Kelly's Directory 1909, Easebourne, West Sussex


Easebourne, anciently called “Essbourne” or “Ashbourne”, is a pleasantly situated parish & village adjoining Midhurst on the north; it gives its name to the hundred, and is in the north-western division of the county, Chichester rape, Midhurst petty sessional division, union & county district, in rural deanery of Midhurst and archdeaconry and diocese of Chichester. The church of St Mary, an edifice of stone, was partly rebuilt in 1876, with the exception of the tower, and enlarged by the late Earl of Egmont, and has a tower with spire, containing 5 bells; there are tombs with effigies to Sir Anthony Browne, 1st Viscount Montagu K.G. 1592, and his 2 wives; to Anthony, 6th Viscount Montagu, 1767, and his wife, 1779; the Poyntz family, and to Sir David Owen; the east window is stained; in 1897 a reredos was erected by Lucy Countess of Egmont, and friends, in memory of Charles George, 7th Earl (d. 1897), from designs by Sir A. W. Blomfield A.R.A. at a cost of £400; the church affords 480 sittings; the churchyard was enlarged in 1902, with land given by the Earl of Egmont. The register dates from the year 1538. The living is a vicarage; net yearly value £165, in the gift of Sir Weetman Dickinson Pearson bart. M.P. and held since 1892 by the Rev. Joseph King Cummin M.A. of Trinity College, Dublin. A small Mission Room, at Henley Hill, was erected at the sole cost of Charles, 7th Earl of Egmont in 1885. Mr Charles Wilcock is the lay reader in charge. The Village Institute, built and maintained entirely by the Earl of Egmont, includes a reading & cards room. A public hall was added to the building in 1908 by the Earl of Egmont at a cost of over £1,000; a penny savings bank is open every Wednesday evening at the club, and there is also in the village a branch of the National Deposit Friendly Society. Linkhorn’s charity of £2 2s. yearly, derived from the rent charge, is annually distributed by the churchwardens. The Midhurst union house is situated here. There anciently existed here a small religious house, founded about 1273 by John de Bohun, Baron of Midhurst, for a prioress and 6 nuns of the Order of St Benedict; the refectory, dormitory and cells and part of the cloister remain, and are carefully preserved.

The King Edward VII. Sanatorium for the open-air treatment of consumptive patients, which occupies a commanding eminence in this parish, about 4 miles north of the town of Midhurst, was erected in 1905, from the designs of Mr H Percy Adams F.R.I.B.A. of London, and opened in 1906 by His Majesty in person; the institution is for 100 patients, but only those suffering pulmonary tuberculosis in its early stages are admitted; the building, constructed of brick and stone in the Domestic Gothic Style, is three stories in height, relieved by numerous gables and dormer windows, and on the east & west are wings with low towers, the place is surrounded by well-wooded grounds of 150 acres, a feature of the grounds being a grove of magnificent pine trees; water is obtained from a private reservoir holding 160,000 gallons; the chapel, built on the open-air principle in the shape of a “V” with the point northwards, was the gift of Sir John Brickwood.
Cowdray Park is the property of Sir Weetman Dickinson Pearson bart. M.P., J.P. lord of the manor and sole landowner; the mansion is surrounded by a spacious park of 600 acres, with an avenue of chestnut trees about a mile in length; the house was entirely rebuilt in 1875, with the exception of the north-west wing; the hall, designed in the old baronial style, is one of the principal features of the building, the pleasure grounds have been considerable improved and beautiful, and extensive alterations are now (1909) being made to the mansion. The original and magnificent mansion known as Cowdray House, built in 1533 by Sir William Fitzwilliam, 1st and only Earl of Southampton of that family, was completed by Sir Anthony Browne, to whom the site and buildings of the Benedictine nunnery, founded here by the Bohuns in the reign of Henry III. Were granted at the Dissolution. Sir Anthony was in 1554, created Viscount Montagu, and in the next year made a Knight of the Garter, and his family continued to hold the title until the death, in 1797, of Mark Anthony, 9th Viscount, when it is presumed to have become extinct; his cousin, George Samuel, 8th Viscount, perished 26th June 1769, in an attempt, with a friend, to navigate the falls of Schaffhausen; and by a disastrous fire on the night of September 25th 1793, the mansion was almost entirely destroyed and has since been a ruin. When complete, the buildings surrounded a great courtyard, with a fountain in the centre; the west front comprised a tower gatehouse, with octagonal turrets at the angles, which still remains, and has suffered little either from the fire or the ravages of time; the wings are wholly gone, but there are interesting remains of the eastern block, which contained the famous “buck hall” the solar, with drawing room and chapel, and a large octagonal kitchen at the south-east angle. The ruins, now (1909) being carefully restored with a view to their preservation, were visited in 1908 by H.M. the King and the Princess of Wales. The property, which had been held since 1843 by the Earls of Egmont, was purchased in 1909 by Sir W. D. Pearson bart. M.P. The estate office at the entrance to the park contains a very fine collection of paintings by various old masters, which may be seen by permission. The soil is sandy loam; subsoil, gravel. The chief crops are wheat, barley and oats. The area is 4,195 acres of land and 19 of water; rateable value, £9,083; the population in 1891 was 1,391 and in 1901, 1,398 in the civil parish, including 90 officers and inmates in Midhurst Workhouse, and 1,481 in the ecclesiastical parish.

