History of the White Hart Barn
The Barn has been used at a Village Hall since 1961. It was originally a Brewhouse for the White Hart and a barn for Greyhouse Farm. In 1912 it was a Working Man’s Club and Institute. It was donated by Robert S Lindley by Deed Gift in April 1910, the Barn is managed by a Management Committee consisting of seven officers plus representatives from affiliated Village Organisations.
The 40th Annual General Meeting of the Surrey Voluntary Service Council was held at the Barn on 15 November 1990
This being the first occasion on which Godstone had hosted the S.V.S.C for the AGM. I was asked to give a short talk on the history of the Barn and part that it has played in the life of the village community. Having quite happily complied with this request, I have since been approached by several local residents suggesting that a copy be displayed in the Barn.
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The original building was, until the turn of the century, a well-used farm barn, no doubt storing the harvested barley, wheat and hops, all of which are known to have been grown on the local Greyhound Farm to the south of the village.
In the early 1900’s it seems there was a growing need in the village for a larger communal meeting place to replace the small Village Institute on the Green. Around this time the owner of the Greyhound Farm decided to sell the whole of his farm which included the Barn and by good fortune, one of the adjoining landowners, Mr. R.S. Lindley of Godstone Place, was keen to purchase the area of land on which the Barn was situated. The sale in 1909 was agreed between the parties on condition that the Ban should be handed over as a gift to the village for recreation purposes. [A copy of a letter from the Parish Council expressing the thanks of the Parishioners is attached].
Unfortunately, there is very little information available to establish with any accuracy the age of the building but we are told by the well-known local historian, Uvedale Lambert, that in the course of his researches into local history he had found a reference to the White Hart Barn in the Evelyns Act of Parliament of 1743. [The Evelyn Family were, for several generations, local land owners and Lords of the Manor].
Although somewhat lacking in documentary evidence of age, there is ample evidence of architectural experts to support the view that the building was in existence more than 200 years ago. The type of construction and the materials used all seem to substantiate the claims made. The walls are constructed entirely of local stone which, over several centuries, was quarried on Tilburstow Common and Godstone Hill. The roof support by massive oak beams was, until mid-way through this century, covered with handmade clay tiles laid on straw as insulation and weatherproofing material! About 40 years ago, however, it was somewhat reluctantly decided that, for the sake of warmth and cleanliness, certain improvement had to take place. The roof was completely stripped, felted, battened and the original tiles replaced - at this stage the suspended ceiling was installed to add to the comfort and to improve the acoustics of the Hall.
Throughout the ensuing years many improvements were made as finance permitted. The heating system graduated from a solid fuel boiler system two electric fan heaters and eventually to the present gas-fire central heating system which was incidentally, donated by Miss Lindley, a daughter of the one-time owner.
Over the years many improvements were carried out - the toilets were added in the early 1920’s followed by the kitchen a few years later. What a pity that these extensions were added to the front of the building rather than the rear, which would have left the front of the Barn in its original form!
Due to lack of finance a large proportion of the normal maintenance works have, over the years, been carried out by voluntary labour - this applied particularly to the interior decorating and the treatment of the area at the rear of the building. Here a very rough overgrown former stack-yard was cleared, levelled and eventually paved by parties of Committee Members working up a thirst on Sunday mornings.
For many years the Committee had felt that there was a growing need for a larger Committee Room and it was, of course, realised that this could only be achieved by an extension at the rear of the building. Eventually, with a great deal of determination but with little in the way of funds, plans were drawn up for the extension in 1986. Financial assistance was sought from Tandridge District Council, Godstone Parish Council and Surrey Voluntary Services Council, we were able to proceed with the project. Opened in June 1988 the extension, which we know as the Garden Room, has proved extremely popular, particularly for private parties, wedding receptions, etc.
Today the Barn caters for all ages, from the Mothers and Toddlers Group which meets weekly to the regular meetings of the Darby & Joan Club and Age Concern.
Affiliated Organisations include the Women’s Institute, Royal British Legion, the Village Sports Clubs, the Women’s Club Scouts, Cubs, Girl Guides, etc.
