Kellys_1914_0487.jpg

VILLAGES DIRECTORY— 1914.

BEAK WOOD.

445

father), is a building o f stone in the D ecorated sty le, con sisting of
chancel, nave o f fou r bays and an em battled w estern tow er, with
pinnacles, con ta in in g 2 bells • the organ was presen ted b y T h om as R ic k ­
m an H arm an esq. J .P . of Sindlesham H ou se, and there are several
m em orial w in d o w s ; on th e south side o f the ch u rch yard, w h ich is laid
out w ith great taste and kept in th e m ost p erfect order, is the vault of
the W a lte r fa m ily ; there are 280 sittin gs. T h e register dates from (he
year 1845. T he liv in g was declared a rectory .Tune 26 th , 1866, net
yea rly value £ 1 7 5 , w ith g ood residence and 6 acres o f glebe, in th e g ift
o f John W a lte r esq. M .A . and held since 1905 b y th e R ev. W illia m
V ern on V ick e rs M .A . o f M agdalen C ollege, O xford. Bear W o o d , the
property and residence o f J oh n W a lter esq. M .A . was form erly an ou t
lyin g pa rt o f W in d so r F orest, and still retains much of its p rim itive
w ildness o f ch a ra cte r; its nam e is supposed to be derived from th e
Saxon w ord “ h ere,” sign ifyin g' a farm stead in a w o o d ; hollies and
junipers flourish h ere in grea t perfection , and th e gardens abound
w ith rh ododen dron s and oth er ex otic p la n t s ; m ost varieties of the
fir tribe, in cluding a large num ber o f Cedrus D eodara, are to be found
here ; but th e ch ief attraction is the m agnificent lake, w h ich covers a
space of over 43 acres and con tain s several islands, one o f w hich is over
an acre in e x te n t; this fine sheet o f w ater yields to none in th e county
but V irg in ia W a te r in poin t o f size, and perhaps n ot even t o th a t in
b e a u ty ; an upper lake covers over 3 a c r e s ; below the lake-head are the
kitchen garden, the dairy farm and oth er b u ild in g s ; the w aste w a ter of
the lake is applied to turning a large w ater w heel, w h ich drives a saw
mill and other m achinery.
The m ansion, w h ich was rebu ilt betw een 1865
and 1869, is a stately edifice o f red b rick w ith dressings o f Mansfield
s to n e ; it contains a suite o f fine reception room s, including a pictu re
ga llery o f 70 fe e t b y 24 feet. Sindlesham H ou se, pleasantly situ a ted a
shoTi distance fro m the roa d , is th e residen ce o f T h om as R ick m a n
H arm an esq. J .P . T h e prin cip al landow ners are J oh n W a lte r esq. M .A .
and Thom as R ick m a n H arm an esq. J .P . T h e soil is gravel and c la y ;
subsoil, L o n d o n clay. T h e ch ief crops are w h ea t and b a rley. T h e area
is about 3,000 acres and the p op ulation in 1911 was 679
N ew land is 1^ m iles south-w est.
Sindlesham , half a m ile n orth , is in clu d ed in the ecclesiastical parish
o f B ear W o o d , a n d consists of a bout 60 cotta ges, an inn and th e sch ool.
T h e place was alm ost en tirely reb u ilt b y th e late J oh n W a lte r esq. (d.
1894), and has a B aptist chapel.
A h alt on th e South E astern and Chatham R a ilw a y (R ea din g and
W ok in gh am lin e), k n ow n as Sindlesham and H urst w as open ed in
January, 1910.
Parish Clerk, W illia m Oates, Sindlesham .
P o s t Office, K in g street.-— M rs. L ou isa L ea ch , sub-postm istress. L etters
arrive from W o k in g h a m at 7.20 a.m . & 12.20 & 6.30 p .m . (restricted) ;
Sunday a t 7.20 a.m . ; disp a tch ed at 8.40 a.m.. & 12.40 & 6.40 p .m .
w eek da ys & 10.55 a .m . o n Sundays. P osta l orders are issued here
& paid. T h e nearest m on ey ord er & telegraph office is at W o k in g h a m ,
1 £ m iles dista n t
P illa r L e tte r B o x , T o u tley , cleared at 8.45 a.m . & 12.50 & 6.40 p .m . ;
Sundays, at noon
P ost Office, Sindlesham .— M rs. Isabella B rig den , su b -postm istress.
L etters arrive from W ok in g h a m a t 7 & 11.15 a .m . & 5.50 p .m .
(restricted) ; Sunday, 7 a.m . ; disp atch ed at 11.15 a.m . & 6.20 p.m . ;