Felbridge & District History Group

Builders of Felbridge – W M Heselden & Sons

This series of Handouts will look at the stories and lives of some of the builders and architects of Felbridge (not necessarily in chronological order) who developed what had been the ‘gentleman’s estate’ of Felbridge for over 200 years into the village of Felbridge as it had become by the mid 1960’s. 

 

The series has no intentions of covering the later re-development of properties and garden in-fill developments that began in 1964 with Felbridge Court off Copthorne Road, Tangle Oak off Mill Lane, Tithe Orchard off Rowplatt Lane and Warren Close off Crawley Down Road, or the more recent developments of Birch Grove and its extension, Cherry Way, Hamptons Mews, Hedgecourt Place, Housman Way/Springfield Gardens, Long Wall, Lyndhurst Farm Close, Mulberry Gate and Eden Gardens off the Copthorne Road; Rowplatt Close and Twitten Lane off Rowplatt Lane; Acacia Close, Coppice Vale/Thicket Rise, Leybourne Place, McIver Close/Evelyn Gardens and Oak Farm Place off Crawley Down Road; and Arkendale/Whittington College, Felbridge Gate, Felwater Court/The Feld, The Glebe/Mackenzie House/Barrell House, Glendale, Old Brewery Court, Redgarth Court and Standen Close/The Moorings off the London Road.

 

The first in this series of Handouts looks at W M Heselden & Sons Ltd who were building in the Felbridge area between 1910 and 1984 and who were responsible for the construction of the early phase of housing in Rowplatt Lane for architect Major T Stewart Inglis; Halsford Croft, Halsford Green and Halsford Lane at North End for Edgar Soames of the East Grinstead Tenants Ltd; The Limes Estate off the London Road with designs by Mark Heselden and Mr Gasson; much of Mill Lane and a number of dwellings on the Copthorne Road and Crawley Down Road, as well as further afield in East Grinstead, Crawley Down, Dormans Park, Dormansland, South Godstone and Groombridge.

 

The Development of a ‘gentleman’s estate’ into the village of Felbridge

The development of Felbridge as a village did not really begin until the estate of Felbridge, its mansion house and associated lands were sold off in a succession of auctions that began in 1911 [for further information see Handout, 1911 Sale of the Felbridge Estate, SJC 01/11]. 

 

Until the late 17^th century, Felbridge was sparsely populated, consisting mostly of Common and fairy boggy, un-developed heath-land.  In 1588 George Evelyn of Kingston, Long Ditton and Wotton, purchased the manor of Godstone which included 70 acres of land in Felbridge being at the southern-most end of the manor of Godstone [for further information see Handout, Evelyn Family of Felbridge, JIC/SJC09/13].  By the late 17^th century a principal dwelling house had been constructed by George Evelyn of Nutfield, known as Heath Hatch, which was to form the nucleus of the Felbridge estate built up by his son Edward Evelyn from 1719 by his decision to make Felbridge his main residence [for further information see Handout, Evelyn Family of Felbridge, JIC/SJC09/13].  This decision cemented the early development of Felbridge as a ‘gentleman’s estate’ because the only residents to live here were those required in the day-to-day running of the estate.  As such residents’ dwellings were pushed out-of-sight of the main house and grounds with little opportunity of creating a traditional village ie: a group of houses arranged around a centre consisting of village green, church, school and public house etc. 

 

Felbridge was to remain a ‘gentleman’s estate’ under a succession of resident and non-resident lords from the early 18^th century until the beginning of the 20^th century.  Firstly under the Evelyn family and then the Gatty family after their purchase of the estate in 1865 [for further information see Handout, Dr. Charles Henry Gatty, SJC 11/03].  However, on the death of Charles Henry Gatty in 1903, the Felbridge estate was left to two non-resident male cousins and in 1910 the decision to sell the estate to Mrs Emma Harvey and the East Grinstead Estate Company (founded by her husband, property developer Percy Portway Harvey) set in motion the break-up of the Felbridge estate that began in 1911 [for further information see Handout, 1911 Sale of the Felbridge Estate, SJC 01/11].  The initial sale was of 1,350 acres (just part of the what was described as the ‘valuable Freehold Estate’ of Felbridge), presented in 43 Lots comprising of residential properties, farms and small holdings, licensed premises and a smithy and over 250 acres of land specifically described as ‘beautiful building sites’ and ‘land for development’. 

 

This was not the total extent of the Felbridge estate, which extended to over 2,000 acres in 1911, and it would take a succession of auctions into the early 1950’s to complete the break-up of the Felbridge estate, but it was the auction of 1911 that fundamentally changed Felbridge.  Since 1911 a succession of local builders have developed the ‘gentleman’s estate’ of the 17^th, 18^th and 19^th centuries into the mid 20^th century village of Felbridge, formulated by 1964.

 

The Heselden family

The branch of the Heselden family who were responsible for the some of the early development of the village of Felbridge was headed by William Mark (known as Mark) Heselden, formerly of Hastings.  However, the Hastings branch of the Heselden family can trace their lineage back through Sedlescombe and Mayfield in Sussex to the early 18^th century.

 

William Mark Heselden

William Mark Heselden (known as Mark) was born on 28^th August 1882 in Ore, Hastings, the son of Jesse Heselden and his wife Maria Jane née Shaw.  William’s siblings included: Jesse born in 1873, Esther Maria born in 1875, Rosina Elizabeth (known as Rose) born in 1877, Naomi born in 1880, Alice Elizabeth born in 1885, Emma Mary born in 1888, Frederick Cruze born in 1890 and Albert Edmund born in 1893.  William’s father worked as a brick layer and began his married life living at 2, Toronto Terrace, Ore, Hastings, before moving to Sandown Cottages, Ore, sometime between 1881 and 1891 and then 25, Clifton Road, Hastings sometime between 1901 and 1911, although by 1911 William had married and left the family home.

 

William Mark Heselden married Edith Mary Cosson at Christ Church, Ore, on 19^th April 1908.  Edith had been born on 25^th October 1883 in Ealing, Middlesex, the daughter of Henry Cosson and his first wife Mary Ann née Richardson.  Henry was base born of Sarah Matilda Cosson in 1850 in Chertsey, Surrey, and had at least a further five children with his first wife Mary Ann, including: Horace born in 1875, Edward born in 1877, William born in 1881, Alfred born in 1887 and Henry Herbert born in 1890 who sadly died in 1890.  From the registration of the children’s births, Henry and his family moved from Chertsey to Ealing sometime between 1875 and 1877 and then to Hastings sometime between 1887 and 1890.  Sadly Mary Ann died in 1892 and Henry married Mary Ann Gasson (a widow) in 1893 in Hastings with whom he had Henry William born in 1907 and sadly lost his second wife Mary Ann, in 1907.  In 1908, Henry married for the third time, Ellen Mary Shaw, with whom he had George Edward who was born and died in 1908 and Henry Harvey who was born in 1910.  Although Henry senior was baptised Cosson, he spent much of his life listed as Henry Farley, using his step-father’s surname after his mother Sarah Cosson’s marriage to John Farley in 1857.  Henry’s whole family also used the Farley surname, although Cosson was the chosen name for all legal documents.       

 

At the time of their marriage in 1908, Mark Heselden, like his father Jesse, was listed as a bricklayer living at 18, Sandown Road, Ore, and Edith was listed as living at 369, Priory Road, Ore (Henry Farley/Cosson’s address in 1901 and 1911).  Mark and Edith began their married life in Hastings where their first child, Frederick Mark was born in 1910.  However, in 1911 Mark was boarding with George and Alice Norman at Starrock Cottages, High Road, Chipstead, Surrey; Mark’s son Frederick was living with his grandparents Jesse and Maria Heselden at 25, Clifton Road, Hastings; and currently it has not been possible to determine where Mark’s wife Edith was living in either 1901 or 1911 (under any surname, Cosson, Farley or Heselden).  Mark and Edith went on to have a further five children: Edith Emma born in 1913, Mark William born in 1916, Harry William born in 1918, Albert George born in 1921 and Robert Stanley born in 1924 (Edith and Mark junior being born in East Grinstead whilst Harry, Albert and Robert were born in Felbridge).

 

It is known that early in his working life, Mark worked on the ‘Cliff Lifts’ in Hastings.  These are a pair of lifts/railways affording easy access from the OldTown to the elevated level of Hastings where the Castle, St Clements caves (western end) and the CountryPark (eastern end) are located.  The West Hill Lift (also known as the West Hill Cliff Railway) opened in 1891 when Mark was a 9-year old boy so it seems unlikely that he had a hand in its building, although perhaps his father did.  However, the East Hill Lift (also known as the East Hill Cliff Railway) was the second of the two lifts and was constructed between 1900 and 1903 so it is more likely that Mark helped build the East Hill Lift situated at the eastern Rock-a-Nore end of Hastings, overlooking the Stade, fisherman’s quarters and the net drying sheds.  The lift/railway line is a 5ft (1,524mm) gauge and is one of the steepest lines in Sussex, running in a cutting in the cliff face being originally operated on the water balance principle, the twin towers of the upper station containing the water tanks for this purpose; however, since 1976 it has been electrified.

