One of my husband's young relatives arranged a trip for both of us to visit the village where he grew up in Surrey, a place he left as a teenager. Unbeknown to us she had spoken to the owner of what had been his grandfather's farmhouse and arranged for us to see the property.
This pen and ink drawing of the farmhouse was done from a photograph by one of my husband's cousins 40 years ago, and this is how my husband remembers it. The barn at the side of the farmhouse sits on staddle stones (mushroom) legs which kept rats and other unwanted creatures away from the corn stored inside. Both the property and the barn are now Grade 11 listed.
This is how the farmhouse looks today, but I personally feel, that it has lost some of its charm. The entrance porch has been removed, and the interesting square patterns created by the brick and flint stone work when it was built in 1590 are now hidden by paint.
We wandered down to the village church and discovered that strangely there were two entrance pathways leading up to the church.
The photo below shows both pathways leading to the church.
This last image is another ink drawing again done by my husband's cousin from an old photo. This is the road that runs besides the church, and we were surprised to see that it still looks exactly the same today even though this image was probably taken during the 1930s.
We loved the pretty steeple made out of chestnut wood shingles which over the years has turned a lovely shade of silver-grey, and the attractive sundial clock. The bird flying around the tower was one of several Buzzards seen soaring up into the sky on thermals.
H0RA PARS VITÆ
Every hour is a part of life
What a special treat for your husband, to revisit his childhood village. The old farmhouse is beautiful, but I agree the white paint has concealed some of its charm, and the porch was lovely. I wonder why it was removed. I love the old church, with its pretty chestnut shingles. Your husband's cousin was an excellent artist with his ink drawings. They are very evocative.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why the porch was removed Patrica - several people have owned the property since it belonged to my husband's family. I didn't ask the current owner, but they couldn't have removed it because it is Grade 11 listed. When a property is listed you cannot alter anything such as that porch. The property has probably been listed for about 40 or 50 years.
DeleteGreat. What is the place could in Surrey?
ReplyDeleteSomewhere that I am sure you will know Tom - Thursley.
DeleteIt's always emotional to visit a childhood home and community, isn't it -- so many memories, some good, some bad, I'm sure, Your husband's cousin was an amazing artist -- so wonderful to have those artworks! Contemporary photos of our remembered places always seem to suffer by comparison, don't they?
ReplyDeleteIt is surprising that apart from the paint and the removal of the porch mostly thing were little changed, especially the small winding roads edged with forest.
DeleteLovely photos. That's one thing I loved about touring English villages decades ago by bike in summer is the sheer numbers of delightful villages in every county, the richness and heritage of the architecture and landscape, the lushness of the scenery and climate ( apple, pear, and plum trees in many southern gardens) which first opened my eyes to how poor and Spartan my own country was by comparison, 300 to 400 miles further north and an often 10c degree difference in temperature. Bob.
ReplyDeleteI understand what you say Bob - I remember my first trip down south from my childhood home in the midlands and the difference in the plants and trees that were growing was also eye-opening for me too.
DeleteDear Rosemary, what a wonderful experience to be able to see that place again!
ReplyDeleteI often think about buildings we have lived in, flats, (and we moved a lot) that are now out of reach for us - closed doors.
The ink-drawings by your husband's cousin are very well done!
And I agree: they shouldn't have painted the square patterns.
As I "collect" (with my camera) sun dials, this is an interesting one: very colourful - how old is it?
I am not sure how old the sun dial is Britta, but I know that it replaced an 18th century one, and that recently it was restored.
DeleteI see what you mean about the porch the place lost some of its charm, the paint might have been done to help weatherproof it more or they did not like the exposed bricks. Lovely looking church, did you get a chance to go in? No doubt they pulled the coffin in bier which I have seen in many churches I have visited lately. I find a lot of old villages do not change much over the years
ReplyDeleteThe back of the property remains with the original fancy brick and flint work so I presume it was one the owners fancy to paint the front. However, it must have been done before the property was Grade ll listed. The church is Saxon and still retains it Saxon font. There are two small Saxon windows in the chancel which still have the original oak grooved for bedding the horn windows which were customary before the manufacture of glass. There is also an old Saxon oven which was used for baking the Communion wafers, and also for heating charcoal for incense.
