The Fernhurst Society
Tales from the Archives - 55
A Grand Day Out
In the delightful book The Land of Lod, mostly written by John Rickman but with the last two chapters by Helen Ouin, who also edited the book, comes this tale of the Hutchinson family on a day out in the early 1900s.
Herbert Hutchinson set out for a day's excursion with his two of his children, both under the age of ten. They walked from Moses Hill Farm down the steep escarpment, past Furnace Pond and up past Edward VII Sanatorium and thence to Midhurst station. They took the little train down to Nyewood to visit the brickworks, one of Hutchinson's many business interests.
After a 'scrumptious tea' with the manager's wife they went by train to Petersfield to change for a train to Haslemere. There was then the three mile walk back to Moses Hill!
Another time a larger group of the family walked to Midhurst then took the train to Petersfield and on to Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight ferry. Then there was the 14 mile walk across the island to Ventnor where they were to stay for a few days.
If you would like to know more about this story, or research other local topics, the Archive is open on Tuesdays, 2.30-5pm in the Village Hall. Other times by arrangement.
Christine Maynard
Fernhurst ArchiveOne of a series of short articles bringing you some of the incidents from our rich village history. Collated by Christine Maynard, based on documents preserved at the Fernhurst Archives, these originally were published in the monthly Fernhurst News.
The Fernhurst Archives
Fernhurst History
