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Queen Victoria's Jubilee
The first sign of action for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee came in March 1897, when a meeting was held at the Public Hall to discuss what Epsom could do to help mark the occasion. A crowd packed the building, flinging out suggestions. How about a convalescent hospital for women, suggested the Lord Lieutenant for Surrey; but on hearing this would not be local, the meeting lost interest. Everyone thought a recreation ground was needed - there was nowhere for young men to play games away from Woodcote Cricket Ground and Stamford Green - but the Council already had this in hand and were looking for a suitable property. A young men's institute would be worthwhile, but nobody wanted to run it: and although swimming baths were suggested, it seemed that there might not be enough water available for them. The suggestion of a free library, at first greeted with applause, failed to win support because Epsom wasn't big enough to need one. Mr. Northey observed that money was neeeded for more street lights, policemen and road improvement - he felt that the local roads were the worst in Surrey, little more than a sea of mud in winter and a cloud of dust in summer. Somehow road improvements failed to strike the imagination of the meeting. Then the vicar spoke up in favour of the rebuilding of St. Martin's as a monument to the occasion, but finding no-one to second him he threw his influence behind the final proposal - the improvement of the Cottage Hospital. The Cottage Hospital, which had been rebuilt in 1889, had become so popular that it was constantly being cramped from lack of room and lack of funds. Income depended on the kindness of local individuals, and fund-raising outings had recently been made by the Fire Brigade and the local cyclists. Each year the winner of the Derby conributed £50, but more was needed to establish a reserve fund - things were so bad that the Hospital had been described as being like a beggar in the gutter. The meeting then heard that the Queen had expressed her preference for hospitals as the objects of charity, and that of course decided the day. Immediately a Jubilee Committee was formed, which in true English style spawned four sub-committees - Catering, Finance, Sports & Entertainments, and Bonfire. Within a few days the Ewell meeting, chaired by Sir Gervas Glyn, had opted to support the same cause. All in all, £645 were raised for direct expenditure on the Epsom & Ewell Cottage Hospital, and £452 to create a reserve fund. Epsom in 1897 had a chip on its shoulder. Many people still thought of the town as a sleepy hollow - but that time, local residents thought, had to pass. The old-fashioned order was slowly breaking down, as land was developed around the core of Epsom at a rate to alarm its older people. Beyond the station, houses were being built in twos and threes along the line of new streets; the huge asylums being built at Horton would need accomodation for the attendants, the workmen and their families. At present the navvies who were digging the foundations were seen by the town as an unmitigated nuisance, but they did have money to spend. Elsewhere the new Post Office had just been opened in the High street, street lights had arrived, and the Clock Tower was under repair. About time, too: if it had been left any longer, it would have become dangerous. There were plans to fulfill the original specifications and put lions around each corner, but these were dropped, after some earnest debate as to whether these should be British or African lions. The price of £20 was simply too high. One of the main concerns in the Epsom of 1897 was health. The year before, there had been six cases of scarlet fever in the area, although no-one had died. Now the town faced a long, hot summer and fresh outbreaks of the disease. Up to the end of December there were over sixty reported cases. The outbreak was quickly associated with the navvies working on Horton Asylum, who had arrived in August, 650 strong. An extra 300 men soon joined them. Soon complaints came flooding in about their loose character. You could hardly go to the shops without being insulted, said Epsom ladies. Their husbands' reactions ranged from the contemptuous 'dregs of the working population' to the patronising 'rough untutored sons of toil'. Meanwhile the London County Council, who had brought the men in for their project, denied any duty to house or feed them. Every night the men put up tents, or stayed in the open. Dozens could be found sleeping rough behind the hedges of Miles Farm. At their wits' end, the Council asked the railway company to run cheap workmen's trains from London for the day, but the railways could see no point in taking the men off site. The Workhouse was no good either - as long as the men had money in their pockets, they could not be admitted there. Meanwhile on Hook Road the navvies had found a disused railway carriage next to a caravan and some sheds - a set of shacks normally used