Notable Hayes Astronomer
Notable Hayes Astronomer Thomas John Hussey By Jean Wilson Hayes inhabitants were amazed in 1831 at almost the first action of their new rector, the ‘eccentric’ Thomas John Hussey. Newly married, he moved into the rectory (today’s Hayes Library) and immediately began to build an Observatory as an extension to the house. No planning requirements needed then! He employed a local carpenter, Gabriel Hutfield, who had a workshop in George Lane, to carry out the project. It involved creating a passageway, lined in dark wood, from the rear of the building to a circular room with a 13-foot (3.96m) wooden dome covered with copper. Instead of one continuous open slit, his dome had three doors in different sections which he reported ‘opened up to provide an excellent view of the night sky.’ 1832 Hussey’s Observatory attached to Hayes Rectory, today Hayes Library Hussey was 34 years old and from an early age had been interested in astronomy. Ordained in 1823 he moved into Chislehurst Rectory where Francis Dawson had a telescope used by his predecessor Francis Wollaston, who had also been a keen astronomer. Hussey was able to use the Chislehurst telescope to report on sun spots and was selected to provide the English part of a new star chart drawn up by the Berlin Academy of Science. He spent a great deal of his money on astronomical equipment including purchasing a magnificent Fraunhofer telescope, one of only four in the country. Fraunhofer telescope Hussey had to wait until 1832 before he could issue invitations to other astronomers to see his new observatory at Hayes in action. ‘The telescope 6.5 inches aperture that I got from Munich is at length mounted and, although about nine feet long, has not, when following the stars with its highest point, the slightest shake and tremor and the machinery keeps going for about half an hour without winding up.’ In the early 1830s, he also verified astronomical tables for John Lubbock, drew up a Catalogue of Comets from 1770 BC to 1744 AD, investigated differences between the views of ancient and more modern astronomers on the Rotation of Jupiter and continued to provide observations which appeared in various journals both in Britain and in Germany. Discovery of the Planet Neptune On 17 November 1834, he wrote to the Astronomer Royal, G B Airy, to suggest the possibility of some disturbing body beyond Uranus. He proposed to sweep closely for the body or bodies but Airy replied that ‘if there were any extraneous action, I doubt much the possibility of determining the place of the planet which produced it’. Discouraged by this reply Hussey did not proceed but within a few years, the new planet had been discovered and was called Neptune. In the 1980s Patrick Moore saw the importance of Hussey’s observations and subsequently Hussey was credited with the Guinness Book of Astronomy as the person to be the first to suggest in the 1830s the existence of the planet. Halley’s Comet Hussey’s last astronomical sightings were In 1835. Astronomers in England were all competing to be the first to sight Halley’s Comet. Hussey wrote very excitedly to JohnLubbock and W S Stratford that he had not been able to see it on Thursday but found it on Sunday morning at about 3.30 a.m. His findings were reported in the Times on 25 August 1835. An accident then happened which prevented him from using his observatory which later became a schoolroom for his children. His exceptional collection of instruments was sold to Durham University in 1838 where they were used for a purpose-built observatory. The rectory was sold to Bromley Council in 1937 and shortly before the start of the Second World War Hussey’s observatory was one of the structures demolished to prepare for the new public library. Nothing remains in Hayes to mark Revd Thomas Hussey’s contribution to astronomy and science.
