History of
William Buckwell

William Buckwell was born in Brighton in 1823 or 1824. Very little is known about him but by 1851 he was living at 20 High Street, Deptford and working as a bootmaker. He continued to live there until his death in 1904. He was married on 9th May 1858 to Ann Calvert Wakelin at St Martin in the Fields (then in Middlesex) but she died on 26th August 1888 at 20 High Street, Deptford. There do not appear to have been any children of the marriage.

On 5th September 1873 William Buckwell purchased a cottage and 2 pieces of land in Godstone Road Lingfield from Revd G. Carpenter and others for £300. On that land stood Falconhurst Cottage and Rose Cottage. On 24th April 1894 William Buckwell sold the cottage and land to James George Thomas of 70, High Street Deptford, an undertaker, for £950. Subsequently John Thomas built Tower House (adjacent to Falconhurst Cottage) and moved into it. He sold Falconhurst Cottage on 18th October 1901 to William Eagles. Sometime after March 1954 a new house was built adjoining Rose Cottage and named Wellside. For a number of years a subsequent occupier of Wellside was John Lawson, a local architect, who served as a trustee in the 1960s.

On 29th June 1877 William Buckwell purchased another property in Godstone Road from Mary Holt for £709. That property comprised what is now known as the Thatched House and The Old House, together with a large orchard, on which the Almshouses were built in 1907. At the time of this purchase this land was let to John Terry for a term of 21 years from 29th September 1876 at a rent of £25 for the first year and thereafter at a rent of £35 per annum. Presumably, therefore, William Buckwell bought it as an investment.

It is not known why William Buckwell chose to buy property in Lingfield when he lived in Deptford. It is known that he was an executor of the Will of Robert Piper who died at Falconhurst, Godstone Road, Lingfield on 26th November 1880. Robert Piper was the stepfather of Ann Buckwell and she received the residue of his Estate (after payment of a legacy of £100 to Joseph Stubbs). under his Will which was proved by William Buckwell in the Principal Probate Registry on 14th February 1882. The gross Estate was £2672 3s 0d (net £2571 11s 0d) As we now know William Buckwell then owned Falconhurst. Robert Piper’s address is given as 20 High Street Deptford. He was a Retired Master Mariner. Ann Buckwell’s father was also a Mariner from Greenwich.

William Buckwell died on 11th March 1904 and is buried in a family vault in Nunhead Cemetery, south-east London. The funeral service took place in the Chapel at Nunhead Cemetery and was conducted by the Reverend Robert Pratt, the Vicar of Christ Church, Deptford. Robert Pratt became one of the original trustees of the Almshouses. His wife Ann and Ann Chesham (a family friend?)are also buried in the same vault.

William Buckwell made his last Will on 10th March 1904, the day before his death. By that Will William Buckwell left his residuary Estate to his executors, (Henry George Pitt and Charles Turing Brookhouse) upon trust to divide and pay the same between and to such Almshouses and hospitals, as they in their absolute discretion should think fit. His gross Estate was valued at £51,879, quite a considerable sum in 1904.

One of the legatees mentioned in William Buckwell’s Will was Miss C. George of Paris Farm, Lingfield, probably related to William Buckwell.

We do not know what prompted William Buckwell’s executors to consider using part of the residuary Estate to fund the cost of Almshouses in Lingfield but that is what they decided to do. This necessitated applying to the Chancery Division of the High Court in London for the required authority to spend part of the Estate in this way.

On 19th December 1905 the High Court made an Order permitting the Trustees to retain one and a half acres of the land in Godstone Road as a site for the erection of the Almshouses. All other freehold and leasehold property was to be sold. The estimated value of such was £30,000 and £15,000 was set aside to cover the cost of the erection of the Almshouses. The land was vested in the Official Custodian for Charities.

The Almshouses were erected in 1907. The supervising architect was Louis Jacob and the builder was H.D.Leng.