Felbridge & District History Group

Park Corner Farm

This document sets out to determine the location of Park Corner Farm, which over the years has been attributed to several different areas of Hedgecourt Park.  The document will also cover the development of the farm after it was purchased by Edward Evelyn in 1741, together with the lives of some of the people associated with the area of the farm throughout its history, concluding with the current use of the site.

 

The location of Park Corner

The area in which Park Corner Farm was situated has been difficult to pin-point as the area has been known by different names over the years and has also been attributed to several different ‘corners’ of Hedgecourt Park.  The Park originally surrounded the demesne lands of the manor of Hedgecourt, which had been formed prior to 1290 of the manor of Tylmundesden and a curate of land in Lindelegh [for further information see Handout, Settlement Patterns of the Felbridge area, JIC 01/09].  Hedgecourt Park, surrounded by a bank and pale, was divided in two parts, one part being in the parish of Horne (formerly part of Bletchingley), and the other part in the parish of Godstone, and Park Corner Farm was located in the Godstone section of Hedgecourt Park (see below).

 

In 1625 the boundary of Hedgecourt Park was detailed in the court book, this placed ‘Park Corner’ 12 furlongs (1½ miles/2.4km) to the south of Newchapel.  It had been suggested that Park Corner could be located at the Star junction on the site of what is now the Star Inn and the Premier Inn travel lodge at the southeast corner of the Park.  However, it is now known that this site originated as an enclosure off Felbridge Heath and as such fell outside of the pale of Hedgecourt Park [for further information see Handout, The Eating & Drinking Establishments of Felbridge, Part II, JIC/SJC 03/08]. 

 

In the early 20^th century Uvedale Lambert in his book on Godstone, placed Park Corner at the northeast corner of the Hedgecourt Park near Newchapel, thinking it to be the site of what had been Newchapel Farm and which is today known locally at the Mormon Temple owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  However, this site can now be discounted because of the detailed boundary description given in the Hedgecourt court book of 1625.  That description has been found to be accurate with all the other points on the boundary now identified and the distances all correspond when adjusted for a consistent error, probably due to the individual pacing out the distances.

 

The 1625 boundary information places Park Corner just north of Whittington College (formerly the site of Felbridge mansion) in the vicinity of North Lodge, one of the lodge houses of the Felbridge Place estate.  This would suggest that in 1625 this area was actually the place known as Park Corner.  However, the 1748 Bourd map commissioned by Edward Evelyn detailing the extent of his estates in Felbridge and incorporating his recently acquired manor of Hedgecourt, places Park Corner as an area extending from the southern end of Mill Lane towards the 1625 location next to the main London road.

 

Returning again to the boundary details of 1625, the southern-most boundary of Hedgecourt Park is recorded as running between Park Corner and Plawes Corner, the measurements place Plawes Corner at the southern end of Mill Lane at the junction with Copthorne Road, now the site of five houses, nos. 114 to 120 Copthorne Road.  It is this site that was referred to as ‘a messuage and farm called Park Corner’ in 1741, and known as Park Corner Farm by 1752.

 

The early history of site of Park Corner Farm and associated people

As established above, the site of Park Corner Farm formed part of Hedgecourt Park within the manor of Hedgecourt, which, on the death of Thomas Syncler in 1435, passed to his second daughter Eleanor, wife of John Gage.  The site of Park Corner Farm was to remain with the Gage family until its purchase by Edward Evelyn in 1741 followed by the remainder of the manor of Hedgecourt in 1747.  It is therefore from the Gage archive that most of the early history of the site can be gained.

 

Perhaps the first surviving reference to the site of Park Corner Farm can be found in a twenty-one year lease issued in 1567 by Edward Gage to John Thorpe, a yeoman of Horne.  The lease granted for the sum of £40:  ‘the demesne lands of manor of Hedgecourt in Sussex and Surrey, lands called Park of Hedgecourt, Coddinglighe Park, Sharnowrs, Gages Meads, Cowpers Hill, Tanners, Smythforde Courte, the Tylt, Honnyes, Warnars Crofts and the Myllwood, with all barns, stables, stalls and other buildings in the park, mills and mill-dams, in Godstone, Horne, Tandridge, [East] Grinstead and Worth’.  From later documents used to establish the site of Park Corner Farm it is evident that the farm formed part of the ‘lands called Hedgecourt Park’ that were to remain leased by the Thorpe family until the late 1600’s.  Unfortunately, the description in the lease is not specific about the type, number or location of the ‘barns, stables, stalls and other buildings in the park’.

 

However, in 1578 John Thorpe, by then listed as a yeoman of East Grinstead, took out a forty-year lease with John Gage.  This lease again lists the ‘demesne lands of the manor of Hedgecourt in Sussex and Surrey, and the Park of Hedgecourt’ along with the other lands, but also records that there were ‘3 messuage, 4 tofts, 1 watermill, 1 iron mill, 4 gardens, 100a of land, 40a meadow, 300a of pasture, 500a of wood, 300a of furze and heath, and common pasture for all cattle in Burstow, Horne, Hedgecourt, Horley and Godstone’. 

 

The watermill can be identified as Hedgecourt Mill and the iron mill can be identified as the furnace in Myllwood, now known as Furnace Wood.  The tofts and gardens need more work to identify their positioning, but the location of the three messuages, based on surviving structures and documentation, are probably the house at Hedgecourt Farm, the site of Newchapel House, and either Hedgecourt Mill Cottage or the site of Park Corner Farm.

 

Evidence supporting the presence of a dwelling at Hedgecourt Farm in 1578 is that the manor house had been re-located there from the moated site, further down stream, before 1567, although being the manor house it should have been described as a ‘capital messuage’ by this date but as there is no other mention of a manor house it can only be assumed that it was one of the messuage referred to in the lease.  The presence of a dwelling at the Newchapel end of Hedgecourt Park is confirmed in a sale of timber in 1594, stating that there was ‘one tenement in the park of Hedgecourt adjoining Newe Chappell’ [for further information see Handout, Newchapel House, SJC 11/02], and this is probably incorporated within Newchapel House today.  As to the location of the third dwelling, there are the two possibilities;  The surviving structure of Mill Cottage is typical of the late 16^th century [for further information see Handout, Hedgecourt Mill Cottages, SJC 07/04] and the earliest document yet found stating there was a dwelling at Park Corner at the southern end of Mill Lane dates to 1652, therefore it is more likely that the third dwelling referred to in lease of 1578 was the cottage associated with the mill at Hedgecourt and not the farm at Park Corner.