 

It is also known that in his early working life Mark travelled to where ever work could be found, travelling as far as London, in particular to Ealing and Streatham.  It was through work that Mark would eventually come to live in East Grinstead.  At first, Mark commuted from Ore to East Grinstead, travelling there, weekly by bicycle, returning to Ore at the end of each week.  He would take a break in the journey at Battle, ‘for a rest and a bar of chocolate for refreshment’.  Whilst staying in East Grinstead Mark boarded with John and Martha Pentecost at 87, Lingfield Road.  It has not yet been possible to determine where in East Grinstead Mark’s skills as a brick layer were required but it is known that he was employed by Henry Banger (soft G) who originated from Yeovil in Somerset, who by 1901 was a builder living at 79, Lingfield Road, East Grinstead, before moving to Frith Park, East Grinstead by 1911. 

 

As established above, Mark was boarding in Chipstead in 1911 so his contract with Henry Banger must have finished and he had moved on to another job.  Mark then moved to Felbridge where he helped to build houses on the west side of Rowplatt Lane (see below) that were ready for occupation from 1914 and where by 1918, Mark Heselden and his family were living at 11, Rowplatt Lane.  The Heselden family resided here until 1926 when they moved to a succession of dwellings that Mark built on a plot of land in Crawley Down Road circa 1924-1928 (see below), living first at Surrey Edge (no.123), then Rye Mead Cottage (no.125), before finally settling at The Pines (no.121) in 1928, where Mark and Edith would remain for the rest of their lives.

 

All the Heselden children were brought up in Felbridge and attended FelbridgeSchool.  Harry Heselden remembered being taken for rides in the pony and trap belonging to the ‘Miss Spong of Warren House Farm’ on the Crawley Down Road (now Warren Close) [for further information see Handouts, Another Biography from the churchyard of St John the Divine – James Osborn Spong, SJC 05/04, and The Felbridge Triangle and the development of Warren Farm, SJC 03/05] and while he did not remember the dismantling and removal of the Evelyn Monument in 1926 (formerly located within the grounds of 76, Copthorne Road [for further information see Handout, The Felbridge Monument, SJC 08/99]), he did remember the ground being cleared to gain access to the site, during which the workmen killed ‘hundreds’ of snakes and hung them over a gate.  All of the Heselden children married and many remained in the Felbridge area, although, sadly, Mark William Heselden was the only son to become a casualty of World War II. 

 

Mark William Heselden had married Winifred Emily Alison Potter on 4^th April 1940 and in 1942 they had a son called Keith.  In 1940, Mark was called up under the Government’s direction of labour policy for World War II to carry out duties working on aircraft engines.  He worked first at Gatwick and later at Southampton and whilst in Southampton the Germans heavily bombed his unit.  Later Mark joined the 174 Workshops and Park Company of the Royal Engineers and was due to take part in the Normandy invasion of 6^th June 1944, but sadly Sapper Mark William Heselden, Reg. No. 14379084, was fatally injured just a fortnight before the planned invasion when an army lorry in which he was travelling was involved in a road accident.  Mark died the following day on 23^rd May 1944 and was buried St John’s Church, Felbridge, with full Military Honours, on 29^th May 1944 [for further information see Handout, War Memorials of St John the Divine, Felbridge, SJC 07/02v].

  

Edith Mary Heselden died on 3^rd May 1949, from The Pines, aged 66 and was buried on 6^th May 1949 in the churchyard at St John’s, Felbridge, and William Mark Heselden died aged 83, on 30^th March 1966 at Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead and was buried at St John’s on 4^th April 1966.

 

W M Heselden & Sons Ltd

The building business founded by William Mark (known as Mark) Heselden was established in East Grinstead on his arrival in 1910, known as W M Heselden Builder & Contractor.  This name continued to be used until 1946, by which time most of his sons had joined the business, and it became known as W M Heselden & Sons.  By the 1950’s the business had a builder’s yard located at 119, Crawley Down Road, adjacent to the family home; the plot rented from Mr Moore, although he didn’t want to sell the land (the plot currently looks derelict and the entrance fenced off).  The entrance led to the Heselden’s workshop, which was at the bottom of the garden of no.121 and contained benches, tools and an electric saw.  The Yard also had a garage for the vehicles, among them at successive times, there was a yellow ex-army truck with the HESELDEN name stencilled on in black, a black van and two blue Volkswagen pick-ups which had the HESELDEN name sign-written on in white.  After these, medium and small sized vans were used.  The Yard could accommodate items such as wood and other building materials and some carpentry and joinery and other preparatory work was also done there. 

 

In 1955 the business became a limited company.  W M Heselden & Sons Ltd was very much a small, family-run business with Mark being joined by each son as they reached the age of employment.  Frederick (known as Fred) worked for the company between 1925 and 1975; Mark junior worked for the company between 1930 and 1939 when war duties took him away never to return (see above); Harry worked for the company between 1946 and 1959 (having worked for Harris’s Builders’ Merchants in Reigate, Surrey, between 1937 and 1939 when he then served with the army during World War II); Albert (known as Bert) worked for the company between 1945 and 1974; and Robert (known as Bob) worked for the company between 1948 and 1984.  W M Heselden & Sons Ltd ceased trading in 1984 and the company was dissolved in 1985.   

 

As established above, Mark senior was a bricklayer by trade (as were several generations before him); Fred was also a bricklayer; son Mark was carpenter, Harry mainly did Quantity Surveying, planning, correspondence and other office work, plus some practical (generally plumbing and woodwork) when needed; Bert was also a carpenter; and Bob was a plumber.  Sub-contractors were used for other trades and over the first 59 years that the Heselden builders were operating, they erected a significant number of properties in Felbridge and the surrounding area, including: most of the houses on the west side of Rowplatt Lane; Ye Felbridge Hotel (now Crowne Plaza, Felbridge), Glendale, Brownwood and The Limes Estate on London Road; Halsford Croft and Halsford Green at North End; several properties in Crawley Down Road (including the three dwellings the Heseldens lived in); several houses on Copthorne Road (including the distinctive semi-detached group of dwellings just west of The Star Inn); several bungalows along Mill Lane;  a couple of dwellings in Furnace Wood; a couple of dwellings on Hophurst Hill; a couple of dwellings in New Domewood; and several dwellings in the surrounding area including: a house on Dorset Avenue, a house on Lewes Road, a bungalow in Elizabeth Crescent on the Blackwell Farm Estate and two houses in Dormans Park, in East Grinstead, three bungalows at Dormansland, a detached house and pair of semi-detached houses in South Godstone and a two bungalows at Groombridge, Kent.

 

The following details some the building work in Felbridge and the surrounding area associated with William Mark Heselden and his building business W M Heselden & Sons Ltd, along with information on the architects and designers where known (a full catalogue of Heselden buildings in Felbridge and the surrounding area, with dates of construction where known, follows at the end of this document).    

 

Rowplatt Lane, c1913/22  

It is known that Mark Heselden worked as a brick layer on nos. 5-32 Rowplatt Lane, the smaller dwellings on the west side of the road.  However it is not known whether he worked on the detached houses at the north end of the road, now 1, Rowplatt Close (formerly Thornhurst, Rowplatt Lane) or the two houses heading westward from the junction of Rowplatt Lane with Copthorne Road, nos.49 (formerly The Timbers, Rowplatt Lane) and Dalehurst, 51, Copthorne Road, although they were built at a similar time to the second phase of development in Rowplatt Lane to designs by the same architect – Major T Stewart Inglis. 

 

The development of the west side of Rowplatt Lane was over-seen by the Streatham architect Major Thomas Stewart Inglis, MSA, DSO, who during World War I, also fought with the 9^th Battalion of the Royal Field Artillery, being awarded a Distinguished Service Order and rising to the rank of Major.  Although based in Streatham, by the mid 1920’s T Stewart Inglis (as he was known) had an architect’s office at 58, London Road, East Grinstead (now the site of Abbey National).  The Royal Institute of British Architects lists him as flourishing between 1916 and 1926, and being made a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1925.  He was also a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries and a Fellow of the Institute of Structural Engineers [for further information see Handouts, Eating and Drinking Establishments of Felbridge, Pt. I, SJC 05/07; Old Felbridge House and The Feld, SJC 02/01 and Felbridge Remembers their World War I Heroes, Pt. 3, JIC/SJC 07/17]. 

 

T Stewart Inglis purchased the strip of land on which the west side of Rowplatt Lane and nos.49 and 51, Copthorne Road (The Timbers and Dalehurst) were developed, from the East Grinstead Estate Company, who had in turn purchased the land from Sir William Robert Clayton, probably in 1911 when Clayton was selling other land in the area including Miles Farm (now Michaelmas Farm) off Copthorne Road [for further information see Handout, Michaelmas Farm, JIC/SJC 07/09].  It is possible that Inglis purchased the land (plot 737 and plot 716) in the parish of Horne, in two Lots as it is known that by June 1914 construction of a pair of semi-detached properties had been competed as they featured in Building News Engineering Journal of 26^th June 1914 (see below) although the deeds for several properties in Rowplatt Lane record a conveyance for the land between the two parties on 4^th June 1914, only a few days earlier. 

 

An attached plan in the Title Deeds of 21, Rowplatt Lane suggests that the Inglis houses on the west side of Rowplatt Lane were built in two phases and consisted of not only 28 semi-detached dwellings (nos. 5-13 and 18-32) and a terraced row of four with central accesses to the rear gardens (nos.14-17), but also two detached dwellings, Thornhurst (now 1, Rowplatt Close) and The Timbers (now 49, Copthorne Road).  The Timbers plot was eventually developed as two detached Inglis dwellings, The Timbers (no.49) and Dalehurst (no.51), Copthorne Road, although second detached house (53, Copthorne Road) has subsequently been built on the western half of the grounds of Dalehurst in more recent years, not to an Inglis design. 

