Hello, sorry to burst in but I wonder if anyone can help me in finding my grandmother's grave. It would mean a lot for me to be able to take my 81 year old father to visit her resting place for what I think will be the first time (he was around 1 at the time of her death). Her name was Margaret A (Anne I think) Brown and I know she died in 1928 or possibly 1929 in Hambledon (I'm assuming at the sanitorium as she died from TB). Dad doesn't remember ever visiting her grave and as his father died around ten years later, I suppose the memory has just faded.

My father is fairly sure that the family lived between Ewehurst and Rudgwick at the time so I wonder whether she might be buried in the 'triangle' between Hambledon, Ewehurst and Rudgewick?

I have no idea on how to approach this and I would be very grateful if someone could give me a helping hand on how to get started.

Many thanks.

Anne Visintin

Hi Anne,

I run the unofficial website for the former TB Sanatorium - King George V Hospital:

http://web.mac.com/greenfieldtv/KGV/Welcome.html


KGV was opened in 1921 but predominantly for TB patients from London and exclusively male until 1950's. Nearby Milford Hospital was probably built after 1928 so it is also unlikely that your Grandmother was there. Neither Hospitals have their own cemeteries. There is a large Cemetery in Milford, and adjacent to local parish churches.

Maybe the best route to take is assume she was buried in her "home" Parish of Ewhurst or Rudgwick.

Have you seen this..maybe worth a request?:
http://www.ewhursthistory.com/v2/resources/index.php

Have you tried a request here:

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=e251290d4206c3cba8620025888959ce&topic=299719.new

also there are a number of third party Gravestone directories..such as this one:
http://www.gravestonephotos.com/public/area.php?area=surrey&country=England

although this is only pre-1900 graves... it might be a _link_ in the right direction.

Maybe someone from Hambledon village will see your request and follow up with more specialist knowledge.

Thanks so much for taking the time to help and in putting me right about my Grandmother not being in the local sanitorium. I'm now beginning to think that maybe the family lived in Hambledon itself (or why else would her death have been registered as taking place there?).

It's a bit of a mystery - dad knows that he lived off the road between Ewehurst and Rudgwick a few years after his mother's death (his father had also contracted TB and had persuaded a local farmer to let the family live in a 'caravan', which he had designed, in a local field. It has always been a bit of family joke about Dad living, as he describes, "through a hole in a hedge" but of course in those days there was no Welfare State to pick up the pieces. His father converted to catholicism around then and Dad remembers attending Ewehurst village school, followed by St Dominic's Open Air school in Hambledon .

Anyway, I've wandered off the point but obviously need to look at the parish records and visit the other websites you suggested.

Thanks again.

Anne.

Hi Anne, An interesting story. I'd love to find an answer for you. I will make some calls in the village and see if we can come up with some clues to search deeper into the records of Hambledon.

Thanks again - that would be great! Another memory my Dad has is that when he was at the village school in Ewehurst (aged around 5) his classmates put frogs in his boots and threw stones at him apparently because he was catholic...poor little blighter! I hasten to add that this came to a swift end as soon as the childrens' parents found out. But I don't think his middle name was lucky!

Anne

Which reminds me... I am presuming that your Grandmother was Catholic. Can you confirm her date of birth and maybe maiden name..it might help to trace.

Hi

All I know is that she was born in Gateshead in 1904 (sorry don't know exact date) and her maiden name was Coulson (very common in the north east!). She wasn't Catholic...apparently she and my Grandfather married in a non-conformist church (my Grandfather played the organ in a non-conformist, possibly methodist, church located on the main road in Cranleigh, until he later converted to the Catholic faith).

Thanks.

Anne

Dear Anne,

From my discussions with local experts..their advice is:

"It seems more likely that she would have been buried in Ewhurst or Rudgwick. However so far as Hambledon is concerned, if you contact the secretary to the PCC who would be able to tell you if the burial registers for the 1920s are still held in Hambledon or have been deposited at the Surrey History Centre.
The secretary is Mrs. Rebecca Webb, Old Barn Cottage, Rock Hill, Hambledon.

If this fails, a visit to the Surrey History Centre at Woking would probably be the most productive. They hold the registers of baptisms, marriages and burials from many parishes. Their telephone number is 01483-518737 - www.surreycc.gov.uk/surrey history service

Hope this is helpful"

It has been incredibly helpful in making my search that much more focused and I really am very grateful in your taking the time and effort to help. I will of course let you know if I have any success.

Thanks so much again!

Anne

ps great website and Hambledon looks beautiful. I use my local website - Chiswickw4.com a lot but have never ventured onto the forum as there are pretty opinionated posters on it...all a bit scary!

Hi again,

We have now published on this site the survey of all the graves in Hambledon Churchyard. There are only two references to Brown - neither Margaret.

http://www.hambledonsurrey.co.uk/content/view/43/129/