My grandfather (Arthur Norman Cork) married Evelyn Spooner in December 1912 in Lodsworth church. She was the daughter of Henry and Ellen Spooner of Snapelands farm, her siblings included Ellen, Harry, Frederick O, and John Edward, all born during the 1880s.
They went on to have one child (my father) who was born in 1913 in Midhurst. I would be interested to know what became of the Spooner family over the years, and indeed are there any direct descendants of Henry and Ellen Spooner alive today or living in the area. I would also be interested to know if Snapelands farm is still in existence. I know that Frederick Spooner is buried in Lodsworth churchyard, in what appears to be a military grave, having died in 1915.
I don’t have any articles or artefacts directly related to Lodsworth, but should I discover any during my family research, I am quite happy to share them with you. Excellent website, most informative and helps to paint a picture of what life was like in the village a hundred or more years ago.
Best wishes to the group, and grateful for any information that you can share.
Pete Cork
Hi Peter. If you look up a paper puplished in Outlook 1977 by Harry Carver titled Lodsworth in 1912 you will find under Gunters Farm, Bexley Hill a Horace Spooner possibly a relative. Regards Brian Bales
Brian – Many thanks for the reply and link. I think the Spooner family worked on 2 or 3 farms in the area and are all related in someway. I shall dig around some more. Best regards for the New Year. Pete C
Hi Peter – I missed a reference to Harry Spooner at Snapelands under Lodsworth Common in that Harry Carver paper. I have found more information doing my brother-in-law’s tree for him than I found in mine. I Googled Snapelands but no pictures yet. Regards Brian
My Grandfather was Horace Spooner who lived at Gunters Farm, Lickfold. My great uncles, Henry & William Spooner, ran the brickyard in Lodsworth in 1905. This was near Snapeland’s Farm.
Hi Peter, I sent you a message recently regarding the Spooner family, but have not heard anything from you. I live in Fernhurst and would like to share photos of Henry Spooner and William at the brickyard at Lodsworth. Looking forward to hearing from you. Regards Bruce Spooner
My grandfather (who passed away before I was born) was Horace Spooner farmer at Gunters Farm, Highstead Lane who had two sons Jack (probably John) and Norman (my father). I was born at Gunters Farm and later lived at Overnoons. I am now living in Australia. I have a few photos of Gunters and also of my Dad.
Hi Peter. I have just been made aware of this website and have noted your interest in the Spooner Family. My Grandparents came from River and my Great Aunt Elsie (Pratt) was engaged to a Frederick Spooner from Lodsworth. He died before they were married. Could this be the same Frederick Spooner you are referring to I wonder. I have a photograph of him and would be happy to e-mail you a copy.
Diana – Thanks for your information about Frederick Spooner which we have added to our website. Have a look also at our associated site: ww1memorials.midhurstu3a.org.uk. You will find Frederick Spooner amongst the Lodsworth WW1 casualties with all the information about his life. Interestingly, according to his father, he was on his way to see ‘his young lady’ in River when he disappeared and was drowned: that matches your story.
Many thanks for your e-mail and the information. It just shows how a casual remark can lead to knowing what actually happened to Frederick Spooner. It is very sad especially as I understand that Elsie Pratt visited his grave every weekend until she moved from the farm at River in 1952. Also, she never married. Diana