Thursley
Thursley maps (2 available)
Map of Surrey
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
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Thursley books (22 available)
- 2 photos on Thursley appear in 2 Frith books - View photos of Thursley
- Read extracts and see photos from these books on Thursley and Surrey
Thursley memories
Read and share memories of Thursley and Surrey inspired by Frith photos
The Murder of a young sailor
I've come across a set of 6 postcards that tell the tale of a young sailor who was murdered by 3 other sailors that he met up with in the, 'Red Lion' at Thursley. Apparently the other 3 sailors accompanied him up to 'the Hindhead Hills' and murdered him and dumped his body in the Punch Bowl. Is this a well known story in local folklore?
Contributed by Barry Peskett
Surrey memories
The Murder of a young sailor
I've come across a set of 6 postcards that tell the tale of a young sailor who was murdered by 3 other sailors that he met up with in the, 'Red Lion' at Thursley. Apparently the other 3 sailors accompanied him up to 'the Hindhead Hills' and murdered him and dumped his body in the Punch Bowl. Is this a well known story in local folklore?
A memory of Thursley contributed by Barry Peskett
Sandhills
This is where I was born in 1950. I remember being pushed in my pram into Witley to the Post Office. Although I was only a baby I remember the peace of the area. It was a wonderful place to be born.
A memory of Witley contributed by Penelope Dale
9 months of my life spent here
I was a boy sargeant soldier at Arborfield AAS when I came down with a serious illness and rushed into Cambridge Military Hospital, Aldershot and when I defied the odds and lived , it was discovered that I had pulmonary TB of the right lung. I was transferred to Connaught Military Sanatorium at Hindhead ,Surrey which I believe is the hospital featured in the photo ref.67886 although I do not recognise the angle it is taken from.
I got to know many of the patients and staff and although the hospital by this time was already condemned I received very good and kind treatment and the male orderlies competence and kindness motivated me into becoming a male qualified ...read more here
A memory of Hindhead contributed by clifford charlesworth
Extracts From Thursley & Surrey books
In the 18th century, The Red Lion was a popular stopping point on the London to Portsmouth road before the stage coaches began the long haul up to the wild and treacherous wastes of Hindhead Common, the second highest point in the county. In September 1786 this inn was also a final supping place for an unknown sailor who was subsequently robbed and murdered by his three Irish companions on the heights above. The villains were pursued by a posse of ten or eleven men from The Red Lion, who captured them near Petersfield; they were convicted, and hanged on Gibbet Hill, Hindhead in April 1787. The sailor lies buried in Thursley churchyard, while the inn is now a private home.
An extract from from"Surrey Revisited Photographic Memories".
Three of Church Street’s five pubs are in this photo - the Corn Meter extreme left, the Star
centre left, and the Live and Let Live just beyond the archway on the right. The arch led to
the rear of the Angel Hotel yard, owned at that time by John Jasper Taylor, who also had a
temperance hotel, Deanery House, further down Church Street.
An extract from from"Godalming Town and City Memories".
In Edwardian days cyclists frequented Godalming, especially at weekends. There was a demand
for teashops, and Church Street had three - one is on the left here. Also very popular was the
sending of picture postcards, which served people much as the telephone does today - Eatons
paper shop, on the left, claimed to have the largest selection.
An extract from from"Godalming Town and City Memories".
During the coaching era the need to re-shoe horses must have
made the blacksmith essential. The forge in Godalming was
situated very centrally, in Pound Lane, where Record Corner is
now. In the 1860s the smith added to his business by opening a
beerhouse, appropriately named the Three Horseshoes, next to the
forge. Also nearby was a whitesmith, Mr H Lewer who was also a
gasfitter and electrician.
An extract from from"Godalming Town and City Memories".
One suspects that Frith’s photos of the river shown on these pages may have been
commissioned by Mr Leroy to sell to his customers - he appears in this one too, in a
Canadian canoe, fashionable at the time. The camping ground was just to the east of the
boathouse. Though camping was already enjoyed, Baden-Powell’s book ‘Scouting for boys’
was published in the same year, and may have increased its popularity.
An extract from from"Godalming Town and City Memories".