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TRANSCRIPT OF A TALK GIVEN BY GEOFFREY COPUS TO THE ANNUAL GENERALMEETING OF THE RANDOLPH CALDECOTT SOCIETY, 19 SEPTEMBER 1996. RANDOLPH CALDECOTT THE CHELSFIELD CONNECTION by GEOFFREY COPUS A talk given to the Annual General Meeting of the RANDOLPH CALDECOTT SOCIETY 19 September 1996 I feel a little anxious at addressing the Randolph Caldecott Societybecause I have only a rudimentary knowledge of his works gleaned- with one exception - from works about him. However, the exceptionis his rare volume called "The owls of Olynn Belfry" which portraysthe parish church at Chelsfield, and a number of identifiable characters associated with it. On the subject of the parish of Chelsfield I feel on entirely firmground, as I have been beavering away on its history since I wasat school, that is For very nearly 50 years. Randolph Caldecottmarried Marian Brind of Chelsfield Court Lodge at Chelsfield churchon 18 March i860. To set the scene» and to wake everybody up, mywife and I (who were married there some 73 years later) have broughtwith us a short tape -[tape played ] I'm sorry that was a bit scratchy but I'm attached to it as it'staken from a 78 record of my Father playing the Wedding March,drowned out by the bells, at ChelsField in 1954. A passion For historical accuracy compels me to admit; Firstly,that From 1857 to 1893 Chelsfield church had only a harmonium; secondly, that until 1936 Chelsfield church had only Five bells (hence the name of the village pub); and thirdly, that the bells were re-hung later In the year 1880, and its possible that they were outof action at the time of the Caldecott-Brind wedding! We've brought with us four display boards, and I've included thecharming sketch (reproduced in "Yours Pictorially", by MichaelHutchins) that Caldecott drew showing himself, his Best Man andthe Rev A Caldecott, who was to assist at the wedding, sitting ona fence overlooking the church and Court Lodge on the morning ofthe event. Firstly, a brief sketch of Chelsfield in the seventies when theBrind family came to live there. It is some 16 miles to the southeast of London - too close for comfort as the tentacles of the capital have stretched out in the last 150 years. The name is saidto mean "a cold field", and that is certainly well-merited, as thevillage and present residual parish is on very high ground - mymemories of carol-singing round it are dominated by how extremelycold it was, with the wind sweeping the snow across the rather bleakfields. The ancient parish of Chelsfield was large and carrot-shaped, stretching from a point 100 yards from Orpington church in the northto well beyond Cudham church In the south. Today we are really onlyconcerned with the upper part of the old parish around the churchwhich, with the growth of Orpington In the thirties, and the loppingoff of other areas, has become the residual parish of St Martinof Tours, Chelsfield, covering the village and the hamlets of May-pole, Bopeep and Well Hill. Unfortunately, the Orpington Bypass which was opened in 1928 wasdriven ruthlessly between the village on the one side, and the CourtLodge and the church on the other, in the absurd manner of the yearsbetween the Wars, houses began to be built along it, and looked set to join Chelsfield to the Orpington conurbation. However, theoutbreak or war In 1939 Fortunately put a stop to Further development of that kind: Chelsfield is still a rural spot - but as JohnNewman writes In "The buildings of England - Kent" - "Suburbia hasso far been held off". Just. Needless to say, property In such a desirable commuter area isastronomically priced, and even the Victorian Farm labourers' cottages have been altered and gentrified In ways which would Indeedsurprise their original tenants. None the less, ChelsField Is stillattractive to the eye, and although the church and Court Lodge areclose to the main road, both still preserve broadly the outwardappearance they had In I860. The church is beautifully kept - and, unusually For these days,Is kept open. Restored In 1950 after wartime damage and the disastrous long-term effects or the 1857 restoration. It has been muchbeautified over the past ^10 years. To any of Caldecott's admirers,It should be high on The list of places to visit. Although wealthy London merchants had had "places In the country"in Chelsfield From the Middle Ages onwards, The year 1868 usheredin the long process of semi-suburbanisation with the opening oFThe South Eastern Railway's "New Main Line" between Chislehurstand Tonbridge. "The manure menace", graphically Illustrated as itaffected Chelsfield station, in Caldecott's drawing on the displayboard, was a Frequent cause for complaint In The local press. In 1868 too the Ordnance Survey published what I