 

However, in 1641 there is a Recovery by John Thether and Thomas Rooper esquires, against Thomas Lethbridge and Richard Lyson, gentlemen, of the manor of Hedgecourt, which refers to ‘4 messuage, 2 mills, 4 gardens, 40a of land, 10a of meadow, 40a of pasture, 40a of wood and 20a of furze and heath in Horne, Tandridge, Lingfield and Godstone’.  As the Recovery refers to 4 messuage it would appear that within the intervening sixty-three years between the lease of 1578 and the date of the Recovery, a messuage may have been built at Park Corner at the southern end of Mill Lane as there are no other surviving structures and no documentary evidence supporting a location of another structure dating to the mid 1600’s.

 

As established above, the boundary of Hedgecourt Park in 1625 identified the area of Park Corner at the southern end of Mill Lane as Plawes Corner suggesting that at the time, and probably prior to the date, the area had associations with a family or person called Plawe.  Although there are several Plawes in the area it has not been possible to determine which one had given their name to the Corner by 1625 or when Plawe relinquished the property.  However, a lease of 1652 names the person who probably succeeded Plawe at the site of Park Corner Farm as William Ledger, who was also probably the first occupier of a dwelling here as the lease shows no prior leaseholders for the land and dwelling before him.

 

William Ledger

Unfortunately there is limited information on the early life of William Ledger but in 1636 he was living at Felcourt in Lingfield, Surrey, which at that time was owned by George Turner, a freeholder of the manor of Hedgecourt who held Gibbshaven in Felbridge and Newplace in Lingfield.

 

William Ledger had married Joanne prior to 1625 and they had at least eight children, Joanne born in 1625, William born in 1627, Anne born in 1630, Elizabeth born about 1631, Marie born in 1632, Anne born 1635, (presumably the first Anne had died by this date), Francesca born about 1639 and Mercia born in 1643.  It is interesting to note that Joanne, William’s eldest daughter married Edward Plawe but unfortunately it has not been possible to determine a link between Edward and the Plawe who gave his name to Plawes Corner (see above). 

 

William Ledger died on 4^th August 1652 and his will passed his lands in Surrey and Sussex, including the site of Park Corner Farm, to his son William.  It would seem that William junior only held the site of Park Corner Farm for a short period of time as later the same year it was leased to John Bennett.

 

John Bennett

In 1652 the demesne lands of the manor of Hedgecourt and the lands of Hedgecourt Park were still under the ownership of the Gage family but had been leased to Simon Everenden, a gentleman of Cliffe near Lewes in Sussex, who was acting as owner and therefore was able to grant sub-leases.  On 7^th October 1652, Simon Everenden granted a twenty-one year lease of the site later known as Park Corner Farm to John Bennett, a yeoman of Godstone.  This lease is the first document giving details of the property, which included: ‘a messuage and pieces of land called Parkeland amounting to 65a 0r 4p and Calves Broakes amounting to 14a’, both plots being in the parish of Godstone, and lately occupied by William Ledger, although rights were reserved on a coppice called Ledgers Tufts (presumably named after William Ledger the former tenant).  From a later draft lease issued in 1673, it would appear that Ledgers Tufts formed part of the sixty-five acres called Parkeland, and using the Bourd map of 1748 and the other leases for lands within Hedgecourt it is possible to determine the part of Hedgecourt Park that formed the area later known as Park Corner Farm.

 

A twenty-year lease from 1654 to John Dudeney of Godstone, names a set of the fields along the west side of the London Road in the Woodcock Hill area, their names and acreages can then be matched to the field details shown on the Board map of 1748.  An eleven-year lease from 1663 to John Finch of Godstone identifies all of the fields that were leased along with Hedgecourt Mill.  An eighteen-year lease from 1656 to John Wakeman of Hedgecourt identifies all of the lands that were leased with the capital messuage of Hedgecourt.  All of these leases overlap the period of the 1652 lease to John Bennett and therefore cannot include any of the land within that lease.  Identifying the remaining fields from the Board map and considering the original southern limit of Hedgecourt that can be determined from the 1625 bounds [for further information see Handout, Settlement Patterns of the Felbridge area, JIC 01/09], this leaves a group of fields and a section of what became the lawn of Felbridge Park.  Matching the area of these lands to a similar sized area on the Board map, which has complete field acreages, identifies the land to be 80 acres closely matching to the 79 acres stated in the 1652 lease to John Bennett [see figure 1].

 

With regards to John Bennett who took out the lease of 1652, unfortunately there are a possible three candidates and to date it has not been possible to determine which the correct one is and very little other information has surfaced with regards to John Bennett.  However, it is known that there was a covenant attached to the lease of 1652 that allowed John Bennett to build a two-bay barn, 30ft x 16ft (9.2m x 4.9m), and an outlet on the east end of the messuage measuring 10ft x 14ft (3.1m x 4.3m), for which Simon Everenden would waive payment of the first half-year's rent. 

 

The detail of the additional buildings to be constructed in 1652 is of particular interest.  The outlet ‘at the east end’ indicates that the main dwelling was orientated roughly east-west (the same as it is depicted on the Bourd map of 1748).  An outlet is most commonly identified as a single storey chamber beneath a catslide roof, this type of room is often used to increase the food preparation and storage area and is therefore located adjoining the cooking chamber.  A typical dwelling in the Felbridge area for the early 17^th century would have been built with a brick chimney in a central narrow bay.  There would be a bay each side of the central chimney bay with a hipped roof.  The outlet dimensions indicate that the dwelling was probably 14ft deep (front wall to back wall).

 

A two-bay barn is an unusual design for this period as most barns of this size were constructed in three narrower bays with the central bay used for access.  The few surviving similar examples from south-east England indicate that their use was often mixed, including stabling or cattle stalls as well as storage and this may have been the case for the barn at Park Corner Farm considering the land usage as outlined in 1752 (see below).

 

The 1652 lease was followed on the 29^th September 1653 by a twenty-year lease being issued to John Bennett who would appear to have remained at the site of Park Corner Farm for most of the duration of the twenty years, being followed at the property by John Coleman.

 

John Coleman

On 29^th September 1673, John Gage bt. of Firle, issued a twenty-one year lease on the property later known as Park Corner Farm to John Coleman, a yeoman of Godstone, at a rent of £18 per annum.  The description of the property included: ‘a messuage and lands called Parkeland and all the coppice called Ledgers Tuffets [Tufts] amounting to 65a 0r 4p and Calves Broakes amounting to 14a, all in the parish of Godstone, occupied by John Coleman, late John Bennett and before William Ledger, the rent payable at Hedgecourt’.  From the description it is known that John Coleman was in occupation when the lease was written.

 

It would appear that the John Coleman who took out the lease of 1673 was christened on 3^rd February 1633 in Horne, the son of James and Joane.  Other siblings include: William born in 1648 and Anne born in 1642, both christened in Horne.    

