Dog Gate.

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Dog Gate At Bourne Hall.

By Uncle Monty.

Bourne Hall Photos By Alex Albion.

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In the quaint English village of Ewell there stands an

architectually-imposing and aesthetic Dog Gate at un-

usual Bourne Hall. I was on my way to Epsom for a few

days when I stumbled upon Bourne Hall from my car

 window as my pal Gary Day was driving at the wheel. I

immediately got him to stop so that I could venture to find

out more about Bourne Hall. It was The Dog Gate (shown

above) that was irresistable to me although Gary was more

concerned about hitting the road than me spending 45 or

so minutes at Bourne Hall on a rather bitterly cold day.

Whatever, venture I did and here are a few historical notes

about the rather special and esoteric place that I found

 and visited at Ewell.

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These Guyz Greeted Me!!

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"Bourne Hall was designed in about 1770 for Philip Rowden, a London

merchant who was looking for a country residence. Later the house

 came to Thomas Hercey Barritt of Jamaica. He improved the grounds

 by building a dairy shaped like a castle - the Turrets, demolished in

1967 - and by improving the entrance with The Dog Gate, which is

decorated with his coat of arms. After him, in 1859, came George

Torr, an engineer and charcoal maker, who became a village

 benefactor. He gave helped to found the West Street School.

When he died, his widow Elizabeth found consolation in perfecting

the grounds of the house, relying on her head gardener James

Child. Along the walk to the orchards there were prize-winning

chrysanthemums, and orchids grew in the heated greenhouses.

 Inside the house the entrance hall was paved with marble, and

there was panelling and plaster columns on the walls. There were

 eleven bedrooms on the first and second floor, and on the ground

 floor a library and billiard room, as well as two drawing rooms

whose fireplaces were carved with marble statuary and ornaments.

 The servants had their rooms on the lower ground floor.

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The Horse Pond At Bourne Hall.

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"During the First World War the house (Bourne Hall ) was used

as a hospital for soldiers. From 1925 it housed a girls' school, run

from Ewell Castle. Part of the garden became a hockey field, and

the conservatories were turned into classrooms. The headmist-

resses ran it as 'a school for the daughters of gentlemen', and in the

 earlier years tradesmens' daughters could be turned away. There

 were three houses - Doric, Ionic and Corinthian - and the talbot

from the Dog Gate appeared on the school hatband. The school

 lost money after the Second World War. It closed suddenly in 1953

 and pupils arriving for the autumn term were surprised to find the

 gates locked. During the following ten years the house, already in an

 unsatisfactory condition, fell into further decay. It was demolished

 in 1962 and the present Bourne Hall was built in 1969.

...

She Dazzled Me With Her Swan Beauty At Bourne Hall.

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"In the summer of 1996, Bourne Hall Lake was in a sorry state.

The waters of this Ewell landmark slowly vanished due to a wide-

spread lowering of the water table - a longterm effect of reduced

 rainfall and increased use. This was not the first time that the springs

 had failed, but it demonstrated how local people could no longer

rely on the natural forces of geology to keep the lake supplied with

springwater through the summer months. Originally this was

 a stretch of river, the headwaters of the Hogsmill. The lake was

 formed in the middle ages as a fishpond, and in the 18th century

 it was re-fashioned as a formal water feature, only to be given its

more natural outline to suit the Victorian garden. The water rose

at several points within the lake, and up until Roman times offerings

 were made to these springs, which were sacred. . Water from

a nearby borehole is used to top it up as it evaporates, and a

continual overflow into the Horse Pond helps to keep

the river Hogsmill fresh and clean.

...

Look At Those Feet For It To Waddle.

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And not far from Bourne Hall the Yankees came!

"(At) the turn of the century (there was) almost an invasion

 of English racing by Americans at the nearby famous Epsom

 Race Track. In 1900 five of the top ten jockeys were Amer-

icans. Some of them came to race, some were only interested in

arranging large betting coups by doping horses. Lester Reiff, an

American jockey, won the 1901 Derby after a very roughly ridden

 race. He was disliked by English jockeys for his combination of

skill and dishonesty which made him a formidable opponent.

 Finally, he had his licence withdrawn late in 1901, after stop-

ping a horse in a race at Newmarket. In 1907 the Derby was

won by Orby, a horse owned by an Irish American, Richard

 Croker. It was reckoned that 'Boss' Croker had made his

 money from racketeering and was boss of the powerful

 Tammany cartel in New York. Orby was the first Irish horse

to win the Derby. One Irish lady told Croker's trainer,

'Thank God and you, sir, we have lived to see a

 Catholic horse win the Derby'.

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I Must Say I Also Do The Same As

This Duck When I Shave My Pretty Face!!

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All of the above information I have used herein comes from

Ewell History Internet Files, which I think best explains some-

thing about Bourne Hall. But for me the accidental visit to

Bourne Hall saw the lovely layout of the gardens and grounds

 with the beautiful white swan there - who actually pecked

me when she came out of the pond to check me out - and

 literally dozens upon dozens of waterfowl from ducks to

 drakes to seagulls. Although bitterly cold was the day at

 Ewell just two weeks away from Christmas Day, 2011,

it was such a joy to find Bourne Hall and that marvellous

Dog Gate to first greet me and one and all. As I left, my

pal Gary Day quickly hit the acceleration pedal to make

 up for my time spent at Bourne Hall.  He stayed inside

 the car while I got frozen stiff as the biting wind then bid

us goodbye as we swiftly hit the road again toward

Epsom ... Nice day, though, for me at Bourne Hall!

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The Dog Gate Upclose w/Barritt Coat-of-Arms.

...

Cheerz Everybody & Have A

Very Nice Xmas, Too, Uncle Monty.

+Third Sunday of Advent, 2011.

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Feedback & Comments

thebiggerissueblog@gmail.com

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~ FREE EMMA WEST NOW ~

She's Britain's No. 1 Political

Prisoner Held At Her Majesty's

Prison Bronzefield.

Imprisoned By UK's Unjust & Unaccount-

able Croydon Magistrates For Opening

 Her Politically-Incorrect Gob. It's the

Magistrates Who Should Be In Prison for

Their Open Treachery. And, Political

 Correctness Is The Crime, Not EMMA WEST!!

...

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~ Breaking News ~

After her shabby and unjust imprisonment, Emma

West was released from HMP Bronzefield Prison by The

Honourable Judge Warwick McKinnon in a closed hearing

at Croydon Crown Court on Wednesday morning and was

released on bail. She'll now be home for Christmas. Next is

to get her two children back after they were snatched from

her by the local New Addington Social Services while

Emma West languished as a UK political prisoner at

the vile hands of the Croydon Magistrates.

Dec. 15th, 2011.

...

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Bad Mrs. Sting.

Trudie Styler:

The Sting of the Bad Star.

By Uncle Monty.

http://allaboutthebigissue.blogspot.com/2011/12/bad-star.html

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After The Good David Cameron Stand Against

EU's Attempt To Consolidate More Power, It's

Now Time For The UK To Finally Say "E.U.F.U."

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