Category: Old Shoreham

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Who is who?

The recent re-discovery of the Buckingham Book and the uncaptioned contents has raised many questions about who in the Head family is in the photographs. With over 130 years elapsed since many of the photos were taken and the last of the subjects having passed away by the 1980’s there maybe only a few people who will have met any of them to identify them specifically. A few named photographs exist as references – notably Sir Henry Head, Hester Pinney and Christopher Head. But who are the others?

As you browse the scrapbook and scrutinise the faces do you see similarities that will help identify individuals? Most of the photographs are undated so it is useful to see Bernard Head in many group photos as we know he was born in 1876.

Mystery photograph 1:

Henry Head (far right), eldest son, seems to appear only once in the Buckingham Book in a family group photograph which I assume is mother and brothers. Bernard at the back, but is that Christopher (with the camera) and Francis on the left? And if Hester Head is in mourning then that would date this image within a year of Hugh’s death in November 1890. That would make Bernard 15 years old in this photo.
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Homicide at the Buckingham House?

In 1853 the home of the local Squire Bridger was the scene of a night-time burglary. This was not unexpected after a series of break-ins in previous days. Servants had been put on watch in the darkened manor house and were armed with guns. They had not to wait long before a man entered the property through a window. When confronted and ordered to surrender he bolted for the exit. In the ensuing fracas he was shot in the back and clambered out of the window before dying in the garden outside. The reulting court case is outlined below.

1853 news report (click 5th column) “Burglar Shot” was justifiable homicide verdict at the Buckingham House burglaryI

Buckingham House census returns 1841 – 1911

1841 census of Great Buckingham House, Old Shoreham Street, Old Shoreham

First nameSurnameGenderAgeBornPlace of birth
HarryBridgerMale411800Sussex, England
Sarah LouisaBridgerFemale411800Sussex, England
HarryBridgerMale121829Sussex, England
MaryBridgerFemale111830Sussex, England
IsabellaBridgerFemale91832Sussex, England
EmmaBridgerFemale81833Sussex, England
WilliamBridgerMale61835Sussex, England
FrederickBridgerMale41837Sussex, England
HarriettBridgerFemale701771Sussex, England
CatherineBridgerFemale691772Sussex, England
MaryBestFemale211820Sussex, England
JohnSmartMale241817Sussex, England
RobertHarmanMale331808Sussex, England
WilliamBonnyMale401801Sussex, England
GeorgeSmartMale161825Sussex, England
DianaMarshFemale571784–
JaneRatcliffFemale251816Sussex, England
HannahOsborneFemale171824Sussex, England
ElizabethMitchellFemale241817Sussex, England
AnnFiestFemale211820Sussex, England
Continue reading “Buckingham House census returns 1841 – 1911”

Buckingham House Timeline

The Buckingham House Timeline

The first Buckingham House (c1655-1820)

1782 – View of the East front of Buckingham the seat of Colville Bridger Esq. in the parish of Old Shoreham by Samuel Hieronymous Grimm  © British Library Board

The first Buckingham House known as “Buckinghams” (or “Great Buckingham” to differentiate it from the Bridger’s farm at Little Buckingham) was built in the c1655 for the Bridger family. Note the main East-West road took a more direct route passing just South of the house and through Little Buckingham Farm. This would join the Avenue and The Street to emerge at St Nicolas Church and the Toll Bridge. Lidar imaging from the air reveals the exact route of the road across the park (shown yellow in the photograph below) and that also suggests the original approach to the front of the house was along the straight avenue of trees still evident in the park.

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The Buckingham House Timeline

The first Buckingham House (c1655-1820)

1782 – View of the East front of Buckingham the seat of Colville Bridger Esq. in the parish of Old Shoreham by Samuel Hieronymous Grimm  © British Library Board

The first Buckingham House known as “Buckinghams” (or “Great Buckingham” to differentiate it from the Bridger’s farm at Little Buckingham) was built in the c1655 for the Bridger family. Note the main East-West road took a more direct route passing just South of the house and through Little Buckingham Farm. This would join the Avenue and The Street to emerge at St Nicolas Church and the Toll Bridge. Lidar imaging from the air reveals the exact route of the road across the park (shown yellow in the photograph below) and that also suggests the original approach to the front of the house was along the straight avenue of trees still evident in the park.

