shown the area blue on the map below as well.

The left-hand field (108) is called “Rapley’s Further Lower Field”. The field on the right (109) is called “Rapley’s Hither Lower Field” and they total 5½ acres in size. Both fields belong to a Mr Collens. This enables us to trace the fields back in the early Court Rolls of Pirbright Manor.

In 1658 the area was described as “A Close of arable land cont 2 acres parcel of Hatchlands”. The description goes on to describe “Stoney Field” to the west (which appears on the 1805 Survey Map) and “Watery Lane” to the north. Well, anyone who remembers the flooding in the area a few years ago will find that name for Mill Lane particularly apposite.

Here is the early history of this piece of land:

1658: John Ockley surrendered 2 acres of the land to William Ockley and his wife, Ann.
1668: Upon the death of his mother, John Ockley surrendered 2 adjoining fields (4½ acres) to William Ockley and his wife, Ann.
1684: William Ockley died and the property passed to Joseph Ockley 1.
1725: Joseph Ockley 1 died and the property passed to Joseph Ockley 2.
1726: Joseph Ockley 2 surrendered the 7-acre property to George Rapley jnr.
1743: George Rapley jnr surrendered the property to Jane Collins, the wife of John Collins 2.
1787: Jane Collins died, and the property passed to John Collins 3, her only son.
1825: As with Burners Farm above, the property passed to William Collins.

Below we have set out a little about some of these people:

William Ockley was a police constable. He signed the Pirbright Hearth Tax return in 1673. He and Ann lived at Hatchlands.
George Rapley was a member of the Rapley family who also farmed at Duchies Cottage and Rails Farm. We have written a little more about them in the Rails Farm section.
William Collins also owned Whites Farm, Burners, Newmans, & Hatchlands. We have written about him in the Whites Farm section.

It is ironic that today’s cul-de-sac, Rapley’s Field, bears the name Rapley, as George Rapley only owned (copyhold) the property for 17 years. Perhaps “Ockley’s Field” would have more appropriate, as the Ockley family farmed the land for at least 60 years. Or even “Ockley’s Fields”, as the houses lie on 2 fields, not 1. But so be it.

In 1841 the 2 fields (comprising 5 acres) were still owned by William Collins and were part of the Burner’s Farm estate. But after William Collins’s death in 1844 the fields were purchased by John Martin, a cordwainer (someone who makes shoes), who lived at Linnards on Little Green. John died in 1861, aged 72. In 1870 and 1875 the fields were owned by Henry Martin (born 1837), John’s third son. The 1873 OS map shows that the 2 fields had already been combined into one large field.

But Henry died in 1879, aged only 42. The fields were inherited by James Martin (1829-1908), who was Henry’s elder brother, and who was already farming Whites Farm, where we tell his story. James held the fields until his death in 1908, when they appear to have been sold to Henry Halsey 4. This is rather odd, as Henry Halsey 4 had for some years been intent on spending the Halsey fortune on himself, rather than investing in more land. But perhaps he had been persuaded that the field could be obtained at a good price, folded into Manor Farm, and sold at a profit.

In 1922 the whole of Manor Farm (including the single large field) was put for sale by Henry Halsey 4. The field appears on the map accompanying the sale in that year.

The farm was bought by Frederic Francois Ramuz, whose story is told in the Manor Farm section. Mr Ramuz sold the 89-acre farm immediately to Esdor Faggetter, a local builder. We think that the fields were included in the 30 acres which Mr Ramuz then sold to Major William Frank and Grace Heyland in 1923. The Heylands lived in Millcroft, and their story is told there.

1923 - date

In 1935 the Heylands took advantage of the UK-wide housing boom of the time to sell 2 plots on which Lindfield (refer below) and Tangles (refer below) were soon built.

But Grace died in 1939 and William in 1942. We think that the Heyland family (a rather complex group who had inherited the Heyland property and lived in Millcroft after WW2) then decided in 1946 to sell the 4.3 acre rectangular plot in between Lindfield and Tangles to Guildford Rural District Council.

The Council lost little time in getting approval for a plan to build Rapley’s Field on this rectangular block. Presumably they had little interference from their own planning department. A 1946 plan of the rectangular block is shown below.

Tangles

Tangles was built in 1935, a few months after Lindfield (below). The plot is triangular in shape, but long (covering the land where Ferndale sits today). As with the Lindfield house, there are no signs of other houses nearby, and we think that these were the first 2 houses to be built in the immediate area. We have shown a copy of the building plan, right.

There is another house in Pirbright called Tangles. It was built in 1970 and lies next to the roundabout at Fox Corner. We don’t think the 2 houses are related though.

The house was built for Ronald and Catherine Green, who were the first occupants in 1935. Ronald was born in Portsmouth in 1909, the son of a “Chief engine room artificer” (ie someone who works in a ship’s engine room, keeping the thing going). 2 of Ronald’s sisters became teachers, as did Ronald.

Catherine (nee Gaynor) was born in 1906, the daughter of an Irish asylum attendant (who presumably worked at the Brookwood Asylum). By 1930 she was still living with her parents in a house in Knaphill, where they let out a room or 2 to visitors. One of these was a young teacher called Ronald Green, and bingo, by 1935 he and Catherine were married.