The Nest (Redgates)
The Nest (Redgates) The Nest (Redgates)Built mid 18th centuryDemolished November 1936 The Nest, later called Redgates, was built in the middle of the 18th Century and was demolished in 1936 to make way for 56 Baston Road and Redgate Drive. Its first known occupant was John Hinton who died in 1781. He was the 18th century publisher of the Universal Magazine, first published in 1747: a journal ‘of knowledge and pleasure, and other sciences which may render it instructive and entertaining to country merchants, farmers and tradesmen’. John Hinton’s house is shown on the 18th century Andrews and Drury Map (Bromley Historic Collections) He married widow Elizabeth Austen in 1750 and her niece Leonora also lived with them. In 1765 he was allowed to enclose a portion of the waste ground to the south of his house for the annual rent of 2/6d (12½p). John Hinton was a generous supporter of Hayes Church giving a Reading Desk & books to it in 1779. When he died he left a legacy of £20 for the benefit of the poor of Hayes, some of which was given in cash and the rest used to buy stockings and material to make clothing. Elizabeth continued to live in the house with two male and two female servants until she married Stephen Cumberlege in 1783 and moved to Islington. The house was let to Mr and Mrs Broderick. She died suddenly in 1784 and her widower continued to let the Nest until it was sold to Mr Jones and subsequently bought by Sir Vicary Gibbs of Hayes Court in 1797. The Gibbs family owned the property until the 20th century and leased it out. 19th Century TenantsWidow Elizabeth Margetson moved to the property in 1800 from Street House, Hayes and lived there with five servants until her death in 1839. In her will she left many bequests including a chess table to Lady Gibbs of Hayes Court, a pair of bracelets from Rome to Marianne Fraser of the Grove and other pieces of jewellery to Mary Ward of Baston Manor. Her successor was Captain Thomas Henry Sparke Thompson, his wife Henrietta and their three young children and three servants. They left the Nest when he was promoted to Commander and put in charge of HMS Comus stationed near Buenos Aires. The Tithe map shows The Nest and its land in 1841. The adjacent house, tithe 192, is Ash Lodge. The next family to move into the Nest were Lydia and Revd William Drummond. She was the daughter of Samuel Nevil Ward of Baston Manor. After her death in 1857, Revd Drummond continued to live there until 1866 when a widow Eliza Henry took out a 12 year lease at £65 a year. She agreed to spend £400 on repairs or additions to the house. Her land covered 6 acres. She had a six year old son, three female servants and a young boy who acted as a page and a groom. Huson Morris, son of Dr Thomas Morris of Baston Farm, took over the lease in 1879. His wife Elizabeth had just given birth to their first daughter Ella and while they were living at the Nest they had a further two sons and three daughters. Their staff included a nurse and nursemaid until the children were grown up. By 1901 only their 20 year old daughter Hilda was still at home but they had five resident servants – a cook, lady’s maid, two housemaids and a kitchen maid. In 1901 Huson inherited Five Elms and left the Nest in 1904. The Nest in 1908 Henry Wellcome, co-founder of Burroughs Wellcome, leased the Nest from 1904 – 1913 and moved in from the Oast House, Croydon Road, Hayes with his wife Syrie and son Mounteney. The rent was £143 a year. The house and grounds covered about 6 acres and its gross value was £3671 in 1913. Inland Revenue Assessment 1913 (National Archives IR58) Ground floor plan of The Nest The ground floor plan shows the additions to the building that had taken place between the tithe map in 1841 and 1913, most notably the addition of the bay windows to the drawing and dining rooms. Henry Bevington Legge and his wife Edith moved to the Nest in 1913 from Sundridge Avenue, Bromley, where they were listed in the 1911 census with three children and five resident servants. Both he and his young sons Philip and Geoffrey occasionally played for Hayes Cricket Club. Geoffrey became a well known cricketer, later captaining Kent 1928 – 30 and playing for the MCC in their tours of South Africa 1927-8 and New Zealand in 1929. (History of Hayes Cricket Club 1828 – 1878 by P.A.Thompson). In 1921 the Legges moved to Baston Manor The Nest about 1914 The Nest renamed Redgates in 1921 Henry Arthur and Margaret Payne moved to the Nest and changed its name to Redgates. Henry was a joint permanent secretary at the Board of Trade, involved in the Paris Peace Conference and in 1923 a key adviser at Lausanne in the negotiations with Turkey.. He was knighted in 1925 and in 1928 seconded as an adviser to the Egyptian Government on Trade and Commerce. He died suddenly at Redgates in September 1931 possibly from an illness contracted in Egypt. The Nest in the early 20th century, painted by Jack Cross Lucy Annesley, a dog breeder of Golden Retrievers, was the last occupant in 1933. In July 1936 she agreed that she would move to 85 Baston Road, a new house built for her by local builders W W Courtenay Ltd. The builders then pulled down Redgates and began to build the Redgate Drive Estate comprising 14 exclusive houses.