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The Buckingham Book

The Buckingham Book

In 2025 a Shoreham resident acquired at auction a significant historical find. It was a rather battered leather bound family scrapbook dating from 1889. It contained photographs, sketches, and cuttings collected by the Head family of Great Buckingham, Old Shoreham. The story behind the “Buckingham Book” book is tantalising. It had been kept in the Head family’s possession for 80 years but had been torn in two, and separated, with the front part donated to a museum. The second part had been given by the family to a local historian Michael Norman. He was keen for the 2 halves to be reunited but his untimely death in 2013 meant the book was forgotten and eventually sold at auction. 13 years later and we now have possession of that second half along with its accompanying covering letter from Michael Norman. The images in the book are in this gallery.

Buckingham House 1904.
The ruins 2022

Buckingham House – built 1820. The comparison photographs show Buckingham House in 1904. The two toddlers in this photograph maybe Henry Head’s grand children. By 1905 the family had abandoned Buckingham house and by 1910 it was a ruin.

The background to the Head family

We can surmise that the book was split in 1983 after Hester’s death. Whilst it is reasonable to assume the Marlipins Museum holds the other half of the book they are currently unable to confirm this.

In the same year as the 1891 census this family group photograph is on the East steps to Buckingham. It appears to show Henry Head (age 56) next to his daughter Hester Head (16) (standing) and seated an unknown woman. Henry’s wife Hester Head Snr (56) is seated in black (probably in mourning for her son Hugh who died in Nov 1890). Henry’s sons are seated, believed to be John Alban Head (17)and Bernard Head (15) later killed in Gallipoli in 1915. The other ladies are not identified. The lady at the back, on the right, could be Governess Mary Felce. Colourised 2025
0215 –  – Henry Head with his daughter Hester Pinney and grand-children. It is probably Hester Harriott Pinney b.1901 on his lap and Bernard Pinney b1903 in his mother’s arms. c.1904 a short while before Henry’s death. Location at the front door to Buckingham ©SAS

Hester’s father was Henry Head b.1834 m.1860 Died 1st July 1905
Hester’s mother was Hester Head (née Beck) b.1835 m.1860 d.1907
Hester became Hester Pinney (née Head Jnr.) by marriage in 1900 b.1875 d.1958
Hester’s daughter Hester Harriott Marsden-Smedley (née Pinney) b. Ponna India 21st June 1901. Married Basil Futvoye Marsden-Smedley 1927. Hester died in 1982 in Chelsea.
Hester’s daughter was Henrietta Hester Marsden-Smedley b.1935 d.1998

Sons and daughters of Henry and Hester Head:

  • Sir Henry Head1 b. 4 Aug 1861, edu: Charterhouse, Trinity Coll Camb. d. 8 Oct 1940
  • Charles Howard Head1 b. 28 Dec 1862, edu: Charterhouse d. 6 Dec 1877 died of pneumonia at Charterhouse school age 14 (Godalming)
  • Hugh Stanley Head1 b. 9 Jun 1864, edu: Charterhouse d. 4 Nov 1890 age 26 (old Shoreham)
  • Rachel Mary Head1 b. 26 Aug 1865, d. 19 Jan 1870 age 4
  • Katherine Head1 b. 17 Sep 1866, d. 2 Aug 1869 age 3
  • Francis Head1 b. 13 Feb 1868, edu: Lancing College d. 11 Feb 1905 of brain tumour age 36
  • Christopher Head1 b. 25 Dec 1869, edu: Lancing College, Trinity Coll. Camb d. 15 Apr 1912 on Titanic age 43
  • Geoffrey Head+1 b. 14 Apr 1872, edu: Lancing College d. 22 Nov 1955
  • John Alban Head1 b. 7 Dec 1873, edu: Lancing College d. 8 Jun 1931 age 57
  • Hester Head+1 b. 29 Jan 1875, d. 1958
  • Bernard Head1 b. 12 Jan 1876, d. 13 Aug 1915 Major, Corps: Royal Welsh Fusiliers killed in action at Gallipoli age 39

Henry Head died in July 1905 of heart disease, 5 months after the death of his 4th son Francis from a brain tumour at the age 36. This was the catalyst for the abandonment of Buckingham House that became a ruin by 1910.