But despite having a new house built, the Greens moved out 3 years later, first back to Knaphill, and then in 1939 they were living just off the Aldershot Road, near the junction with the Worplesdon Road in Guildford. Ronald was a Certified assistant teacher. They were still there after the war, but soon left the area. They had 2 children.

The next owners from 1938 were Reginald and Jeanette Wynn. Reginald was born Reginald Schram in 1905, the son of a soldier. His father, Albert was killed in 1916 at Zillebekke, near Ypres. Reginald was brought up in Wandsworth by his uncle and aunt (whose name was Wynn), and for whatever reason changed his surname to Wynn. Jeanette (nee Simmons) was born in 1901 in Lambeth, the daughter of a Sanitary Inspector, working for the Corporation of London.

Reginald and Jeanette were married in Brixton in 1926 and had 2 children. Reginald was a bank clerk. In 1939 Jeanette was working as a domestic at The White Hart. During WW2 Reginald was a sergeant in the Queen’s Royal Regiment. They stayed at Tangles until 1957, and then moved away. Reginald died in 1988 in Brighton and Jeanette in 1990 in Warminster.

The next owners from 1957 were John and Phyllis Folkes. John was born in Whitchurch in 1920 and was a plasterer. Phyllis, nee Eastick was born in 1921 in Yarmouth.

They married in 1946 and had 3 children (the last of whom was born in Pirbright). They moved to Twickenham c1966.

The next occupants from 1966 were Douglas and Pauline Grundy. Douglas Hilton Grundy was born in Tranmere in 1908, the son of an accountant. In 1929 he had first married Gwendoline, nee Stevenson, who was born in Yorkshire in 1910, the daughter of an engineman. The marriage ended in divorce.

In 1957, in Cyprus, Douglas married Pauline Ledsham. Pauline had been born in 1922 at Layton Cottage, Rickford, and had married a Peter Shilton (no, not that Peter Shilton) in 1942. During WW2 Pauline was a WRAC officer in charge of anti-aircraft batteries in the Solent, for which she was awarded an MBE. Pauline was later promoted to the rank of Major.

Douglas, a career RAF officer, was 14 years older than her. By 1959, Douglas and Pauline were living at Jacobs Well before moving to Tangles c1960.

They both became leading lights in the Pirbright Players and Pauline was a stalwart of the WI, becoming President. Below, left, we have shown a newspaper picture of Pauline winning a handicraft exhibition at Pirbright WI in 1971. The Grundys lived together at Tangles until Douglas died in 1983. Pauline, (pictured a few years later, on the right of the photo) then stayed at Tangles until her death in 2008. As an aside, of those raffle prizes on display in the photo, out of a bottle of Baileys, a bottle of Scotch Whisky and a box of organic poultry manure, we know which one we would hope not to win.

Tangles was sold in 2009. The new owners immediately applied for permission to build 2 bungalows in the garden of the property. This was refused, but a subsequent application, this time for just 1 bungalow, was approved. Hence Ferndale was built in the back garden of Tangles. Further extensive alterations were made to Tangles a year or 2 later.

The current owners moved into the house in 2017. A recent agent’s photo of Tangles is shown, right.

Ferndale

Ferndale was built in the back garden of Tangles (see section above) in 2010. The current owners bought the new house around that time.

Rapley’s Field

The houses in Rapley’s Field were built in 1949 as Council Houses, owned by Guildford Rural District Council. The only other Council Houses in Pirbright at this time were 16 houses at West Heath. We wrote a little about the background to Council Housing at this time at the beginning of this section.

The houses were “Airey Houses”, which were built from pre-cast concrete panels to (what was regarded at the time as) a high standard. However, they were not always popular with the tenants/owners because of the absence of cavity walls. Hence they were badly insulated and not very weatherproof. They were also prone to reinforcing rust. One of our contributors, who was brought up in Rapley’s Field has provided the following information about the houses in their early days:

Mum referred to them as Airey by name and airy by nature. They were constructed from precast concrete slabs hung on a steel framework. There was a cavity between the concrete outside, and the interior stud walls. But the downside was that the interior walls were made of very low density fibre board called Beaverboard, which had low insulating properties. Cold air got through the gaps in the concrete boards, through the air vents situated in each room and around the metal frame windows.

To be fair, at the time, the houses were high standard houses with indoor toilet and bathroom. They were probably no colder than any other house, and, being light and spacious and no issues with damp, were pretty good places to live in. The large gardens would make modern developers weep, but council tenants then were expected to use the space for growing food and most did. Our garden was fully used for fruit, veg and flowers. I am horrified at the state of some of the properties today.

The bungalows at the bottom of Rapleys Field (ie Nos 3-11, Mill Lane – refer section below) were built partly on the site of a sewage treatment works, presumably built solely for treatment of waste from the Rapley’s Field houses. There were two or three raised filter beds, made of large clinker blocks. Sprinkler bars rotated above them. Where the 'filtered' fluid went I have no idea, probably into the Hodge Brook. I have no doubt an exploration of the bank of the brook behind the hedge opposite the bungalows would reveal a pipe still in situ. A tanker would turn up periodically to pump out the more solid waste from underground tanks. The tenants of Rapley’s Field were fortunate in that they could 'flush and forget', wheras everyone else in the village had cess pits, septic tanks, or outside privies, until main drainage came along sometime in the 1960s. Could be my memory playing tricks, but in the period between the sewage plant being removed and Nos 3-11, Mill Lane being built I seem to recall it was a handy site for a November the 5th bonfire.