FINDLAY, Alexander George
FINDLAY, Alexander George FINDLAY, Alexander George 6 Jan 1812 – May 1875Engraver, geographer and hydrographerFellow Royal Geographical Society Alexander George Findlay was born in 1812 to Alexander and Sarah Findlay. He followed his father’s profession as an engraver and cartographer, producing many maps for R H Laurie. In 1842 he published a revised version of Brooke’s Gazetteer & the Coasts & Islands of the Pacific Ocean. His output was prolific and well described in his obituary by the Royal Geographical Society of which he became a member in 1844. He produced a unique series of Six Nautical Directories of the Great Oceans which were widely used. He sat on the Arctic Committee of the Royal Geographical Society. and he was a friend of Dr Livingstone, mapping the Nile and the routes taken by Burton and Speke in central Africa in 1858-9. On R H Laurie’s death in 1858 he took over the publishing firm. He was awarded the medal of the Society of Arts for his dissertation on ‘The English Lighthouse System. In Hayes he designed a new altar screen for the Church and painted the wording of the Ten Commandments as a thanksgiving for his recovery from an illness in 1847. Today, these hang in the belfry of Hayes Parish Church. In the same year he also drew a detailed plan of the Church interior. In 1850 he married Sarah Rutley and moved to Rockwells, Dulwich Wood Park where he died 3 May 1875 aged 63. He was buried in Hayes. He had no children so left the business to his nephews, Daniel and William Kettle, who lived with their mother Sarah at the White House. They were already involved and continued both to produce original works and also to revise and update some of their uncle’s maps. William was described as a hydrographer in the 1881 Census but by 1891 both he and his brother Daniel were listed as Nautical Publishers. In 1897, the year they left Hayes, William Richardson Kettle FRGS, for example, produced a supplement to the 4th edition of Findlay’s Sailing Directory for the Indian Ocean, Red Sea, Persian Gulf and Bay of Bengal. Daniel with his interest in antiquity and local history seems to have been the brother who was more involved with events in Hayes although both brothers subscribed a guinea (£1.05) annually to the Hayes Church School. References: P Griffiths, The Findlays of Leith & London and their Kettle Descendants, with special thanks for the image of Alexander George Findlay.C Kadwell History of Hayes Bromley Historic Collections p180/28/12
KETTLE, Daniel Walter
KETTLE, Daniel Walter Daniel Kettle was the son of Daniel and Sarah Kettle. He was 13 when his father died and his mother moved back into her family home, The White House, on Hayes Common. Encouraged from an early age by his grandfather, Alexander Findlay, and uncle, Alexander George Findlay, he soon was involved in the production of many different types of maps and in the 1871 census his profession was given as a Geographical Draughtsman.Ten years later he had taken over his uncle’s business and was now a nautical publisher with a special interest in producing or updating coastal and ocean maps. It is fortunate for people interested in the history of his local village that he was very keen to preserve information on and drawings of Hayes that would otherwise have disappeared. He reproduced a map of Hayes & its Environs in 1882 which had originally been made by his grandfather Alexander Findlay in 1829. He ensured that the statement of the receipts and expenditure for the 1856 building of the north aisle of the Parish Church was preserved and also provided details of the building of the south aisle in 1879 and the contribution of Lord Sackville Cecil of the Oast House. After the death of the Revd George Varenne Reed a full list of the contributors to the rector’s memorial fountain was made. He made black and white drawings from some of the original paintings of Wilhelmina Traill of Hayes Place, including a view of the Village showing the old George Inn and the stocks in 1815. Another illustration he saved was a drawing by his uncle, Alexander George Findlay, of the village in about 1835. He was also interested in archaeology and drew a palaeolithic flint & neolithic flint axe found in 1896 on the Common.The following year he discovered and made a detailed coloured copy of a Hayes palaeolithic flint. Shortly before he left Hayes in 1897 he collaborated with Lord Sackville Cecil of the Oast House to insert these drawings in a copy of Kadwell’s History of Hayes 1833 which was created with space for later insertions. He still retained an interest in the village after he moved and on his death he was buried in the churchyard. References:P Griffiths The Findlays of Leith & London and their Kettle descendants www.genealogycrank.co.uk with special thanks for the photograph of Daniel Walter Kettle C Kadwell The History of Hayes in the County of Kent, 1898 edition Bromley Historic Collections P180/28/12