 

John Coleman, can be found in the Hedgecourt papers paying rent of £18 per annum for what was described as ‘a small farm’ between 1678 and 1682.  It is probable that John Coleman remained at the ‘small farm’, which later became known as Park Corner Farm, until his death in 1687, unfortunately this cannot be confirmed as the next surviving general accounts book for Hedgecourt is dated 1701/2 and in this book Benjamin Cheys [Cheals] is found to be paying rent at £9 per half annum on the property.

 

Benjamin Cheale

Benjamin Cheale was born in Lingfield, Surrey, in 1673, the son of William Cheale.  It is known that Benjamin married Susannah (date not yet established) and they had at least three children, Mary born 1703, William born in 1706, and Susannah born in 1710, all three children christened in Godstone.   

 

Unfortunately there is no surviving lease to give the date that Benjamin Cheals took over the tenancy of what became known as Park Corner Farm, but the general accounts books for the manor of Hedgecourt imply that he was in occupation by 1701.

 

In 1718, during the tenancy of Benjamin Cheale, William Gage authorised the felling of 585 oak trees that stood on his land in the occupation of ‘John Wakeham (now Hedgecourt Farm), Benjamin Cheale (the farm at Park Corner), Edward Harman (a farm abutting the main London road running along the west side of Woodcock Hill) and Joseph Marchant (the lands attached to Hedgecourt Mill)’.  Each oak to be felled was ‘marked and sealed WG on the west side of each tree’ and they were sold as timber to William Howe of Rotherhithe, a timber-merchant.  The felling of this quantity of oaks must have changed the face of the manor of Hedgecourt, both visually and environmentally.

 

The last reference to Benjamin Cheale with connection to Park Corner is in 1752 in a mortgage between Edward Evelyn and Cave Radcliffe (see below).  However, this would make Benjamin Cheale nearly eighty years old unless there is a second Benjamin.

 

Edward Evelyn’s purchase of Park Corner

On 8^th March 1741, during the tenancy of Benjamin Cheale (although it has not yet been established whether it was the original Benjamin or a relation) the site of what became known as Park Corner Farm was sold by William Gage for the sum of £900, to Edward Evelyn of Felbridge.  The purchase consisted of 107 acres made up of ‘all that messuage and farm called Park Corner’ amounting to 79 acres, together with another ‘messuage and farm then late in the occupation of Edward Harman senior’ amounting to 28 acres (to be covered at a later date).  Seven years later, the Bourd map key states that Park Corner amounted to 80a 0r 20p, and that Harmans amounted to 39a 0r 20p, making a total of 119a 1r.  The discrepancy in acreages between 1741 and 1748 may be due to inaccuracy of measurement as William Gage and his under-tenants would have had little reason to alter the boundaries between the leaseholds. 

 

Edward Evelyn had come to the Felbridge area in 1719 when he purchased 70 acres of land, with a house, that abutted Park Corner from his brother William [for further information see Handout, The Commonplace Book of Colonel Edward Evelyn, JIC/SJC 09/07].  The 70 acres of land had descended through the Evelyn family from their great grandfather George Evelyn of Nutfield, who had made the initial purchase in 1588.

 

The acquisition in 1741 of the 107 acres, including Park Corner, saw the first part of the manor of Hedgecourt being incorporated as part of what eventually became Felbridge Park, later known as the Felbridge Place Estate.  The remainder of the manor of Hedgecourt was purchased by Edward Evelyn in 1747 on the death of William Gage, completing Edward Evelyn’s Felbridge estate, as depicted on the Bourd map in 1748. 

 

The purchase of Park Corner by Edward Evelyn would drastically change the bounds of the two farms outlined in the sale of 1741 and ultimately lead to the construction of a new ‘home farm’ that was called New House Farm, now known as Park Farm.  The history and development of New House Farm and associated people will not be covered in detail in this document.  

 

Park Corner after its purchase by Edward Evelyn

The boundary of Park Corner starts to change post 1747 when Edward Evelyn begins creating his Park around Felbridge House, now the site of Whittington College, taking land mostly from the farm at Park Corner.  The changes can be ascertained from the Bourd map of 1748 as there are clearly discernable lines that have attempted to be removed, whilst others have been heavily inked and lines of trees indicate possible previous field boundaries within the area of Edward Evelyn’s Felbridge House and Grounds making it possible to suggest the original extent of the farm at Park Corner.

 

In 1747 the farm at Park Corner extended from the southern end of Mill Lane to the main London road, just north of Whittington College, following the old boundary of Hedgecourt Park on the south [see figure 1].

 

After the incorporation of a large section of the farm at Park Corner as park land for Felbridge House, and based on the ‘removed’ lines found on the Bourd map, the new boundary of the farm can be determined [see figure 2].

 

The Bourd map also has the first depiction of the buildings that made up the farm at Park Corner.  The map depicts a dwelling and two outbuildings, set within an enclosure of about three quarters of an acre, together with another outbuilding abutting a half-acre hop field to the northeast of the enclosure, all within the bounds of Hedgecourt Park.  One of the outbuildings in the enclosure is depicted as a barn and is probably the barn erected by John Bennett in 1652, it lies adjacent to the road across the Common (now Copthorne Road), whilst the other outbuilding in the enclosure lies on the boundary between the enclosure and the field to the northwest, with the hop field on the east.

 

Four years after the Bourd map was produced, the farm at Park Corner is, for the first time, referred to as ‘Park Corner Farm’ when it appears, together with Harmans occupied by Edward Harman, in a counterpart lease that basically amounted to a mortgage taken out by James Evelyn (the son and heir of Edward Evelyn) with Cave Radcliffe a wealthy widow of Little Chelsea in Chelsea.  The mortgage was to the value of £700 on the basis that James Evelyn would repay £728 to Cave Radcliffe and that she would pay a yearly rent on the properties of ‘1 peppercorn’.  The lease dated 29^th February 1752 (although mouse-eaten in places), gives a complete description of Park Corner Farm, describing it as:

‘a messuage or tenement and farm called Park Corner Farm, with stable barn, mainhouse (2½a), outhouses, Hop Garden (¾a) and 2 yards (2a), and parcels of land, meadow or pasture ground and all lands called:

Upper Meads and Lower Meads (together 2½a)

Rail Platt Mead (2½a)

Upper Common Field (6½a)

Little Three Acres (3a)

Alder Platt (3a), [eaten] Field (8a)

Further Lower with a little Shaw thereunto belonging (ni[eaten] acres 19?)

Upper Further Field (--7?-- ½a)

Grubb Coppice and Shaws thereunto belonging (10a)

Coppice Field (7a)

Upper Spring Field (9a)

Lower Spring Field (11a)

2 orchards and a parcel of ground (1a)

In all a total of 95 acres, in the occupation of Benjamin Cheys, yeoman’.  