A picture of some Airey houses (somewhere other than Pirbright) is shown right (with thanks to Michael Patterson).

At the time of writing, 8 of the original 22 houses in Rapley's Field can clearly be identified as being Airey houses. The rest have been modified (for the reasons given above) and are brick-faced.

We have shown below a newspaper cutting from May 1949 confirming the name of the building firm that had won the tender to build the houses. The building firm must have worked very hard to have so many families installed in the houses in 1949, only a few months after starting work, even if the houses were “pre-packed” to an extent.

We are also mightily impressed by their sales people, who converted a tender for 12 flats into a contract for 22 houses.... In case you were wondering, the contract price of £10,986 mentioned in the cutting would be worth £325,000 today, or £27,000 per flat. In 1952 it was reported that the final cost of the 22 houses was £21,249 (worth £517,000 today, ie £24,000 per house). Again we offer our congratulations to Mr Butcher’s marketing people.

In 2021 Guildford Borough Council deemed that 4 of the remaining 8 houses had reached the end of their useful lives and needed to be demolished and rebuilt. In fact the 70 years of their existence had exceeded the initial estimates, so congratulations are due to the original manufacturers and to Messrs R Butcher of Shalford, the builders.

We have also shown one of the Council’s offer letters to some prospective tenants of No 17 (who ended up renting another of the houses). The weekly rent was 22 shillings and ninepence (equivalent to £40 today).

Until 1980, in principle the houses were let to tenants who could not afford market rents or to buy their own home. In practice this meant that, prior to 1980, Rapley’s Field housed a relatively high number of elderly people, as well as a number of people who were being supported by charities. The reader will notice several Rapley’s Field families moving from one of the houses to another. We presume that these moves were usually due to Council directives based on which families were most suited to which houses.

The ability of Council House tenants to buy their own houses (the “Right to buy” introduced in 1980) has meant that around 60% of the Rapley’s Field properties are now privately owned. The rest are still under local council jurisdiction. Many of the houses have been occupied by the same families for several (30+) years.

As well as Nos 1-22, six of the houses (Nos 1, 2, 3, 4, 19, and 20) have flats or maisonettes, some with their garden. So in total there are 28 dwellings in Rapley’s Field.

A lot of different people have lived in Rapley’s Field in the years since 1949. Below we have written about a few of the longer-staying inhabitants of each property. We apologise in advance if anyone feels left out, and are very open to receiving and publishing stories from current or former occupants of the houses.

No 1

Thomas Richard and Elizabeth May Nixon were the first people to live at No 1 from 1950. Thomas was born near Durham in 1913 and Elizabeth (nee Scott) in 1914. They married in Surrey in 1939, and later that year they were living in Wallsend, where Thomas was working as a “Red leader, shipyard”. By 1945 they were living in Old Woking, but 5 years later were at No 1.

Elizabeth died in 1981, and Thomas, who worked at Vokes, stayed at No 1 until his death in 1988, after spending 38 years there. Below is a photo of one of their children relaxing in front of No 1 c1960. The Airey-type design can be clearly seen.

No 1a

David Rhoades and Dorothy Violet Goodwin were the first occupants of No 1a in 1950. David had been born near Liphook in 1913, the son of a professional musician who had studied at the Royal College of Music, but who died during WW1. David and Dorothy had married in Petersfield in 1940 and by 1946 were living in a house called Woolloomooloo in Deepcut. David was a Cinema operator at Pirbright Camp.

In 1960 they appear to have swapped houses with Herbert and Dorothy Chapman and moved into No 17 (see below). The Chapmans had married in Pirbright in 1930. Herbert (born 1896) was a Cemetery official living at Gibbs Acre, while Dorothy (nee Knight) was living at Appletree Cottage. In 1939 they were living at No 4, Council Houses at West Heath, and Herbert was a labourer (heavy worker). By 1950 they had moved into No 17, Rapley’s Field. But from 1960 onwards they seemed to be living at No 1a, having swapped houses with the Goodwins.

Herbert died in 1966, an event which was recorded in the local newspaper (see cutting, right).

After Herbert died, David Rhoades and Dorothy Violet Goodwin appear to have moved back into No 1a, to allow one of the Chapman daughters, Helen, and her husband to live in No 17. One of their daughters, Sheila, moved into No 12 (refer below) in the 1970s after her marriage to Robert Cook.

No 2

Ronald and Patricia (Pat) Challen lived at No 2 between 1952 and the mid 1960s. Ronald (born in 1924) had grown up at Manor Lodge and we have written about his family there. He married Patricia (Pat) Philpot in 1947. Patricia had been born in 1928, the daughter of Joseph and Lily Philpot, who lived at No 2, Sandpit Cottages and then No 16, Council Cottages, West Heath.

Immediately after their marriage Ronald and Pat lived at No 8, Council Cottages, but by 1952 they had moved into No 2, Rapley’s Field. They stayed at No 2 for at least 10 years, but by 1970 they had moved further away from Mill Lane and were living at No 15. Members of the Challen family are still living at No 15. The family have lived in Rapley’s Field for over 70 years.

We have shown below a photo of Pat and Ron (in the blue jumpers at the back), with Tony Garland. Tony wrote an excellent history of The Pirbright Institute, which we have included in the Pirbright Institute section. He and his family lived at No 11, Bullswater Common Road.