DeleteHello Rosemary, How lucky for your husband to have memories of such a special place, and for both of you to be able to revisit it. I agree with you that the older images of the house look much better. This is so often true because when people repair an old building it is much easier to lop off and paint over old features than to restore them properly. Occasionally there are other reasons--perhaps the porch was added in the 18th century, and the previous owners were trying to take it back to its Elizabethan appearance. Or maybe the paint was felt necessary as a sealant. However, most of the time old buildings are butchered in the name of economy.
ReplyDelete--Jim
I don't think that there would have been a problem with the walls requiring a sealant as the back of the farmhouse still has its original flint and brickwork unpainted. It must have been done prior to its being listed as a Grade II property.
DeleteHello again, After your photo and description of the staddle stones, I looked them up and Wikipedia has quite an interesting article. They pointed out that in addition to the stones' anti-vermin and ventilation properties, when tenants built on top of staddles, the buildings were considered the property of the tenant.
ReplyDeleteIf Debra from Canada reads this, the article stated that: "Beehives were often set on top of staddle stones to keep out predators and provide dry and airy conditions."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:StaddleStoneBeehives.jpg
--Jim
Hi Parnassus Jim, thanks for that informative tidbit about bee hives and staddle stones! Interesting legal point too about the effect of staddle stones on the distinction between personalty and realty.
DeleteLovely trip down memory lane. Reminds me of the old farmhouses my father's aunts and uncles lived in.
ReplyDelete💚
DeleteWhat a lovely trip down 'Memory Lane'
ReplyDeleteLovely post and photographs.
All the best Jan
Thanks Jan.
DeleteHandsome family! I love your top photo and hope that all the names are written on the back. Families were often so big back then, the grandchildren may not know who their cousins are now.
ReplyDeleteI love the photo of the only girl - my husband's aunt, she looks very pre-raphaelite in her appearance.
DeleteThose drawings are gorgeous Rosemary, wonderful to see them along with the photo. Must have been a lovely trip for you and your husband to see the old homestead from way back and it does put a damper on things when it's been changed.
ReplyDeleteRecently I came across a beautiful old (in my book it's old) fire place surround from the early 1800's here in Ross with carvings in sandstone trying to make out what they mean!
Perhaps you could do a post re: the carvings - someone might be able to help you out.
DeleteLovely house and church - I like that unusual steeple.
ReplyDeleteMe too 💚
DeleteYour husband's grandmother bears a resemblance to the actress who played Mrs. Hughes in Downton Abbey - Phyllis Logan.
ReplyDeleteI am glad to read more of your visit than on IG. The church with its two entrance paths is interesting, as is the reason for them. Staddle stones are a new term for me. Their shape would certainly prevent unwanted visitors.
I hadn't noticed that, but they do both share similar oval shaped faces.
DeleteA beautiful journey. Thank you so much for sharing ❤️
ReplyDeleteThank you💚
DeleteWhat a thoughtful and moving experience that must have been, to return to a place so deeply rooted in your husband’s family history. The drawing is beautiful, capturing not just the architecture but the memory of the place as it once was. There’s something quite special about seeing a family home preserved through generations and honored in this way. I shared a new post; you are invited to read: https://www.melodyjacob.com/2025/04/amazing-guidingcross-hoodie-testimony-faith-hope.html Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind comment Melody - I will pop over to see your post.
DeleteDear Rosemary – What a nice and nostalgic trip down memory lane! It’s wonderful that the farmhouse of your husband's root is still preserved so nice, though I understand your feeling about something lost. I love the two atmospheric pen and ink drawings.
ReplyDeleteYoko
Dear Yoko - unfortunately the pen and ink drawings lost some of their detail in my photo as I
Deletefound it difficult to take a photo of them behind glass, but they are lovely memory for my husband.
How lovely to travel back to the past even if there have been some changes. I love the old photo of the family. Beautiful. B x
ReplyDeleteI think that my husband's father is the child who most resembles his father out of all of the children.
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