 

This description gives names and sizes of each field, some of which match names found on the Bourd map or later estate maps so it is possible to determine the land holding of the farm in 1752 [see figure 3].  Also from the wording of the lease, it is possible that the phrase ‘with stable barn’ refers to a mixed usage of the barn as found in other 2 bay barns in the Weald, although it may also be a simple missing comma after the word stable.  The use of the outbuildings and in particular the one within the hop field is not described.

 

An analysis of land usage at Park Corner Farm in 1752 can be made based on the Bourd map, assuming that there would be little change in the field usages between 1748 and 1752.  The highest percentage of land was being used as pasture, which accounted for 62%, followed by arable at 21%, woodland at 12% meadow at 4%, and hops at ½%, the remaining ½% being taken up with the yard and farm complex, dwelling and immediate surrounding area.  A crop breakdown like this suggests that Park Corner Farm was being used as a livestock farm with the vast majority of the land providing grazing with a small amount of meadow providing hay.  The small amount of arable land is indicative of providing animal feed in the form of either cereal or root vegetables like beet (mangelwurzel) for over the winter months.  It is interesting to note that in the 18^th century, the three quarter acres of hops would have produced about 6.4cwt (717lbs/424.8kg) of harvest, ranging from 2 to 15cwt per acre depending on the weather, pests and diseases.  It took 4lbs/1.7kg to make a barrel of ale; therefore the three quarter acre hop field would have produced, on average, 180 barrels a year and up to 315 barrels in a good year [for further information see Handout, Hop Growing and Hop fields of the Felbridge Area, SJC09/01].

 

It is not known why James Evelyn took out a mortgage with Cave Radcliffe so soon after the death of his father Edward on 21^st February 1752, and there is no documentary evidence suggesting an immediate reason, although it may have been for the payment of death duties, the death tax having been introduced in 1694.  It is unfortunate that after 1752 there are few surviving documents found in the Evelyn papers that refer directly to Park Corner Farm or its occupants.  There is a passing reference to the farm in 1794 when the boundary of Godstone was detailed.  Again Park Corner Farm was used as a marker but it was described as ‘late Cheal’s house’, at least this denotes that Benjamin Cheale no longer occupied the property. 

 

In July 1793 James Evelyn died and the Felbridge Estate passed to his eldest daughter Julia Annabella, the wife of Sir George Augustus William Shuckburgh Medley who took the name of Evelyn on their marriage.  There is some evidence to suggest that on her inheritance the Felbridge Estate was leased out until its sale in 1856 and this may explain the absence of documents relating to the area.

 

However, in 1801 there is a Tithe list for the Evelyn estate and this mentions ‘Cheals Land’, possibly a reference to the property formerly known as Park Corner Farm, the tithe being paid by William Payne, but it is not known if he was occupying the property or sub-leasing it to someone else.  Two years later, the Godstone Land Tax of 1803 records the tax on ‘Cheals, held together with Harmans and Finches’ being paid by Samuel Rutley, but again it is not clear whether he was occupying or sub-leasing the properties.  Between these two dates it is known that Felbridge House and Park were being leased to Jonathon Nicholls esquire, so it would appear that the lands of Cheals, Harmans and Finches were held separately as the tithe and land tax were being paid by William Payne and Samuel Rutley.  Unfortunately there are too many William Paynes living in the area at this date to pinpoint the correct one, and it has so far proved impossible to determine who Samuel Rutley was or where he came from as it is not a local name.

 

Sometime between 1793 and 1809 the farm at Park Corner was in decline as the Lindley & Crossley map of 1793 and the draft Ordnance Survey map of 1809 depict only two of the original four buildings within the old enclosure and a new complex of buildings appears on a site known as New House Farm (now known as Park Farm) in 1809.  The Godstone Tithe map of 1840/4 depicts just one property within the old enclosure at Park Corner Farm, plot 424, but unfortunately the property falls under the holding of William Oliver as part of Park Farm and the tithe apportionment does not list the occupants of the cottage in the enclosure. 

 

As previously stated it has not been impossible to determine the names of any occupants of the site of Park Corner Farm for most of the Evelyn ownership.  The last recorded occupant was Benjamin Cheale who left prior to 1794.  It is not until the census of 1841 that an occupant can be identified – William Brooker, although at the time the property was not named, being simply recorded as being at Hedgecourt. 

 

William Brooker

Although it is known that William Brooker was occupying the property on the site of Park Corner Farm it has been impossible to determine much about him except for the information outlined in the census and he cannot be found in the 1851 census where more information would be available that could allow his better identification.  The 1841 census records William as aged forty, but it should be remembered that ages of adults were normally rounded to the nearest five years in that census.  What is known is that he was born in Surrey, although it has not yet been possible to find his birth, and in 1841 he was recorded as being a blacksmith.  Living with William was Sarah Brooker, recorded as aged thirty five, also born in Surrey, and George Brooker aged fifteen, not born in Surrey.  The 1841 census did not record the relationship of residents within the household and as such George could have been married to Sarah, although a marriage cannot be found, or could have been any relation bearing the same surname.  As for George, he could have been the son of William and Sarah, but as previously stated no marriage can be found for William and Sarah.  However, there is a record for an illegitimate son of about the correct age being born to a Sarah Brooker in 1824, so it is possible that this refers to George, making Sarah and George mother and son.

 

By 1851 the dwelling on the site of Park Corner Farm was referred to as Park Cottage and William and Sarah Brooker had been succeeded by John Holliday and his family.  The property was still part of Park Farm, which by 1851 was under the tenancy of Sarah Stone who had succeeded William Oliver sometime between 1841 and 1851.

 

John Holliday

John Holliday was born the son of James and Mary Holland, being christened on 7^th April 1793 in Godstone, Surrey.  He was one of at least seven children including, Mary born in 1775, James born in 1776, William born in 1780, Salome born in 1785, Martha born in 1787 and Thomas born in 1793, all christened in Godstone. 

 

In 1851 John Holliday was recorded as occupying Park Cottage with his wife Maria, who had been  born about 1817, and two children Henry born about 1840 and Louisa born about 1842.  At this date John Holliday was working as an agricultural labourer.  By the census of 1861, John Holliday had moved to Hacketts Cottages (now converted as Ascotts off Crawley Down Road), being listed as a widower, his wife Maria having died around April 1861.  John Holliday was still working as an agricultural labourer but was living with his daughter-in-law, Phyllis Simmons.  

 

Felbridge Estate Sale 1856

In 1856 descendents of the Evelyn family put the Felbridge Estate up for sale; the original dwelling at Park Corner listed as ‘cottages’ (located in plot 424), was put up for auction as part of Park Farm, which by 1856 was in the tenancy of William Stenning who had succeeded Sarah Stone shortly after 1851.  By 1856 the dwelling at Park Corner Farm had been reduced in status to that of farm worker’s cottages attached to Park Farm, confirmed by its inclusion as part of the same Lot as Park Farm.  It is therefore more than likely that John Holliday who occupied the property in 1851 was employed as an agricultural labourer at Park Farm.