Sexton, Thomas Booker

South Ambersham. Adjoining Easebourne, is a small hamlet and tything, originally part of the parish of Steep, in Hampshire, but under the Acts 2 & 3 William IV. Cap. 64 and 7 & 8 Vic. Cap. 61, it became part of Sussex. For ecclesiastical purposes, North & South Amersham, the former being annexed to Fernhurst and the latter to Easebourne. Sir Weetman Dickinson Pearson bart. M.P. is lord of the manor and owner of the land. The area is 1,497 acres of land and 7 of water; rateable value, £1,009; population in 1901 was 126.

Buddington is a tything, transferred from Bignor to the parish of Easebourne by Local Government Board Order No. 23,839, 24th March 1889.

Post, M. O. & T. Office - Frederick James Mills, sub-postmaster. Letters from Midhurst delivered at 7am 12 noon & 5pm; dispatched at 7.45am & 1.20 & 7.30pm
Post & Telegraph Office, King Edward VII. Sanatorium - Potter Grant, sub-postmaster. Letters through Midhurst arrive at 7.55am & 1.10 & 5.50pm; Sundays, 7.25am; dispatched at 8.10am & 1.25 & 5.45pm; Sundays, 7.30am Easebourne is the nearest money order office.
Wall Letter Box, Lutener Road, cleared week days at 8.45am & 1.30 & 8pm & Sundays at 7.50pm
Wall Letter Box, Rotherlea, cleared at 1 & 7.50pm except Sundays.
Wall Letter Boxes, Henley Hill, cleared from Fernhurst at 8.30am & 5.25pm; Sundays 11.10am & South Amersham, cleared from Midhurst at 7.40am & 5pm except Sundays

King Edward VII. Sanatorium, Noel Dean Bardswell M.D.Edin., M.R.C.P.Lond. Medical supt.; Rev. Douglas Reginald Barton, vicar of Fernhurst, chaplain

Public Elementary Schools, Eastbourne (mixed), erected in 1873 by George James, 6th Earl of Egmont; in 1880 Charles, 7th Earl, added a large room for infants & in 1885 a separate room for boys, further enlarged the school in 1895; in 1902 Augustus Arthur, 8th Earl, added a large room, fitted for a school museum; average attendance, 106 boys, 118 girls & 83 infants; George William Singleton master; Mrs Ruth Singleton, mistress; Miss A. N. Roff, infants mistress; Locke’s charity of £5, partly arising from rent charge, is applied to the support of the school, which is controlled by 6 managers; E. T. Haynes, correspondent.