think is the bestever of their large-scale maps, The First 25" survey. Because weare really concerned with The last century rather than with thetwentieth, I've included an extract From It, showing the church,The Court Lodge, the village centre, The Rectory and Woodlands,The Four-square large house of William Waring, the Lord of the Manorof Chelsfield. Little changed between 1868 and 1880, so this isan accurate plan of Chelsfield as Marian Brind would have knownIt. I have Included pictures of buildings with which I am sure shewould have been familiar. "The Court Lodge" is a name often found in Kent, and refers to theManor House, where Manorial Courts were held. The Court Lodge atChelsfield, although it would appear externally to be early l8thcentury, may well have much earlier parts hidden within it. Therecan of course be no doubt that it is on the site of earlier manorhouses, going back to Mediaeval times. Although successive Lords and Ladies of the Manor of ChelsFieldlived there over The centuries, it was not uncommon For all or apart of The house to be let out to accommodate The tenant Farmerwho actually Farmed the demesne land of over 4OO acres. A leaseoF 17G9 to such a tenant specifically sets out that he is to provideaccommodation For The Lady of The Manor whenever she should wishto hold a Manorial Court, together with Food and drink For her andher servants, and Fodder For The horses. The last Manorial Courtwas held as late as 1859 - I have not yet found any lease to MrBrind, Marian's Father, but I think it unlikely that by his timeany such clause would have been inserted in it. The Manor of Chelsfield with the demesne lands was bought by ThomasWaring in 1844; he was a prosperous landowner from a long-established local family. However, neither he nor any of his descendants lived in the house, which continued to be rented by a tenant farmeruntil, in 1857, a disastrous fire -- thought to have been startedby an arsonist -- destroyed a huge range of farm buildings to theeast of the house. Following tills, William Waring built a new farm-house nearby, and in future let the Court Lodge with a few acresof garden and paddock to a succession of wealthy London businessmen. The Brinds' predecessors as tenants were the Gordon family, thehead of whom was John Gordon, a barrister who was Master of theCourt of Common Pleas. Their successors, from about 1893, were theAsprey family, the Bond Street jewellers. In 1879 Randolph Caldecott moved to Wybournes in Kemsing, a villageabout seven miles from Chelsfield - which he described as "nothingto a good horse." I don't know how he came to meet Marian BrindIn the first place but, as you will see from the display, the Courtj Lodge, Chelsfield church, and also Chelsfield village school, figurein "The three Jovial huntsmen", published in 1860. Caldecott, with his love of hunting, would have fitted in well inChelsfield society at the time. William Waring - The Lord of TheManor whom I have already mentioned, who crops up everywhere inthe history of Victorian Chelsfield - was a fanatical preserverof foxes. When he addressed The annual dinner of The West Kent Huntin 1868 he waxed Indignant about The iniquities of those who shotfoxes. "It is a very trying position to be In as a preserver ofcoverts when foxes you have raised are killed Illegitimately onland where they are not welcome..." I have to admit that I don't know the exact year when FrederickWilliam Brind, Marian's father, brought his family to live at theCourt Lodge, but it must have been In about 1875. Information aboutFrederick and his family while they were at Chelsfield is also somewhat sparse. In the 1881 Census he appears at the Court Lodge, aged 57, withhis wife Julia (who must have been his second wife, not Marian'smother) aged 44, daughter Julia aged 12, her governess CarolinePattison, a cook, two parlour maids and a butler. Frederick's occupation Is shown as wine merchant, born Coventry; daughter Julia was born at Bickley (near Bromley, Kent). In the 1891 Census, Marian, then of course a widow, was stayingat the Court; Lodge (her name in fact being rendered as Calercottby the Census taker) and she is shown as aged 41 and born at Stamford Hill Middlesex. Also at home at that time were her sister Amy, 38 - also born Stamford Hill - and brother (in fact, I assume,her half-brother) Frank Brind, aged 25, occupation architecturalassistant, born Sydenham, Kent. Also at The Court Lodge were JuliaBrind, Marian's half -sister, together with her father's nephew Ernest W Brind, aged 24, merchant's clerk, born Lee, Kent, plus a visitor, Margaret Braddish aged 17, and cook, parlour maid, housemaidand kitchen maid, with a coachman and his family living in the coachhouse nearby. I have not so far followed up tills information - my feeling