Rapley - 1966 cutting re Herbert Chapman.jpg

By 1969 Leonard and Joan Paul had moved into No 2. Leonard was born in Pirbright in 1920, the son of William and Lily Paul. William was a labourer. The Paul family initially lived on Goal Road, then Appletree Cottage, and then No 10, Council Cottages, West Heath. In 1939 Leonard was a Contractor’s labourer (heavy work).

In 1945 Leonard married Joan Willimott (born c1924) in Fakenham, Norfolk. Leonard was now a landscape gardener. Initially the couple lived with Lily in No 10, Council Cottages. But by 1955 they were living at 4a, Rapley’s Field (see below). Meanwhile his mother, Lily moved to No 20a (see below) c1960 and died (at No 4a) in 1962, aged 64.

By 1969, Leonard and Joan had moved to No 2. They stayed there until Leonard died in 1997 and then Joan in 2004, aged 80, in a Guildford nursing home. They had lived in Rapley’s Field for very nearly 50 years.

No 2a

From 1956 until sometime in the 1960s, Joseph and Ivy Brundell lived at No 2a. Previously they had lived at No 13 (refer below). In the 1960s they moved to No 3 Mill Lane (refer below), where we have told their story.

No 3

Roman and Anna Schrock (Szrock) lived at No 3 from 1953. We know very little about them, other than that Anna was born Anna O’Mahony. They were married in 1947 and had 2 children.

Anna obtained a divorce from Roman in 1969 on grounds of desertion. At the time Roman was living in Streatham. Anna was still living at No 3 in 2012, nearly 60 years after moving in.

No 3a

From 1959-60, Harry and Edith Turner lived at No 3a. Harry was born in 1896 in Folkestone. Edith was born in 1899 in Wetherby. During WW1 Harry enrolled in 1915 and served in France as a fitter and was promoted to the rank of corporal. They were married in Wetherby in 1918, and initially lived at No 6 Blatchford Row (now Chapel Lane). In 1919 Harry joined the RAF and worked there until 1927. They then moved to No 7, Council Cottages, where they stayed until 1959. In 1960 they moved into No 4 (see below).

From the late 1960s Ronald and Heather Fry lived in No 3a. Ronald was born in Pirbright in 1919, the son of Daniel and Mary Fry, who lived at Hazel Cottage in School Lane. Heather (nee Gray) was born in 1925 in Chertsey. Both Ronald’s and Heather’s fathers were painters, which might explain how they met (although we can’t begin to guess the details). The banns were read in 1947, but they only married in 1950 in Addlestone. By 1954 they had a daughter and were living at No 20a (see below). They lived there until the late 1960s, when they moved to No 3a. Ronald died while living at No 3a in 1983. Heather moved to South Humberside, where she died in 1989.

No 4

From 1953 to 1955 Edward (Ted) and Eileen Elwick lived at No 4. Ted was born in 1922, the son of Robert and Elizabeth Elwick. Robert was a Railway booking clerk, and they lived at Elm Cottage (aka No 8, Gibbs Acre). Ted and Eileen were married at Brookwood in 1946 and initially lived at No 3, The Gardens. By 1950, they had moved into No 4, Rapley’s Field. c1956 they moved to No 16 (refer below).

Ted was a store-keeper at Clarkes (the garage a few yards around the corner on the Guildford Road). This was very handy when a snake appeared anywhere near Eileen - she hated them and would send one of her children to fetch Ted to deal with said snake.

Ted and Eileen had 4 children, one of whom was born soon after the family moved into Rapley’s Field in March 1950 and who was given the middle name of Joan, after the lady who helped with her delivery. Another of the Elwick children is a member of the Pirbright Historians team. In 1962 the Elwicks placed an ad for an exchange of houses with an Eastbourne family. It must have been successful, as in 1963, after the long winter of that year, the family moved to Hailsham, near Eastbourne.

Ronald and Marie Kite briefly lived at No 4 in 1959-60. Ronald (born 1917) was the son of Herbert and Elizabeth Kite, who had lived at Kiln Cottage for many years. They soon moved to 3, Furzehill Cottages. But then, sometime in the 1980s, they returned to Rapley’s Field, living at No 13 (refer below). Marie Kite was a “lovely, kind, caring lady” according to someone who knew her. We have shown a photo of her, right.

In 1961, Harry and Edith Turner moved into No 4 from No 3a (refer above), where we have told their story. Harry died in 1963. Edith stayed in No 4 until c1977. She died in 1983.

The next occupants of No 4 were Cyril and Lorimer Jacobs. Cyril was born in Colchester in 1902, the son of a labourer. Lorimer (nee Stevens) was born in Pirbright in 1899, the daughter of William (a carter) and Annie Stevens. They lived at Appletree Cottage.

Cyril and Lorimer married at Pirbright in 1930 and had 1 daughter. After WW2, they lived initially at 10, Council Houses on West Heath, before moving c1956 to No 3, Sandpit Cottages. They moved to No 4, Rapleys Field c 1978, but Cyril died in 1980. Lorimer died in 1989, still living at No 4.

No 4a

From 1955 to c1969 Leonard and Joan Paul lived at No 4a. They then moved to No 2 (refer above), where we tell their story.

