CHURT

Quinnettes

A SHORT HISTORY OF QUINNETTES

  Quinnettes, a mediaeval house near the centre of Churt, is the home of the Eddystone Housing Association which provides housing for retired people, appropriate to their means. Records of the house go back to 1572; the name is said to be derived from an early English word `quinnot' meaning a small plot of land. In the grounds is a fine 17th-century barn, now used for comunal activities, which forms an ideal centerpiece for the twenty small homes in Quinnettes and its satellite bungalows which together make up the  Eddystone Housing  Association. The residents of these retirement homes have thus inherited a history extending over many centuries, and it is appropriate to recall some of the events in Quinnettes' past.
References are made in deeds and other documents to Quinnettes in the 16th and 17th centuries. In the 18th century there was an interesting switch of names involving the two houses now known as Quinnettes and Hale House. The then Rector of Headley owned Hale House Farm and, wanting to raise money for a school in his parish, sold it to The Queen's College, Oxford. Thereupon it was renamed College Farm and the name Hale House Farm was acquired by Quinnettes. Both farms appear under these new names in the Tithe Commutation Map of 1839 and the Enclosure Map of 1853. A further change of name took place at the beginning of this century when "Quinnettes" ceased to be called Hale House Farm and became known as Parkhurst Farm.
A local Churt resident born in 1915 recalls Parkhurst Farm (Quinnettes) in her childhood. It was a working farm with a muddy pond in the farmyard where now stands Quinnettes' lovely garden. Later the farmhouse was made into two or three cottages for farm labourers. Around 1925 the occupants of the tied cottages were "tipped out" and the property bought by Cdr. White who converted the cottages to a house with a garden. At some point the property then reverted to the name Quinnettes.

A longer history

By the 1930's a Mrs Palin-Evans was the owner of Quinnettes. She stripped the interior, rebuilt, decorated in the rather flamboyant style of that era, and her house was photographed and became the subject of an article in a glossy magazine. The name quinnette was used for a soft drink which she and her son manufactured in their premises off Castle Street, Farnham. The quinnette logo, remembered by older Churt residents, showed three owls known as Quizit, Quoffit and Quenchit. The elegant square bottles had an attractive pressed design around the top and bottom and an elaborate stopper. At the outbreak of World War 11 the business premises, by then vacant, were taken over as the Castle Theatre, precursor to the Redgrave. In the meanwhile Quinnettes had a further change of name to Cambrian House but it became known as Quinnettes again in the 1940's.

Another well-remembered family who lived in Quinnettes were the Ansdells. Brough Ansdell was related to Marie Brough of music-hall fame and instigated several fund-raising pageants in his grounds. These pageants are enthusiastically recalled by parishioners who took part. He engaged semi-professional players and professional make-up artists from London. Superb costumes were hired from Brighton. His last pageant, performed in 1953, unfortunately ran at a loss. Because of his rotund appearance he sat as an understudy in a painting of Churchill.

By 1966 the Quinnettes Estate comprising some 8'fi acres had been acquired by Hambledon Rural District Council for £36,000. It was in this year that Miss Ruth Douglass, who had served for many years in the Church Missionary Society in Uganda and London, spotted the "For Sale" notice outside Quinnettes. She had been on the lookout for a suitable building to convert to the use of single women who had spent their lives in the service of others at home and abroad, but who had been prevented from acquiring homes and families of their own because of the loss of life in the World Wars. In her own words: "I stopped the car, went in by the small gate and stood amazed. I saw the long, low house bathed in evening sunlight stretching back to the mellow old barn. In intense excitement I said to myself, `This is it; this will make seven homes.' And it did!"