 

The report on the first completed dwelling (see above) appeared entitled the ‘One Hundred and Twelve Pound Cottage’ in an article in the Building News Engineering Journal on 26^th June 1914 and reads thus:

 

A HUNDRED AND TWELVE POUND COTTAGE

On the invitation of Mr. T. Stewart Inglis, M.S.A., of 15, Copley Park, Streatham, S.W., a party of architects and others interested in the rural housing problem, including the president and other members of the Council of the Society of Architects, representatives of the Board of Agriculture and the Office of Woods, visited Felbridge recently to see Mr. Inglis's solution of the problem of providing reasonable housing accommodation to the satisfaction of the local authority, and at a figure which brings the providing of similar houses within the reach of the person with very limited capital.

 

Turning sharply to the right at the Star Inn on the outskirts of East Grinstead, the site is reached, whereon is seen a pair of semi-detached cottages, erected by contract at a cost of £224 the pair.  On entering it is found the front door opens direct into the living room, 15ft. by 12ft. fitted with a range and three large cupboards. The scullery, 10ft. by 7ft., opens out from this, and besides being provided with fireplace, sink, copper, shelves, etc., there is a large store cupboard and a well ventilated larder.  The coal store is under the main roof; the e.c. [earth closet] and a store for wood or tools being in an outbuilding approached externally by a paved path protected from the weather.  There are three bedrooms, about 15ft. by l1ft., l1ft. by 8ft. and 10ft. by 8ft. respectively, all on the first floor.  Two of the rooms are fitted with fireplaces, and all contain hanging cupboards.

 

It is understood that a tender of £100 per cottage from the same of East Grinstead has another pair to this with identical specification, with the table top in the scullery, and other improvements in plan and detail.  Copies of the copyright, plans, and specifications can be obtained for £2 2s., and there is a license of £1 l1s. on each cottage erected.

 

Although there is no mention of a garden, each plot extends to about 280 feet (86.2m) consisting of a small front garden with a long back garden.  Restrictive covenants were added to the conveyance between the East Grinstead Estate Company Ltd and the purchaser stating that no building could be erected within 50 feet (15.2m) from the centre of the road on the north side or 30 feet (9.1m) from the centre of the road on the east side.  At the time of construction there was no mains water and wells were sunk at regular intervals to supply water, eg: a well sunk between nos.21 and 22, halfway between the dwellings and the front boundary, provided water for the use of nos.19-24. 

 

The long back garden that went with each dwelling may have been due to the constraints of plot 716, which was a long strip of land, or may have reflected the growing philanthropic idea of providing plenty of land for a family to grow their own produce and possibly keep chicken to help supplement their diet, an idea that was being promoted by developers at the turn of the 20^th century and was actively marketed in the sale of land near Felbridge Water that was later purchased by T Stewart Inglis in 1916 and partially developed as Ye Felbridge Hotel (see below).  The accompanying sale catalogue of 1916, suggested the development of this plot of land as the ‘Summerlands Garden Village Estate’, stating that ‘Nearly every man or woman who loves the country seeks to prove his or her ability to raise for the family table better and earlier vegetables and fruit that can be bought from the markets or from neighbouring gardeners.  The wife who wishes to furnish her table with eggs and poultry from her own pens wants space in which to carry on her poultry farm without annoyance to the neighbours’.  It also suggested that a family, with a number of young children, might even want to ‘keep a cow or two’ [for further information see Handout, Old Felbridge House & The Feld, SJC 02/01].  The back gardens of nos.5-32 Rowplatt Lane are plenty big enough for the growing of fruit and vegetables, even the keeping of chicken, but probably not ‘a cow or two’.

 

As established above, it is known that Mark Heselden was employed as a brick layer in the construction of the semi-detached and terraced houses, helping to build nos. 5-32 Rowplatt Lane but it is not known if he worked on the detached dwellings of Thornhurst (1, Rowplatt Close), and The Timbers, 49, Copthorne Road  and Dalehurst, 51, Copthorne Road.  The exteriors of 5-32 Rowplatt Lane (as well as Thornhurst, The Timbers and Dalehurst) consist of a variety of finishes.  The lower level of nos. 5-32 was generally brick (sometimes rendered over but this may be a later addition), with a small jettied [a building technique used in medieval timber-frame buildings in which an upper floor projects beyond the dimensions of the floor below] first floor with tile hanging above (sometimes rendered over but again this may be a later addition) under a plain tiled or pan-tiled roof.  The chimney stacks are brick and centrally located with back-to-back fireplaces in the semi-detached dwellings.  In the terrace of four, there are two chimney stacks, each central to a pair of dwellings.  Nos.24 and 32 both have an over-hung balcony like that found at Dalehurst, 51, Copthorne Road.  Turning to the interior, the living-room had light beaming in the ceiling and the first floor was accessed off a staircase leading from the living-room.  There were no bathrooms or mains water at the time of completion.

 

Based on the Surrey Electoral Rolls it would appear that by 1918 only nos. 5-24 Rowplatt Lane had been completed and most of the dwellings were occupied except nos. 8, 12, 16, 19, 21 and 23.  Of the residents, there are a few old family names that are from the ‘gentleman’s estate’ of Felbridge, like Dearling, Creasey, Huggett and Mitchell.  However, in general the majority of the names are new to Felbridge, and as such are the beginnings of the community of the village of Felbridge. 

 

In 1918 the early residents of Rowplatt Lane and thus the village of Felbridge were:

5, Thomas and Mary Ann Dearling

6, Nathan and Charlotte Fillery

7, John and Fanny Creasey

9, Charles and Alice Burden

10, William Brace and George Huggett

11, William (Mark) and Edith Heselden

13, George and Alice Chantler

14, Annie Mitchell

15, Frank and Alice Upton

17, Walter and Annie Steer

18, Arthur and Alice White

20, Horace and Kathleen Harvey

22, Henry Shaw and Edith Parsons

24, Edward Hook

 

One of the first residents of the Inglis houses in Rowplatt Lane was Walter William Steer.  He had been living at Wellington Town Road, East Grinstead, before his marriage in 1909 to Olive Elsie Creasey (daughter of John and Fanny Creasey who later resided at 7, Rowplatt Lane).  Walter and Olive Steer started their married life at 2, Warren House Farm Cottages, now the right half of Vine Cottage, Crawley Down Road.  Olive was in service to T Stewart Inglis, who is said to have resided at 23, Rowplatt Lane until the construction of Ye Felbridge Hotel (see below) when he moved to the hotel as resident proprietor in 1924/5.  It was due to Olive’s employment that the Steers moved to Rowplatt Lane, first to no.17 and later to no.20.  Story has it that Walter left for World War I living at 2, Warren House Farm Cottage and returned to find he had moved to 17, Rowplatt Lane! 

 

The story of their lives in Rowplatt Lane is typical of many other early Rowplatt Lane residents who, having moved there, made the house their home for the rest of their lives, often passing the property on to the next generation of the family.  Olive Steer died aged 69 years and was buried on 26^th February 1953 at St John’s Church, Felbridge.  Walter continued to live at the property until his death, aged 87 years, also being buried at St John’s, on 13^th September 1971.  Walter and Olive had had a daughter called Winifred Elsie, born in 1909, who married George Jarvis Bray and they took over the property on the death of Walter, although they were probably already living with Walter and Olive as their own daughter, Joyce, was born there in 1938.  George Bray died in 1972 and Winifred remained in the property until 1983 when she moved to Caterham, to be closer to her daughter Joyce.  The property was then sold to John Selby whose family also lived in Rowplatt Lane.  Winifred died in 2001, aged 92 years.

 

From the Title Deeds for 13, Rowplatt Lane, it is evident that this property, on completion, was owned by Arthur and Anne Lyllian Dossett of 7, Rowplatt Lane, but tenanted by George and Alice Ellen Chantler (formerly of Limpsfield, Surrey) until their deaths; Alice (aged 82) in 1956 and George (aged 84) in 1958.  On the death of George Chantler, his un-married daughters, Alice Ellen (born 1902) and Lily Marion (born 1907) took over the tenancy until January 1970 when the house stood empty for some time before being purchased and renovated by Frederick Henry and Maria Warner.  

 

Gradually more of the properties became occupied and in 1920; no.8 (later named The Beeches) was in the occupation of William and Margaret Cole; no.16 was in the occupation of Frederick Walter and Minnie Lydia Inglis; no.20 was in the occupation of James, Ada and Alice Fisher; and Edward Hook of no.24 had been joined by Grace Dart. 

 

It has so far proved impossible to determine a connection between Frederick Inglis and T Stewart Inglis, although it seems too much of a coincidence for them not to be related considering they both had an interest in plot 737.   However, Frederick Inglis was born in 1875 in London, the second son of Alexander and Elizabeth Inglis.  In 1901 Frederick Inglis married Minnie Lydia White in Camberwell, who had been born in London in 1879.  By 1918 they had moved to Rowplatt Lane, where Frederick was operating a rabbit farm from a site that is now part of Llanberis Farm, Crawley Down Road [for further details see Handout, Llanberis Farm, SJC 01/07], part of the afore mentioned plot 737 (see above).  In 1922 Frederick and Minnie Inglis moved to the Star Inn as the licensees but were only there for a short period of time before they were succeeded by Samuel and Susannah Clee by the spring of 1925 [for further information see Handout, Eating and Drinking Establishments of Felbridge, Pt. 2, SJC/JIC 03/08].  The whereabouts of Frederick Inglis has not yet been determined after 1925 although he still kept an interest in Felbridge with the retention of land, part of plot 737. 