From 1970 Ellen Bassett and Ronald Arnold lived at No 4a. Ellen had been born Ellen Arnold in 1904 and in 1934 had married Walter Bassett, a hairdresser, born in 1888. The family lived in Ripley, but Walter died in 1957, aged 69. Ellen moved in with Ronald (her brother, we think) on Ripley High Street before they moved to No 4a in 1970. Ellen died in 2002 and Ronald in 2015.

No 5

George and Lilian Hodgson lived at No 5 for around 40 years from 1954 to the mid 1990s. George was born in 1915. Lilian was born Lilian Westman in 1919 in Guildford. They married in Guildford in 1939 and immediately after WW2 lived in Ash Green. By 1949 they were living at No 16 (refer below), but by 1954 had moved to No 5. They were still living at No 5 in 1992. George died in 1999, and by 2002 Lilian was living at 12, Collens Field. She died in 2005. Below are pictures of George (right) with Percy Goulter of Little Cutt and of Lilian.

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No 6

Donald and Pamela Nye moved into No 6 in 1949. Donald was born in Guildford in 1917. Pamela (nee Burdett) was born in Wandsworth in 1924. They married in Farnham in 1943 and initially lived there. Donald was a toolmaker. In 1951 a newspaper reported that a car knocked him down in front of the Guildford Lido, causing bruising. The driver had said “Why don’t you look where you’re going?” to which Donald had replied “Why don’t you look where you’re driving? It turned out that the driver had gone the wrong way past a “Keep Left” sign and so was fined £5.

The Nyes stayed until the mid-1970s. However the marriage broke up and they both remarried. Donald moved to Ripley and Pamela to Guildford.

No 7

Colin and Margaret Puddick lived in No 7 from 1950. Colin was born in Farnham in 1920. In 1942 he married Margaret Howells, who was also born in 1920. After the end of WW2 they lived in Ash, before moving to No 7 in 1950. They had 4 children. They moved out of No 7 in the mid-1990s to live in Carmarthen.

No 8

From c1952 William Herbert and Lydia Gwendolen Boylett moved into No 8. William was born in 1909, the son of Herbert and Lily Boylett, who lived at Newmans. Lydia (nee Roberts) was born in Plymouth in 1911. They married in Plymouth in 1936 and lived at The Green.

William died in 1973 and Lydia in 1984. The last Pirbright members of the once extensive Boylett family still live at No 8.

No 9

Leslie and Joyce Edmondson moved into No 9 in 1955. Leslie was born near Bath in 1920, the son of an engineer. He married Joyce (nee Lewis in 1922) in Hereford in 1944. The couple had 4 children. Leslie was a sales rep. He died in 1984, just 4 months after Lydia Boylett next door. Joyce moved away from Pirbright the same year and died in 1988.

No 10

Wilfred and Hilda Tubb moved into No 10 in 1949, having previously lived at The Bungalow, Pirbright Junction, and before the war at Gibb’s Acre and Railway Cottages. Prior to arriving in Pirbright they had lived in Ripley until c1936.

Wilfred, known as Darkie, from his swarthy complexion, was born in Alton in 1905, the son of Albert (a cab driver) and Lucy Tubb. There have been (and still are) a few Tubb families in Pirbright who originate from near Alton. We assume that Wilfred was related to these Tubbs families, but the link must go back several generations, as we have not been able to trace it. Hilda (nee Hall) was born in Westminster in 1911, the daughter of a Police constable. Wilfred and Hilda were married by the time they arrived in Pirbright, although we cannot trace their marriage in the records.

Wilfred was a labourer and the Pirbright Group Scoutmaster. They had 5 children. Their youngest daughter, Pauline, married Tony Christmas, one of the driving forces behind the Rickford Bakery (now The Christmas Bakery). c1967 the Tubbs moved to No 17, Upper Stanford, and then to Normandy, where Hilda died in 1986 and Wilfred in 1988. This obituary (and a photo of Wilfred at work) was published in the local newspaper. We have also shown a photo of Hilda and young Pauline at No 10.

No 11

The first occupants of No 11 in 1949 were Henry and Isabella Morton. Henry was born in North Shields in 1910, the adopted son of a labourer in a steel-smelting furnace at Hebburn Colliery, near Newcastle. Isabella (nee Macphillamy) was born in Bristol in 1918. They married in Glamorganshire in 1937 and they had 5 children. They lived at Ash Vale before moving to Pirbright. They stayed at No 11 until 1972, when they moved to Normandy. Henry died in 2003 and Isabella in 1921, aged 103.

From c1973, Arthur and Maureen Cheeseman lived at No 11. For some reason they were known to their many friends as Onk & Mo. Arthur was born in London in 1940. Maureen (nee Tinkler) was born in Pirbright in 1943, the daughter of John and Gwendoline Tinkler, who lived at the time at No 11, Council Cottages. The Tinkler family moved to No 15 (refer below) in 1950.

Arthur and Maureen were married at St Michaels in 1961. They lived initially at No 2, Council Cottages on West Heath, and then c1973 moved to No 11. Arthur died in 2022.

No 12

The first occupants of No 12 were Sydney and Irene Wells. Sydney was born in Brentford in 1908, the son of an “Experimental Engineer”. Irene (nee Siggery) was born in 1911 in Reading, the daughter of a Goods guard on the South Eastern and Chatham Railway. They married in Reading in 1932 and lived in Reading (2 doors down from Irene’s parents) until WW2. They had 3 children. In 1939 Sydney was a Toolmaker.

