Timeline, owners, residents, celebrities and life
Across this site, we have referenced people - maybe owners of the mansion, prominent people in the local area, or famous people who might have lived in Charmandean over the years.
We appreciate this might not be of interest to everyone, but we wanted to share our research to record it in a separate page. Included in this are many articles on how Charmandean Estate featured prominently in the local area, supporting the people and local events.
Where possible, we have done this in chronological order, and incorporated additional information where known.
We have included Census records and sales articles for interest into the life of Charmandean residents in those times.
To see the Arthur Askey Video, scroll down the page to the Arthur Askey section.
Mrs Ann Thwaytes, owner, 1841-1871
Mr Alfred King, owner, 1900-1914
Timeline - a brief summary
c. 1521 - earliest known reference to 'Charemanys', in the Parish of Broadwater
c.1806 - Georgian style house built at 'Charming Dean' by John Penfold (admin note: possibly by John Penfold, as cannot find evidence of this, and might be more like c.1815)
c.1820 - House owned by Mr & Mrs Thomas Walker
c.1841-1866 - Purchased by Mrs Thwaytes. Many improvements to the house were made, such as porch, bay windows, East and West wings, conservatory on the West end. The size of the estate considerably enlarged during this time to the size we know today
c.1855 Ornamental gates added at East entrance. The West entrance gates added later, possibly by Mr Wedd, when the West driveway was moved from the centre of the estate to the West side, along with Charmandean Lodge built.
1871-1898 - owned by Mr & Mrs George Wedd, a London Stockbroker. Purchase price, £10,000. Improvements included relocating the West driveway, the Folly, and Charmandean Lodge.
1900-1913 - owned by Mr & Mrs Alfred King
1915-1917 - owned briefly by Mr William Ellis
1917-1926 - Rev. T. Dyer Edwards, the last private occupant of Charman Dean.
1926 - Estate sold, broken up for building. First, Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Avenues layed out and building started.
1926 - St. Michael's boys preparatory school, run by Rev. Talbot Hindley, moved into the house and immediate grounds.
1931 - Mr Hindley appointed headmaster of Seaford College, school moves out of Charmandean.
1936 - Miss C. E. West started Charmandean Boarding School for Girls
1936 - Charmandean Open Space donated to Worthing Borough Council (with clauses)
1939-45 - Land requisitioned and house used as a furniture store during the war years
1945 - c.1951 Charmandean School for girls returns after the war
c.1951 - School moves to Lillingstone Dayrell, Buckinghamshire
c. 1954 - Remaining 18 acres of house and land purchased by Residents of Charmandean, as 'Charmandean Estates Limited'
1960 - House and land sold to a developer for £70,000, with clause that it would be 'only developed with 71 3 or 4 bed luxury homes'
1963 - Charmandean House demolished, Longlands housing development started.
The Penfold Family
The Penfold family were prominent in Broadwater, and John Penfold was a farmer on the South Farm (South Farm Road now), which at the time was part of the Offington Estate.
However, our research cannot find any record of the Penfolds with Charmandean; unfortunately pre-1800 records are slim on detail!
Even the 1790 land tax records only state 'land' or 'for a house' !
We have included the 1799 Land Tax records for historical interest; this does mention John Penfold owning Lions Farm (note the spelling, ties in with the early maps in the Maps and Photos page), lived in by William Penfold, lands, occupied by Edward Penfold & Co, and a house, occupied by himself.
Maybe, this is where Henfrey Smail thought the house was built at Charmandean. However, unknown.
The 1807 Voting Census records John Penfold living in Broadwater (note the spelling mistake), but we have to remember that Broadwater was a small village at the time.
A point to note is Edward Penfold (b. about 1770, d. 1837.) mentioned here, who was the miller in Broadwater Mill.
Mr Thomas Walker
An advert from the Brighton Gazette, Thursday 21st June 1838 for Charming Dean when it was put up for auction by Mr Thomas Walker.