 

By 1922, nos.25-32 Rowplatt Lane had been constructed (although no.32 was unoccupied) and the following people were in residence:

25, Charles Herridge

26, Ada Lawson

27, Mary Paxton

28, Annie and Emma Mark

29, Alexander and Johanna Kilby

30, Alice, Ann and Charlotte Weightman

31, Donald Merritt

 

Also in 1922, no.21 from the first phase of development was sold by Richard Charles Dane of Newington Causeway, London (Estate Agent) to Lieut. Col. Alfred William Griffin of Harrow, Middlesex (gentleman) for the sum of £490.  Until this date there is no entry for 21, Rowplatt Lane in the Electoral Rolls so presumably it was unoccupied.   From the Title Deeds, Alfred Griffin, who named the property Roseleigh, was the resident when he sold it twenty years later to Miss Daisy Maud Roser of Wallington, Surrey, for the sum of £535.  

 

One of the first houses of the second phase of development to change hands was no.26.  This was in the ownership of Mrs Florence Ruby Reynolds but in the occupation of Ada Lawson in 1923 when Ethel Case purchased it for the sum of £475 [for further information see Handout, Professor Furneaux and the ‘Penlees’ of Felbridge, SJC 03/09].   At the time of sale, the property it was described as: 

An attractive semi-detached cottage residence, built of bricks, rough cast, and with tiled roof.

 

Accommodation

Entrance porch, Sitting Room about 12ft x 15ft 6ins (3.7m x4.8m) fitted modern stove. 

Three bedrooms measuring respectively about 15ft 6ins x 10ft 6ins (4.8m x3.2m), 13ft x 7ft 6ins (4m x 2.3m) and 6ft 3ins x 7ft (1.9m x2.2m).

 

Kitchen-Scullery.  Small larder and cupboards.

 

Bathroom and W.C.

 

Company’s water.  Cesspool drainage.  Gas

 

Electric light available.

 

Good garden with a depth of about 280 feet (86.2m)

 

With its purchase, Ethel Case named her 26, Rowplatt Lane – ‘Sissinghurst’, a reminder of her previous home at 10, Sissinghurst Road, Addiscombe, Surrey.  Ethel was a war widow and moved to Felbridge to be closer to her father Professor Furneaux who lived at Penlee, off Crawley Down Road.  Ethel remained at no.26 until 1932 when she moved to a cottage within the grounds of her father’s property of Penlee [for further information see Handout, Professor Furneaux and the ‘Penlees’ of Felbridge, SJC 03/09]; no. 26, Rowplatt Lane selling for just £400.  It is interesting to note that between 1914 and 1923 a bathroom had been incorporated in the house and sanitary facilities had improved from having an earth closet to having a water closet, although it was not yet on main drainage.  Also in about 1923, another service was made available to the properties in Rowplatt Lane when the gas main was laid; Mark Heselden was one of those employed to lay the main.

 

From the sale particulars for the Stream Park Estate of 1931 (to be covered in a future Handout in this series) it would seem that T Stewart Inglis leased out a number of the dwellings in Rowplatt Lane until 1931 when they were advertised for sale as Lots 22-27.  The sales catalogue records the following resident in Rowplatt Lane:

Lot 22 was no.5, let to Mr T W Dearling

Lot 23 was no.6, let to Mr W H Fillery

Lot 24 was no.7, let to Mr A Dossett

Lot 25 was no.9, let to Mr Burden

Lot 26 was no.10, let to Mr G H Huggett

Lot 27 was no.13, let to Mr G Chandler

All the tenants were paying 9/- a week rent with the landlord (Inglis) paying the rates and responsible for repairs.  To be renting out the properties would suggest that Inglis had been receiving a steady weekly income of £2 14/- since the occupation of each on the completion of the first phase of development along the west side of Rowplatt Lane.

 

Alongside the later stages of the second phase of the development of the west side of Rowplatt Lane and the end of World War I, T Stewart Inglis turned his attention to the development Ye Felbridge Hotel.

 

Ye Felbridge Hotel, c1920/22

Ye Felbridge Hotel (now Crowne Plaza, Felbridge) was another Inglis project on which  Mark Heselden worked, being built on a plot of land at Felbridge Water off the east side of London Road in Felbridge, formerly part of Stream Farm, which had formed part of the Felbridge estate.

 

In 1916, the East Grinstead Estate Company Ltd auctioned off more of the Felbridge estate, including the remaining un-sold part of Stream Farm situated to the east of the main London Road, from Felbridge Water (where the CrownePlaza, Felbridge now stands) up to what is now Sackville Lane off North End.  As already established above, at the time of sale it was suggested that the area be sold and developed as the ‘Summerlands Garden Village Estate’, the area being described as ‘a charming rural site on the main London Road to appeal to the speculative builder for residences from £26 to £45 per annum for which there is a large demand from the town’ [for further information see Handout, Old Felbridge House & The Feld, SJC 02/01].  However, T Stewart Inglis decided to develop the site with the construction of Ye Felbridge Hotel.  From a commercial point of view this was a sound investment as the site is half-way between London and Eastbourne on one of the main routes to the coast, ideal for breaking your journey for refreshments etc, particularly with the development of the motor car and advent of day-tripping [for further information see Handout, Eating and Drinking Establishments of Felbridge, Pt. 1, SJC 05/07].

 

Working alongside Mark Heselden on Ye Felbridge Hotel was Thomas Pentecost, who later recalled:

‘There was nothing there – just a field.  I was the first one in the field and there was just grass, a farm gate and a big pit.  There were also a lot of furze bushes in the area.  I don’t know where people get all these ideas from about older buildings.  There was nothing there.  We started from scratch.  Major T S Inglis employed twelve men to build the property and it took about a year, but since then there has been many additions to the hotel.  Before the car park, there was a row of garages at the front.

 

I remember putting up a big sun dial [it carried the date 1724 and had been bought from Redhill Market and was mounted over the front entrance] but I haven’t seen it for many years.  I don’t know if they took it down, sold it or if it is covered by ivy.  I believe the oldest features of the hotel are the bricks used to build it.  Major Inglis used to own a brickyard [some where in Tandridge] and we used old materials from there.  The site was common land with a public footpath opposite Imberhorne Lane.  In return for being allowed to develop the site Major Inglis built two roads for the council, one of them being Furze Lane’.

 

The hotel opened under the name Ye Felbridge Hotel circa 1922 and resembled a large private house, much like the original Thornhurst, The Timbers and Dalehurst detached dwellings in Rowplatt Lane (now 1, Rowplatt Close and nos.49 and 51, Copthorne Road respectively), with an assortment of exterior wall finishes.  The building included tile hanging, stone block-work, timber framing and jettying, typically fashionable features in the first quarter of the 20^th century when design harked back to the Tudor and Jacobean periods for inspiration and style.  The roof, a mixture of plain tiles and pan-tiles, incorporated an assortment of heights, a long catslide roof [a side of a roof that slopes very low and often nearly to the ground], gables and dormer windows.  There was also a mixture of treatments for the facades, some were tile hung, others had affixed timbers to give an impression of a timber framed building and some ‘timber framed’ panels were in-filled with brick, all giving an impression of a building that has evolved over time, although it was all one single build date.  At the first floor level on the east side of the property there was an open balcony under an over-hanging roof, reminiscent of the balconies found on several of Inglis’ smaller properties in Rowplatt Lane including nos.24 and 32, and at Dalehurst, 51, Copthorne Road.

 

Around the time of the second phase of Rowplatt Lane and the completion of Ye Felbridge Hotel, Mark Heselden (by now considered a small builder) began working on the main phase of another housing development at North End, East Grinstead (within the ecclesiastical parish of Felbridge).  This development was at Halsford where Mark Heselden built nos.1-6 Halsford Lane; nos.1-21, Halsford Croft and nos.1- 42, (except no.18A) Halsford Green. 

 

Halsford Croft, Halsford Green and Halsford Lane, c1920/30

Halsford Croft, Halsford Green and Halsford Lane are a housing development borne out of the need to provide housing for the lower paid of the area.  In 1909 the Housing and Town Planning Act was passed that prevented local authorities from building ‘back-to-back’ dwellings and introduced the system of town planning and the concept that homes had to be built to certain standards.  As a result of this there was a flourishing of small co-partnership societies, one of which was East Grinstead Tenants Limited.  This was formed just before World War I with the purchase of ten acres of land from the Stenning’s estate at Halsford, North End, formerly part of the East Grinstead Common. 

 

The development at Halsford was to designs by architects Courtenay Melville Crickmer and Allen Foxley and consisted of an assortment of different styles, costs and types of housing eg: semi-detached cottages and terraces (some now converted as flats/maisonettes), all with living accommodation that was considered, at the time, to be ‘superior to the requirements or even expectations of a working class family’.  Courtenay Melville Crickmer also worked on such prestigious ‘Garden Cities’ as Hampstead Garden Suburb, Letchworth Garden City and for Handside Houses Ltd at Welwyn Garden City.  As T Stewart Inglis was known for his £112 cottage, Courtenay Melville Crickmer was known for his £400 cottage.  Allen Foxley also produced designs for Letchworth Garden City and some of his houses are now listed, including the 4-bedroom semi-detached house he lived in at 3, Norton Way North, Letchworth Garden City.