1891
The same view 130 years later
Census returns for Buckingham 1841-1901
Head Family: Who is who?
Link to Head Family Tree (from page 32)
The timeline of Buckingham House(s)

The contents of the Buckingham Book ( the 2nd half)

The mystery of what happened to the first half of The Buckingham Book is perhaps explained by a number of photos in the SAS / Marlipins Collection of images. Whilst there seems to be just 11 images they are of a similar nature to those in the second half of the book. The suggestion is these 11 were cherry picked by SAS and the rest of the book is in their archive awaiting full scrutiny and publication.

Selection from the front half of the Buckingham Book

Covering letter:

This Family Scrapbook compiled by the Head Family to record their time at Buckingham (Buckingham House, Old Shoreham) from 1889 to 1905 was in the possession of Lady (Hester) Marsden-Smedley (née Pinney), the daughter of Lady Hester Pinney (née Head). Before she died, Lady Pinney stated that she wanted me to have it because of its relevance to Shoreham. In due course I made contact with her daughter in Chelsea and arranged to go up to collect it.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Lady Marsden-Smedley would have liked to have kept it, since it contained so much of Family interest. In the event, she simply tore the book in half and gave me the front part, and this I placed in Marlipins. It may since have been dismembered, which is a great pity.

The other half I was very surprised to be offered many years later through a friend. and bought it, at a price, and did not enquire as to its provenance. I still have it, in its somewhat battered slate.

It is (was) three-quarter leather bound, about 100 mm thick in all, the boards approx, 370 x 298mm, with interleaved pages designed as a commercial scrap-book.

It is clear that the Head boys were responsible for most of the snaps, but there are other more professional photos taken probably by William Page, Photographer, of Shoreham, whom Hester (Pinney) said she encouraged. There are also watercolours by Hester of a competent, but amateur quality, together with sundry printed items of interest, and photos of local views and personalities.

The whole gave a unique and fascinating view of the very happy life at Buckingham until Henry Head’s death in 1905, when the family quit Old Shoreham. The house lay empty and in 1911 was gutted, with the grounds occupied by a new house erected to the North.

During their stay at Buckingham, the Heads effectively filled the role of ‘Lords of the Manor’ in the Town, and were most popular. Henry Head was an outgoing and generous personality, and he was clearly led by his very positive daughter Hester (Pinney), abetted by her brothers. The Park was regularly opened to the townsfolk, and Henry seems to have been the leader in the 1897 Diamond Jubilee celebrations. When, apart from a Grand March through the Town to a Fair and general festivities in the Park, there seems to have been a very early filrnshow in the field by the old Swiss Gardens. Fifty years later, Hester Pinney was stilt fondly rernembered in the Town.

The Book records Hunting, Cricket, Yachting (Steam and Sail) Golf, Shooting, Riding, and alfresco entertainments.. The girls from the London Store, D. H. Evans, which the Heads owned, were also entertained in the Summer and are seen obviously enjoying themselves. The Book is a wonderful, unique, record of a lost age, which was soon to come to a tragic stop. One son was lost on the Titanic (sic Christopher Head), and one at Gallipoli (sic. Bernard Head); it is fitting that their memorials are in Old Shoreham Church, in the place that they so enjoyed.

Written by Michael Norman, date: post-1983

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Adur Idyl

After a pint at the Red Lion take a walk westwards across the Toll Bridge, turn left across the stream, past the old guardhouse then turn right and look towards the Sussex Pad. Go back in time 130 years and this is the view you’ll see.(‘Lancing Brook Leading to the old Sussex Pad’ by Arthur Willett 1857 – 1918)

Bartlett Collection

John Bartlett is descended from the Winton and Maple families of Shoreham. His mother Daphne Maple married Robert Bartlett, both of Old Shoreham, in 1940. The Bartletts came from Lancing and settled in Old Shoreham where John’s grandfather was the collector at the Toll Bridge. John has kindly provided us with a selection of his family photographs dating from the early 1900’s.

1. Robert Bartlett senior, the father of George, was the Lancing Stationmaster and Postmaster seen here outside the post office with his postmen, in Lancing’s North Road.

2. This postcard shows the backwater at Lancing after the 1910 storm. The scene appears to be the coast road looking up South Street with the Three Horseshoes pub on the right.

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