Duxhurst - Surrey's Lost Village

New Book by Ros Black

By the 1890s, Lady Henry Somerset was travelling the world in her capacity as president of the British Women’s Temperance Association. In 1894 she founded Duxhurst as a village for the care of inebriate women of all classes. Indeed, the site (just 3 miles south of Reigate, just off what is now the A217) was specifically chosen because there was already a manor house there. This meant the project could get up and running quickly as a refuge for the rich and famous of the time, including several aristocratic ladies and music hall stars, who could afford to pay for their treatment. It was the Priory Clinic of its day!

Duxhurst with Children

But Lady Henry Somerset’s plans involved all sectors of society. She had built a collection of thatched cottages arranged in a horseshoe around a village green. Each housed 6 - 8 women, many of whom came from very rough backgrounds – one patient had been in prison over 200 times before being sent to Duxhurst. A House Sister, usually recruited from the Church Army, ran each cottage. Meals and social activities were held in a large hall. The village had a hospital, where each new patient was assessed. There were laundries, workshops, a dairy farm, gardens, greenhouses, lavender fields – even a pottery. For Lady Henry Somerset believed that the women should be usefully occupied, but in a setting as far removed from their previous life as possible.

Duxhurst Children

Children were cared for in The Nest. Initially this was used just as a holiday home, providing children from the London slums with a two week break. But it soon became a permanent home for children cruelly abused by parents, often as a result of their excessive drinking.

Duxhurst Church

There was also a beautiful church, St Mary and the Angels – filled with many valuable items brought back from Lady Henry’s travels.

Ros Black’s book takes the Duxhurst story on from Lady Henry Somerset’s time, through some troubled periods and some potential “fresh starts”. It unravels the mystery of how the church and most of the Duxhurst village came to disappear in the 1960s. A few buildings, including The Cottage where Lady Henry Somerset herself lived, remain today. The site of the church and the adjoining graveyard has recently been cleared. An air of peace and serenity still pervades the site.

Duxhurst - Surrey's lost village

For further information and to purchase the book, visit www.talent4humanity.com

If you are interested in Lady Henry Somerset see below for information about a new DVD.

Contributed by local author Ros Black.

Further Reading

Reigate Priory - Another Chapter

New DVD

If you enjoyed this article you may like to know about the new DVD produced by BVP, "Reigate Priory - Another Chapter". It includes Lady Henry Somerset's time at the Priory, her designs for the grounds and how these influenced the recent restoration project.

Available for purchase on this site here.

Also stocked at 1st Stop Stationers Reigate and Waterstones Redhill.

Further information here.

This DVD covers the period at the Priory after Lady Henry Somerset when it was owned by the Beatty family. Click here to purchase a copy and for more information.