 

In 1856 George Gatty of Crowhurst in Sussex, purchased the Evelyn estate of Felbridge, including the site of Park Corner Farm, run at the time as part of Park Farm, and with the arrival of the new owner came a farm bailiff by the name of George Deacon who was installed at Park Farm.  As a point of interest George Deacon had been living and working at Gullege Farm in 1851.  It is evident that sometime just prior to 1856 the old dwelling that had once been Park Corner Farmhouse had either been divided to accommodate two families or possibly replaced by the pair of cottages that occupy the site today as the census records two households, that of George Creasey and his family and George Wheeler and his family in the 1861 census.

 

George Creasey

George Creasey was christened on 11^th April 1824 in Lingfield, Surrey, and was the son of George Creasey and his wife Mary née Mathew of East Grinstead, Sussex.  In 1841 George junior was working as a farm servant at Comforts Place in Lingfield, living in the household of Maria Steer, the farmer of Comforts Place.  On 10^th April 1844, George married Amelia Dearling and by 1851 the couple were living at 25, Imberhorne Lane, East Grinstead, George working as an agricultural labourer. 

 

George and Amelia had at least twelve children; William born in 1844, Mary Ann born in 1846, George born in 1848, Eliza born in 1850, Caroline born in 1852, Catherine born about 1853, Sarah born in 1855, Amelia born in 1857, John born in 1860, Thomas born in 1862, James born in 1864, Mary (Maria) born in 1866 and Edward born in 1870.  All the children born up to Catherine were registered at East Grinstead and those after at Godstone, implying that the family could have moved to Felbridge between 1853 and 1861. 

 

The 1861 census records that George Creasey and his family were one household living in the property making it either the divided old farmhouse at Park Corner or a replacement pair of cottages built outside the pale of Hedgecourt Park.  George is recorded as working as a farm labourer and the implication is that he was working at Park Farm as the property formed part of the farm.  However, by 1871 the Creasey family appear to have moved to Fir Tree Cottage, now 51 Crawley Down Road, where George Creasey died in January 1896.  It is interesting to note that George’s son John later lived in one of the dwellings at Park Corner (see below).

 

George Wheeler

George Wheeler was born in Cowden, Kent, in 1821, the son of William and Sophia Wheeler.  By 1841 George was living at a farm called Basden, next to Scarlets Mill, Cowden, working as a farm servant for Charles Woodman, and by 1851 he had moved to Old Platts in Lingfield where he was working as a waggoner.

 

George Wheeler married Diana [Dinah] Wood in 1847 in East Grinstead, and they had at least eight children; Michael George (known as George) born in 1848, Anna born about 1850, Ellen born in 1850, Lucy born in 1855, Thomas born about 1858, William born about 1859, John born about 1863, and Emily Ada born in 1869.  All the children up to Lucy were born in Lingfield and those after were registered in the parish of Godstone, implying that the Wheeler family had moved to Felbridge by 1858.  Sadly Diana died shortly after the birth of their last child, at the age of forty-three, and was buried at St John’s Church, Felbridge, on 27^th January 1870. 

 

By 1871 George Wheeler and his family had moved from Felbridge to 3, Imberhorne Road, East Grinstead, George still working as an agricultural labourer and by 1881 George Wheeler had moved to Wiremill Cottage.  In 1891 George Wheeler was living with his daughter Ann and her husband John Gates at Charlwood Row, East Grinstead, where died in 1899, aged seventy-eight, being buried at St John’s Church, Felbridge.

 

Park Cottages

The question of whether the old Park Corner Farmhouse had been divided or whether a pair of new cottages had been built cannot be answered until 1874 when the Ordnance Survey map clearly shows that the old cottage had been replaced by the pair of cottages that stand there today.  These cottages had been built outside the old pale of Hedgecourt Park, on the common, to the south of the old property depicted on the Bourd map and the Godstone Tithe map.  Today these cottages are known as Park Cottages.

 

It is known that the pair of tenants living at the property on the site of the old farmhouse at Park Corner had both moved by 1871 suggesting that a new pair of cottages could have been built on the departure of George Creasey and George Wheeler sometime between 1861 and 1871.  It is also known that the tenancy of the pair of cottages did not alter between 1871 and 1881 (see below) suggesting that Park Cottages had been built before 1871, but as to whether George Creasey and George Wheeler were the first tenants of the new property or whether they had to move out to make way for the construction of Park Cottages we will probably never know.  However, in 1871 the tenants of Park Cottages were Stephen Buckland and James Holland and their families.

  

Stephen Buckland

Stephen Buckland was born about 1832 in Horne, Surrey, but unfortunately there were two Stephens born within a year of each other in Horne and more work needs to done on them to determine whether the Stephen of Park Cottage was the son of Robert and Sophia or Stephen and Saloma. 

 

By 1861 Stephen Buckland had married and he and his wife Susan were living on Hedgecourt Common in Horne, Stephen working as an agricultural labourer.  Stephen and Susan had at least seven children; Sarah born about 1855, Thomas born about 1858, Emma born about 1864, Stephen born 1867, Ernest George born 1869, Rose Ellen born 1871 and Alice Annie born 1874. 

 

Sometime between 1861 and 1871 the Buckland family had moved to 2, Park Cottages, although at the time the property was not named, only addressed as at Hedgecourt Common.  It was not a happy time at the property for the Buckland family as it suffered a fairly high mortality rate.  Having already lost his son Ernest in 1869 aged just four months, Stephen went on to lose his daughters Alice in 1874 aged just ten weeks and Rose in 1876 aged five years, and then his wife Susan died in 1878, all buried at St John’s Church, Felbridge.

 

Stephen Buckland and the remaining members of his family continued to live at Park Cottages until sometime between 1881 and 1891 when they moved to 27, North End,East Grinstead, Stephen having taken a second wife Caroline in 1885.  Caroline was the widow of John Gibb who had died in 1883, and although several years older than Stephen Buckland, the couple lived out their remaining years together at North End, Caroline dying in 1899, aged sixty-two, and Stephen dying in 1913, aged eighty-two, both buried at St John’s Church, Felbridge.

 

On leaving Park Cottages sometime between 1881 and 1891, the Buckland family were succeeded by John Grynyer and his wife (see below).

 

James Holland

James Holland was born in Worth, Sussex, on 30^th July 1830, the son of Richard Holland and his wife Susan[na] née Collins.  James married Sarah Graves of Lingfield on 25^th May 1833 and they had at least seven children; Elizabeth born in 1833, John born in 1837, Emma born in 1840, Ann born in 1843, James born in 1846, Hester born about 1850 and Caroline born about 1853 [for further information on the Holland family see Handout, Llanberis Farm, SJC 01/07].

