Birth: 19 December 1860 Barford Mill, Headley, Hampshire, UK
Father: John Croucher (Crowcher) 1834-1905
Mother: Elizabeth Baker 1835-1909
Christening: 13 January 1861 St Mary the Virgin, Frensham, Surrey, UK
Marriage: June 1897 All Saints, Headley, Hampshire, UK
Wife: Ellen Fullick 1872-1943
Death: 11th October 1939 Fairfield, Churt, Surrey, UK
Buried: St. John's Church, Churt, Surrey, UK
Emily Kate Croucher 1897-1926
Ellen (Nellie) Elizabeth Croucher [Frampton] 1898-1991
William James Croucher 1901-1985
Frederick Croucher 1903-1973
Ernest Croucher 1906-1991
Ruth Croucher 1908
Lenard Croucher 1916
Birth and death from my father's records (which is also the source of the most of the following information).
Christening of James Croucher in the IGI on 13 January 1861 at Frensham, parents John Croucher and Eliza.
In the 1861 census as James Croucher, aged 3 months, born in Headley, and living with his parents, brother (William), and (half)sister (Maria Croucher) at Barford, Headley. This must have been Barford Lower Mill which is just inside Headley by a few yards. His parents moved to Pond Cottage, Churt on 11 October 1870.
In the 1871 census as James Croucher aged 10, born in Chute (sic) in index, Churt in original, employed as a farm labourer and living with his parents, four sisters (Ann, Caroline, Esther and Maria) and two brothers (Charles and William) at Frensham Pond (Pond Cottage).
He commenced work at the age of 9 as carters boy at Frensham Mill. In his 'teens he did much hoeing, mowing, havesting in the fields around Chichester during the summer months. He also worked on the Portmouth Railway in its conversion into double track, and built goynes at Selsey. He was also engaged in building work at Arundel Castle.
He enlisted with his elder brother in the 75th Foot (1st Battalion Gordon Highlanders) in 1879 in Devonport. After being stationed at Dorchester, Aldershot and Chatham he embarked with his regiment for Malta with the expeditionary force sent to quell the rebellion of Arabi Pasha. He was at Alexandria soon after the bombardment and at the battle of Tel-el-Kebir, soon after which his brother died. He had cholera, but recovered. Cholera usually followed Ramadan - few recovered, death sometimes coming within two hours. Meat was hung in the open, and if a side turned black it indicated cholera, and the direction it came from. He served in the Sudan Expedition of 1884 (battles of Elteb and Tarmai) and the Gordon Relief Expedition of 1885, and held the Queen's Egyptian Medal with four clasps - Tel-el-Kebir, Souakin, Elteb and Tamai, Nile and the Khedive's Star. At Tamai the force advanced in two squares, the second being broken and many casualties taken, a hidden nullah having concealed a horde of fuzzy wuzzies who were fanatic in their hope to kill an infidel. The next year Gordon became surrounded in Kartoum. He was cut off at Kat-el-amaria on the Tigress. A strong force was sent from England and together with those already in Egypt moved up the Nile in boats. At the cataracts the boats were drawn through the rapids by ropes whilst the equipment was carried on land, and the re-loaded. A consignment of Shoes-H which the quartermaster had jealously guarded, presuming that H stood for Highlanders, found later to his dismay that it stood for Horse. Col. Stewart and his men were sent to certain death by trying to cut across the desert via Abu Klea. The regiment returned to Malta, and as he disliked the place he left the colours for the reserves in 1886.
He returned to live with his parents at Pond Cottage. He is not in the 1881 census because he was in Egypt.
In the 1891 census as James Croucher aged 30, born in Churt, single, employed as a general labourer and living with his parents, brother (Ernest) and sister (Carrie) at an unspecified address between Swiss Cottage and Hooks Cottage - this must have been Pond Cottage..
He married Ellen Fullick who lived less than a mile away at Field House in Headley with her mother and niece just a month before the birth of Emily Kate. Marriage of Ellen Fullick and James Croucher in FreeBMD in April-June 1897 in the Alton District (2c 353). From a copy of Entry of Marriage made on 13 December 2004: James Croucher, aged 36, employed as a labourer, and living in Churt and at Field House was married to Ellen Fullick on 26 June 1897 at Headley Parish Church by W H Laverty as witnessed by Albert Hutchings and Lillie Hursie Fullick. His father is given as John Croucher, a labourer.
