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The Fernhurst Society
Fernhurst in Living Memory, part 2
Railways That Never Were
by Iain Brown, 2004.
- from information provided by Mr Antony Hemans. John
Rickman in his book on the The Land of Lod (1998) similarly drew
from this source in his chapter on “Ghost Trains”.
Click on any image to see a larger version (note: the larger images
may take a minute to download over slow internet connections). |
![1950 steam train toward Selham (5KB); click for larger version (32KB)](assets/memories/mem2_01_thumb.jpg)
1950 steam train toward Selham
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1950: a steam train toward Selham, between Midhurst and Petworth |
1846 Sussex railway map |
A map dated 1846 - the same date as our
Tithe Map. Note that there are no railways in the immediate vicinity.
The maps below show the progressive invasion of the iron
railroads:- |
1865 Midhurst-Haslemere railway extension |
A map dated 1865, showing the proposed
Midhurst to Haslemere railway extension, but abandoned 1868. |
1867 Sussex railway map |
Map of 1867, showing the London to Portsmouth
line and some of the proposed extensions.
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![map (4KB); click for larger version (78KB)](assets/memories/mem2_05_thumb.jpg)
route of proposed Midhurst-Haslemere railway
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A map from the book The Land of the
Lod showing the proposed alignment of the Midhurst-Haslemere extension
through the western edge of Fernhurst Parish.
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the proposed rail network |
A map of the same period
showing in detail some of the proposed lines in the neighbourhood. |
route of proposed tunnel south of Haslemere |
Detail from a map showing
the alignment of the proposed extension to the west and north of Fernhurst,
through Elmer's Marsh and the tunnel by Shulbrede, through Marley to Shottermill
ponds. |
![Chichester & Midhurst railway plans (6KB); click for larger version (52KB)](assets/memories/mem2_08_thumb.jpg)
plans for the Midhurst-Haslemere extension
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Copy of some of the information
available for study at the West Sussex County Council Records Office in
Chichester (illustrated here is the cover page of the plans for the proposed
Midhurst to Haslemere line going through the north west portion of Fernhurst
Parish).
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![map (4KB); click for larger version (46KB)](assets/memories/mem2_09_thumb.jpg)
Midhurst-Haslemere extension: surveyor's plan (1)
![map (4KB); click for larger version (49KB)](assets/memories/mem2_10_thumb.jpg)
Midhurst-Haslemere extension: surveyor's plan (2)
![map (4KB); click for larger version (51KB)](assets/memories/mem2_11_thumb.jpg)
Midhurst-Haslemere extension: surveyor's plan (3)
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The next three photos
show some of the detailed engineering drawings relevant to the relevant
to the railway route through Fernhurst Parish.
The route out of Midhurst started towards Stedham, through
Iping then Redford and on to Fernhurst Parish at Elmer’s Marsh.
Then, skirting the fields of Lower Lodge Farm, passed Tribes Barn to Shulbrede
Priory then by a tunnel of 1,089 yards in length under Marley Heights
/ Common to arrive at Shottermill Ponds and hence via today's Kings Road
to Haslemere Station. |
landowners along the route |
A photo listing some of
the landowners who would have been involved in permitting the railroad
over the proposed route.
The local landowners along the way were "all for"
the proposed new rail link but an Act of Parliament of 1865 was never
enacted since the sponsor, the London to Brighton South Coast Railroad
Company under the Chairmanship of one Leo Schuster got into financial
difficulties by spending £8m, a lot of money in those days, in unauthorised
rail road extensions. The Schuster family came later to reside in Fernhurst
at Verdley House. |
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Imagine how Fernhurst
Parish, and the lives of the people who lived there, might have been changed
if the railway had been built.
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