Helped by friends too numerous to mention and her own indefatigable nature Ruth succeeded in buying the house with two and a half acres of grounds for £13,000. The remaining 6 acres thereafter were developed as the Parkhurst Fields estate of houses. A Management Committee was formed under the Presidency of Sir John Wenham, former Chairman of Surrey County Council, and in 1967 Ruth moved into the house alone as caretaker and treasurer! Ten bungalows were planned for the surrounding land and the new-born project named The Eddystone Housing Association in honour of her grandfather, Sir James Douglass, FRS, who had designed the Eddystone Lighthouse. Mr. David Lea ARIBA was appointed as architect.

The first phase of building began with the conversion of the house into seven flats. Local builder, Bill Norris, was responsible for the building of Quinnettes Estate. At various times in the development of the whole complex voluntary labour was used. In August 1968 students aged 18-30, members of"Christian Workers for Peace", arrived for three weeks' work and were paid £2 per week for food and simple lodging in exchange for 6 hours' `hard work' per day. The Eddystone Association sought to change the name of Quinnettes but the villagers expressed a preference for the old name. By autumn 1968 the flats were completed.

Costs of converting the house amounted to about the same as its purchase and were achieved through various appeals to Companies, Trusts and a wide circle of individual friends.

Later the same year the Residents began to arrive. First of all came Miss Nancy Britten, former CMS missionary teacher and friend of Ruth in Africa. She was a tower of strength, both in terms of the spirit of happiness which characterised and emanated from her, and in her tireless activity in making and tending the garden of the embryo community.

In 1969 the Committee appointed Major-General Wilson-Haffenden CBE, - "Haffy" - as their Financial Adviser. He was well-known in Christian circles and had

previously met Ruth through the CMS. To everyone's delight they were married in 1969, combining the wedding celebration with an opening ceremony - complete with flashing lighthouse cake - for Quinnettes, and moving in as the first couple in married quarters. They were followed soon after by Bishop Stuart of Uganda and his wife Mary S tuart OBE - still happily in residence - who had previously served as an original member of the committee, and by Haffy's sister, Miss Joyce Wilson-Haffenden, who is also still with us. The same year the EHA was officially registered as a Charity.

The next milestone was the completion of the bungalows, again supervised and inspired by Bill Norris. A remarkable contribution to this phase of the development was made by a group of young American `G.Ls' from W. Germany, - members of the Evangelical Christian Group known as The Navigators- whom Haffy had contacted whilst on a visit to their barracks. There seemed, said Ruth, to be nothing they could not turn their hand to, and during four consecutive summers they came over to do it - without any material reward, but with the simple motivation of a strong Christian faith and the desire to help others.

By 1974 all homes were occupied save the last four, then nearing completion, and by 1977, ten years after Ruth had first moved in, 16 small homes were in occupation, six in the old house and ten in the grounds. In the next two years Douglass House - originally intended as a warden's house but never used as such - and two more dwellings were erected at the far end of the estate, bringing the total number of residences to 20.

In June 1978 the sudden death of Ruth was a severe blow to all associated with the Eddystone Housing Association. Haffy continued as Warden for a little time until a new Warden, Lt. Col. "Gus" Ferguson, was appointed in 1979 and took up residence with his wife Joan. He had previously served in the Sudan Civil Service and the British Council. Gus, assisted by his wife, served the Association for eleven years, during which time he exercised a strong influence over its development. He retired on health grounds in 1990.

At this time the Management Committee was able to offer the post of Warden to one of the residents, Ian Nlaspero who, before his retirement, had had extensive experience in administration in the Diocese ofZimbabwe. Ian is supported by his wife Margaret who has taken responsibility in particular for the running of the barn. Since the time of its restoration in 1974, the barn has been used for a variety of functions which raise much­needed funds towards the upkeep of the properties.

Inevitably, change has occurred at Quinnettes, but change accompanied by progress rather than decay. Financially, a tightrope is often being walked, as the Association does not receive grants from public funds. As with any Charity, donations are always needed and always welcome. The present Committee of ten members includes experienced administrators, and three ladies as well as a lawyer and a doctor.

Quinnettes continues today as a flourishing and friendly community which has proved its resilience in the face of time.

May, 1993.