 

Sometime between 1841 and 1851 James took over the copyhold property that his father Richard Holland held on Hedgecourt Common, lying between what are now Llanberis Farm and Michaelmas Farm in Worth, and between 1851 and 1861 James was recorded as an agricultural labourer, although by 1871 he was working as a sawyer. 

 

In 1871 James and Sarah were living at Park Cottages, although the copyhold property was still in their ownership and was being leased out, but unfortunately it has not yet been possible to determine who was occupying it.

 

After the death of James Holland in 1872, his widow Sarah remained at Park Cottages and in 1880 she sold their copyhold property on Hedgecourt Common to Charles Gatty of Felbridge Place.  In 1889, Sarah Holland died and was succeeded at 1, Park Cottages by Henry Bingham and his family. 

 

Henry Bingham

Henry Bingham had been born at Birch Grove near West Hoathly in Sussex, and was christened Henry Ferguson Bingham in Horsted Keynes, Sussex, on 17^th September 1843.  He was the son of Henry Bingham and his wife Mary Ann née Ferguson who moved, with their family, to Felbridge in 1856 where Henry senior took up the position of Farm Bailiff at Park Farm [for further information on the Bingham family see Handout, Bingham Family of Felbridge, SJC 01/05].  Henry F was a carpenter by trade and in the spring of 1866 he married Susannah Hooker, the couple setting up home at what the census records as Chestnut Trees, Hedgecourt Road (the exact location has not yet determined other than the fact it is in the parish of Horne).  Henry and Susannah had at least three children, Emily Jane born about 1868, Alfred Ernest born in 1871 and Kate born on 12^th June 1876, but who sadly died six days later.

 

Sometime around 1889 the Bingham family moved to Park Cottages and Henry and Susannah remained there until sometime between 1901 and 1909 when they moved to North End, East Grinstead, where Henry died in July 1909.

 

John Grynyer

John Grynyer was born about 1864 in Brighton, Sussex, the son of William Grynyer and his wife Mary Ann née Stringer.  Sometime between 1864 and 1867 the Grynyer family had moved to Stream Farm (now the site of Old Felbridge House and The Feld) in Felbridge, from where William worked as a stone mason [for further information see Handout, Old Felbridge House and the Feld].  The move coincides with the building of St John’s Church in Felbridge, which was completed in 1865, so it is possible that this was the reason for moving to the Felbridge area, and as a point of interest there are several grave stones in the churchyard at St John’s that bear the makers name – ‘Grynyer’ [for further information see Handouts, St John the Divine, SJC 07/02i and Memorial Carvings and Statues of St John the Divine, SJC 07/02iv].

 

William and Mary Ann Grynyer had at least ten children including, William born in 1860, Mary Ann born in 1863, Joseph and John born in 1865, Annie born in 1867, Samuel born in 1869, Mark born in 1870, Jane born in 1974, Margaret born in 1876 and Matthew born about 1879 (it should be noted that there is a slight discrepancy in birth years between the registration of births and ages given in the 1881 census, the dates given here are from the registration of births index).  However, Mary Ann Grynyer sadly died in 1879, shortly after the birth of their last child.

 

John Grynyer was a stone mason by trade and in the March quarter of 1890 married Caroline Holland, the daughter of James and Sarah Holland who had occupied Park Cottages until 1889.  By 1891 John and Caroline Grynyer were living at 2, Park Cottage, although John Grynyer was no longer working as a stone mason being recorded as a carpenter.  Living with Grynyer’s was Caroline’s brother, John Holland who was recorded as being a fifty-four year old agricultural labourer.  Sometime between 1891 and 1901 John and Caroline Grynyer moved to West Hoathly, where John is recorded as being the publican of the Railway Hotel in Station Road, and the Grynyers were succeeded at Park Cottages by John Creasey and his family.

 

John Creasey

John Creasey was born in 1860, the son of George and Amelia who were living on the site of Park Cottages in 1861 either in one of the tenements of the old farmhouse of Park Corner or one of Park Cottages if built by that date (see above).

 

In the summer of 1882 John Creasey married Fanny Friend, the daughter of George Friend and his wife Sarah née Howard, who lived at South Lodge, the next property east of Park Cottages.  At the time of their marriage John was living with his parents George and Amelia at Fir Tree Cottage, 51, Crawley Down Road, working as a carter.  John and Fanny had at least seven children; Olive Elsie born in 1883, Percy David John born in 1885, Arthur George born in 1888, Frederick Leonard born in 1890, Ernest Stanley born in 1895, Annie Lillian born in 1899 and Raymond born about 1905.  As a point of interest, John and Fanny lost two of their sons in World War I, Frederick who died in 1915 and Ernest who died in 1916 [for further information see Handout, War Memorials of St John the Divine, SJC 07/02].

 

Sometime between 1891 and 1901 John Creasey and his family had moved to 2, Park Cottages, succeeding John Grynyer, remaining there until at least 1911.  In both the 1901 and 1911 census John was listed as working as a carter, possibly at Park Farm as the cottages were still attached to the farm, and in 1911 Henry Mabey and his family were living in the adjoining Park Cottage having succeeded Henry and Susannah Bingham sometime between 1909 and 1911.

 

Henry Mabey

Henry Mabey was born in February 1845 being christened at Newchurch, Isle of Wight, on 2^nd March 1845.  Henry was the son of John Mabey and his wife Sarah née Sanders who also had at least nine other children; Joseph born about 1828, Ellen born in 1830, Sarah Anne born in 1834, James born about 1837, Keziah born in 1839, Mary Janet born in 1840, Rachel born in 1842, Frances (Fanny) born in 1847 and Jonathan born about 1849.  The Mabey family lived in Knighton on the Isle of Wight where John senior worked as a gardener.

 

Henry Mabey left the Isle of Wight and came to the mainland sometime between 1861 and 1864, when he married Jane Holebrooke on 31^st August 1864 at Banstead in Surrey.  Henry and Jane had at least ten children; William born about 1863, Ernest Henry born about 1866, Sarah Jane born about 1868, Edith Charlotte born about 1871, George W born about 1874, John born about 1875, Joseph born about 1877, twins Frances and Lucy born about 1879 and Laura born in 1880.

 

By 1881 the Mabey family were living at Wood Park Lodge in Mitcham, Surrey, where Henry was working as a gardener for Martin Poupart of Wood Park.  Sometime between 1901 and 1911 Martin Poupart, a market gardener, took out the tenancy of Park Farm, and it would appear that Henry Mabey and his family followed him to Felbridge.  Martin Poupart was part of the company T J Poupart who have specialised in the sale of fresh produce at Covent Garden Market since 1892 [for further information see Handout, Little Gibbshaven, SJC 07/08].  As a point of interest, Poupart tokens have been found at Park Cottages, and could possibly have belonged to Henry Mabey.

