Table of Contents

Publisher's Note Acknowledgements List of Illustrations The Guttering Candle Playing in the Garden On the Farm Our Hill Top In the Woods Further Afield Friends and Neighbours Down to Haslemere Over to Inval Of Cabbages and Kings Recollections of Kingsley Green Postscript - a Naturalist Remembered

About the Author

Margaret Hutchinson was born in 1904, and grew up as part of a large Quaker family living in an old farmhouse on top of Marley Heights, situated between Fernhurst in Sussex and Haslemere in Surrey. The family lived a life of self-sufficiency, the only machine on the farm being the children's toy steam engine. Shopping expeditions by pony and trap were an adventure, as were visits to grandfather, Sir Jonathan Hutchinson, F.R.S., the eminent surgeon and founder of Haslemere Museum. Margaret Hutchinson was a member of Haslemere Natural History Society for seventy-four years and was widely respected as an amateur naturalist. From 1931 to 1955 she ran her Froebel Kindergarten school 'Yafflesmead' at Kingsley Green. The charming chapter heading sketches throughout the book are her own. Many of the evocative photographs of the family were taken by 'Aunt Kitty'.

Reviews

The Messenger, 21 January 2004 LOCAL BESTSELLER GETS A REPRINT The fascinating life story of a Haslemere woman born 100 years ago is retold in a book which has already proved a major attraction. An Edwardian Childhood sold out its first print run on publication day and the second run is now available from the Haslemere Museum Shop and from local bookshops. Margaret Hutchinson was born in 1904 in Haslemere, a member of a well-known local family and grand-daughter of Sir Jonathan Hutchinson (founder of Haslemere Educational Museum), she spent almost the whole of her life (and of the 20th century), within a few miles of her birthplace. She died in 1997. In 1981 Margaret wrote the story of her unconventional childhood, growing up as one of nine Quaker children in the very different world of the early 1900s. It was a charming story which she illustrated with old family photographs and had published privately, largely to be enjoyed by her many nephews and nieces. Candles, kettle holders, coal fires and muddy galoshes were all part of everyday life for the children. Motor cars and electricity were almost unknown and shopping expeditions into Haslemere were by pony and trap. The freedom the children had to roam the woods and fields with their donkey and build rafts on the farm ponds seems unbelievable today. In 2003 the Hutchinson executors gave permission for Penny Hollow of Haslemere Museum, together with local published John Owen Smith, to produce a new and enlarged version. This incorporates Margaret's own short sequel and extra illustrations, including many from a newly discovered family album, which had been missing for more than 70 years. The Haslemere Herald, 23 January 2004 AN EDWARDIAN CHILDHOOD IS BROUGHT TO VIBRANT LIFE BRINGING Edwardian Haslemere to life in a new book is Penny Hollow of Haslemere Museum. An Edwardian Childhood tells the story of Margaret Hutchinson, the granddaughter of Haslemere Museum's founder, John Hutchinson, and her early life in the local area. Family life, schooldays and the setting-up of her own school in Kingsley Green, which she ran from 1931 to 1955, are all documented. The account is peppered with local references and archive photos which make it a fascinating read for anyone interested in local history. The book was originally published in 1981, mainly for the benefit of Miss Hutchinson's nieces and nephews. However Mrs Hollow, who knew Margaret well, was keen to update it and make it appeal to a wider audience. "I was given permission by the Hutchinson family to produce a new and enlarged version. Before, I think it only really appealed to those who knew her or the local area. "It took me three months from deciding to do the project to completion and it has been selling steadily. The new look of the cover is much more appealing." Working with Headley Down-based writer John Owen Smith, who has published a number of local history titles, the book contains additional archive photographs from the 1880s and 1890s and a previously unpublished sequel. Mrs Hollow added: "This brings it all more up to date. Many of her nieces and nephews wanted to know what happened afterwards. I also added a postscript on how I knew her and what an incredible character she was." The updated version includes archive pictures which were taken by Mrs Hutchinson's aunt, Elsie Newman. "Margaret's aunt was a keen photographer which was quite rare in the Victorian era and an album full of photos she took were left in her house when she died in the 1920s", said Mrs Hollow. "But in 1997, they were returned to the museum by the person who had since lived in the property for which we are very grateful. When I was looking for photos for the book, I realised that lots of what was being written went exactly with the photos. This showed she had an amazing memory for someone in her 70s." Margaret Hutchinson had lived in and around Haslemere all her life up and she died in 1997 at the age of 93. She was a member of Haslemere Natural History Society for 74 years and was also widely respected as an amateur naturalist. "I remember Margaret sat on the veranda in the sunshine writing away when she was quite arthritic in 1981 but no one knew at that point that the end result would be so extensive."