Presumably the auctions didn`t make the reserve, as it was advertised many times between 1838 and June 1841 when purchased by Mrs Thwaytes, as per article 17th June 1841 'Mr Creasy respectfully announces that this Estate has been sold by Private Contract.'
Mrs Ann Thwaytes
As there is much mention of her already across the site, it is best left to leave to a few snippets.
Mr Thwaytes died in 1834, leaving his estate to his wife; it was a few years after this in 1841 that she purchased Charmandean.
She was the widow of a wealthy tea-merchant, and the many papers of the time report 'she was a person of low origin and education, but after her marriage she made every effort, not without success, to fit herself for her position in society to which she had been raised.'
In January 1842, 'at the expense of Mrs Thwaytes, Charmandean, quantities of coal have been given away to the poor families of Broadwater Parish'
Over the years, she donated money to the local community and many articles exist about her generosity.
Mrs Thwaytes died on 8th April 1866, aged 76.
1866 - Bristol Times and Mirror - 'Mrs Thwaytes, the proprietress of Charmandean, has among other charitable bequests, left the noble legacy of £5,000 to the Sussex County Hospital (about £0.5 million today)
She left her Charmandean property to Mr J.S.Smith, but her will was disputed in one of the most famous court cases of the 1800's, with the will being upwards of £400,000 (c.£43 million in today's money).
Below is a copy of the 1861 Census, showing Ann Thwaytes as the 'land holder', others in the household including servants and gardeners, but also note mention of 'Charman Dean Cottage'. As we believe the Charmandean Lodge at the south end of the new relocated West driveway wasn`t built for another c.30 years, it is unknown where this cottage was located, if on the estate at all.
Mrs Thwaytes contributed massively over the years to Broadwater Church, including the restoration in 1866.
For this reason we have included an article from 1904 about the history of St Mary's, including references to Mrs Thwaytes and also Edward Penfold.
(We know this is not a good quality currently, and will work on a more user-friendly download format)
An interesting article on St Mary's Church, Broadwater, referencing the window Mrs Thwaytes rebuilt in the 'woods' at Charmandean:
These photos are present day of the grave of Ann Thwaytes, buried in Broadwater.
Mr George Wedd
He lived at Charman Dean with his wife, Mary Anne (nee Trimbey), whom he married on 12th April 1860
Mr and Mrs Wedd, hosted a number of local events, including the local Conservative fete which was reported in the Worthing Gazette on 14th August 1889. This article describes the house at the time very well:
'Conservative Fete held at Charman Dean'
Situated some two miles distant from Worthing, many of those who journeyed to the locale chosen did so by means of conveyances running at frequent intervals from the Town Hall. Upon arriving at the western entrance to the grounds the first sign of decoration visible was the word 'Welcome' arched over the gateway; and, with this invitation staring us in the face, we entered the grounds.
A more picturesque and charming spot for such a gathering could not possibly be conceived.
The park and grounds, some seventy acres in extent, situated upon the slope of the South downs, are encircled by a fence of well-grown forest trees, in which are some capital specimens of maple, elm, oak, larch, beech, and a large variety of conifers. The well-kept park is on a gently undulating ascent until the house is reached.
Immediately in front of the mansion are the handsomely-arranged parterre and tennis lawn, from which a splendid landscape view away to the south is obtained.
Whilst [the music] was in progress we proceeded to explore the many floral and arboeous beauties with which the place abounds. Taking first a peep into the spacious conservatory, we found the walls lined with several varieties of begonias, all in beautiful health and blooming most lovely to the height of at least eight feet. In the nave of the conservatory were a couple of splendid orange trees, and in the centre a fine specimen of Dracena, about nine feet high, whilst in the front was a collection of Achimenes and Tydes full of bloom. In the centire of the house was a large plant of Ficius elastica, about 12 feet high, around the stem of which was a beautiful plant in full bloom of Hibiscus, and several palms and ferns of the Pteris loniflora tribe.
The whole length of the house on the sunny side was very nicely arranged with foliage plants of every tint and shade interspersed with ferms, giving it a very pleasing appearance.