The marriage was far from popular in the Croucher family. They went to live with his sister Ann Croucher after leaving his parents at Pond Cottage.They then moved to The Barracks (actually a cottage now demolished just south west of the The Barracks) below Whitmore Vale Pond on the site of Barford Upper Mill.
In the 1901 census as James Croucher, aged 40, born in Churt, employed as a general farm labourer, and living with his wife, two daughters (Ellen and Emily) and son (William) at The Barracks, Churt.
His father died 11 October 1905, and he moved with his family back to Pond Cottage to live with his mother, but the owner, Mr Compton of Churt House, died shortly afterwards, and they were given notice to quit so moved to Copse or Coppice Cottage on the Furzehills where they lived for 6 years (his wife's parents had lived there during the 1870's and early 1880's). There was no running water - drinking water was fetched from the well at Simmondstone half a mile away while washing water came from the pond on the path between Copse Cottage and Field House.
For one whole spring and summer he was in charge of a road widening which entailed the removal of the high banks on the eastern side of the Farnham-Hindhead road (now the A287). He left home at 5:15 returning about 7:15 in the evening. He took his food (the upper half of a 4 lb cottage loaf, a hunk of cheese and a lump of pickled pork or bacon) and drink (a pint of cold tea and a pint of home brewed beer). Later he was employed digging gravel for the Rural Council at the rate of 6d per cubic yard.
Although he didn't keep pigs, he dried sides of bacon in the loft in the chimney. It would remain there for about 14-17 days, and required turning a few times during that period. Also the loft needed inspection least a bluebottle braved the smoke. Beneath the bacon loft was a bread oven. This was heated with brush wood, often furze wood left after a common fire, for that is almost smokeless. It made a big blaze in the oven. The right temperature was known by the colour of the bricks, the fire was withdrawn, the bread placed inside and the oven door replaced. The beer was made fortnightly, 4.5 gallons at a time. The malt was boiled in a big pot over a fireplace made in the garden. Being a 3 gallon pot, this necessitated two boilings. Hops were added for clearing and bittering. Brown sugar was used for sweetening and yeast added when it was placed in a big red earthenware pan for working. Later transfered to a barrel, it took a few days to clear before being used. It was drunk for breakfast and my father even took it to school to drink at midday.
He was head gardner at Beacon Hotel, Hindhead during the war, and was employed as gardener at Churt Vicarage by the Rev B H Bosanquet. The family moved to Moor Side Cottages in Jumps Road, and finally had Fairfield built in what is now called Hale House Lane where he died of throat cancer.
Entry in the Register of Deaths for James Croucher in October-December 1939 aged 79 in Surrey SW (2a 930).He is buried in St Johns, Churt with his wife and daughter "In loving memory of James Croucher died 11th October 1939 aged 78 and his wife Ellen died 25 August aged 71, also Emily Croucher died 23rd October 1926 aged 29".
Barford Mill was a flock mill owned by a Mr. Verstage, and worked by a Mr Reeves. A Mr. Copper and Mrs Harris worked there and Mr. Voller was the carter. Mr Verstage's wife was a daughter of Mr. Marden who owned the Pond Hotel, Frensham. The first mention of a mill at Barford appeared in the pipe rolls of 1264. Robert the miller was granted land out of the waste on the Churt side of the stream. The Barford stream, then known as the Shirebrook, fed Frensham Great Pond and was the boundary between the Surrey and Hampshire. Some 70 years later the mill was rebuilt on the opposite side of the stream and was therefore in a different manor, the manor of Sutton (now Bishop's Sutton). This mill, now known as Barford Mill, became the middle of three mills in close proximity on a small stretch of the stream. The upper and lower Barford mills dating from the 1730s were involved in papermaking. The lower mill or old mill was situated by the bridge. Though derelict in the 1860s it was re-equipped in the 1880s and in 1884 the miller is said to have had 50 employees and the largest waterwheel in Surrey! [Ref: Olivia Cotton]. However by my father's time in the early 1900s the lower mill was not being used. The sheds between the mill and the bridge were full of rags, mostly in sacks. It was lived in by Mr. and Mrs Verstage, an elderly couple, pleasent, but reputed to be misers. It became derelict after they left. In 1911 a cart shed was converted into a chapel and my father and his mother attended Sunday school there.
James Croucher was my grandfather.