Welcome to the Bourne Society

THE BOURNE SOCIETY is a local history society that was formed in 1956 and takes its name from the intermittent streams that follow the lines of the A22 and A23 roads in East Surrey, meeting at Purley to flow northward into the River Wandle. The Society celebrated its Golden Jubilee in 2006.

The aims of the Society - England’s largest local history society - are to extend the knowledge of local history in Caterham, Chaldon, Chelsham, Chipstead, Coulsdon, Farleigh, Godstone, Kenley, Purley, Sanderstead, Warlingham, Whyteleafe and Woldingham, and to ensure the preservation of records and other objects of historical interest.

Below you will find a taste of the publications and other activities of the Society that will help you to understand what we have to offer and illustrate possible avenues for pursuing local history research in the area.

The 'Big Houses' of Victorian Caterham

This new book by Gwyneth Fookes (published in May 2011), is the culmination of many years of research into The 'Big Houses' of Victorian Caterham, nominally those that employed one or more servants.

Comprehensively illustrated, with photographs, plans, maps and drawings, this book gives a fascinating insight into the development of Caterham over the decades.

Publications from the Past - Summary

Introduction

This area of the website is devoted to giving non-members a chance to sample some of the work done by the Society in the past.

A selection of articles taken from the regular quarterly Local History Records journal (or the earlier sister Bulletin), covering different aspects of local history in the Bourne Society area, will be indexed from this page.

Local History Records - Vol 69 - November 2011

All Bourne Society Members now receive a free copy of the Society's quarterly production known as the "Local History Records". This journal is packed with short articles of interest to the local historian as well as items of news, forthcoming events, recent group activities, contact details etc.

Landscape History and Walks

Understanding Place, Field & Road Names in the Landscape

The article below may be helpful to those embarking on any of the walks below or who have a more general interest in local history. It gives an introduction to understanding how to interpret some of the names to be found on the walks pages or maps covering the Bourne Society area.

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