Leaving the conservatory, we walked down the well-mown pleasure ground, were we came upon a block of flower beds, a gorgeous sight of bloom, and consisting of many thousands of plants tastefully arranged, and edged with a beautiful dark blue lobelia, iresines. Turning back to the rear of the house, we came upon a herbaceous border, some 100 yards long, arranged with great taste and skill.
At the eastern and of the house is a picturesque piece of undulating ground, in which are some choice specimens of Portugal Laurels. Proceeding thence to the kitchen garden of probably some three acres, we found everything looking well for the time of the year, there being apparently a good crop of apples, plums and pears.
The conservatory and grounds generally reflect the highest possible credit upon the gardener, Mr Kilsby.
The 1882 'Kelly's' directory has an interesting article on Broadwater Village, as well as recording Mr George Wedd as living at Charman Dean.
We have included the whole article for wider Broadwater historical interest.
The 1891 Census shows how Charmandean had grown and employed more staff over the years:
Mr George Wedd died at Charmandean on 30th October, 1898.
After the passing of Mr George Wedd, in 1898, in March 1899 this article describes how Mr Wedd 'took considerable pains to improve the estate'.
As mentioned on other parts of the site, we believe it might have been Mr Wedd who made improvements such as relocating the West driveway, built the Lodge, and Folly at the end of the Yew Walk.
Worthing Gazette: 1st March 1899
Mr Alfred King
We have been contacted by the great-great niece of Mr Alfred King, who has kindly shared Charmandean memorabilia with us, including a leather-bound photo album with fantastic photos from her great-great Uncle`s ownership of Charman Dean. Thank you so much for showing us and allowing us to share on the site.
Mr Alfred King was the third son of Isaac and Martha King, born in London on 1st May 1841. He was educated at the City of London school, and became a builder. On August 6th 1878, he married at St. Matthew`s, Brixton, Fanny Louisa Browning, then 17 years of age.
Like his two elder brothers, he was a very successful businessman, and was greatly influenced in his career by the methods of his cousin, Charles Bryant.
He died 16th May 1913 at Charman Dean, and requested that he was buried as close to his brother as possible, hence was buried in Highgate Cemetery, but then on 26th November 1913, his widow died, being laid to rest beside him.
Being childless, which was a bitter blow for him, under the instructions of his will, he left a fortune of nearly £100,000 to Guy's Hospital.
A family photo album
A page has been dedicated to the fantastic find of Mr Alfred King's leather-bound photo album of Charman Dean
Adventurous Balloon Voyage
The probate records of Mr Alfred King, from May 1913:
Mr William Ellis
It is mentioned of Charman dean having stables, coach houses, vineries, hothouses, observatory, farm yards, and pleasure grounds.
Mr T Dyer Edwards
It was his testators, his grandson, the Hon. Malcolm George Dyer Edwardes Leslie (commonly Lord Leslie), and others, who sold the lower part of the estate in 1927 to Sandell & Sons for building of the Avenues.
During his brief time at Charmandean, he held a number of community events; one is worthy of mention from July 1919 as it was held for the brave men returning from 5 years of war (WW1):
Citation: British Newspaper Archive, Worthing Gazette, Wednesday July 30th 1919:
The death of the Rev T Dyer Edwards was one of the turning moments in the history of Charmandean; it was after his death that the estate was sold, with the lower part of the estate being developed for housing.
Below are a couple of extracts from articles on the events around his death, in 1926.
Charmandean People
When development started in 1929, and the first residents moved in, many more stories about the people of Charmandean are available, and the ones of interest are shared here.
We have included some of these, not just for Charmandean interest, but also for other historians or family members who are researching their relatives and their lives.
Article from 12th October 1955
Worthing Herald, 14th November 1952
Had his own bowling green - 19th May 1939
Mrs Rita Summers, local Councillor and Worthing Mayor
From an article in the Worthing Gazette, March 1952, 'Mrs Summers lives with her husband, Mr E. G. Summers, at Fourth Avenue, Charmandean, in a white Spanish-style house she designed herself in 1936, after a visit to Spain that year.
