Photographs show the history of Fernhurst

Brenda Newman, Kathy Bird and Christine Maynard start cataloguing the ephemera

A TEAM from the Fernhurst Archives has been cataloguing and conserving a huge number of photographs  which document the history of the village.

The box of about 600 photographs was bought at a car boot sale in Farnborough ten years ago by Hayley Sutton, and was brought into the archives when the buyer’s father recognised some of the photos were of Fernhurst.

Hayley said: “The box went into my attic as they were  too interesting to throw away, but I did not know what to do with them.”

The donated box had belonged to Edie Lucas, who had been born in Fernhurst and had married and brought up her child there.

She had also run the  post office and worked as  the first warden of Russet Court, a residential home for the elderly.

However, no-one knows how the box made its way to Farnborough after her  death in 2007.

Some of the photographs are instantly recognisable, and some are only to be guessed at.

Among the pictures of Edie’s wedding and holiday snaps, there are also images of the Mud House where her parents worked for the Strachey family who lived there, as well as Friday Hill House, High Building, Fernhurst School, and  The Spread Eagle, where Tavern Court now stands.

There are also pictures  of girl guide outings and guide camp.

Apart from the 600 photographs, the box  also contains Edie’s autograph book.

For further information, visit Fernhurst Archives every Tuesday afternoon, or contact 01428 653663.

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