In With The Old - March

Twelfth Night

Our stock checking closure last December past enabled us to catalogue around 33 archive accessions over the fortnight. Among these newly available collections this New Year is an accumulation of mainly pictorial records for Esher, Claygate, Hinchley Wood and Oxshott, including photography by the Esher and District Photographic Survey of the 1950s (Surrey History Centre reference: 10722).

The lovely hand-painted images shown here are dance programmes for a ball, perhaps celebrating Twelfth Night, at Esher Place, on 9^th January 1874 (Surrey History Centre reference: 10722/1). The Wigram family owned the fine old house from the late 1860s to the 1880s (it was rebuilt in 1893). Perhaps the paintings were the work of the same Miss Wigram who later compiled research on Esher Place (Surrey History Centre reference: 4246/1), or maybe one or more of her sisters: the 1871 Census lists Anne, Mary, Constance and Florence Wigram, daughters aged between 16 and 5, of the Dickensianly named Money Wigram, merchant brewer, and Anne Wigram.

Best Laid Plans

A recent accession is a portfolio of splendid plan drawings of proposed major alterations to St John the Evangelist church, Wotton, 1857-1858.

The architect was Arthur W Blomfield and the builder was Charles Bridger of Haslemere. The chancel was restored and new windows installed but, due to lack of funds, much of the proposed construction work, including the spire, porch and vestry, did not take place.

Blomfield's drawings and specifications were transferred to the parish of Wotton by the firm of Sir Arthur Blomfield & Sons in 1908. Accompanying notes explain this was done 'on the understanding that the specifications and drawings will be placed for preservation and future reference in the Parish Chest..'.