Brockham Village
Brockham History
Brockham, originally 'Brook-ham' (bend in a brook) is so called from the Anglo Saxon meaning 'river meadow by the brook' and is first recorded in 1241.
On a spur of land to the north west of the village stands Betchworth Castle, originally built by Richard FitzGilbert on land granted to him by William the Conqueror soon after the Norman invasion in 1066, but later replaced by a medieval house which was probably built in the mid-to-late 14th century. Only a few ruins survive today.
Christ Church, the parish church is relatively recent in origin, having been commissioned in 1847 by Sir Henry Goulburn.
Brockham is steeped in history and has built its community past and present through strong family connections and traditions.
SALE OF THE CENTURY in Brockham, 100 Years Ago
On Thursday 7 July 1921 at the Red Lion Hotel in Dorking by Order of Lord Frances Pelham Clinton Hope, 2,200 acres in 64 lots of parts of The Deepdene Estate were offered for sale privately before or at the auction. In Brockham and Boxhill, thirteen freehold farms, woodland, 250 acres of Boxhill, accommodation lands, small holdings and cottages were sold.
Here in Brockham the sale included Pondtail Farm, Leighs Farm, Felton’s Farm, Moat House Farm, Bushbury Farm, Little Brockhamhurst Farm, Brockhamhurst Farm, Elmgrove Farm, Coleshill Farm and Brockham Court Farm. Also sold was The Barley Mow Sand Pit, Brockham Lime Works, The Brick Works (Nutwood Avenue), Betchworth Fort on Boxhill, Castle Mill, the Allotments in the Borough, The Smithy in Brockham (opposite the School) and The Brockham Butchers Shop. Houses and cottages both large and small belonging to the Estate were sold, including North and South Lodge on Brockham Green, many of the older cottages in the Borough and around Brockham including the Parish Room, now known as The Community Church Hall. Not all the “lots” sold at the auction. Several lots sold in the following years as tenants arranged finance.
What makes this so interesting is that Pondtail Farm and one of the pairs of cottages in the Borough are still owned by the families who purchased them prior to or at the auction one hundred years ago.
Reading through the auction catalogue highlights how times have changed. For example, the “Attractive Modern Farmhouse” at Felton’s Farm lists “Water is from a Well and is pumped into tanks at the top of the house, whence it gravitates to the various fittings”. The sale included “The Old School House” in Old School Lane, which was then three cottages and the house opposite, known then as Brockham House, now Brook House and described as “An Old-World Detached Residential Property”. The sales particular go on to describe the property as “suited for the Lovers of Antiquity, as it presents possibilities of conversion into a Bijou residence having all the attractions of the Old World”.
The remaining parts of The Deepdene Estate were sold at auction at The Dorking Halls on Monday 20 June 1955. This sale included Estate Cottages, Accommodation Land, Two Golf Courses, Woodlands and a Farm. Also included was “The valuable block of superior modern bungalows and converted houses known as Castle Gardens”. This auction covered a total of about 576 acres by Order of the Metropolitan Railway Country Estates Company Limited and Ortem Estates Ltd.
Tony Hines, 7 July 2021, One Hundred Years On.
Brockham History Booklets
Published by Professor Tony Hines MBE as a ‘project in retirement’. All are available from the Shop at Strood Green, The Hair Studio at Brockham Green, The Village Store at Brockham and Betchworth Post Office. You can also get copies directly from me. All are priced at £6.00 to cover the cost of printing, with the exception of Brockham in WW1 which is priced at £8.00.
— Tony Hines
Contact details
Brockham Village – Part One “From Kiln Lane southwards to Brockham Green”
This covers the “Land Swindle’, the Borough Bridge, Village Pump, Village Hall, shops and some houses around the Village Green. 28 pages with over 75 photographs and illustrations.
Brockham Village – Part Two
This covers our ‘Goose and Poultry Green’ from 1812, some insights into the history of Court Lodge Farm; early media reports from Brockham covering tragedy and crime, some insights into the history of houses in the Borough from the Poorhouse to Laundries; some jottings on properties on the Village Green; diverting the Coach Road in 1787, the Great Brockham Bridge in 1634 and an aerial photograph of Hillside Gardens from 1955 – and much more.
Sidney Michael Poland the ‘Wannabe Lord of the Manor’
To many Brockham residents today the name Poland is associated with Poland House, The Poland Trust and Poland Woods. Sidney Michael Poland was a benefactor in life and in death to Brockham Village. This is his story, where his wealth came from, his Manor House in Kiln Lane, his generosity, his acts of kindness in the first 35 years of the twentieth century and his legacy to the Village.
The Family from Brockham Vicarage 1859 -1892
I have been fascinated by the story of the Reverend Cheales (born 1828) and his family for nearly 20 years. I started to collect information and pictures of the Cheales family for the Brockham millennium exhibition in the summer of 2000.
When you enter Christ Church Brockham there are memorials to the two daughters of the Reverend and Mrs Cheales. This booklet explores the tragic early death of both daughters, their contribution as a family to Brockham, their memorials and their final resting place in Betchworth Churchyard.
This is a compilation of the historical records from various sources including Parish Reports, the Annual Reports from the Brockham Training Home for Girls, latterly known as Way House and local papers. I have also included extensive extracts from the diaries of Sophia, published after her death by her mother in ‘Emmanuel’s Land’. These paint a fascinating insight into the lives of the sisters and the wider family.
Royal Celebrations in Brockham and Strood Green from 1863-2012
This covers Royal Celebrations in Brockham from the marriage of Edward Albert Prince of Wales, Queen Victoria, Edward VII, King George V and VI and Queen Elizabeth II. Over 100 pictures spanning more than 36 pages. Details of the celebrations for the coronation of Edward VII in Betchworth are also included.
Way House Brockham, 1859-1970
This is the story of The Brockham Home and Training School for Workhouse Girls (and latterly Boys) from 1859-1970. Many local people are aware of numbers 1-4 Way House in Wheelers Lane. This booklet has captured both the local and national significance of this Home as originally a training school for Workhouse female orphans to break the cycle of life in the Workhouse. Lady Emmeline Way was nationally respected in Victorian England for her pioneering work. This booklet is a history of the Home with stories from some former residents and records that are in the public domain.
Brockham, Our Contribution to the ‘War to End all Wars’
A fair amount is known about those men mentioned on the Brockham War Memorial. The Dorking Museum Website carries details of many of the 33 Brockham men who did not return to our Village. It is also known that nearly 200 Brockham men served their King and Country in the Army or Navy. There were 160 former scholars from Brockham School enlisted in the services and 28 lost their lives. This booklet ensures that they ‘Are no longer just names on our War Memorial’.
This booklet aims to identify as many as possible of the other 170 servicemen either from our Village or with a very strong connection with it. Nearly every copy of the local newspapers published between 1914 and 1919 have been researched to establish and understand who these people were and to comprehend “their war” and the impact their absence had on their wives, children, parents, and the community.
On request a booklet containing copies of the 33 Posters displayed at the exhibition to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the end of the War are available. They will be specially printed.
The 13 Brockham Men who gave their lives in World War Two and a compilation of memories and stories from Brockham Village in WW2
This booklet was compiled to mark the 75th Anniversary of VE and VJ Day. Brockham has a wonderful war memorial in the church yard but to all but a few the names of those who made the ultimate sacrifice had just become ‘names on the war memorial’. This booklet brings their story to life. Who were they, where they lived, who their families were, where they died and where is their final resting place?