THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — these Findon Chronicles are created by Valerie Martin and contain scenes from her home village of Findon,
West Sussex, U.K.    Everyday stories about real people.

Copyright Valerie Martin 2000

Originally printed in Along the Furlong, March 2002.

Edwin Douglas the Scottish artist living in Surrey in the mid-Victorian era had, at the time, no plans to live in Findon — the idea to move to Sussex came much later in his life.

He met and fell in love with Christiana Maria Feake-Martin, a young lady who had been born on Christmas Day in 1845. When Edwin was 26 years old they were married on St. George's Day, 23rd April 1874.

Christiana was well connected; she was the fifth daughter of Philip Stuart Feake-Martin J.P. Her father was Master of the East Essex Foxhounds, Lord of the Manor of Henham in Essex, and a direct descendent of Sir Richard Martin, the Master of the Mint who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I. Christiana had quite a pedigree and was definitely a lady.

I have found that Edwin and Christiana moved into Lawbrook, an old manor house in Shere, Surrey. The house was a higgledy-piggledy combination of old with new and was set in a niche cut out of a southern slope of the sandy North Downs. Although they did not realise it at the time, they were within sight (on a clear day) of their future home on the South Downs at Findon.

Lawbrook was very commodious with a charming garden plus another seven acres that Edwin quickly put to use for his painting. The most useful aspect of the manor house, (from Edwin's artistic point of view), was the combination of riding-school and studio. This is where he painted the greatest number of his canvases in comfort indoors. This obviously proved to be a great boon in inclement weather. It was an enormous room some 50 ft by 30 ft, built at the back of the stables and contained convenient trap-windows looking into the loose boxes. The required northern light for painting came through a large window.

If he needed to paint a cow, there was an area in which it could be safely tethered.  In one corner there was a small three-cornered stall that could hold a calf.  In another, was a raised "throne" that could accommodate a dog awaiting its portrait. In this set-up a cow, horse or dog could I think have had its portrait painted by Edwin with as much ease as his sitters would allow in those days.

Lawbrook had been uninhabited for some six years before Edwin and Christiana moved in.  It had gained the reputation, like so many ancient houses before it, of being haunted.  I can now relate the story of the unnatural event and how the couple had a brush with the supernatural and lost their first cook and parlour maid following a nocturnal ghostly appearance.

These two servants shared a bedroom together on a landing approached by a staircase at the rear of the property, and a considerable way from the family's accommodation.

One night the cook awoke her companion by screaming loudly. When the poor housemaid had quietened her, the cook declared that she had just witnessed a supernatural form literally floating out of their bedroom. The frightening apparition had been that of an old crone wearing a black poke bonnet and carrying before her two tall lighted candles.  The cook was obsessed by the constantly recurring memory of what she had seen but no one could find any trace of the eerie form.

The housemaid could not help but be amused and they decided between themselves that the cook might have been dreaming.

However, about a week later the cook this time was awakened by loud screams from the housemaid. This young woman declared she had now seen the same supernatural being — the old stooped lady in the black poke bonnet.

Both of these worthies promptly handed in their notices from the Douglas' employ as soon as they conveniently could after the event. The offending bedroom was only used as a sitting room from then on, and the old woman bearing her lighted candles did not visit again — at least no one reported such a recurrence of the visitation.

Every day life continued as normal at manor house from then on.

In Februry 2010 I heard from Holly Lubbock and she emailed...."Dear Valerie.....I stumbled across your website when I typed in "the Lawbrook ghost."

My family and I are currently living in Lawbrook house and have been for about 16 years or so! I typed in the Lawbrook ghost because my friend was convinced it was haunted when he came to stay!

But thank you for starting the website, it was really lovely to read up on some history of the house. especially about Edwin Douglas. My father is a great lover of art and it is lovely to know that some great pieces were painted at our house!    Yours sincerely.....Holly Lubbock"

Continue to read The Christmas Ghost of Washington Bostal

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This is Findon Village — www.findonvillage.com is a continually growing record created by Valerie Martin exclusively for documenting life in Findon and beyond.