 

The development at Halsford, consisting of Halsford Croft, Halsford Green and Halsford Lane, was completed by 1930, managed by East Grinstead Tenants Limited until 2013 when Raven Housing Trust took on the management of seventy-seven of the homes on behalf of East Grinstead Tenants Limited.  The estate is still intact apart from the sale of a few of the properties in Halsford Lane and Halsford Croft and the addition of a terrace on the south side of Halsford Green replacing the old Croft Cottages and a dwelling in the northeast corner of Halsford Green (no.18A).

 

Geoffrey Webb, stained glass window specialist [for further information see Handout, Stained Glass of St John the Divine, Felbridge, SJC 07/02ii], writing in an article that appeared in the East Grinstead Observer in 1942 made comment on how East Grinstead had been developed and was developing, stating:  ‘The 20^th century was disastrous only in parts.  It flung tentacles, like an octopus, of small houses that destroy the countryside which they might have adorned; but at the same time it gave us Halsford Croft’ which he obviously approved of, writing ‘it is Halsford Croft which to me gives the greatest encouragement, as showing what a fine result can be achieved by forethought and a wise architect’ and in his opinion ‘New housing in the outskirts, designed like Halsford Croft [would increase] rather than destroy the charm of the countryside’.

 

The houses in the Halsford development are brick built under a pan-tile roof.  There were originally three pairs of semi-detached dwellings in Halsford Lane; built parallel to the lane that comprised typically of three bedrooms on the first floor with a kitchen/scullery and living room on the ground floor, with a small garden at the front and rear. 

 

The houses in Halsford Croft were built either side of the roadway leading to Halsford Green.  The southern run of dwellings (heading north) consists of a terrace of three dwellings, 1, Halsford Croft is accessed from the southern end of the block whilst nos.2 and 3 (the latter later extended by a front wing) are accessed off the London Road.  This run of three dwellings lies parallel to the main London Road (A22) that passes through North End, set back some 20 feet (6.1m) from the main road verge; moving northward there is two pairs of semi-detached dwellings (nos.4 and 5) and (nos. 6 and 7), again these lie parallel to the main road on the same line as nos.1-3; 8 and 9, Halsford Croft is a pair of semi-detached dwellings set end-on to the road; and lastly there is a terrace of four dwellings (10-13, Halsford Croft), again running parallel to the London Road but set back about 30 feet (9.1m).  The north side of the roadway leading to Halsford Green (heading north) starts with a terrace of four (14-17, Halsford Croft) running parallel to the London road (in line with nos.10-13); then a pair of semi-detached dwellings, end-on to the London Road (18 and 19 Halsford Croft); and finally a pair of semi-detached dwellings (20 and 21, Halsford Croft), again running parallel to the London Road (in line with nos.1-7).  It is interesting to note that on old maps the last plot was annotated as Halsford End.  The dwellings are all built of brick under a pan-tiled roof.  The end-on semi-detached dwellings (nos. 8, 9, 18 and 19) and terraced dwellings (nos.10-17) have gabled dormer windows set into the roof line, whilst the terrace of three (nos.1-3) have a pair of shed-roof, wall-dormer windows.  The semi-detached dwellings (nos.20 and 21) also have a front facing gabled wing with red brick relieving arch detailing above the first floor window.  Accommodation generally comprised of living room, reception room and kitchen on the ground floor with two bedrooms and a bathroom on the first floor for the smaller dwellings and three bedrooms and a bathroom for nos.20 and 21. 

 

Finally the dwellings of Halsford Green are arranged along the roadway leading to and around an open, round-cornered rectangular green area and comprise of a mixture of semi-detached and terraced dwellings.  The numbering of Halsford Green would suggest that originally the entrance to the development was to have come off Halsford Lane between nos.4 and 5 Halsford Lane, entering the green on the east side of the old Croft Cottages as 1, Halsford Green is on the east side of the Croft Cottages plot and the numbering runs anti-clockwise round the green, ending at no.42 (before the demolition of Croft Cottages when they were replaced by a terrace of four dwellings, nos. 43-46).  The arrangement of dwellings on Halsford Green (running anti-clockwise) starts with a pair of semi-detached dwellings (nos.1 and 2); followed by a block of four terraced dwellings (nos.3-6); then a pair of semi-detached dwellings (nos.7 and 8).  There are then two pairs of semi-detached dwellings built end-on to the green but parallel and either side of the roadway leading from the main London Road to Halsford Green (nos.9 and 10) and (nos.11 and 12); there is then a terrace of four (nos.13-16); followed by a pair of semi-detached dwellings (nos.17 and 18); no.18A is a more recent build in the northwest corner; then turning the corner, there is a terrace of six dwellings (nos.19-24); then three pairs of semi-detached dwellings circumnavigate the corner (nos.25-30); these are followed by a terrace of four dwellings (nos.31-34); set slightly further back from this terrace is another terrace of four dwellings (nos.35-38); and finally (in line with nos.31-34), another terrace of four dwellings.  The majority of Halsford Green was built by the end of the 1920’s but map evidence suggests that nos.27-34 were not completed until 1930. 

 

Like Halsford Croft and Halsford Lane, the Heselden dwellings in Halsford Green are all brick under pan-tiled roofs.  Some have a small section of red-brick detailing and there is a mixture of gable dormer windows and shed-roof, wall-dormer windows.  In all the Heseldens built nos.1 to 42, Halsford Green (inclusive), except 18A.  Later additions to Halsford Green, and not built by Heseldens, are the Croft Cottages replacement block on the south side and the newer dwelling (18A) in the northeast corner.  Each dwelling was set in a plot with a garden at the front and rear and though the gardens in the Halsford development were generally smaller than those in Rowplatt Lane (although large by today’s standards) it was considered that residents would use the allotments nearby at Imberhorne Lane to grow fruit and vegetables to supplement their dietary needs.

 

Mark Heselden arranged the contract to construct the houses in Halsford development with Edgar Soames, a solicitor by profession, probably working on behalf of East Grinstead Tenants Limited.  However, Mark had been initially reluctant to take on the project because at the time he thought he was too small an outfit for it, but he was given assurances that the necessary finance, etc. would be made available, so he agreed.  Edgar Soames had been born in Bromley, Kent, in 1862, and had moved to Albury Cottage, London Road, North End (opposite Halsford Croft), sometime between 1891 and 1901, moving, by 1926, to Oasted, Lewes Road, East Grinstead.  Edgar Soames was disabled and used to arrive on site at the Halsford development in a Daimler car, specially adapted to carry his wheelchair.  Due to previous experiences that Mark Heselden had suffered with T Stewart Inglis, who was always very reluctant to part with money, Mark insisted on regular payments throughout the progress of the contract and ‘though Mr Soames had a reputation for being miserly with the words ‘please’ and ‘thank you’, he proved as good as his word over the regular payments’.  Some years later, when maintenance work was being carried out on one of the properties at Halsford Green, the name ‘F Heselden’ and ‘1926’ was found scratched into the lead work of a chimney stack.  ‘F Heselden’ was Fred Heselden, Mark’s brother Frederick Cruze Heselden who also left his mark similarly at The Crown in East Grinstead when he carried out work there. 

 

Along side the completion of the Halsford development, Mark Heselden also turned his attentions to building his own dwelling on a site in Crawley Down Road, Felbridge.

 

121-125, Crawley Down Road, c1924/8

The plot of land on which the dwellings 121-125 Crawley Down Road are built was part of the Felbridge estate, auctioned in 1911 as Lot 18:

A VALUABLE PLOT

OF

FREEHOLD LAND

OF ABOUT

0a. 2r. 18p.

 

Numbered 38B on Plan      Adjoining Lot 16

 

IN THE PARISH OF EAST GRINSTEAD.

 

The Land is all grass and has a frontage of about 204ft. to the Crawley Down Road,

And a depth of about 162ft., and is VERY ELIGIBLE FOR BUILDING.

 

The commuted Tithes are appointed for the purpose of Sale at 2/4.                        Present value 1/7½

The Timber is not included.

 

A sale catalogue in the Felbridge archive records that Mr Miles (first name not yet established) purchased the Lot for the sum of £50, along with Lot 14 (Oak Farm) for the sum of £1,000; Lot 19 ‘Modern Freehold Cottages’ (now nos.129 and 131, Crawley Down Road) for the sum of £490; and Lot 20 ‘Enclosure of Freehold Land’ adjacent to Lot 19 for the sum of £70.  Another sale catalogue in the Felbridge archive was annotated by former Felbridge resident Dora J Wheeler who confirms that Lot 18 sold for £50 and was developed as:

Pines                                        Surrey Edge                                                                             Small plot being developed with house and garage by James

Webber, my great nephew (DJW)

 

The way Dora Wheeler wrote the last section would suggest that the plot was developed (from left to right) as: The Pines (no.121), Surrey Edge (no.123), the gap would refer to Rye Mead Cottage (no.125) and then James Webber’s detached house (no.127).  Although the plot was initially purchased by Mr Miles in 1911 it would be at least a further thirteen years before it was developed with three bungalows by Mark Heselden and later still with the detached house by James Webber.