is that,surely, someone else will have done so already. If this is not thecase, however, It should not be difficult to locate Marian's birth at St Catherine's House, then tier parents' marriage, her mother'sdeath and her father's second marriage. Her father's will shouldfigure in The records at Somerset House, and would certainly beof* considerable Interest. Mr Brind would seem to have thrown himself with enthusiasm intoparochial life at Chelsfield, serving as Churchwarden from 1879.In 1880, the year of Marian's marriage, his time was much takenup with the rehanging of the belle, and the Installation of MessrsBacons' new heating system in the church. Some letters and accountsabout These activities have survived in Chelsfield parish chest,now at Bromley Local Studies Library - among them a typically robustletter From Mr Brind's landlord, William Waring, who wrote to himon 16 July 1880, after Bacons had promised a really warm churchif their system were Installed - "The heat guaranteed by Messrs Bacon will be quite sufficient forme - I could do with less. The estimate for re-hanging the Bells also appears to be satisfactory - and I have no doubt you will see it is thoroughly carried out. I enclose a cheque for £50 - £25 towards the heating of the Church- and £25 towards rehanging etc. the Bells..." The accounts for the combined works are interesting, while the listof subscribers shows the pecking order in The parish very well.Naturally, William Waring heads it with his £50, although the RevFolliott Baugh, The Rector (and incidentally Mr Waring's son inlaw) subscribed the same amount. There follow Miss Hallett of Goddington, another substantial landowner, with £30» and then Mr Brindin the next group, bracketed with C L Norman (a less extensive land owner) and William Beardsworth Fox of Lillys, who gave £10 each. Mr Fox was a wealthy tenant farmer who was also a keen dissenter;he had been instrumental in building Chelsfield Methodist churchin 1871. As Mr Baugh mentioned in a Visitation return of 1872, he"employed nonconformists by preference" - so it was good of himto contribute to The parish church. I have mentioned already that Frank Brind, Marian's brother or half-brother, was shown as an architectural assistant in the 1891 Census,and he crops up in a storm in the parochial teacup a little later.In correspondence among Archbishop Benson's papers at Lambeth PalaceLibrary is a letter to him dated 22 June 1892 from the then Rectorof Chelsfield, The Hey J W Nutt, in which he writes - My dear Lord Archbishop Mr Hallett of Goddington in this parish has very kindly promisedan organ to The Church. We are in difficulty as to the best positionFor it. The enclosed plans for what I shall, term (a) have been preparedby Mr F Brind, the son of one of The Churchwardens. The FUI vantages of the proposed new arrangement are - I The organist will be close to The choir. 2 A commodious vestry will be provided instead of the present veryInadequate and shabby one. ( he goes on to list what he considers to be five serious disadvantages, and alternative schemes (b) and (c), both of which he thinks preferable, and continues - ) The two Churchwardens, Messrs P W Brind and G Norman, are in favour(a): I object to it, as unnecessary, and as destroying the character of an interesting 13th century chancel which has lately been put in order...it would be a pity for plans to be made and passedthe Vestry and then disallowed when they came before your Graceam therefore writing, with Mr Hallett's sanction, to ask whethermight possibly be allowed by your Grace If It came before you.permission to carry It out In not Likely to be granted, it woulda great convenience to know this at once..." This is really a masterly letter; the Archbishop regarded himselfas being In a position of sacred trust as the guardian of ancientchurch buildings, and could be relied upon to veto anything tooextreme, as Indeed was The case. In another letter to the ArchbishopMr Nutt wrote - "I am greatly pleased to find that The "dangeroussurgical operation" (to use Mr Balfour's words) which the Churchwardens thought to apply to the chancel, meets with no favour in your Grace's eyes. I trust that milder counsels will now prevailand that a plan will be produced which will pass inspection." Unfortunately Frank Brind's original plans have vanished, but whenThe scheme was re-launched in the following year, under a new Rector,new plans were brought out by the minor Arts and Crafts architectW W Neve. The Archbishop was still dubious, although it would seemthat the new ideas were less radical than The previous ones, andhe insisted on plans being produced to show him the state of thebuilding as then existing - something for which I, and any otherhistorian, must feel grateful to him. Neve, by all