| The Andrews Pages Picture Gallery : Godalming, Surrey |
| A selection of photographs and postcards of a
Surrey country town |
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| Godalming, Charterhouse from Frith Hill, 1903 |
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This 1903 view of Charterhouse Road was taken from Frith Hill, probably by the photographer who took the picture of
Peperharow Road, Godalming, 1903; the two pictures were taken from the same position.
Charterhouse School can be seen on the skyline on the left and there are a few properties set back from the left hand
side of Charterhouse Road - some of which were the school's boarding houses - though most of the land beside the road
was still undeveloped. Of large buildings top, right of centre and to the left of the arrow, is Bodeites which
was also a Charterhouse masters' house where the pupils boarded. Hodgsonites is to its left but is largely hidden by
trees.
The large Edwardian house surrounded by trees on the right, near the bottom of the picture, was initially called
Sylvanhurst[1] and is now known as Fairhill but in the inter war years it was given
the name "Dibrugarh"[2] by its then owner. It is on the hillside above the road, at the top of a long drive.
The property had been bought by a surgeon in the Indian Army, Lt-Col Asher Leventon, who retired there in 1925 [changed from 1923-4][3].
He is believed to have named his home "Dibrugarh" because the terraced position of the house reminded him of the hills
of northern India. Equally, the name may have reminded him of happier times in India. Born in Leicester in 1870, he qualified
as a surgeon in Dublin in 1894 and was commissioned into the Indian Medical Service the following year. He was the
superintendent of the Berry White Medical College and Hospital in Dibrugarh (now the Assam Medical School). He became a CIE,
and ended his career as superintendent of the Campbell Medical School in Calcutta. He sent this postcard to his relatives,
marking his home with an arrow, two years before he died on 30 April 1938.
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"Godalming Charterhouse from Frith Hill", F. Frith & Co. Ltd., Reigate No.49192. Image date 1903.
Posted on 17 Nov 1936 in Godalming.
Postcard in the collection of, provided by and © Simon Hill. The information about Lt-Col Leventon has been compiled by
his relatives Simon Hill and Sydney Schreiber.
Web page written by and © Ann Andrews.
Intended for personal use only
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References:
[1] George F. Matthews, his wife and family lived at Sylvanhust. They are listed in Kelly's 1913 Directory,
the 1911 and 1921 census when George's occupation was given as Army Tutor (Retired).
[2] Dibrugarh is in the state of Assam in India and the city is the headquarters of the Dibrugarh district.
[3] He retired on April 29 1925 (Recorded in the BMJ Medical Notes in Parliament). |
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