EEHAS talks - EEHAS

2012

7th March AGM followed by a talk by President Jon Cotton

4th April Frank Pemberton: Archaeology and Landscape in Peru and
the Galapagos Islands

2nd May Speaker to be confirmed: The History of Brooklands

Visitors are always welcome

Meetings take place on the first Wednesday of each month
at St. Mary's Church Hall, London Road, Ewell, beginning at 8.00 pm.

Admission to non-members: £2.00 including tea/ coffee

Why not have a look at reviews of previous talks
as written by Isobel Cross and published in our bi-monthly newsletter

November 2011- Fifty Years of Local Archaeology- Steve Nelson

There was, of course archaeology hereabouts more than fifty years ago. You only have to think back to our predecessors like Captain Lowther digging at Purberry Shot in the 1930s. The theme of looking at the last fifty's years archaeological activity relates to the Society's 50th Anniversary last year. The Society was founded after the excavation of Nonsuch Palace by Martin Biddlein 1959. It was a major project which attracted huge public interest and support. Steve Nelson went on to discuss the worek done in the years that followed in some detail, and this summary will pick out some of the salient points.

In 1962 there was an opportunity to excavate before the current Bourne Hall was built. A major player was Norman Nail with his broad knowledge of history and conservation. He later uncovered Stane Street in Ashley Road and behind St. Martin's Church and dug the mostly Victorian site of Riddlngton's Bakery in Epsom High Street. In Ewell in 1967 there was an important excavon on King William IV pub site, published by Clive Orton. In the 1980s an opportunity was presented in Epsom in advance of the development of the Ashley Centre, where evidence from the Spa period included tavern vessels and over 100 complete clay pipes. The outer areas of the Borough were not neglected. In 1973 medieval finds were made in Banstead Churchyard and in 1986 a Saxon cemetery was dug in Headley Drive, Tadworth.

Ewell rather than Epsom is the best place for Roman archaeology. The excavation at Hatch Furlong from 2006-9 is the most important recent project. Most of us remember it well and it attracted lots of public interest as these things do. A major focus of any opportunity to dig in the Borough is the search for Roman Stane Street, not only its line, which is fairly well established except for a puzzling section in Ewell, but also for its spur roads and for evidence of the buildings and activities that went on along its length. This applies particularly to the area once known as St. Mary's Meadow. Frank Pemberton has been involved with this since 1969 and he contributed to this evening's talk.

Clive Orton dug in the Meadow, which is set aside to extend the cemetery, in 2000 and 2003. This work will continue, starting in July 2012 for three weeks. At this point Frank took over and described the finding of the flints and pebbles of Stane Street down trenches in Alexandra Road allotments, in St. Jamed Avenue off Reigate Road near the Ewell by-pass, and in a garden in Staneway, Ewell. It has also been found behind St. Mary's church where a cobbled yard has been found, postholes for a building, a hearth and chalk blocks from foundations and floors. So far no villas or temples have been uncovered. What there is is typical of domestic and commercial activities along Roman roads - the houses, shops and taverns doing business with travellers along the road from London to Chichester. We hope to uncover more evidence of the Roman way of life in Ewell in the July excavation and members are welcome to volunteer to either dig or work on finds.

September 2011 - Epsom through the Lens - Charles Abdy

Epsom has Saxon and Medieval roots but most of the features and buildings one sees around date from the Late Stuart to Georgian periods because of the dominance of the Spa and the Derby. Charles' photographs, as good as they always are, gave us an overview of Epsom's history in visual terms. Some examples are as follows:

In Church Street, St. Martin's Church was rebuilt in 1824, retaining the 15th century tower. It contains memorials, some by the sculptor John Flaxman. Along the street we have The King's Head pub, reconstructed during the reign of Charles II, Richmond House, which is now the Beaumont nursing home, and The Cedars. The latter is now converted into flats, so it was nice to see pictures of the plasterwork in th enow inaccessible interior.