FINDLAY, Alexander
FINDLAY, Alexander7 December 1788 – 7 January 1870Geographer and Engraver of maps and chartsFounder Member Royal Geographical SocietyBuilt The White House, Hayes about 1830 Alexander was born in Bermondsey, the eldest child of Archibald and Mary Findlay. From an early age he was involved in the production of maps and charts and did much of his work for the map publisher Richard Holmes Laurie, whose business he helped to expand He married Sarah in 1810 and had four children, Alexander, Archibald, Sarah and William. His office was in London but he moved with his family to the countryside, initially to Keston. His son Archibald died in 1828 and was buried in Keston Parish Churchyard. Shortly afterwards the family moved from Keston to a house, later known as the White House, on Hayes Common. He also leased some land at the back of the house from George Norman. Map workIn 1829 he engraved R H Laurie’s survey of the Environs of London and a year later he became one of the founding members of the Royal Geographical Society. He remained a fellow of the society until his death in 1870.His works included a Chart of the Estuary of the Thames, maps of North America and Europe and a chart of the Mediterranean Sea. He continued to be involved in producing maps until 1865. His map of Hayes and its environs was included in Charles Kadwell’s History of Hayes, 1833. Churchwarden and Overseer of the PoorHe played an active role in the Hayes Vestry between 1835 and 1855. In 1840, as one of the two Overseers of the Poor with Joseph Langridge, he presented the accounts which the Vestry approved. In 1841 the other overseer was John Rose Brandon and from 1842 to 1844 Timothy Tilden. This included the challenging period when the local workhouse was replaced by the Union Workhouse set up in Farnborough after the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 and there were difficult decisions to be made about the sale of the Parish Workhouse. He attended the Vestry as a Churchwarden from 1845 to 1855 and chaired some of the meetings in 1848,49 and 52. He was also present in 1859 and 1860 when the Vestry considered encroachments on the Common, the possible disposal of Parish properties which included his home and the rights of Commoners. DeathHis wife Sarah died in 1865 from congestion of the lungs at the age of 76. She was buried in Hayes Churchyard. Alexander seems to have been deeply affected by his loss. In 1870 he died from ‘Decay of Nature’ in the presence of his clergyman son William who assisted at his burial in the Churchyard on 13 January 1870. References:P Griffiths The Findlays of Leith & London and their Kettle descendants www.genealogycrank.co.uk with special thanks for the photograph of Alexander FindlayC Kadwell The History of Hayes in the County of Kent Bromley Historic Collections P180/28/12
MORLEY Thomas William
MORLEY. Thomas William10 October 1883 – 3 March 1931Artist Thomas Morley, born at 34 Pope Road, Bromley, lived in Hayes at 9 St Mary Cottages (14 Baston Road) after his marriage in 1909 to Alice Arnold. He met her whilst studying at the School of Science and Art in Bromley. She was the daughter of a police constable who moved with his family into the cottage in 1886 and who died there in 1916. FamilyThomas and Alice had three daughters and a son. Joan was the eldest, Margaret was born in 1912, Thomas Jeffery in 1914 (he died in the Second World War) and Kathleen was born in 1916. Alice Morley née Arnold (photo W. Weaver) AchievementsThomas became well known as a landscape painter, working in both watercolours and oil. His most successful period was before the First World War. Three of his paintings were shown at the Royal Academy before he was 27 years old and subsequently another three were accepted. He also had exhibitions at the Institutes of Watercolours and Oil Painters. He found a great deal to inspire him in his immediate surroundings as is revealed by some of the titles of his paintings: – Sunset over Hayes Common, Hayes Common, Over the Common Hayes, Snowy Road Hayes Common. He also travelled widely through Kent and also to northern France and Belgium. On Hayes Common by Thomas W Morley First World WarAfter the declaration of war in 1914 he joined the army and served in Italy and France. While he was serving n Italy he was given special dispensation to travel & paint. He produced some fine paintings but faced struggles after the war. Exhibition 1922His works were still exhibited but he made fewer sales. At an exhibition in Beckenham in 1922 the reporter remarked that the bold moving sky in his ‘Coming of Spring, Hayes Common’ conveyed ‘ a wonderful sense of life and motion. One can almost breathe the fresh air in this picture.’DeathHe was only 47 years old when he died from a chill caught when sketching at Eynsford . He was buried in Hayes Churchyard. Reference: Guide to an Exhibition of Works by Thomas William Morley held at Bromley Central Library 5 – 30th June 1979 (Bromley Historic Collections L52)