Its Moorish touches include a balcony, three large, oval shaped windows in a row, and its name, 'La Casita', is Spanish for 'The Little Home' '
27th July 1945, the Worthing Herald reports 'La Casita,Fourth Avenue, Charmandean, escaped major damage when a flying bomb fell near and are both well-known in the social life of the town.'
The below newspaper articles are of interest regarding Mrs Summers:
More articles about Mrs Summers are found in the 'news' page.
Miss R. M. Watts
Miss R. M. Watts deserves a place in the 'people of Charmandean' page as she not only was the hon secretary for the Bible Flower Mission, but also was died due to the flying bomb which landed on Charmandean.
She lived in Fourth Avenue, and in her role for the mission, they provided lavender bags for those in London hospitals.
More about her role, and the circumstances which resulted in her death, are mentioned in the 'Development of Charmandean' pages.
An article about her is below, from July 1939:
Mr Henfrey Smail
Mr Smail is already mentioned quite rightly in a number of places on this site, as he wrote the book 'Notable Houses of Worthing, No.2, The Story of Offington, Broadwater Manor and Charmandean'.
This book is a fantastic reference of material, and all extracts used on this site from the book are noted as such.
When this book was written in the 1950's, the Avenues (First, Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth) were in the process of being developed. However, we must note that Charmandean House was still standing at that time. This website not only references some of his work, but also expands on the time up to the 1950's, but also since hence completing the Charmandean story.
An article from the 1950's describes Mr Smail's efforts in the book as 'this is a remarkable output for an author still in his middle forties who has to fit his research and his writing into the life of a busy businessman, for Mr Smail is actively engaged with the firm of Payne and Linfield, builders and decorators, of Chapel Road. I note this because some people, I gather, have the impression that Mr Smail's literary work has been a product of a retired leisure.'
Much like the resident who has pulled together this site!
The below is an article from the Worthing Herald from December 1950 about the book:
It should be noted that any references used from Mr Smail's book, have been referenced as such, and are not direct research of Charmandean History admin.
National Union of Townswomen's Guild - Charmandean & Germany; article from 1st May 1957:
Arthur Askey
Mr Arthur Askey lived in Charmandean, at a house at the top of First Avenue.He was a comedian and playwright, but this short film is worthy of mention as it has some great background views from his house at the top of First Avenue looking across Charmandean Estate before Longlands was built, also views of the woods in the field next to his house which weren`t built upon until the 1990's when First Avenue was extended North.
The British Pathe website has a great 1945 film of Arthur Askey which was aired in local cinemas at the time.
We have included the below stills from the video to set the scene for the reader, but all images copyright owned by www.britishpathe.com.
Arthur Askey's house, Grey Wickets, at the top of First Avenue
The view in 1945, before Longlands was developed. In the background one can see right across to the trees bordering Charmandean Lane.
Behind Arthur is what is now the new houses at the top of First Avenue
Amazing the change between 1945 to 2019; this is looking South and the trees bordering Tenants Barn Lane would block this view now!
Behind Arthur here one can see Hill Barn Golf Course
In the background are the trees where the houses are now at the top of First Avenue, built in the early 1990's. Until then, it was a field.
The Dunhill family
The Dunhill family, of cigarettes and clothing fame, lived at one time in Fourth Avenue. He left his wife and moved to live on the Charmandean estate with his mistress, Vera Mildred Wright, who he married in 1945.Sandells - builders of much of Charmandean
The Sandell family not only built much of Charmandean, but also lived in the estate. They also had strong ties to sport, especially cricket - note the name of the house in First Avenue referenced here (recognise it from the Rotary ground?)The article is from 11th Feb 1942.
Many articles have been found during research for sales, auctions, we have noted this one as it was shortly after the first houses were built on the estate, starting at the bottom of First Avenue, in 1929.