accounts a kindly man, and perhaps feeling a littleawkward at having supplanted Frank Brind, asked him to assist indrawing up The plans The Archbishop had requested. A further fineset of plans, inscribed "W W Neve and F Brind, architects", wasaccordingly produced. Both sets have only come to light quite recently, in The library of Christ Church Cathedral Library, Canterbury and in The photograph on display my wife is holding up Neve's plans,while my tracings of some of Neve and Brind's set also appear. Thevestry was eventually built and the organ installed as suggestedby Neve. "The owls of Olynn Belfry" which I mentioned at the outset was published in 1885 or 1886 (authorities seem to disagree) and it is a very rare little volume. Kenn Oultram our Secretary very kindly lent me a photocopy of an original, for me to copy in my turn. In 1949 the late Col H A Waring (grandson of William Waring of Woodlands, Mr Brind's landlord) showed me his own copy of the book, and mentioned that The characters were based on several Chelsfieldpeople. To confirm his recollections, he later wrote - "When I wasquite young The Brinds were at the Court Lodge and great friendsof my family, but I cannot remember any of them personally. The illustrations are of Chelsfield people, but they were merely Caldecott's "models", and in no way entered personally into the story.They were: Mr Brind and his children Marian (afterwards, I believe,Mrs Caldecott), Frank and Maggie: Herbert Waring (my uncle): GeorgeBrooks (the clerk at the church) and his son "Bodger" (my sisterin law has told me that she saw him as a very old man during thewar years at, I think, Pratts Bottom): Hills: Miles." I have on display a photograph of Herbert Waring (taken about 1900)and also one of George Brooks, the parish clerk, who in fact diedin 1884. Unfortunately, no photograph of Marian Caldecott née Brindhas yet come to light, although it seems likely that the Governesspictured in "The owls of Olynn Belfry" portrays her likeness. The(drawing of George Brooks demonstrates Caldecott's powers as a portraitist (and incidentally confirms that the clerk's outfit evidently included a top hat for outdoor wear). This George was the last ofseveral of his family to hold the post of parish clerk; the "Bodger"Brooks also mentioned by Col Waring was in fact George's grandson,George Luke Brooks, born in 1861. At this point I can claim that I actually met one of Caldecott'smodels because in 19^9, flushed with the enthusiasm of youth, Itracked down "Bodger" Brooks, who was still living at Pratts Bottom,and went to talk to him. He was in full possession of his faculties,but I can't for the life of me repeat anything he told me, nor havemy notes of our conversation survived - at least, they have notyet come to light in my collection of unsorted papers. Mr Brooksdied in the following year, aged 89, and was buried in Chelsfieldchurchyard. Caldecott delighted in drawing his characters In old-fashioned costume, but it is remarkable that he did not often portray them in smocks, which had been the everyday dress of the English countrysideuntil the coming of The railways. As my be seen from the photographof John Graves of Gillmans Brimstone who died in 1867, the smockwas still being worn in Chelsfield 1n the sixties, at least by theolder generation. I have no doubt that the drawing of "the agedinhabitants" seated in the tower of Chelsfield church is based onpersonal observation In The early eighties. I have also included Caldecott's drawing of Chelsfield church, takenfrom The north; so far as I know tills Is the only existing representation of it from that side before 1893. Caldecott has drawn accurately the curious arrangement of the outside staircase up The tower,by which the bell ringers ascended. It is strange that until I discovered The architectural elevation by his brother in law Frank Brind which shows this, I had known nothing of it. I would haveassumed Caldecott's drawing to have been fanciful - but clearly I would have been doing him an injustice. The late 18th century brick wall surrounding the Court Lodge, whichalso figures in "The owls of Olynn Belfry", is still there, as isThe doorway through which Marian Brind walked to church for herwedding. I hope that my talk may spark off enthusiasm among membersfor a visit to Chelsfield to see the scene . COPYRIGHT GEOFFREY COPUS 1996 Copied without permission (though Geoffrey Copus did send it to me,I didn't ask for permission to put it into this package. Jonathan Brind

The sexton and the young rascal Drawings from The Owls of Olynn Belfry and photographs from the ms History of Chelsfield, written c 1912 by Arthur Waring of Woodlands, Chelsfield (1851-1920). As mentioned, in the text,George Brooks was in fact Parish Clerk rather than Sexton.