The Wells family moved to Pirbright in 1949 and lived at No 12 until 1973, when they moved to Glaziers Lane, Normandy. Sydney died in 1973. Irene remarried in 1978 to a William Jackson and died in 1997.

From 1977, Robert and Sheila Cook lived at No 12. They had previously been living at No 4 Stanford Cottages.

Robert was born in 1942. Sheila nee Goodwin was born in 1946, the daughter of David and Dorothy Goodwin, who were the first occupants of No 1a (refer above) in 1950. Robert and Sheila were married at St Michaels in 1966. Curiously, Robert’s brother had married Sheila’s sister 4 years previously, and it was at that wedding that Robert and Sheila first met. A lovely story.

At the time, Robert was an AID (Aeronautical Inspection Department) inspector. The Cooks moved out of No 12 in 2003, and Robert died in 2004.

No 13

The first occupants of No 13 from 1949 were Joseph and Ivy W Brundell lived at No 2a. In 1956 they moved to No 2a (refer above). In the 1960s they moved to No 3 Mill Lane (refer below), where we have told their story.

Ronald and Marie Kite had lived at No 4, Rapley’s Field (refer above) in 1959-60. Ronald (born 1917) was the son of Herbert and Elizabeth Kite, who had lived at Kiln Cottage for many years. They soon moved to 3, Furzehill Cottages, but returned to Rapley’s Field in the 1980s, living at No 13. Ronald died in 1991, aged 74.

No 14

The first occupants of No 14 were Herbert Harold and Hilda Hood from 1949. Herbert was born near Canterbury in 1903. He married Hilda (nee Cannon) in 1934. He was variously a contractor, a landscape gardener and a dairy farmer who worked at Newbridge Farm. The Hood family moved out of No 14 in the late 1960s. We have shown 3 cuttings from the late 1950s (none of them particularly favourable) about their children below.

No 15

The first occupants of No 15 in 1950 were John Edmund (Eddie) and Gwendoline Minnie Tinkler. John was born in 1906 a few miles north of Penrith, the son of a “motor car repairer”. Gwendoline was the daughter of John and Minnie Collins of No 1, Stanford Cottages, born in 1913.

The couple married in 1934, as reported by the Penrith Observer (cutting below). We are also indebted to the Penrith Observer for the cutting right, regarding Eddie’s rescue from Dunkirk in 1940.

The cutting gives us a clue as to how Eddie and Gwendoline may have met – perhaps Eddie was stationed at Aldershot during his military training? Initially the Tinklers lived at No 11, Council Cottages and then No 2, Sandpit Cottages, but by 1950 had moved into the newly-built No 15. Sadly Eddie died in 1958, aged only 52 and a few years later Gwendoline moved to No 5 with the Hodgsons (refer above). She remarried (to a James Reading) in 1967 and they stayed at No 5 for a few years before moving to No 11, Mill Lane (refer below). Gwendoline died in 1993. Their daughter Maureen Tinkler married Arthur Cheeseman (see no. 11 above).

Ronald and Patricia (Pat) Challen moved into No 15, Rapley’s Field in the mid-1960s, having lived at No 2 since 1952. We have written about Ronald and Pat in the section on No 2 above. Members of the Challen family are still living at No 15. The family have lived in Rapley’s Field for over 70 years.

No 16

George and Lilian Hodgson moved into No 16 in 1949 and lived there for a few years before moving to No 5 (refer above). Edward (Ted) and Eileen Elwick then lived at No 16, having moved from No 4 (refer above). The movements in Rapley’s Field can sometimes seem like a game of musical chairs....

In 1969 William and Sarah Irelan-Hill lived briefly at No 10 with William’s father, John Hill, who had lived at Kiln Cottage way back in the 1930’s. However, John died in 1969 and the Irelan-Hills moved to Rickford Hill in Worplesdon.

No 17

Herbert and Dorothy Chapman lived at No 17 from 1950 to c1960. At this time they swapped houses with David and Dorothy Goodwin in No 1a (see above).

The Goodwins lived at No 17 until c1970, when they passed the house to Helen Cooper, daughter of Herbert and Dorothy, who had married James Cooper. The Coopers they stayed at No 17 until c1986.

No 18

The first occupants of No 18 in 1949 were Arthur and Mary Cranstone. Arthur was born in 1913, the son of Andrew and Ann Nora Cranstone, who had moved into Nursery Cottage (today Track End Cottage) in 1908. After his father’s death in 1930, Arthur and his mother moved to No 1, Longhouses, where we have written more about their earlier life.

Mary died in 1977, and Arthur stayed at No 18 until c1993, when he moved to No 11 Mill Lane (see below). Arthur died there in 1995. A photo of the Cranstones’ gravestone is shown below.

No 19

During the 1960s Hans and Alice Gerber moved into No 19. Hans Seraphin Gerber was born in London in 1894. His father was a Swiss hotel servant and his mother was daughter of an English labourer from Dorset. Alice (nee Durrant) was born in 1900 at Kirdford near Billingshurst, the daughter of a farm labourer. Hans was baptised, aged 15, in Kirdford, and so it is likely that he and Alice knew each other from an early age.