Easbourne
Private Residents
Bardswell Noel Dean M.D. King Edward VII sanatorium
Boswell Miss, Rose cottage
Bristow H. J. Avery Villa
Butts Henry Hill J.P. (barrister-at-law)
Byham Miss Newstead
Chase Mrs. Alresford House
Clarence George Clement
Crawford Mrs. Rotherlea
Cummin rev. Joseph King M.A. (vicar) Vicarage
Dixon Miss, Highlands
Featherston Miss, Rother College
Fenn Mrs. Dodsley Gate
Ford James, The Lane
Furneaux John Mudge, Woodcote
Gadsdon Henry Benjamin, Whitelands
Geeson Frederick, Holly Cottage
Gosden Caizley, Mint Cottage
Gosden Mrs. Elm side
Haslam Mrs. Ashover
Howe George
Inglis Miss, Woodlands
Johnson Misses, Dodsley
Johnson William Thomas, Dodsley
Kemmis Mrs. Mayfield
Knight Mrs. Newstead
Knight Mrs. Thomas, The Laurels
Large Miss, Vanzell Road
Lascelles Rev. Edwin B.A. Rotherfield House
Leslie Mrs. Midleton Lodge
Mather Daniel, Yewsley
Mellersh Mrs. Eversley
Page Mrs. The Myrtles
Pearson Sir Weetman Dickinson bart. M.P., J.P. Cowdray Park; Paddockhurst, Worth; & 16 Carlton House Terrace S.W. & Reform & Devonshire clubs S.W. London
Plank Rev. Charles Thomas (Congregational)
Popplewell Thomas, Maida Villa
Richards Miss, Snow hill
Rigg Mrs. Manor House
Shotter Mrs. Woddchurch Lodge
Smith Edward Cooper, Ivy Cottage
Stevens Fred, Allington
Stratford Samuel Edward, Lynton
Tallant Mrs. Hawthorns, Vanzell Rd
Townsend F. H. Bybrook
Travers Mrs. Silwood
Weller Alfred Harmer, Baith Cottage
Whitemore Cecil John, Hunsdon
Wilson-Tripp Mrs. Margery, Veine
Winter Misses, Park House
Wright Charles Henry, Park Side
Yorke Mrs. E. Marion, The Priory

Commercial
Aman Frank G. steward, Cowdray Estate Office
Andrews john, shoemaker
Birchell Joseph, beer retailer
Bishop Silas, farmer, Whitter’s farm
Bridger Richard Percy, farmer, Soutars farm
Challen Benjamin, farmer, Moor farm
Chevis Arthur H. gardener to H. B. Gadsdon esq. Whitelands Cottage
Cowdray Estate Office, (Frank G. Aman, agent to Sir Wheetman Dickinson Pearson bart. M.P., J.P; H. J. Watling, sec.; Cecil J. Whitemore, accountant; Percy wheeler, clerk of works; George Howe, farm manager & Thomas Roberts, forester)
Cowdray Laundry (Mrs. Emily Archer, manageress)
Coze Francis, photographer & insurance agent
Dale Alexander Marrack, farmer, Verdley farm
Edwards Frederick J. gardener to Sir Weetman Dickinson Pearson, The Gardens, Cowdray Park
Etherington William Alfred, carpenter
Field Albert Hart, master of Midhurst union workhouse & relieving officer & vaccination officer for Midhurst district
Gillman Arthur, coal merchant & oilman
Goldring Thomas & Son, market gardeners & florists, Dodsley
Gwillim John, corn merchant
Harber Lois (Miss), dress maker, Lutener Rd
Harrison George, White Horse P.H.
King Edward VII Sanatorium (Noel Dean Bardswell M.D.Edin. Medical superintendent
Martin James Henry, grocer
Mills Arthur, grocer, Dodsley Lane
Mills Frederick James, apartments, Post Office
National Deposit Friendly Society (S. E. Stratford, sec.) Lynton
North Heath Stone Quarries; office, Cowdray Park
Oliver William Henry, engineer to King Edward VII Sanatorium
Page William D., grocer
Parham Charles E. H. assistant overseer & clerk to the parish council
Perrin Samuel, wheelwright
Rivers William, farmer, Gosden’s farm
Rook Stephen, carpenter
Rook Stephen Mrs. Shopkeeper, Lutener Rd
Smith Edward Cooper M.R.C.V.S.I., veterinary surgeon
Stevens Brothers, grocers
Stratford Samuel Edward, sanitary inspector for Midhurst Rural District Council, Lynton
Stringer Frederick Henry, farm bailiff to Sir Weetman Dickinson Pearson
Talbot Mrs. Emma, laundress
Talbot F. F. builders merchant
Tatner William Smith, plumber, Lutener Rd
Venes Daniel, Cumberland Arms P.H.
Village Institute & Public Hall (Tracy G. Wyatt, hon. Sec.)
Watson James, gamekeeper to Sir Weetman Dickinson Pearson
Webster Frederick Mrs. Rother Inn
Whitemore Cecil John, accountant & insurance agent

South Ambersham
Letters through Midhurst
Vigers Charles R
Budd John, Ambersham House
Duck Frederick Austin, farmer, Moorland farm
Eggins Arthur, farmer, Great Todham
Moseley Richard, blacksmith
Purser A. T. & P. C. farmer
Taylor James, beer retailer

Buddington
Letters through Midhurst
Bourdillon Francis W., M.A.Oxon
Coombe Nigel, Hollist
Drew Mrs. Bottingdean
Atkins George Stephen, farmer, Buddington Farm


15 Feb 2007

Transcribed by Stacey Gardner

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