Due to the proximity of the M25, we have found that the Hall is becoming increasingly popular with a number or organisations throughout the South East - these include the Spaniel Club, the Badger Protection Society, Caravan Club and the South East Region Institute of Building Control, etc.
In conclusion I would like to emphasise that this ‘success story’ has only been achieved as a result of the hard work and dedication of the officers and members of the Management Committee over many years - ac accordingly, may I take this opportunity of thank them all publicly on behalf of the Village.
A.A. Crowhurst, November 1990
The previous section was written by the then Chairman Arthur A Crowhurst who served on the committee for many years.
Further improvements / updates were needed so in 1999 the Barn was again improved / updated the first of which was the addition of a new kitchen adjoining the Garden Room and accessible from the main hall. What was the kitchen at the front of the building is now the gents loo, the gents loo is now a disabled loo. The ladies remained the same.
Advice was sought from SVSC for funding which proved very useful, we were lucky enough to obtain £99,000 from the National Lottery Fund and £7,500 from Tandridge District Council. A local architect designed the extension and local builders carried out the work. We had a lovely ‘grand opening’ with our oldest resident and youngest cutting the ribbon!
Sadly, a local well-known resident died, she left an amount of money to the Barn, with that we were able to replace the floor with a lovely wooden one which has made a huge difference to the heating / comfort etc. and is great for dancing.
In 2019 we were lucky enough to be able to purchase an adjoining plot of land from the White Hart pub which is adjacent to our land. This enabled us to enlarge our small garden area into the beautiful outdoor space we now have.
We were also extremely fortunate that at the time the adjoining Youth Centre was enlarging their interior hall. Having removed an interior wall and stacked the stone up outside ready to go into a skip, we realised that the stones matched our existing wall running alongside Bay Path. They kindly said we could have these stones. We currently pay our gardener to cut their small patch of grass regularly as a thank you We employed two local companies for this project one built the wall and one designed and made the garden.
A local blacksmith built two lovely gates one leading to the kitchen area and the other to the garden, free of charge.
The result is amazing and a wonderful addition to the Barn and our village!
Some Godstone Village History
Looking across at the White Hart, which has been standing there for 600 years, one thinks back to the old coaching days, when over 30 coaches to or from Eastbourne, Lewes, Brighton and East Grinstead called there every week. Queen Victoria sometimes travelled to Brighton via Godstone, and took tea at the White Hart while the horses were changed. In honour of the Clayton family of Marden Park, the Lords of the Manor, one side of the in sign in 1900 - and long after - bore the legend ‘The Clayton Arms’, and the other bore the legend of ‘The White Hart’, the old name which many think means St Thomas a Becket, martyred in Canterbury, for the name is found all along the Pilgrims Way. The inn was known in the village as the inn with two names. Travellers who entered the Clayton Arms to refresh themselves with the potent Godstone beer, and on looking back as they left found that they had just left the White Hart, might be excused for thinking the beer even stronger than it was. An old resident of Godstone in the 1930’s remembered see Sir William Clayton throwing hot pennies to the children out of the window of the White Hart some time about 1900 presumably there was snow on the ground.
At the end of the old stable yard at the side of the White Hart, where the Bay Path starts, leading to the Church, is the Village Hall, known as ‘The Barn’ and a barn indeed it was in 1900. Billy Bates remembers as a boy how it used to be full of sheaves of corn, which were threshed in the yard. A huge wooden threshing table was assembled and turned by a traction engine. Watched by half the village, the grain was extracted and sacked, to be taken to Ivy Mill or Leigh Mill for grinding into flour, while the chaff was pressed and bundled for sale as straw. Not many years before 1900, the threshing was done by men with long flails, as old Godstonians in the 1930’s could well remember.
The Barn was owned by Farmer Willis who lived in the White House, later pulled down to build the Georgian terraces of Hillbrow Court near the Bell. He kept a milking herd on Bell Meadow and also farmed Women’s Field beyond Bullbeggars Lane. About 1907 Mr Lindley of Godstone Place acquired it from him and later presented it to the village. It was used as a gymnasium, rifle range and dancehall for many years and became the Village Hall when the Godstone Club expanded and needed the Institute for itself. Douglas Wantling built the porch in 1978.