during harvest time. Suddenly twenty cases of scarlet fever were reported within a short radius of the buildings. Plans were pushed through for building fifty cottages here, which would house 500 men at a total cost of £600. And although local people may have complained, they were quick enough to make money out of the situation. At the George Inn a bedroom 16 feet by 8, which normally slept 3, now took 5: 28 people were crammed into a room meant for 22. Lighting and ventilation were poor, prices were high - as much as 6d to sleep on straw. The Inspector from Epsom Police Station was called in to help, but he explained that the men had in fact given few problems - they weren't as bad as they looked - and anyway, come the New Year the work on foundations would be over, and they would go. Residents in 1897 were not happy with the level of policing in Epsom. Where was the bobby on the beat during race days? Fights were breaking out all over the town unchecked. On one occasion a policeman had not been seen in the High Street for two hours, and things got so bad (three fights had broken out) that tradesmen had had to send for the Police themselves. Everyone was convinced that race days were a danger to health as well as morals, because the outsiders were bringing infectious disease into the town - the gypsies were usually blamed for this. Meanwhile the outbreaks of scarlet fever were followed by cases of smallpox and typhoid. There was a new Isolation Hospital at Cuddington, but this had been filled in a week, and people had to be cared for at home. People hesitated whether to extend the premises at Cuddington, add an isolation ward at the Cottage Hospital, or set up a new site in joint arrangement with Croydon. Eventually Epsom received a new Isolation Hospital of its own, at the end of the ribbon development along Hook Road. Other health concerns centred around sewage. There was a bad smell about the ditches receiving effluent from cottages at Gibraltar, and crude sewage had been seen floating down to Punch Pond where the cows drank. Pollution was rife at the Gas Works, where ammonium sulphate was made to the great nuisance of nearby residents, while the smell of fish offal from the fishmongers made the High Street unbearable from 7.00 onwards. Legislation was consulted, but unfortunately it only applied to butchers' offal, so the fishmongers got off scot free. Sunday 20th June, the anniversary of the Queen's coronation, saw a church parade, the like of which had never before been seen in Epsom: it was even larger than the impressive spectacle put on ten years before. The roads had been specially watered, since it was a hot,dry summer. This led to some debate in the Council chamber, since both men and horses had worked on a Sunday, and it might not have been proper to pay them for sabbath violation. The groups taking part met in their various headquarters at 2.00 and joined the parade at the top end of Upper High Street. Half-an-hour later the procession was led off by an advance guard of firemen, their helmets glittering in the sunshine, followed by a troop of volunteers and the Volunteer Band. Next came the Urban District Council, led by the chairman. More debate in Council - the chairman had no chain of office, and it was hoped that a local gentleman would take the hint and buy one to keep up the town's reputation. In the event no chain was forthcoming. The councillors were loyally reported by the local press as adding dignity, rather than ornament, to the procession. After the councillors came the postmen, then the Friendly Societies including the Ancient Order of Foresters and the Order of Oddfellows. The officers of Friendly Societies came decked out for the parade in their regalia or badges.After them stepped the Epsom Town Band, playing more or less the same tune as the Volunteer Band: then the Fire Brigade, with the municipal horses, which had been released from their duty on the dustcart for the day. Next marched the Slate Clubs, scaled-down versions of the Friendly Societies with cheaper subscriptions and no regalia. Then followed the Epsom Drum and Fife Band, and the local cyclists pedalled along in the rear. The parade set off down Church Road to reach East Street, then along the High Street as far as South Street, turning down to Woodcote and then round by Worple Road to Church Street. As they came past the Cedars they could hear the bells of St. Martins ringing out to greet them. During the service, a silver collection was taken in aid of the Epsom District Nursing Association. Then after the service, the parade retraced their steps until they came to the Clock Tower, and the Volunteer Band led the assembled townspeople in a jubilant rendition of the National Anthem. Standing well to the front, and leading the singing, was Captain W.M. Reeves, who had been in charge of the parade, while his committee members (who doubled as marshals) were conspicuous in their white and red rosettes.
Photographs in this exhibition included:
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