 

It is not known when Henry Mabey or John Creasey left Park Cottages but in May 1911, they were resident when the cottages, as part of Park Farm, together with the Felbridge Place estate was put up for auction by Mrs Emma Harvey and the East Grinstead Estate Company Ltd.  The estate had been purchased by Mrs Emma Harvey in 1910 from Alfred Leighton Sayer and Charles Lane Sayer, esquires, cousins of Charles Gatty who had passed the Felbridge Place estate to them on his death in 1903 [for further information see Handouts, Felbridge Place, SJC 10/99 and Dr Charles Henry Gatty SJC 11/03]. 

 

In 1911 the Felbridge Place estate was divided up to be sold and Park Cottages, together with about fifty-one acres, which had been part of Park Farm since its construction, were put up for auction as Lot 4, being described as:

This very valuable and beautifully situated

Freehold Property

comprising

“Park Cottages”

Together with the adjoining lands, in the Parish of Godstone, about

50a 3r 12p

and embracing a Long Frontage to theCrawley Down Roadand theMill Lane.

 

The pair of Houses each contain Three Bedrooms, Living Room fitted with range, and Wash-house, havingLargeGardensfront and Back, with brick and tile Wood Lodges, Earth closets.  Pair of brick and tile piggeries.

 

Schedule

 

This sale catalogue gives the first documented description of the cottages that had been built to replace the old farmhouse of Park Corner Farm.  Having three bedrooms a piece would make them quite large as farm workers cottages when built by the Gatty family and include all the amenities, ie; wash-house, wood lodge, earth closets and piggeries, required for a reasonable standard of living for the late 19^th century.

 

It is currently unclear whether Park Cottages sold in 1911 and although they had been split from Park Farm to be sold separately, both the cottages and Park Farm were eventually purchased together with the vast majority of the Felbridge Place estate, by Henry Willis Rudd in 1916, for the purpose of creating his own country estate [for further information see Handouts, Newchapel House, SJC 11/02, Downfall of Henry Willis Rudd, SJC 11/02a and Lutyens Grand Design for Felbridge, SJC 07/03].

 

As for Park Cottages it has proved difficult to ascertain the occupants after the estate sale, other than in 1923, when the burial register of St John’s Church records the address at the time of death of Caroline Wheeler as 2, Park Cottages.   

 

Unfortunately, through no fault of his own, Henry Rudd did not hold his Felbridge estate for long as he went bankrupt after the British Government reneged on their agreed contract price of the Lewis guns that he supplied during World War I.  Bankruptcy forced the Rudds to sell their interests in Felbridge, including Park Cottages, which were back up for auction in 1924 as two Lots, the land as Lot 7 and the pair of cottages as Lot 11.

Lot 7

About 20.813 acres of freehold pasture and woodland as shewn on the pan and thereon coloured yellow with frontage of 620 ft to the new road, 260 ft to the Copthorne Road and 160 ft to Mill Lane, a portion offering sites for early development and the remainder having a prospective building value. 

Set forth in the Schedule as under:

 

 

Unfortunately it has not yet been possible to ascertain who bought this Lot but the purchase of this strip of land led to the development of the east side of Mill Lane as it is today, except for the very recent demolition, re-building and plot division.  

 

Lot 11

A pair of Semi-detached brick and tiled cottages

With about 40 ft frontage to Copthorne Road shewn on plan and coloured green.

 

Each cottage contains 3 rooms on the upper floor and 2 on the ground with W.C.

With long gardens in the rear.

 

They are at present occupied by employees upon the estate but possession will be given on completion of the purchase.

 

The water is laid on from the Company’s Main.

 

 

Unfortunately it has not been possible to find much information on many of the occupants of Park Cottages during their ownership by the Rudd’s or immediately after the 1924 auction, except the death record of Caroline Wheeler in 1923.  However, by 1928 James and Susannah Darling were living at 1, Park Cottages (see below) and George Reuben Unwins and Adelaide Unwins were living at 2, Park Cottages until the death of George in May 1929 (no further information yet available).  The Unwins were succeeded by Leopold and Emily Brooker (see below) but by 1934 they had been succeeded by James Wallis.  However, 1936 James Wallis had left within two years being succeeded at 2, Park Cottages by William and Emma Streeter (see below), and a descendant of this couple still resides in the same cottage today.

 

James Darling

James Darling was born James Egbert Langridge on 12^th October 1873, the son of Thomas Darling and Martha Langridge, in Capel, Kent, [for further information see Handout, More Biographies from the Churchyard of St John the Divine, SJC 09/06].  James Darling married Susannah Mobbs on 12^th October 1902 in South Croydon, adopting his father’s surname of Darling from this date.  James and Susannah had at least six children, Annie Maud Gwendolen born in 1903 but who sadly died in the spring of 1905, James George Herbert born in 1905, Agnes Ethel Grace born in 1907, Charles Edward T born in 1909 and Kathleen Miriam Gladys born in 1911.  All the children were registered at Croydon except Kathleen who was registered at Reigate.

 

During the life of James Darling he was employed in a variety of jobs ranging from plate layer on the railway to farm labourer and building labourer.  It is not known exactly when the Darling family moved to Felbridge but they had moved to Park Cottages by 1928, and it may have been the building boom in Felbridge after the break up and sale of the Felbridge estate in 1924 that attracted them.

 

James Darling died from Park Cottages in 1949 and was buried at St John’s church on 21^st April 1949.  The electoral roll for 1949 lists his widow Susannah, their son Edward and Molly (possibly his wife), as resident at Park Cottages and eligible to vote.  However, on her death in 1956, Susannah was living at St Ann’s, Redhill in Surrey, by then a home for the elderly.

 

Leopold Brooker

Leopold Victor M Brooker was born in the spring of 1904 in East Grinstead and married Emily L West in the spring of 1930.  They moved to 2, Park Cottages after the Unwins had left in 1929 and were succeeded by James Wallis by 1934.  James Wallis only stayed for about two years, being succeeded by William and Emma Streeter by 1936.

 

Streeter family

William Streeter was born in 1870 in Horne, Surrey, the son of Abraham Streeter and his wife Catherine née Tingley.  Abraham and Catherine had at least eight other children, besides William, including, Harry born in 1863, Abraham born in 1865, Thomas born in 1867, George born in 1869, Beatrice Alice born in 1872, Jane born in 1875, Margaret born in 1877 and Kate born in 1879.  William and Harry were christened at All Saints in Crawley Down and all the other children were christened at Horne.