 

Although the three dwellings that Mark Heselden built at 121-125, Crawley Down Road were all chalet style bungalows, he employed very deferent designs and finishes.  The Pines, still as originally built, is a mixture of brick and render under a tiled roof, with mock-Tudor framing.  It has a hipped roof at both ends with a small chimney set in the roof at each end before the hip.  It has a gabled wing on the left side extending forward, adjacent to the front door.  The gable of this wing is set with vertical mock-Tudor timber framing.  The use of this framing was not structural in any of the buildings constructed by the Heseldens and was generally affixed to the outside wall and then in-filled with render between the framing.  In the end walls, on the first floor, there is a pair of windows abutting the bottom edge of the hipped roof.  Surrey Edge is now too greatly altered to determine its original design, other than it too had been built as a chalet-style bungalow.  Rye Mead Cottage is built of red brick under a tiled roof with a tall chimney stack at either end. There are two gable dormer front-facing windows in the roof and a central front door with a window either side.

 

From the Heselden memories, Mark and his family moved first to Surrey Edge (no.123), then to Rye Mead Cottage (no.125) and finally to The Pines (no.121) where he and his wife Edith lived for the rest of their lives. 

 

Also in the mid-1920’s Mark Heselden went to Cornwall at the request of the developer Henry Banger with whom he had worked in the early 1910’s (see above), and built many ‘Council houses’ in and around the towns of St. Austell and St. Ives.  These houses were built from building blocks made on site by individual builders and shuttered concrete that was mixed on site with hand machines.  The blocks were called mundic blocks (mundic being an old Cornish word for the sulphide mineral pyrite) and had been used to build most domestic and small commercial properties in Cornwall and South Devon since the decline in use of natural stone at the beginning of the 20^th century.  Until the early 1950’s, concrete products were rarely transported more than about 12 miles (20 km) and concrete was made where it was needed as transport was difficult and costly, thus cheap aggregates were sought locally.  The mundic blocks that Mark used in St Austell and St Ives were made from the waste of china clay workings and the cement came by boat to Plymouth.      

 

On his return to Felbridge, Mark found that similar blocks were also being hand-made at Dormansland in Surrey, not from the waste of china clay but from waste railway steam-engine clinker.  Examples of houses built of these clinker blocks can be found in West Street, Dormansland.  Harry, the son of Mark, recalls that some of these clinker blocks were also sold on to another builder (name forgotten) for use on the Village Hall on the corner of Plough Road and Hollow Lane in Dormansland.  Mark also made and used these clinker blocks in the construction of The Limes Estate (see below).

 

Entering into the 1930’s we find that this was a very prolific period of building in Felbridge for W M Heselden & Sons, with far too many houses to cover each in great detail, although some developments will be covered below.  Along side the properties built in Felbridge they also built a few in the surrounding area including: a bungalow in Dorset Avenue at North End and a house called Norlington on the Lewes Road, East Grinstead, the latter with the Heselden trademark style of mock-Tudor framing.  

 

Speculatively, in the early 1930’s, the Heseldens built 20 houses on The Limes Estate, including Glendale and Brownwood on the east side of the London Road in Felbridge (see below).  They also built 4 pairs of semi-detached mock-Tudor houses, known as Star Cottages, (now nos.2-16 [even numbers]) on the north side of Copthorne Road (see below); four more mock-Tudor detached houses on the same side of Copthorne Road towards Mill Lane (88, Copthorne Cottage, 108, Roseleigh, 118, Copfell, and 120, Lovell Oaks (previously Lane End, Mill Lane); and Tudor Lodge at the top of Mill Lane on northeast side.  In the mid to late 1930’s they also built six houses and a bungalow along the south side of Copthorne Road towards the Crawley Down Road junction, (19, Rose Cottage, 21, Linwood [previously: Green Platt], 23, St John, 29, Novara, 31, Rosendale, 33, Home Villa and 35, April Cottage [previously: Maicot]); a house called Ethlinden on the west side of Hophurst Hill; Furnace Farm Cottage (now greatly extended) on Furnace Farm Road in Furnace Wood; and further afield, Oakmead a detached dwelling and Rosedene and Little Oaks, a pair of semi-detached houses, on Tilburstow Hill, South Godstone.   

 

The Limes Estate, London Road, 1930/45

The Limes Estate, now referred to as The Limes, is a cul-de-sac off the east side of London Road in Felbridge that was speculatively developed with mock-Tudor style dwellings by the Heseldens between 1930 and 1945 [for further information see Handout, The Limes, JP07/04].  Mark Heselden became a developer himself by default, having to accept the land now known as The Limes in settlement of a debt.  However, he always claimed he gained more profit from his customers who wanted to buy extra land to their original plot size than he did from his building work.  The development consisted of 20 houses on The Limes Estate, which included two houses, Brownwood and Glendale, which were built either side of the entrance to The Limes Estate off the London Road.

 

The site of The Limes Estate had been part of the Felbridge estate, put up for auction in 1911 as Lot 31, described as ‘An exceptionally choice, well wooded, residential site, suitable for the erection of a really first class house comprising nine acres plus, of rich meadow and arable land, together with a brick and tiled cottage suitable for adaption as a lodge entrance’.  The guide price for the whole Lot was £500 to £725.  The brick and tiled cottage referred to in the Lot was Invicta Lodge (now known as Ebor Lodge, although now much extended).  For some reason the Lot did not sell in 1911 and was offered for sale as Lot 6 in 1913 when the next attempt to auction parts of the Felbridge estate took place.   The description in 1913 promoted the site as ‘delightful and convenient, sloping southward and ideal for the construction of a gentleman’s house’ and covenants were imposed to protect the mature tree-lined frontage to the main London road (A22).  However, the sale particulars also stated that ‘The long road frontage (to the A22) would also facilitate sub-division of the plot if such was desired’.

 

In 1913 the Lot was purchased by Susannah West, wife of Samuel West the Felbridge estate manager, for the sum of £900.  The main covenants remained in place, namely to protect the trees (mainly Scots Pine), but in addition it was stipulated that houses built should sell for at least £400; that the developer was to observe a building line of 120 feet (36.6m) from the main London road (A22); and that there should be a control of any huts or caravans in house gardens.  Despite her investment, Susannah West failed to secure any house building on her newly acquired land over the period 1913 to her death in 1921, or similarly to her husband Samuel’s death in 1927, although she did manage to get the covenant on house prices altered from the £400 minimum sales value down to £200.

 

The first building plots to be laid out were numbered 1 to 4, from north to south along the London Road (A22), two plots either side of Ebor Lodge.  Building commenced in 1930 and Mark Heselden did most of the design work himself, drawing on the mock-Tudor style of the time and continuing his own established, distinctive design as employed on his home at The Pines, 121, Crawley Down Road; much influenced by the designs of T Stewart Inglis for his detached houses of Thornhurst (Rowplatt Lane now 1, Rowplatt Close), The Timbers, (no.49), and Dalehurst, (no.51), Copthorne Road and Ye Felbridge Hotel (see above).  Working along side Mark Heselden on the detailed drawings was Mr Gasson, from East Grinstead, probably Clement Edward Gasson, a builder and contractor who was part of the East Grinstead builders’ merchant empire of C & H Gasson Ltd (now the site of Jewson Ltd. 153-157, London Road). 

 

Mark Heselden managed to get the restrictive covenants altered in his favour, in that he could remove such mature trees as were necessary to allow his preferred house siting; he could build 65 feet (19.8m) from the London Road (A22) and not be limited to a 120 foot (36.6m) building line; the first four houses to be built could be sold for a minimum of £1,000; and any other houses on the Estate could sell for at least £400. 

 

Of the first four proposed dwellings on the London Road frontage, only three were actually built at the time because the Quilter family, who had moved from Eastbourne in Sussex, negotiated with Mark Heselden to purchase not only the Glendale plot (plot 3), but also plot 4 to the south, as well as a large area of land behind Glendale (presumably a reference to the customers who created more profit by wanting extra land (see above)).  Later, their daughter Vera Quilter purchased more land that had been part of the garden of Ebor Lodge, together with the land further up along the south side of The Limes road.  This therefore precluded Mark Heselden from building on this area and explains why there was such a conspicuous gap between the Heselden house, Poynings and the Heselden house, Sussex Cottage, further up the road.

 

The houses in The Limes Estate are built on shallow foundations (as are most houses in the Felbridge area as excavation of the ground reveals sandstone/shale at about 2 feet (0.6m) depth).  The Heselden family did the brickwork, plumbing and carpentry and other trades were brought in, as necessary.  The Heselden houses on The Limes Estate have an inner breeze-block lining behind the brick outer shell and the very purple and friable breeze-blocks were made from old railway steam-engine clinker (see above).  When the machine used to make these blocks was no longer required, Mark Heselden sold it to a company in London.  The mortar used in The Limes is a traditional lime type, which, over the years, has shown some weakness and the galvanised ties between block and brick shells have not always survived.  The damp proof course was invariably of slate, generally effective, with plenty of airbricks.  The outer brick walls were of good quality, with Freshfield Lane facing bricks used for the front elevation and less expensive flettons to the sides and back. 

 

The front elevation was often plaster rendered on the upper storey, generally with the Heselden trade mark use of superficial timber joists in the mock-Tudor style, although Sussex Cottage does not have the framing (but this could have been removed at a later date).  Window frames were wooden with leaded glazing and the roofs were concrete tiled on a close-boarded frame.  Initial services included mains water, gas and electricity.  Sewerage, like that in Rowplatt Lane, was originally into septic tanks with main drainage a more recent addition.