The Durdans has had several transformations. What we see was built essentially in 1764. It was altered by Lord Rosebery who bought it in 1874. It was reduced in size in 1955. Lord Rosebery buried the Derby winner Amato in the woods. We saw a picture of his neglected grave. The riding school has happily been saved from the developers and has returned to equine use.

The town centre has Spa connections, like the Assembly Rooms, restored by Wetherspoons, and the Albion pub near which "the new well" opened to rival the well on the Commmon. The Clock Tower dates from 1848 and by it is the 18th century Bramshott House. Charles' picture was taken in the recent past when it was the Clock Tower cafe, but it is now called La Piccola. On the Common by 1712 the spa was flourishing. A circular area around the well, 450 yds in diameter, was set aside for this. The footprint remains as the modern circular Wells Estate. By 1730 the spa was in decline. Epsom salts came from elsewhere and places like Bath were more fashionable.

Up on the Downs we have had various versions of the grandstand and there is the Rubbing House pub near which the horses were rubbed down. Nearby is the Ashley Road cemetery with its gypsy graves and the memorial to Sergeant Green. The grandstand was of course associated with Mrs. Beeton who lived in an earlier version when she was a girl and whose wedding breakfast was held there.

On the other side of town we have Christ Church and the Cricketeers pub by Stamford Green. We saw pictures of the interior of the church which was built for the poor on the Common. Along Horton Lane, Horton Hospital, now converted to domestic dwellings, was featured here. There were pictures of the chapel and the entertainment hall, and a mural from the kitchen showing people baking. There was also Horton water tower, now sadly to be demolished.

There was much more. The mayor came to this meeting as it is our custom to invite every current mayor once a year. She said she had toured the Assembly Rooms in the days before it was restored and certainly this had needed doing. She was interested in planning applications and was aware of the need to balance preservation with the necessity to modernise dwellings. She encouraged the Society to continue commenting on such proposals.

October Meeting - Behind the Scenes in Parliament - Richard Skelton

Vivienne Lovett was unfortunately prevented from giving her talk on Surrey Street Market, so Richard Skelton filled the gap with an
entertaining talk about his 25 years working as an official in the House of Lords. His stories were various, some funny and most too long and complicated to retell. At the beginning of his career in simpler times, he got his job by being introduced to Black Rod by a friend from his days in the Marines- a case of shaking hands and starting on Monday! In 1515 Henry VIII decided to move to Hampton Court and leave the Palace of Westminster to Parliament. Order was then kept by the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod. which dignitary is still there to make the place run smoothly. He has 28 people under him. Richard Skelton became Prtincipal Doorkeeper, a position responsible for those 28.

I think he regrets the change from the old days of the State Opening of Parliament, when ladies wore tiaras and the ceremony had more colour. The Queen still attends, which is essential, and a hostage is taken to Buckingham Palace to ensure the safe return of the monach. The hostage has to arrive there at the same time the Queen reaches Parliament, and is locked up with one soldier inside and another outside, but is given sandwiches, drinks and TV, so not too terrible.

As Principal Doorkeeper Richard Skelton escorted Black Rod to knock on the Commons' door, once hearing Denis Skinner shout from the other side "go back and tell her to pay taxes like we have to". He told one Black Rod to knock harder and he evidently got the idea, because the Quessn suggested after a ceremony at Windsor Castle that he might knock the castle down.

Richard knew Gerry Fitt when he became Lord Fitt. They became friends and Richard used to stay in Gerry's cottage in Ireland. When Gerry was taken into hospital for a quadruple bypass he knew he had not been to confession for three years and asked Richard to find a priest as a matter of urgency. Richard got one from Westminster Cathedral at 11.30pm. Gerry did confess, but the priest turned out to be deaf. There was security in Ireland where Gerry lived but that did not prevent the IRA from breaking in one night. He confronted them, wearing only vest and pants, and as he had a gun he faced them down. Afterwards graffiti appeared opposite his house: "Gerry Fitt, the fastest gun in the vest". Richard was there when he died, and his anecdotes about Gerry were published in an account of his life.