 

William, like his father Abraham, worked for most of his life as either a farm labourer or carter, and on 25^th December 1896 married Emma Mitchell the daughter of Samuel Mitchell and his wife Emma née Tucknott.  William and Emma Streeter moved from Newchapel to Felbridge shortly after their marriage, living at 2, Rose Cottages, Crawley Down Road, where they had at least five children; Elizabeth Polly born in 1897, Samuel born in 1899, William Alfred born in 1900 [for further information see Handout, More Biographies from the Churchyard of St John the Divine, SJC 09/06], Emma Kathleen born in 1901 and Sidney James born in 1904.

 

In about 1910 the Streeter family moved to Hedgecourt Mill Cottages [for further information see Handout, Hedgecourt Mill Cottages, 07/04], William working at Hedgecourt Farm, a job he held for over fifty years.  Whilst at the Mill Cottages the Streeter family was also responsible for operating the sluice gates there.  In around 1936 the Streeter family moved to 2, Park Cottages where William died in 1951 at the age of eighty-one, followed by his wife Emma in 1962, aged eighty-nine.

 

In 1962, with the death of both William and Emma Streeter, their widowed daughter Emma took over at 2, Park Cottages.  Emma had married Sidney F Curtis in 1924 and on the death of Emma Curtis in 1983, the property passed to their only daughter, Doris Trefine.

 

The site of Park Corner Farm Today

Today the site of Park Corner Farm is occupied by ribbon development along its frontage with what is now the northern side of Copthorne Road and along the east side of Mill Lane, but the vast majority of it remains as open ground, either as part of the Felbridge Show Ground or as Park Farm, formerly New House Farm that was built by the Evelyn family to succeed Park Corner Farm in the second half of the 18^th century.  Sadly the timber framed farmhouse probably built by William Ledger sometime between 1625 and 1652 has been demolished, replaced by a pair of brick-built and tiled cottages.    

 

As for the pair of cottages, they stand as a testament to the Gatty family who had them built to house estate workers shortly after their purchase of the Felbridge estate in 1856.  The western Park Cottage, no.2, remains virtually unchanged since its construction but no.1 was significantly extended after its sale in 1989 when it was described as:

A period cottage exuding charm and character.

 

Semi-detached, 2 bedrooms, bathroom, reception room, kitchen, utility room, garage space, .33 acres, outbuildings.

 

The piggeries and earth closet mentioned in the 1911 sale have been demolished but the cottages still retain their long rear gardens.  It is also obvious that, when comparing the sale details of 1911 and 1989 that one of the bedrooms up stairs had been converted as a bathroom, at least in 1, Park Cottages, allowing for the demolition of the earth closet.

 

As a testament to the past and a reminder of the areas agricultural use, a male Fuggle hop plant (an escapee from the hop garden that was once located behind Park Cottages), was growing in 2001 in the hedge to the west of 2, Park Cottages.  Being a Fuggle hop would suggest that it dates to the hop garden of the 19^th century as this was a popular choice of hop at the time, unlike the 18^th century which favoured Williams hops and Jones hops from Farnham, Canterbury White Bines and Golding hops [for further information see Handout, Hop Growing and Hop Fields of the Felbridge area, SJC 09/01]. 

 

As for Park Corner, part of the name continues to live on, being preserved as the name of the cottages – Park Cottages, although they probable take their name from Felbridge Park or Park Farm of the 19^th century and not the original Hedgecourt Park from which the corner originally took its name.

 

Bibliography

Handout, Settlement Patterns of the Felbridge area, JIC 01/09, FHA

Boundary of the manor of Hedgecourt, 1625, SAS/G/ACC/914a, ESRO

Handout, The Eating & Drinking Establishments of Felbridge, Part II, JIC/SJC 03/08, FHA

Godstone, by U Lambert

Bourd map, 1748, FHA

Gage/Evelyn indenture, Evelyn papers, Ref: 37,808, BL

Evelyn/Radcliffe lease of Park Corner Farm, SAS/PN, ESRO

Gage/Thorpe lease, 1567, SAS/G43/32, ESRO

Gage/Thorpe lease, 1578, SAS/G43/122, ESRO

Oxford Companion to Local and Family History, by D Hey

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Handout, Hedgecourt Mill Cottages, SJC07/04, FHA

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Recovery of 1641, SAS/G43/17, ESRO

Gage/Coleman lease, 1673, SAS/G43/56, ESRO

IGI

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Hedgecourt General Accounts, 1701/2, SAS/G/11/29, ESRO

Hedgecourt Rents, 1730, SAS/G26/2, ESRO

Gage/Howe contract of timber sale, 1718, SAS/G43/73-3, ESRO

Hedgecourt Court Book, 1730, SAS/G26/2, ESRO

Gage/Evelyn lease and release, 1741, Evelyn Papers, 37,808, BL

Handout, The Commonplace Book of Colonel Edward Evelyn, JIC/SJC 09/07, FHA

Evelyn/Radcliffe counterpart lease, 1752, SAS/PN/1362, ESRO

Handout, Hop Growing and Hop Fields of the Felbridge area, SJC 09/01, FHA

Beating the bounds of Godstone, 1794, P25/18/1, SHC

Tithe list for the Evelyn Estate, 1801, 3069/1, SHC

Godstone Land Tax, 1803, 3069/1, SHC

Draft O/S map, 1789/1805, FHA

Lindley & Crossley map, 1793, FHA

O/S map, 1809, FHA

Felbridge House and Park Lease, 1826, 2688/1, SHC

Godstone tithe map and apportionment, 1840/4, FHA

Census, 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891, 1901, 1911

Free BMD

Ancestry.co.uk Felbridge Park Sale catalogue and plan, 1856, FHA

O/S map 1874, FHA

Handout, Llanberis Farm, SJC 01/07, FHA

Handout, Bingham Family of Felbridge, SJC 01/05, FHA

Handout, Old Felbridge House and the Feld, FHA

Handout, St John the Divine, SJC 07/02i, FHA

Handout, Memorial Carvings and Statues of St John the Divine, SJC 07/02iv, FHA

Handout, War Memorials of St John the Divine, SJC 07/02, FHA

Handout, Felbridge Place, SJC 10/99, FHA

Handout, Dr Charles Henry Gatty SJC 11/03, FHA

Felbridge Place Sale catalogue and plan, 1911, FHA

Handout, Newchapel House, SJC 11/02, FHA

Handout, Downfall of Henry Willis Rudd, SJC 11/02a, FHA

Handout, Lutyens Grand Design for Felbridge, SJC 07/03, FHA

Handout, Little Gibbshaven, SJC 07/08, FHA

Newchapel House and Felbridge Place Sale catalogue, 1924, FHA

Electoral Roll, 1926-39 and 1946-49, CC082/47/2 – CC082/60/2, SHC

Burial Register of St John’s Felbridge, FHA

Handout, More Biographies from the Churchyard of St John the Divine, SJC 09/06, FHA

Handout, Hedgecourt Mill Cottages, 07/04, FHA

Sale of 1, Park cottage, Local Newspaper article, 1989, FHA