Surrey Weird

24/06/2024

Whilst nobody seems to be able to pinpoint it's age, the famed Crowhurst Yew is certainly OLD, and very definitely wonderful.

Measuring 11.5m in girth, it is said to be anywhere from 700 to 4000 years old. Realistically, it's somewhere in the middle.

It has a hollow section carved out of the trunk, and found there was a cannonball, said to have gotten there in a civil war skirmish!

Read about it in Country Life from 1939 here:

https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-share/fd37aa64-0c22-4748-8cad-cb9299cf55a3?showBreadcrumbs=true&parentId=ca97624e-dbe1-40dc-8075-b9ebf81ec293

20/06/2024

Showbiz News!

16/06/2024

Happy Fathers Day to all the dads, step-dads, grandads, the big brothers who care for their siblings and the mums who do the job of being both mums AND dads.

You’re all amazing and YOU GOT THIS.

https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-share/3dc49816-868c-44ec-93bd-3ac818d40d77

14/06/2024

Have you ever visited the Actor's Graveyard, located in Brookwood Cemetery? This article from 1994 explains:

Source: Woking Informer - 28th January 1994: https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-share/6a7f00fc-4eb5-4739-a69d-d5a56fd089f6?showBreadcrumbs=true&parentId=ca97624e-dbe1-40dc-8075-b9ebf81ec293

06/06/2024

Thunderfield - a place where Thor resides.

Today our focus is on the beguilingly named Thunderfield, on the borders with Sussex. Named after the god of thunder, there are centuries of evidence that give the area an air of mystery and intrigue. I won't spoil it, as this article from 11th September 1987 issue of the Horley & Gatwick Mirror tells the story for itself:

https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-share/57ed9799-a58e-43e1-b60c-a0b79d22d40e?

View this newspaper clipping on Findmypast, home of the largest collection of British and Irish newspapers online.

05/06/2024

The Silent Pool.

Outside Guildford, not far from Agatha Christie's old haunt at Newlands Corner, lies the Silent Pool, a body of water so clear and of such vivid colour that it's taken on an aura of mystery and intrigue.

The origin of it's spooky nature is said to have come about after a girl in the water was heard by a passing King John, who endeavoured to help her but sadly she drowned. Since then it's been said her spirit haunts the pool and maintains the unearthly clarity and stillness...

Have you been? Have you witnessed anything spooky?

Here is an article from the 13th April 1910 issue of Cycling:

https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-share/1e8f4c29-3939-4e58-9999-6de6349dace3?

04/06/2024

A story as inspirational as it is eyebrow-raising. The Walton & Weybridge Informer coming to us with the story of a Mr Ron Mills, who runs a thriving and successful lawnmower repair and maintenance business. It all sounds innocuous enough until you realise he runs this slightly dangerous business despite being registered blind since birth!

From 17th September 1987: https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-share/138f789d-4f88-4d45-8b02-ec0ff88468a0?showBreadcrumbs=true&parentId=ca97624e-dbe1-40dc-8075-b9ebf81ec293

03/06/2024

A robot from Surrey!

The seminal Fritz Lang movie Metropolis caused a frenzy among late 1920s society, and robots and the future came to dominate public discourse across all kinds of channels.

Capt Richards from Gomshall was not immune and took things a level higher by building his own robot (which by the look of things was inspired by Karel Capek's earlier work Rossum's Universal Robots, from 1920)

It's not clear how actually functional it was, or whether it was all down to "trickery" but it nonetheless made a splash at the time, as this article from the 15th September 1928 issue of The Sphere highlights:

https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-share/e046e533-6f1c-4d4b-8aef-590796a3d538?

01/06/2024

A short story filled with just enough detail to get you interested, but not enough to leave you satisfied…

From The Daily Mirror, 14th February 1931:

View this newspaper clipping on Findmypast, home of the largest collection of British and Irish newspapers online.

31/05/2024

This morning we'll turn our minds to 1926, and the mysterious disappearance of celebrated novelist Agatha Christie. Living just outside Guildford, Mrs Christie left one morning, and vanished, her car and clothing being found abandoned near the Silent Pool.

Over the next few weeks, the mystery as to her whereabouts became a national sensation. Some newspaper clippings can be seen on this post, but to see the whole story, you can view the Collection by clicking this link (unlike most of my links, this one does require you to register to Findmypast to view the whole Collection. It's totally FREE to do so though)

https://www.findmypast.co.uk/collections/collection?id=d834fbb8-af9e-4e48-aaf2-475fd556f852

28/05/2024

That time in 1978 when the residents of Chobham witnessed a UFO sighting of a rather more "ground-based" style...

From The Daily Mirror, 1st July 1978: https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-share/95ba7209-7a8d-4c51-9638-0307f70206d8?

View this newspaper clipping on Findmypast, home of the largest collection of British and Irish newspapers online.

20/05/2024

It's Martian Monday!

Today we have the strange tale of the McMurray family who, whilst driving across Bagshot Heath had a rather disturbing experience.

(source: The Sunday Mirror, 29th September 1985 - https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-share/92cf2d20-75ba-495c-81f6-7394b3ede11d? )

View this newspaper clipping on Findmypast, home of the largest collection of British and Irish newspapers online.

18/05/2024

Coral Polge from Walton-on-Thames has the ability to draw people. DEAD PEOPLE. Yes, this artist and spiritualist could accurately draw people based on their spirit presence, as this article from the Sunday Mirror in 1977 explains…

(Source: Sunday Mirror, 19th June 1977 - https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-share/2e0f2b6c-1dc9-434f-8ec1-5eee1ed7e4fe? )

17/05/2024

About that time when Marlon Brando moved to West Clandon and some of the locals thought he was a bit of a weirdo…

(Source: Sunday Mirror, 29th June 1986 - https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-share/731b9862-299f-420a-aed2-6639849a26e9 )

View this newspaper clipping on Findmypast, home of the largest collection of British and Irish newspapers online.

16/05/2024

Need is the mother of invention and all that.

Here is a story of an enterprising criminal who, after being on the run all night in the Surrey countryside, took off with a group of exercising soldiers dressed only in his pants and boots...

Read the full story from the Sunday Mirror, 17th February 1957: https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-share/7a338049-95c6-4422-904d-6d57ae48f8b1

15/05/2024

Never mind Martians on Horsell Common, this evening we have a tale of freaky lights in the sky over Farnham from 1978

Police Officer Alan Craggs was called to reports of strange happenings at a local school, and upon arrival he observed the "dazzler" for 25 mins before, presumably, thinking about calling on other people to have a look...

What do you think? Is Farnham a hotbed of alien interest? Or were they just popping into Waitrose for some decent organic humous?

(Source: Daily Mirror, 7th April 1978, https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-share/877d6f36-e327-4fba-8b6f-4b9b811d3ab3 )

14/05/2024

A very odd story from Caterham this evening.

On a cool spring evening, Mr Kemp of Frances Road was startled by a loud crashing noise from the grounds of the neighbouring hospital.

Upon investigation he was shocked to discover the wreckage of a crashed aircraft spread across the ground.

After summoning the emergency services and eventually returning home, you could imagine his consternation upon finding that whilst he was gone, ANOTHER aeroplane had been rude enough to crash into his back garden…

Read the full story from the April 19th 1939 issue of The Daily Mirror:

https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-share/002621e9-08d0-45c5-975b-ad688a711f9b