 

The first sales brochure for The Limes Estate appeared in 1932, advertising the dwellings thus:

 

THE LIMES ESTATE

FELBRIDGE                                                                      Near EAST GRINSTEAD

 

Situated just under two miles from East Grinstead and on the outskirts of the village of Felbridge, this Estate provides the conveniences of a town with the beauty and quiet of the country.  It is off the main road, thus obviating traffic annoyance, but within two minutes’ walk, the Green Line Coaches provide a half-hourly service of coaches to London.  An excellent local bus service is also available.

 

Of particular importance is the fact that the soil is of a sandy nature, while the altitude is between 340 and 400 feet above sea level.

 

The Residences erected are of two types, those with 4 bedrooms, and a smaller type containing 3 bedrooms.

 

The larger houses contain hall, 2 spacious receptions rooms, 4 good bedrooms, bathroom, separate w.c., and very convenient and spacious domestic offices.  Garage and good garden.  An independent boiler is fitted in the kitchen which provides an ample and constant supply of hot water.

 

A house of this size with the land costs £1,250 complete with electric light, gas and company’s water laid on.  Radiators and lavatory basins in the bedrooms are fitted at a small extra cost.

 

The Cottage is naturally built on smaller lines, but provides a comfortable, attractive and easily worked home.  There are 3 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, hall, kitchen-scullery, &c., and the fittings are of the same kinds as in the larger houses.  Such things as the heated line cupboard, and in fact, ample cupboard accommodation have not been forgotten.  Company’s water, gas and electric light are laid on.  The price inclusive of land is £850, and a garage will be added for another £25.

 

The construction of the Houses on the Estate is very sound.  All the outer walls are of brick, while the roofs are of tiles laid on board.  Each House is planned to obtain a maximum sunshine, while many of the sites already have well-grown fruit trees. 

 

All the houses were detached except for one pair of semi-detached (now called Little House and Limes Cottage).  It has been said that this pair was specifically built for one semi to be occupied by Frederick and Eva Heselden (Mark’s son and daughter-in-law) but they decided instead to live in one of the Star Cottages (see below) so never moved in and the two semi-detached houses were eventually sold on completion.

 

Building continued throughout the 1930’s but was brought to a halt by the outbreak of World War II in 1939.  At this stage the last three plots at the far end of the road (Shirley, Glenleigh and Far End) had not been completed but were finished by the end of the war; their first residents (Arthur and Ada Short, Helen M Staff and Grace M and Margaret Graydon along with Ethel F Turner) in occupation by 1945.  With the cessation of building work during the early 1940’s, the Heseldens found work with repairs and maintenance, which included greenhouse maintenance for the Felbridge Nurseries Ltd on the Crawley Down Road [for further information see Handout, Little Gibbshaven, SJC 07/08], some of which was due to bomb damage.   

   

After 1945, when Mark Heselden had finished developing all the potential building plots in The Limes Estate, W M Heselden & Sons moved on to other developments in Felbridge, particularly along Mill Lane.  However, the Heselden family remained the owner of the area of land occupied by the grass verges outside the houses and the roadway itself at the Limes Estate, although each house was granted a right of way along it, and this freehold land was to remain in Heselden ownership until the 1990’s, when it was transferred to The Limes Residents’ Association.

 

Some of the early residents of The Limes Estate included:

Brownwood: Lilias Abel-Smith

Poynings: John Haines Berry

Limes Cottage: Lucy Violet Callender

Tanglehedge: Gilbert Christopher and Esme Maud Gould

Corner Cottage: Joseph Leonard and Nancy Tyrone Henry

Glendale: Alfred J, Alice and Grace Ethel Quilter

Felbridge Cottage: Mary, Robert Henry, Louisa Maud and Eric Hinson Smith

 

By 1935 they had been joined by: Augustus Henry and Emma Taggett at Lynwood andAnne Louis, Agnes Winifred and James Randal Drake at Leverington; and by 1937, Edward Howard and Helen Margaret Butler at Ripswood.

 

Unfortunately, several of the houses in The Limes Estate have had name changes since their construction so it has not yet been possible to positively identify other early residents but these could include: Agnes, Frances Marjorie, Marion McQueen and Elizabeth Arman Douglas at Imnellan; Harold and Kate Marion Osborne at St Patrick; and Charles Cecil and Ina Moira Gwendoline Willison at Roscrea.

 

Unlike the early residents of Rowplatt Lane where some of them came from old Felbridge families, everyone who moved into The Limes Estate came from outside of Felbridge.  Many were single ladies or older couples and of the few families that moved to The Limes before World War II, none had young children (Vera Quilter was one of the youngest and she attended St Michael and St Agnes School in Moat Road, East Grinstead).  Again, unlike Rowplatt Lane where many of the properties were kept within the family for several generations, at The Limes there appears to be no continuation of residents’ names within the Felbridge community with the exception of the Quilter family who still have descendants living in the Felbridge area.  Alfred Quilter had been born in 1884 and had married Alice Marshall in 1910 in the Richmond area; Alice had been born in 1887.  Alfred and Alice had three children, Grace born in 1911, Ronald Alfred born in 1913 and Vera Alice born in 1917 [for further information see Handout, Poultry Farming in Felbridge, SJC 05/11].  Grace Quilter married Wilfred Cole in 1939 and the couple engaged the Heseldens to build a house called Ethlinden on Hophurst Hill, Crawley Down (see above) and a descendant from this line still lives in The Limes to this day.

 

1-8, Star Cottages, Copthorne Road, 1932/3

Star Cottages is a row of four pairs of semi-detached cottages built on the northern side of Copthorne Road (A264) in Felbridge, now [even] nos.2-16.  The plot of land on which they were built once formed part of the grounds of FelbridgePark, which was put up for auction in 1911 as Lot 1, ‘The Freehold Manorial Estate’ of ‘Felbridge Place’.  After passing through several owners in quick succession it was purchased in 1916 by Henry Willis Rudd [for further information see Handouts, Newchapel house, SJC 11/02 and Downfall of Henry Willis Rudd, SJC 11/02i].  However, in 1924 Rudd’s lands in Felbridge, including the Star Cottages plot, were put up for auction by order of the mortgagees (Barclays Bank Ltd).

 

The Star Cottages plot was put up for sale in 1924 as part of Lot 3, described as a ‘Valuable Building Site.  About 7.563 acres of valuable Freehold land situate at the corner of the main Eastbourne Road [London Road A22] and Copthorne Road [A264] to Brighton, …. possessing a valuable frontage of about 550 ft. to the former and 750 ft. to the latter.  Upon this land there are a number of fine old trees and it is ripe for building development’.  Lot 3 didn’t sell in 1924 as the plot appears for sale again in 1926 as Lot 27 this time listed as 7.563 acres of ‘valuable freehold land ripe for building development situate at the corner of the main Eastbourne Road and Copthorne Road’, although this time the valuable frontage is ‘about 525 ft. to the former and 770 ft. to the latter’.  Lots 3 and 7 only refer to land therefore although the sales particulars stated that it was ‘situate at the corner of the Eastbourne Road and Copthorne Road’, it excluded the site of The Star Inn.   The piece of land advertised in Lots 3 and 7 would eventually be developed as the Star Buffet (now the site of the Premier Inn), built in 1933 by the South Down Motor Services Ltd in conjunction with Friary Holroyd & Healy’s Breweries Ltd, the owner of the Star Inn at that time [for further information see Handout, Eating and Drinking Establishments of Felbridge, Pt.2, SJC/JIC 03/08], fronting the main London Road (A22) and Star Cottages ([even] nos.2-16) fronting the Copthorne Road (A264).

 

Building work on Star Cottages began in 1932 and one of the first residents to move in was Mr Newman (first name not yet established) in January 1933 when he took up residency at no.7 Star Cottages (now 14, Copthorne Road).  Other early residents included:

Cecil George and Ivy Doris May Paice at Elm Cottage, 1, Star Cottages (now 2, Copthorne Road);

Frederick Mark and Eva Doris Heselden at Laleham, 3, Star Cottages (now 6, Copthorne Road);

Edward George and Mary Ann Philpot at Clydack, 4, Star Cottages (now 8, Copthorne Road); and

Joseph John and Adelaide Millicent Nellie Cuthbert at The Haven, 6, Star Cottages (now 12, Copthorne Road). 

 

By 1934 they had been joined by:

Ernest George and Elsie Iris Miller at Sunnycot, 2, Star Cottages (now 4, Copthorne Road); and

Percy Henry and Ann Stone at Winton, 8, Star Cottages (now Yealmwood, 16, Copthorne Road).

 

Of the early residents, Cecil Paice came from Felbridge, being born in 1897, the son of blacksmith Charles Herbert Paice (who lived and worked at the Forge opposite the Star junction) and his wife Alice Sophia née Hurst-Walder.  Cecil married Ivy Doris May Griffiths in Portsmouth in 1930; Ivy had been born in 1907.  Their move to Star Cottages by 1933 would suggest that perhaps this was their first independent married home together.  Cecil Paice was responsible for the transition of the Felbridge forge to the garage Paice & Sons, of which he was director for many years.  Another pair of locals were Frederick and Eva Heselden (see above), son and daughter-in-law of Mark Heselden, with Fred working along side his father on the construction of the properties.  Frederick and Eva spent the remainder of their life living at Laleham, Eva dying in 1969 aged 57 and Frederick in 1991 aged 81, both being buried in the churchyard at St John’s, Felbridge.  None of the other early names are from old Felbridge families implying that they, like the residents of The Limes Estate, were moving to the area and the ever expanding community of the village of Felbridge.