HARRIS, Audrey Sophia “Sophie” (1900-1966) and Margaret Frances “Peggy” (1904-2000)
HARRIS, Audrey Sophia “Sophie” (1900 – 1966) and Margaret Frances “Percy” (1904 -2000) Theatrical set and costume designers Sophie Devine (née Harris) (photo Sophie Jump) Margaret ‘Percy’ Harris The early years of the well known founders of the Motley Company, Audrey and Margaret (Percy) Harris, were spent in Hayes. They were the daughters of William and Kathleen Harris and until 1937 their home was the White House, Hayes, although they trained and later had their studio in London. Their mother Kathleen had artistic leanings and was a keen amateur photographer. From an early age they were encouraged to dress up and had a fairly unrestricted life exploring and playing on the Common. Both Sophie and Margaret inherited their mother’s talent but sadly she died in 1916. Before Kathleen died she was a member of the Kent 50 VADs which Audrey joined as soon as she was old enough, serving at Oakley VAD Hospital on Bromley Common until the war ended. After the war the sisters became involved with local organisations helping with the newly formed Girl Guides and with the plays performed by the local Women’s Institute. In 1928, for example, Percy Harris made the costumes for a Guide entertainment that raised £8. In 1930 Audrey Harris, took part in a WI production of scenes from ‘Quality Street’ by J M Barrie and in 1931 both Peggy and Audrey took part in a Hayes WI performance for which they made the costumes. Also starring was Elizabeth Montgomery whom they met when they were at Art College in London and with whom they formed the influential Motley Company. Their Company became renowned for its theatrical designs of sets and costumes. Hilda Reader, daughter of the Hayes village dressmaker, was the principal costume cutter for about 30 years. In the beginning, Motley operated from the White House until premises were found in London. Their first major client was John Gielgud when he directed a production of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ for the Oxford University Dramatic Society in 1932. They also designed the costumes for his ‘Merchant of Venice’ at the Old Vic in the same year. The operation expanded and eventually they needed to employ a staff of 60. Laurence Olivier called them ‘magical’ designers and used them for his ‘Macbeth’ in 1937 and ‘Romeo and Juliet’ on Broadway in 1940. Sophie married actor and director George Devine in July 1939. Sophie died in 1966 and Peggy then set up the Motley Theatre Design Company. She visited the White House a few months before she died on 10 May 2000. Further information Mullin M, Design by Motley, University of Delaware Press , 1996Strachan Alan, Motley Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, OUP, 2004.
HARRIS, Norman
HARRIS, Norman 7 November 1898 – 26 November 1914Midshipman Norman Harris was the second son of William Birbeck and Kathleen Harris of the White House, Hayes. He was sent to Osborne Naval College at the age of 11 and later to the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth. On the outbreak of war in 1914 his parents received a telegram saying ‘we are mobilised’. Short of naval officers, the eldest boys from the college were made midshipmen. The ship to which he was posted, HMS Bulwark, was loading ammunition at its base in Sheerness when a huge explosion destroyed it. Norman Harris was killed. He was just 16 years old and became the youngest of the Hayes casualties in the First World War. Memorial in Hayes Parish Church
THOMPSON, Thomas Sparke
THOMPSON, Thomas Sparke 28 March 1798 – 6 September 1873Naval career, Churchwarden, School Trustee Thomas Sparke Thomas began his naval career as young boy in 1811. He was a Lieutenant when he proposed to Henrietta, daughter of James Norman of Bromley Common. Her brother George was very concerned about the proposed match writing to his sister that he did not doubt that Thomas was a gentleman but that he should not have asked for her hand in marriage and that she would not be able to live on his income. ‘Think of the situation of your offspring if you have the fortitude to support the pangs of poverty’. However, the marriage took place in 1830 and Thomas continued in his naval career gradually moving up the chain of command. In 1832 he became a Commander. Family His daughter Emma was born in 1835,and her brother Norman a year later but he died in New Zealand in 1881. Another daughter, Henrietta, was born in Hastings in 1840. Shortly after her birth the family moved to the Nest in Hayes where Henry was born in 1842. They employed three resident servants. When Thomas was posted abroad. Henrietta was able to rely on the support of her Norman family, particularly her brother