They married at Petworth in 1921 and had 1 son, Jack, born 3 months after his parents’wedding. The family moved to Pirbright c1926 and lived at Terry Cottage, Appletree Cottage and then No 4, Stanford Cottages before moving into No 19. In 1939, Hans was a farm carter (heavy worker).

During WW2, Jack served in the RAF Volunteer Reserve, but died in 1941, aged only 19 from nephritis. We have shown a copy of his death notice in the local newspaper, left.

Hans died in 1977 and Alice in 1984, still living at No 19.

No 19a

Thomas and Lilian Richards moved into No 19a in 1960. Thomas was born at Nottingham in 1924. Lily (nee Tamplin) was born in Pirbright in 1924, the daughter of William and Annie Tamplin. William was a labourer who lived at No 2, Sandpit Cottages. They married at Alton in 1951, moved into No 19a in 1960, and lived there for 43 years until 2003, the year they both died. We have shown a photo of Thomas and Lilian, complete with ice cream cone, right.

No 20

Lillian Hatton was living in No 20 in 1991. She had been living at Chota Palais in Chapel Lane in the early 1950s, but, other than that, we do not know much about her.

No 20a

From the c1954 Ronald and Heather Fry lived in No 3a. They lived there until the late 1960s, when they moved to No 3a, where we tell their story. By 1970, Frank and Rene Boulton were living at No 20a, but they soon moved not far away to somewhere else in Pirbright. In 1991 Stephen Cheeseman was living at No 20a. Stephen was the son of Onk & Mo Cheeseman, who lived at No 11 (refer above).

No 21

The first occupants of No 21 were Stanley (Stan) James and Mabel Flora Foulkes. Stan was born in Liverpool in 1919, the son of an engine driver for the Midland Railway. In 1939 he was a hospital porter in Liverpool. For some reason he sometimes gave his name as James Stanley Foulkes. Mabel was born in 1921, one of the 5 children of Alfred and Eva Fry, who farmed at Stanford Farm.

They married in 1943 in Pirbright. At the time Stan was a serving soldier based in Caterham, while Mabel was living at Lavender Cottage. One of their wedding photos is shown right.

After WW2 they lived initially at The Cottage, Fords Farm before moving to No 21. They had 2 children there. Below is a photo of the 2 children in front of No 21, with another photo of No 21 (on its own).

Mabel sadly died at St Luke’s Hospital in Guildford in 1957, aged only 36. Stan stayed at No 21 until the early 1960s. By 1967 he had moved to Nursery Road, Knaphill. He died in Bath in 1990.

By 1970 Oliver Mark and Eveline Mary Baker had moved into No 21. During the 1930s the Bakers had been living in what is today called The Granary near the Manor House and we tell their early history there. They then moved to 1, Apple Tree Cottages.

From the early 1950s the Bakers lived with their daughter, Betty Mary Tamplin. Betty Baker had been born in 1929 and in 1951 married Edward Tamplin, a widower. Edward was born in 1920 and was brought up in No 2, Sandpit Cottages and then one of the Council Houses on West Heath. It seems that the marriage did not last very long, as Betty was living with her parents at 1, Apple Tree Cottages within a couple of years and stayed with them for a further 60 years. Meanwhile Edward remarried in 1974 (to Josie Rose) and the couple lived in Hockford Close. Edward died in 1991.

The Bakers (and Betty) stayed at No 21 until 2017.

No 22

The first occupants of No 22 were Kenneth and Lilian Amy (Lil) Brown. Kenneth had been living with his parents in No 5, Longhouses before his marriage to Lilian in 1942. Lilian (nee Nicholls) had been born in West Ham in 1922. They lived with Kenneth’s parents at Longhouses for a while before moving into No 22 in 1949.

Things didn’t work out well for the Browns. Kenneth seemed to leave the area, and in 1955 Lilian remarried Peter Orchard. The Orchards lived at No 22 until 1981, when Peter died. Lil (pictured, left) died in Woking in 2011.

3-11 Mill Lane (previously 1-5, Rapley’s Bungalows)

These 5 terraced houses were built during the late 1960s, as Council Houses specifically for elderly people. When they were first built they were known as 1-5 Rapley’s Bungalows, (although they are not actually bungalows). The houses were built partly on the site of a sewage treatment works, created for treatment of waste from the Rapley’s Field houses. We have written a little more about this in the Rapley’s Field section above. We have shown (right) the newspaper cutting announcing that the Council had approved (its own) development application.

Today’s numbering system (introduced c1990) is intriguing. Someone new to the area may have thought that the house numbers would be 1-5, as they were originally. But no, they are numbers 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11. A little quirky, one may think, but perhaps there was some logic. If so, it escapes us.

Initially the bungalows were indeed occupied by elderly folk of Pirbright, many of whom had lived at nearby Rapley’s Field. We have written about the earlier residents below.

3 Mill Lane

The first occupants of No 3 from c1969 were Joseph and Ivy Brundell. Ivy (nee Harris) was born in Pirbright in 1906, the son of Edward and Eliza Harris, who lived at Cook’s Green Cottages. Joseph (born 1899 in Lincolnshire) was a soldier at North Camp, the son of an engine driver. They married in Pirbright in 1926 and had 2 children. In 1939 they were living at Gate Cottage, Bisley Camp. Joseph was a house painter. After WW2 they lived briefly at 6, Council Houses, West Heath before moving to No 13 (1950-1956), and then to No 2a, Rapley’s Field (1956-1960 - refer above).

