Sharing the story of our village
Chaldon Church Bells – a seven century illustrated history
Ted Howard presented his illustrated talk (first given in January 2018 and then on Zoom in 2020) and based on information from his research into the history of the two ancient and six modern church bells and the famous Whitechapel Bell Foundry. After the talk, the bells were rung, and those attending had an opportunity to ring them themselves.
in Chaldon Church
Sunday 26th June 2022
The talk was part of the Caterham Festival.
Sunday 15th May was the Spring Walk of the Chaldon footpaths.
These two events were part of the Caterham Festival
Tuesday 7th June, 7.00 for 7.30pm talk at Caterham Valley Library.
Caterham & District Local History Centre presents “Discovering the History of Your House” with Julian Pooley, Surrey History Centre.
Monday 13th June, 6.30pm at the former St Lawrence’s Hospital Burial Ground. A talk and tour with Liz Bonsall. Meet at the entrance to the burial ground on Bridleway 77, just 150m from Green Lane towards Chaldon and the Golf Club (easiest and level walk) or from the Golf Club towards Green Lane (this direction is steeper and can be muddy). There are no great distances to walk but the ground is uneven so strong footwear is advisable and preferably arms and legs should be covered. The grid reference is TQ320560. Free event although donations welcome for the Downlands Trust.
Royal Occasions in Chaldon
How did the people of Chaldon celebrate in 1937, 1953, 1977 and 2012?
Saturday 12th March 2022 in Chaldon Village Hall
Liz Bonsall reviewed the Village’s celebrations on past royal occasions, going back as far as Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897 (the first ever Diamond Jubilee for a British monarch) and up to Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012. Over the various occasions visited, there were teas, games in a field, and dancing in the Village Hall until 2am or 3am. Trees were planted, fancy dress parades held, a tableau of people of the Empire was composed and photographed, and there was a King and Queen of Chaldon for the day.
Twenty people attended the talk, and after costs, £52 was given to the Friends of Chaldon Church towards the conservation of the ancient building and the mural.
Saturday 5th February 2022, Talk by Liz Bonsall and Madeline Hutchins
42 people attended the talk in the Village Hall, to hear about eight myths, muddles or puzzles.
Which of these are true, which false, and which still not clear?
The talk also considered the question of whether Chaldon Church and Chaldon or Tollsworth manors were held by Chertsey Abbey, and if so, for how long? The answer was yes, Chaldon manor / settlement was held by Chertsey from 727 to 1062-5. Tollsworth was probably a sub-manor of Chaldon at this time, so also held by Chertsey. The church is most likely to have built after 1062-5 but this needs further research.
Do we know what route pilgrims took near here on their journey from Winchester to Canterbury? Even the antiquarians cannot agree on this and much has been written about it. There was an influential individual involved in the early stages of OS map making, which led to the name Pilgrims Way being ascribed to the North Downs Way through Chaldon. Victorian interest in the romantic notion of pilgrimage routes led to various name changes on houses and roads locally to reflect this.
What about Roman Roads locally? The nearest reliable evidence of one is a north south route through Tillingdown, just east of the A22 Caterham bypass.
And is the ‘lizard oak’ of the church pulpit just a typo or a mistake in transcribing handwriting? And if so, what should it be? An online glossary of terms for oak with one thousand entries does not include lizard! A leading expert on woods, Dr Adam Bowett’s opinion was:
‘Lizard’ oak is a new one. I have not come across the term before and, having looked at photos of the pulpit online, my best guess is that it was someone’s attempt to describe the figuring of the quarter-cut panels. Not a term to be encouraged or perpetuated, I think?
Figuring or figured is how the oak should be described. So was it that it looked like lizard skin, or possibly that when the rector of Chaldon writing the Church Guide in which the term first appeared in 1933 misheard figured as lizard? The ‘people’s vote’ at the meeting was in favour of misheard.
Some of these issues were easier to sort out than others!
Madeline covered the latest evidence on taper burns and how two historians experimented with tapers and oak beams to make the distinctive teardrop shaped marks. The answer on these is that they were deliberate not accidental.
Tapers and pieces of green oak were available for those who wanted to try the experimental archaeology at home.
The proceeds from the talk after costs were given to the Friends of Chaldon Church towards the costs of maintaining the building and the mural. This was £240.
Saturday 5th February: Talk: History Myths, Muddles and Puzzles: in the Village Hall
Saturday 12th March: Royal Occasions in Chaldon – talk by Liz Bonsall: in the Village Hall
Sunday 15th May: Spring Footpath Walks
Sunday 7th August: Summer History Walk: Holes in the Ground
Sunday 2nd October: Autumn Footpath Walks
Saturday 8th October: Talk: 100 years ago: the story of the Village Hall
Saturday 19th November: Talk: Understanding Medieval Chaldon: 1066 to 1266
This was the first in-person indoor talk we had been able to have since before the lockdown in March 2020.
It covered the story of our village as shown through maps and was given by Liz Bonsall and Madeline Hutchins. There was a PowerPoint presentation with enlargements of maps and then a wide variety of maps on tables to pore over.
Among the earlier maps were the 1736 Rowed Map of Caterham, 1762 Rocque’s Map of Surrey and Estate Maps of a similar date. They then went through early Ordnance Survey and Tithe Maps of the Nineteenth Century, to more recent changes shown on Twentieth Century maps. There were maps included with land title / house deeds showing detail useful when tracing your house history. Bringing it right up to date, Liz covered online resources with the Surrey Interactive Map and the HER – Historic Environment Records.
Investigating the maps allowed us to see:
Where boundaries used to be and are now.
Where there used to be houses and they have gone.
Where there were fields and woods and when houses were built on them.
The changing pattern of tracks, paths and roads and a surprisingly large number of road name changes.
Where the 25 ponds were in 1868 and what was going on with all those Trig Point symbols in the 1950s? Where were the Hop Kilns? And where was Caterham Golf Course?
There were answers to most of the questions, but also some that need further research.
40 people came to the talk and browsed the maps afterwards. £200 was donated to the Friends of Chaldon Church from the income from the event.
38 people and 2 dogs joined the Autumn walks of the Chaldon footpaths on Sunday 10th October 2021.
We were delighted that we could reinstate the other tradition this time, that the walks ended with tea and cakes in the Village Hall.
Sunday, 1st August 2021 and repeated on Sunday 26th September (revised date)
Chaldon History Group Summer Walk – Moving In and Moving On — exploring the east side of Chaldon, we shared the history of The Heath, Harestone Lane, Stanstead Road, the Harrow, Willey Farm and Chaldon Common Road. An all day walk, on footpaths, bridleways and quiet roads, starting at The Heath at 10am, stopping for lunch at The Harrow at midday and finishing at The Heath about 4pm.
On Sunday 2nd May 2021 the spring walks of the Chaldon footpaths took place. Groups of up to six people, including a walk leader, walked the six Chaldon Walk routes, covering all 13 miles of paths, with the original purpose of inspecting and reporting on their condition. Any problems with hedges, stiles, signs etc. were looked for and notes written in the little blue books. The notes were then collated and reported to Chaldon Village Council and Surrey County Council Rights of Way Officer for any action that is needed.
Children and dogs were welcome. The walks were free, and this year, with COVID restrictions and social distancing still in place, booking in advance was necessary.
The walks used to end with teas in the Village Hall. This was not possible this time.
The walks are run by Chaldon History Group, supported by Chaldon Village Council.