George, who lived nearby. Career – From Captain to Rear- Admiral In 1843 Thomas was at Chatham when he wrote to thank his brother-in-law for his gift of wine and saying he would be going to Plymouth ‘my ship looks very beautiful, has stored four months provisions under hatches for 130 men without difficulty’. He entrusted his wife and children to George’s care. The next year he was back in Hayes. He was described as churchwarden and a guardian of the poor when arrangements were made to sell the Parish Workhouse. Soon after he was again at sea and wrote to his brother-in-law, my dear Norman, from his ship HMS Comus in Buenos Ayres discussing how they were likely to remain there until the question of peace or war was settled. In 1846 he was made a Captain but remained at sea, mainly off the South East coast of America returning to Sheerness in 1850. The family had left Hayes on his appointment but returned in 1852 to move into Street House which George Norman had bought in 1841 and this remained his home for the rest of his life. Parish Activities He was soon involved in parish activities and very concerned with the plans to build a north aisle to the Parish Church in 1856, for which he donated 11 guineas and his daughter Henrietta 1 guinea. Thomas was also one of the contributors to the East Window installed in Hayes Parish Church. He was able to persuade George Norman that it would be a fitting memorial to the memory of his eldest son George Herman Norman, who was killed during the Crimean War in June 1855. Death of son Henry Sadly, two years later, his only son Henry, who had followed his father into the navy, died during the attack on Canton in 1857. A memorial panel showing Christ helping the lame beggars was erected in the north sanctuary window. In memory of Henry Thompson, Midshipman of HMS Sanspareil who fell mortally wounded in the assault on Canton on the 29th Dec 1857 and died on the following day, aged 15 years and 11 months. This window was erected by some friends in the neighbourhood on Oct. 30 1858 Henry Thompson window North Sanctuary, Hayes Parish Church Henry Thompson’s China Medal 1857 Other parochial matters with which Thomas Thompson became involved were with a committee to examine encroachments on the Common in 1859 and the restoration of the Church Tower in 1862 to which he contributed £20. He remained a churchwarden until 1872. A new organ was installed in 1862 and was played by his daughter Henrietta who was a talented musician. The village school also occupied his attention, particularly in 1860 when an unfavourable Inspector’s Report meant a decision had to be taken about the existing teacher Mr Chaplin. The school finances were also in a poor condition and an appeal was made to parishioners for contributions. Death of wife HenriettaHis wife Henrietta rejoiced with him at his appointment as a Rear- Admiral (Retired) in 1864. However, she died two years later in July 1866. He commissioned a stained glass window in her memory to be installed in the north aisle of Hayes Church. Memorial window to Henrietta Thompson He continued to live in Hayes with his daughters Emma, Henrietta and three domestic servants. In 1871 he continued in his post as Guardian of the Poor and was also made a Vice-Admiral. After his death in 1873 he was buried in the churchyard beside his wife. Neither of their daughters married and they continued to live at Street House after their father’s death. Emma died and was buried in an adjacent plot in 1881. Henrietta remained in Hayes until 1887 and continued to play the church organ until the death of the Rector, Revd George Varenne Reed. She moved to Keston and became the organist at St Audrey’s Chapel, which had been recently built by Lord Sackville Cecil. She died at Millfield, Keston and was interred in her parent’s grave in Hayes Churchyard in 1919. References:Kent Archives U310/206Bromley Historic Collections P180St Mary the Virgin, Hayes, Kent Church Guide
CECIL, Sackville Arthur
CECIL, Sackville Arthur16 March 1848 – 29 January 1898Railway Manager, Engineer, Parish Councillor Sackville Arthur Cecil was the fourth son of the second Marquess of Salisbury and the eldest of his children by his second marriage with Mary Sackville-West. When he moved to Hayes most people called him Lord Sackville. His main interest, encouraged by his father, was engineering. He took a degree in Applied Science at Cambridge and subsequently served an apprenticeship at the Great Eastern and the Great Northern Railway workshops at Doncaster and Kings Cross. Then he became chief electrician with the task of laying the submarine cable between Marseilles and Boma, at the mouth of the Congo. An illness forced his return to England. His mother, the widowed Lady Salisbury, left the family home at Hatfield after her marriage to Lord Derby in 1870 and moved to Holwood House, Keston, with five of her children. She and Lord