Joseph died in 1973 and Ivy stayed there until her death in 1987. In 1992, Dorothy Goodwin was living at No 3. She had previously lived at No 1a, Rapley’s Field (refer above).

5 Mill Lane

The first occupants of No 7 in c1969 were Frederick and Elizabeth Mileham. Frederick was born in 1906 in Pirbright, the son of Henry and Annie Mileham. Henry was a labourer and the family lived at No 6, Sandpit Cottages. Elizabeth was born Elizabeth Dowie Brown in Fifeshire in 1910. During the next 25 years her family moved to England, and in 1939 were living in Deal, her father being a colliery hewer. Elizabeth lived in Pirbright as a cook for the Lawson family at Churchmead.

Frederick and Elizabeth were married in 1941. Frederick was a camp servant living at 2, Cooks Green. For a short while after WW2 they lived at No 8, The Terrace. They then moved to Pirbright Camp, and then during the 1960s at No 4, Brunswick Road. They had 1 child.

Frederick died in 1973 and Elizabeth in 2001, aged 91. A wedding photo from 1941 is shown right.

7 Mill Lane

The first occupant of No 7 was Lucy Saunders. She had previously lived for many years on The Green with her husband, Ernest. She had been born Lucy Albertina Price in Ewhurst in 1897, but her father, a coachman, died before she was born. Lucy and Ernest married in Woking in 1921 while they were both living at 2, Connaught Cottages in Brookwood. Ernest, a railway guard born in 1890, died in 1957. Lucy died in 1988, aged 91.

9 Mill Lane

The first occupants in No 9 from c1969 were John (Jack) and Grace Douthwaite. They had previously lived at Rayles Cottage and then 8, Stanford Cottages. We tell their earlier history there.

Grace died in 1990, aged 80. John moved out the same year and moved to Hornbeam Road in Guildford (near where the A320 goes under the A3). He died in 2015. A tribute to John’s passion for football is shown below. We have also shown an earlier photo of Jack and Grace.

After John Douthwaite left no 9 in 1990, Ivy Street moved in. Ivy and her husband John had lived at Vine Cottage in the 1930s and then No 11, Council Cottages, West Heath and we tell her early story there. John died in 1979. Ivy died in a Nursing home in Guildford in 2002, aged 90. We have shown a picture of the family gravestone in St Michael’s Churchyard left.

11 Mill Lane

The first occupants of No 11 were Gwendoline and James Reading. They had previously lived at No 15, Rapley’s Field (refer above) and we tell their story there. Gwendoline died in 1993, aged 80.

Lindfield

Lindfield was built in 1935. The plans show it as being built on long thin strip of land, with vacant land on either side, and we think that it was the first house built in the immediate area. We have shown part of the plans below. They had been prepared by a firm called Cheeseman & Rapley of Chobham. Was Mr (or Ms) Rapley descended from the Rapleys of the 1700s? Who knows?

The first occupants were Archibald Laban Larkspur and Jane Elizabeth Jenner. Archibald was born in 1879 in Lindfield, near Haywards Heath, which gives us a clue as to how the house derived its name. His middle name of Larkspur is highly unusual, but maybe his parents loved delphiniums... His father ran a butcher’s shop in Lindfield High Street. Jane (nee Mills) was born in 1872 in Dover. They married in Ardwick, a suburb of Manchester in 1905.

By 1911 Archibald was running his late father’s butcher’s business in Lindfield. By then the couple had produced 2 children, both sons (named Archibald, born 1906 and Thomas, born 1907). By 1921 the family had moved to York Road, Woking. Old Archibald had changed his occupation somewhat, and was working as a government clerk, working for the RAF at Onslow Crescent in Woking (just off Oriental Road). By 1939 Archibald had retired and was a poultry farmer at Lindfield (the house in Mill Lane).

Old Archibald died in 1949 and Jane in 1951. Young Archibald (Archibald Laban Victor Jenner) stayed at Lindfield and in 1956 when he was aged 50, married Lorna McGhie, who was born in 1919, had been living at Sydenham Road in Guildford and was (we think) Hon secretary of the West Surrey Repertory Company. Archibald died in 1964. Lorna moved away from the area the same year and died in Eastbourne in 2003.

The next owners of Lindfield from c1965 were William M and Margaret J Allen.

They stayed until 1975 and were followed by John and Margaret Piper. John lived life to the full. His career was as a liquidation specialist partner in accountants Stoy Hayward. But he was also a helicopter pilot (once crashing his Robinson into trees at Lindfield). And he was a Porsche enthusiast, racing his fearsome 200mph 962 and pottering round Lindfield in his Porsche tractor, part of his collection.

In 1972 in Kent he had married Margaret Bedford, an African missionary’s daughter. Left largely to her own devices by his hectic life, she kept a horse, a red setter (Rory), a number of cats and an escapist pygmy goat, as well as appearing in many Pirbright Players productions.

Tragically, only 45, John was killed in a road accident in France in 1989 and is buried in St Michael’s Churchyard. Margaret returned to Africa, died, and was buried there in 1999.

By 1991 new owners had bought Lindfield, and in 2002 the current owners purchased the property.