 

Although Star Cottages have the familiar Heselden style of mock-Tudor framing, each pair is a slightly different design.  Internally each dwelling consisted of a kitchen at the back with a living room at the front; a hallway with stairs leading to a first floor landing leading to two bedrooms and a bathroom, except nos.7 and 8 which have three bedrooms and a bathroom.  All except no.1 have since been extended by varying degrees, especially at the rear.  The dwellings were not built with main drainage (eventually installed in 1961) and all the household’s waste water and sewage was pumped into a cesspit arrangement in ‘wasteland’ behind the gardens.  The ‘wasteland’ had originally been ear-marked as a separate building plot that was never developed and eventually the Star Cottages’ gardens were extended to incorporate the area when access was found to be impractical for the proposed detached house.

 

 

W M Heselden & Sons, Post War

After the war, Mark Heselden retired from building in 1946 and the business was continued by his sons.  By now they had dropped the use of the mock-Tudor framing style, as house design looked to the future with uncluttered exteriors.  In the early to mid 1950’s the Heseldens next major building project was the construction of 10 bungalows in Mill Lane, six detached and one pair of semi-detached on the southwest side of the lane and two detached on the northeast side.  On the southwest side the detached bungalows are: La Mancha, Floreat, The Burrs, Fallsha, Brierley and Churstons and the semi-detached pair is Pilgrims Cottage and Lakenmead.  On the northeast side the two detached bungalows are Denhurst and The Shutters.  Also, in the 1950’s the Heseldens were responsible for the construction of the detached house called Myrtleford at 9, Crawley Down Road (opposite the Felbridge Village Green).

 

By the late 1950’s and early 1960’s much of the vacant land in the village of Felbridge had been developed (before larger houses began to be demolished and garden plots sub-divided to make way for re-development, which since 1964, has unfortunately become the norm).  With the lack of building plots within the village of Felbridge in the late 1950’s, the Heseldens turned their attentions to building in the surrounding Felbridge area, including: a bungalow at 44, Elizabeth Crescent in East Grinstead; two houses in Dormans Park in Surrey; three bungalows, nos. 57, 59 and 61, West Street, Dormansland in Surrey; and two bungalows in Groombridge in Sussex.

 

The early 1960’s saw the expanded development of the Domewood Estate in Copthorne, which had been under development since the mid 1930’s with the construction of Old Domewood.  Resurgence of development began after the war with the construction of the New Heron Estate, from the mid 1950’s.  The Heseldens were responsible for the construction of two bungalows (Groveley and Halcyon) as part of the New Heron Estate development.  From the 1970’s until 1984 the Heseldens were mainly employed on contract work, including construction and maintenance work on the research site, Biotech Research Centre, at Parkfields, Hophurst Lane, for Dr. David Murray [for further information see Handout, Parkfields, SJC 05/05].  As previously mentioned, W M Heselden & Sons Ltd ceased trading in 1984 and the company was dissolved in 1985.

 

Summary of Heselden Buildings in Felbridge

As can be seen from the above, Mark Heselden and later W M Heselden & Sons Ltd were at the fore-front of the development of the ‘gentleman’s estate’ of Felbridge as it was in 1911 into the village of Felbridge as it had become by 1960.  They were responsible for building the earliest development of housing in Felbridge, on the west side of Rowplatt Lane, to designs by architect T Stewart Inglis that began to open up the Felbridge community by bringing in residents from outside of the area.  They built the Halsford development at North End, that of Halsford Croft and Halsford Green to designs by architects Courtenay Melville Crickmer and Allen Foxley of various ‘Garden Cities’ fame, creating nearly 70 dwellings for lower paid residents of the Felbridge area. 

 

Mark Heselden then developed a plot of land in Crawley Down Road with three bungalows, settling at The Pines, no.121, where he established his family home, business and builder’s yard at no.119.   By the 1930’s Mark had been joined by most of his sons and they built 20 houses attracting a more affluent resident to Felbridge in The Limes Estate off the east side of London Road (A22) as well as the more economic Star Cottages off the north side Copthorne Road (A264) and several other dwellings on both sides of Copthorne Road, heading west.  Along side these fairly large developments they also built single dwellings like Ethlinden on Hophurst Hill and Furnace Farm Cottage in Furnace Wood, and Mark’s brother Frederick even built his own bungalow, Homesdale on Lake View Road in Furnace Wood.

 

After Mark Heselden’s retirement in 1946, his sons continued to build including 10 bungalows in Mill Lane in the 1950’s after which they turned their attention to the surrounding area of Felbridge, building dwellings in East Grinstead, DormansPark, Dormansland and Groombridge.

 

In total, the Heseldens were responsible for the construction of at least 150 known dwellings (as recalled from memory by later generations of the family) and one hotel, in the development of the village of Felbridge as formulated by 1964.

 

Catalogue of Heselden Buildings in Felbridge

Copthorne Road (north side)

2, (Elm Cottage)¹ – built c1932                                       

4, (Sunnycot)¹ – built c1932                                             

6, (Laleham)¹ – built c1932                                              

8, (Misbourne) (previously: Clydack)¹ – built c1932   

10, ¹ – built c1932                                                              

12, (The Haven)¹ – built c1932                                       

14, ¹ – built c1932                                                              

16, (Yealmwood) (previously: Winton)¹ – built c1932

88, (Copthorne Cottage) – built c1938

108, (Roseleigh)

118, (Copfell) – built c1932

120, (Lovell Oaks) (previously Lane End, Mill Lane) – built c1933

 

Copthorne Road (south side)

19, (Rose Cottage)

21, (Linwood) (previously: Green Platt)

23, (St John)

29, (Novara)

31, (Rosendale)

33, (Home Villa)

35, (April Cottage) (previously: Maicot) – built c1937

 

Crawley Down Road (south side)

9, (Myrtleford)

121, (The Pines) – built c1928

123, (Surrey Edge) [original] – built c1924

125, (Rye Mead Cottage) – built c1927

 

Furnace Farm Road, Furnace Wood

Furnace Farm Cottage [original] – built c1938

 

Halsford Croft – built between c1920 and 1926

1 – 21 inclusive

 

Halsford Green – built between 1923 and 1930

1 – 42 inclusive (except 18A)

 

Halsford Lane– built between 1923 and 1926

1, (Sherries)

2,

3,

4,

5, (Pear Tree Cottage)

6,

 

Heronslea, New Domewood

Groveley – built c1965

Halcyon – built c1965

 

Hophurst Hill, Crawley Down

Ethlinden – built c1938

 

Lake View Road, Furnace Wood

Homesdale³ – built c1940

 

London Road, Felbridge

Felbridge Hotel [original] – built 1920/22

Glendale [original]² – built between 1930 and 1932

Brownwood [original]² – built between 1930 and 1932

 

The Limes, London Road, Felbridge – built bet. 1930 & 1945

Whitecroft (not original name) [original] – built by1932

Tanglehedge – built by 1932

The Little House (not original name) – built by 1932

Limes Cottage – built by 1932

Lynwood (not original name) – built by 1932

Corner Cottage [original] – built by 1932

Orchard Hey (not original name) – built between 1930 and 1945

Kingswood (not original name) – built between 1930 and 1945

Alton (previously Castagnolia) – built between 1939 and 1945

Rivendell (previously Oak Gates) – built between 1939 and 1945

Far End – built between 1939 and 1945

Rosewood (previously Glenleigh) – built between 1939 and 1945

Shirley – built between 1939 and 1945

Felbridge Cottage – built by 1932

Trethorpe (not original name) – built by 1932

Ripswood – built by 1932

Sussex Cottage – built by 1932

Poynings – built by 1932

 

Mill Lane– (northwest side) built c1958

La Mancha

Floreat

The Burrs

Fallsha

Brierley

Churstons

Pilgrims Cottage [semi-detached]

Lakenmead [semi-detached]

 

Mill Lane – (southeast side) building between 1933 and 1958

Denhurst

The Shutters

Tudor Lodge – built c1933

 

Rowplatt Lane (west side)

5 – 32 inclusive (except newer 24A&B) – built bet. 1913 & 1922

Catalogue of Out-Lying Heselden Buildings

6, Blackwater Lane, Pound Hill, W Sx[1] – 1968/69

1x bungalow[original]

 

Dormans Park, Surrey – c1958

2x houses

 

Dorset Avenue, East Grinstead, W Sussex – mid 1920’s

1x bungalow

 

Elizabeth Crescent, East Grinstead, W Sussex – c1955/8

No.44

 

Lewes Road, East Grinstead, W Sussex – c1930

Norlington [original]

 

Hophurst Lane, Crawley Down, W Sussex – early 1980’s

Biotech Research Centre [original]

 

Groombridge, E Sussex – late 1950’s

2x bungalows

 

Tilburstow Hill Road, South Godstone, Surrey

Rosedene [semi-detached] – c1938/9

Little Oaks [semi-detached] – c1938/9

Oakmead – c1934/5

 

West Street, Dormansland, Surrey – mid 1950’s

No.57

No.59

No.61

 

St Austell, Cornwall – mid 1920’s

Council dwellings

 

St Ives, Cornwall – mid 1920’s

Council dwelling