Derby stayed for two years before moving to the family seat of the Derbys at Knowlsley but her son Lord Sackville Cecil preferred to remain in Kent. Arrival in Hayes At the age of 25 in 1873 he decided to build his own house on the edge of Hayes Common. The result was the Oast House. He employed Philip Webb as his architect but it was Charles Vinall who finally carried out the design. He spent two years as an Assistant Manager with the Great Eastern Company 1878 – 80 and five years in charge of the London Metropolitan Underground Company. In February 1880 Lord Derby recorded: ‘Hear that Sackville has accepted the traffic managership of the Metropolitan District line, £1500 a year’. He also became chairman of the Exchange Telegraph Company and had a great interest in conducting electrical and other experiments. Not surprisingly, in view of his interests, Lord Sackville Cecil was soon seeking permission from the Common Conservators to lay an underground telegraph from his house along the road to Dr Morris’s house at Baston Farm and then to the corner of the adjacent common. With his friend Herbert McLeod in 1877 he set up a telephone system and tested it by transmitting all kinds of sounds, including the sound of the flute played by a local schoolteacher. Contribution to Hayes Church He was on extremely good terms with the rector, Revd G V Reed, and read the lessons during the later years of the rector’s life. It was remarked by Daniel Kettle that Lord Sackville was ‘at once an honorary curate and an adopted son’. In 1878 he anonymously gave the money for the building of the south aisle of the church and south transept to house an organ chamber. He was particularly keen on organ music. On the wall of the south aisle stands the following inscription:The transept for the organ with the vestry/adjoining were the gift of a parishioner. And to increase/ the accommodation for the poor this aisle was built by/him upon condition that all the seats therein should be for ever free and unappropriated.After the rector’s death he transferred his church work to Keston where he built St Audrey’s Private Chapel.A later rector, Revd Percy Thompson, said that Lord Sackville Cecil was a handyman who kept a bag of tools in the church to put things right if anything went wrong with the bells or the organ. He acted as parish clerk and was present at the Vestry meetings when many issues were considered for the local community. He was very interested in the proposals to bring a railway to Hayes, an event which happened in 1882. Recognition of the importance of local historyOne of Lord Sackville Cecil’s greatest contribution to our knowledge of the history of Hayes was his arrangement in 1879 for a copy to be made of a handwritten account of The History of Hayes in the County of Kent by a Native of the Village. It was produced in 1833 by Charles Kadwell who had been born in Hayes in 1786. Lord Sackville Cecil put this copy with the Hayes Parish records ‘in the hope that the Rector of Hayes and other qualified persons will continue the history and insert in the blank spaces notes of duly authenticated information upon matters of local & Parochial interest’. In 1895 he also paid for copies of some illustrations and maps which had been collected by Charles Kadwell to be inserted in the book. Hayes Parish Councillor In 1894 the Hayes Parish Council was set up and the Hayes Vestry then became concerned only with ecclesiastical matters. Lord Sackville Cecil stood in the election for the first Parish Councillors and received the second highest number of votes. The early meetings covered many issues, such as the recent rise in freight rates and fares by the London, Chatham & Dover Railway (LC&DR) and SER companies. In May, the Parish Council refused permission for telegraph poles, insisting that cables should go underground but had no major objection to a proposed housing development at the north end of the parish (Hayes Road) on Norman land. He remained a parish councillor until his death in 1898. Death He and his mother, Mary Countess of Derby, were left Holwood, Keston for life after his stepfather’s death in 1893. It was here that Lord Sackville Cecil died on 29 January 1898, at the early age of 49, of ‘gastroenteritis, pleurisy, pneumonia and cardio failure’. He was cremated at Woking Crematorium on 2nd February and his funeral, attended by Arthur Balfour (Prime Minister 1902-6) and Lord Eustace Salisbury, took place the next day in Hayes. His ashes were buried in a simple grave beside the church of which he had been such a great benefactor. Many local inhabitants admired him and Daniel Kettle of the White House wrote that he was ‘a nobleman in every sense of the word, of most unceasing activity and unselfish devotion’. References:Hayes Church Records Bromley Historic Collections P180Hayes Common Records, Bromley Historic Collections 298Bromley Record February 1898