 The Manor of Findon c.1900s |
THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — www.findonvillage.com created by Valerie Martin, contains scenes from her home village of Findon, West Sussex, U.K.
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The Manor of Findon c.1900s |
RICHARD DAVID MARGESSON'S FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH MANN THE CHAUFFEUR
Copyright Valerie Martin 2005
Originally published in the Findon News in September 2005
Richard David Margesson had roots in Findon. He arrived with his two friends, Bill McClean and Jim Keachie, to meet for the first time his uncle, Lieutenant Colonel Evelyn Margesson (1865-1941), the Lord of the Manor of Findon. The date was July 1936.
The Colonel had moved to Worthing when they caught up with him. His spacious new seaside home was bursting to the seams with treasures and collector's items from Findon Place. I will leave it to Richard David Margesson to take up the story in his own words. This as to how he first met the man he later described as the unscrupulous George William Mann, his uncle's underhand chauffeur with a flair for trickery—
| We were seated in the drawing room while Evelyn went to dress prior to taking us for dinner. He had summoned his chauffeur, Mann, to show us the house and the large nearby garage that housed his car collection and over which he had built recently a huge library to contain over 17,000 books from the old house. When Colonel Margesson disappeared upstairs I was aware of a strange quizzical stare by Mann. He was scarcely polite as he directed us to the garage and library. I walked ahead and upstairs to the books while Bill and Jim followed the chauffeur to inspect the Rolls Royce, Daimler, Aston Martin and touring cars. I marvelled at the book collection, priceless first editions of Shakespeare and painted military histories of India, Afghanistan and South Africa. Treasures of every sort were almost haphazardly arranged throughout the library and I wondered if even an inventory existed. I was distracted by an argument below and ran down to find Mann confronting Bill and Jim. McLean had asked Mann to unlock the engine hood of the Rolls for a look. Mann refused on some pretext and when I intervened and asked him to follow my uncle's orders, he refused. So we trouped back to the house and forgot the incident. Richard David Margesson.
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Continue if you would like to read about the rest of the day for the young Canadian in Richard David Margesson's First Evening with his Uncle.
This is Findon Village — www.findonvillage.com is a continually growing record created by Valerie Martin exclusively for documenting life in Findon.
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E-mail: valeriemartin@findonvillage.com |