George Brooks of Sluts Hole, Chelsfield, 1801-1884..

John Graces. Overseer 1838 & 1839.

Aged inhabitants in the church tower.

The drawing on the front cover, from "The Owls of Olynn Belfry", and entitled "The bells send out the news",shows Chelsfield church from the north. The drawings above are from the Faculty papers in Canterbury Cathedral Library; they show- Top illustration -- proposals for the erection of a new vestry to accommodate an organ, by William West Neve, 1893. Lower plans by W W Neve and Frank Brind, showing the vestry and tower as then existing, 1893.

RANDOLPH CALDECOTT - THE CHELSFIELD CONNECTION Randolph Caldecott, perhaps the most talented of 19th century Englishbook illustrators, was a native of Chester who moved to London in1872, when he took the momentous step of throwing up his job as abank clerk to devote all his time to his art. By 1879, in circumstancesabout which, it would seem, nothing is known, he had become acquaintedwith Marian Harriet Brind, the eldest daughter of Frederick WilliamBrind, a wealthy wine merchant who was the tenant of the Court Lodge,Chelsfield. In that year he moved to Kemsing, near Sevenoaks, wherehe rented a handsome house called Wybournes, which figures in a numberof his sketches. From Kemsing, only seven miles from Chelsfield -"nothing to a good horse" - he pursued his courtship, and the couplewere married at Chelsfield church in March 1880. The Rev FolliottBaugh, the aged Rector, officiated, assisted by Caldecott's half-brother the Rev Alfred Caldecott. In 1949, when I was a humble AC2 doing my National Service in theRAF, I met and corresponded with Col H A Waring, the younger son ofArthur Waring of Woodlands (1851--1920) author of a scholarly ms historyof Chelsfield. Col Waring showed me his copy of a small book called"The owls of Olynn Belfry", illustrated by Caldecott, and gave medetails of the Chelsfield people who figured in it. Only a couple of years ago I returned to my interest in Randolph andMarian Caldecott, and became a member of the Randolph Caldecott Societywhen I found that, despite many attempts, no photograph of Marianhad been found. None of the many pictures of attractive young ladiesin her husband's work can be positively identified as being of Marian,and there matters rest at present. To my surprise, I found that littlewas known of her and her background at Chelsfield, and I was gratifiedto be asked to speak to the AGM of the Randolph Caldecott Societyon that topic. The present Exhibition is an extended version of thatI put together for that occasion. Although my wife and I have since carried out some further researchon Marian Caldecott - who incidentally died at Tunbridge Wells in1932, a short distance from our house - much remains to be done. Oneitem of particular interest which we have been privileged to see isan album with the initials MHC in which Marian Caldecott had boundthe drawings from the letters which Randolph wrote to her during theircourtship. It is remarkable how many of his other letters have survivedbecause of the exquisite little drawings with which he ornamentedthem, causing their recipients to treasure them. Marian Brind remains a shadowy figure, and I am hoping that this Exhibition may be the means of making contact with someone locally whomay have a photograph of her, and possibly further details. This,I realise, is something of a slender hope, since her father gave upthe lease of the Court Lodge in about 1893, and died at St Leonardson Sea in 1908. I would recommend anyone with an interest in Caldecott to join theRandolph Caldecott Society, membership of which costs only £7 perannum. I would be happy to supply further details. Fisher Press have recently reprinted Henry Blackburn's classic book"Randolph Caldecott - his art and life", and a few copies only arestill available. Details are on display in the Library. I should like to express grateful thanks to Mr Kenn Oultram, Secretaryof the Randolph Caldecott Society, and to Mr Greville Gidley KitchinMr Antony Tyler and Mr Michael Hutchins for the help given to my wifeand myself in pursuing our researches. Geoffrey Copus, 17 Oakdale Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN4 8DS.'phone number 01892 523991.