Local History Notes The Rev Golding-Bird by Dorothy Hatswell
Eccentric in the extreme, memories of him were fresh in the minds of those who knew him, years later. As a governor of Chequer Mead School he would appear suddenly in a classroom and fire off questions. He would then leave as abruptly as he had appeared, without waiting for the answers. One former pupil stated that if he had been asked to describe God, his reply would have been based on him. On encountering a parishioner carrying a warming pan GoldingBird exclaimed; “I never knew you played an instrument!” He gabbled at such a rate, even when preaching his sermons, that it was almost impossible to understand him.
One month later he notes, “The museum in the Tower Room is going forward well. We hope to make an interesting announcement next month.” However it was two months later, in March 1926, when the following notice was placed in the church porch: MUSEUM Objects of interest in connection with the parish and pictures relating to the County of Sussex are exhibited in the Tower Room. An inventory of the collection in the church tower, compiled by Miss Adeline Astbury in the 1970s, is in the possession of the museum. In the first year he had acquired twenty items, including the grappling irons and three wheels from the original fire engine which had also been kept in the tower previously. All of these items had been donated with the exception of a “leaden receptacle for pump water with a floral decoration of the eighteenth century”. The cost of this purchase was not noted.
When he came to East Grintead in 1925, he noted that there were four large grappling irons stored in the church tower. They had been there for many years. Used to tear thatch from burning buildings, they needed to be accessible at all times. The church was, therefore, an obvious place to store them. Although long since redundant they had remained in place, almost unnoticed. To Golding-Bird they were the inspiration to start a museum in the church tower. In the very first year he was in office he wrote in the Church magazine; “It is proposed to form a museum in the Tower Room and any gifts of historic interest will be welcomed.”
30 | January 2013 • Please mention East Grinstead Living when responding to adverts
© East Grinstead Museum, reproduced with their kind permission.
St. Swithuns Church has had, as its vicar, two Golding-Birds. In 1908 the Very Reverend Cyril H. Golding-Bird was a locum for two years. He had been the Dean of the Falkland Islands. Not much is known of him, but when his younger brother Rev Dr Golding Golding-Bird arrived in East Grinstead in 1925, he made an immediate impact on the town and its inhabitants.