Bookhams.co.uk
The tales, history and pictures of Great and Little Bookham
Villages of Surrey,England
Famous people of Bookham….
The Duke and Duchess of York
spent their honeymoon at the National Trust property of Polesden Lacey
at Great Bookham and later
they became the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth of England (the late
Queen mother).
The National Trust was given
Polesden Lacey in 1942 by the Hon Mrs Ronald Greville in memory of her late
father,
the Rt Hon William McEwan.
The gift was made up of the house, gardens, pictures and other works of art and
the estate
of 1000 acres, the present house was started in 1824, eight
years after the original had been demolished.
The Church of St Nicholas is Norman but on a
Saxon site of worship and many well known and distinguished people have
made up the congregation, not least the future king and
queen. The east window is in memorium to Lord Raglan who was killed
at Sebastopol 40 years after losing an arm
at the Battle of Waterloo. Jane Austen's godfather, the Rev Samuel Cooke was
rector from 1769 until his death in 1820.
The Hermitage, which was once called
Fairfield was the home of the Surrey novelist Fanny Burney, who lived here for
four
years after Marrying General d'Arblay at Mickleham in 1793.
The couple had a child and told the world they were extremely
happy living on £125 a year, and it was here that Fanny wrote
Camilla.
The father of the poet Elizabeth Barrett
rented the Old Rectory in 1846 in an attempt to help his daughter,
who spent a lot of her time on her back
after suffering an injury in childhood,.
The local butcher, Thomas Briggs was accused
of breaking into a property at Newdigate and stealing
two oxen worth about £8, and was
subsequently taken to the Assizes
and found guilty. He was hanged
by the neck in January 1594.
The village
church whose dedication is unknown has some magnificent 12th century work. It is
believed to contain four periods of medieval architecture, but the original
building was only a nave and a south aisle was added around 1160. The north and
west walls are still in existence.
Near to the church is a tithe barn that is
believed to have been built during the 15th century
and some of the other buildings in the
village are around 16th century which also includes
the Windsor Castle public house.
Roger Waters previously of super band Pink
Floyd. George Roger Waters was born in
Great Bookham, Surrey, England, on 9
September 1943. His father, Eric
Fletcher Waters,
was killed at Anzio in World War II, on 16 February 1944. This
event is immortalized in many
of Roger's songs.
If you have any history, stories or pictures about the
Bookhams please Email me
Website: http://www.bookhams.co.uk
Editor: Sean Whetstone of Bookham,Surrey