The Francis Frith Collection.
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Compton

Compton photos (33 available)

Old photo of Compton

Compton maps (2 available)

Old map of Compton

Compton books (24 available)

Compton memories

Gamekeeper's Cottage

I do not know Compton but lived as a child next door to a lady who was daughter of the local gamekeeper.  Her maiden name was Churchill, Hilda Churchill, with two sisters Mabel and Alice.  I have a watercolour painting of her house at Compton done by H J Sage (a local artist) and would be happy to share this with anyone who may be interested.  Also amongst her posessions was a Coronation mug for George V, 1911.  She told me that one of these mugs was given to each child in the school and that after they were made, the mould was destroyed.  I have this mug and it has her name written on its base.  
I would love ...read more here
Contributed by Mike Cowham

Surrey memories

Gamekeeper's Cottage

I do not know Compton but lived as a child next door to a lady who was daughter of the local gamekeeper.  Her maiden name was Churchill, Hilda Churchill, with two sisters Mabel and Alice.  I have a watercolour painting of her house at Compton done by H J Sage (a local artist) and would be happy to share this with anyone who may be interested.  Also amongst her posessions was a Coronation mug for George V, 1911.  She told me that one of these mugs was given to each child in the school and that after they were made, the mould was destroyed.  I have this mug and it has her name written on its base.  
I would love ...read more here
A memory of Compton contributed by Mike Cowham

The Dunn family and the Hancock family

My family moved to Hurtmore from Kent in 1959. From the first day I loved the place. We lived at no. 6 Quarry Road.  Mr and Mrs Hancock lived a few houses away. I started school at Rodborough which was up Rodborough Hill on the Portsmouth road, an old army camp I believe. I was only there a few months as the new school opened in Milford.  In the 1960s youth clubs were the "thing" and I attended quite a few, Shackleford being one, and Milford also. The bus sevice from Godalming was pretty good, I did however miss the last bus frequently which didn't bother me as I liked walking! The last part of the trip home was usually in ...read more here
A memory of Hurtmore contributed by anne docherty

Well, it's a start

Farncombe, Farncombe Street 1905

Disappointed by a lack of reminiscenses here I, only this evening, asked a man (who turns out to have lived in the white house in the top left of the picture since 1917) if he had any memories.  I'm afraid all he came up with was the aggrieved memory that the timber merchant (situated where Jackson & Gocher is now) used to let his horse 'drop his guts' right outside his front door 'every (expletive deleted) day'.  

It's a start anyway and I'll try again next time I bump into him!
A memory of Farncombe contributed by Andrew Fuller

Extracts From Compton & Surrey books

Compton, the Village c1955

North-west of Godalming, Compton is famed for the Watts Gallery and Chapel, commemorating the Victorian painter George Frederick Watts. I first visited the village many years ago for its superb Norman parish church. This view, looking downhill, is now barely recognisable: the cottages by the telegraph pole were cleared for 1960s road widening. Ellis, the baker and grocer (left), is now an antique shop. Beyond the Harrow Inn, the pub on the right, stands the village hall; its foundation stone was laid by Mrs Watts, the artist’s widow, in 1934.
An extract from from"Surrey Living Memories".

Godalming, Church Street 1906

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".

Godalming, Church Street 1906

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".

Godalming, the Old Forge Pound Lane 1910

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".

Godalming, River Wey Camping Ground 1908

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".