The walk was on Sunday 24th October 2021. If anybody else wants to follow the walk, I made a walk guide.
I also made the video below using painted stones. It is based on the beatitudes and I left the stones around the village. Still crazy after all these years :).
Ken, from Christ Central in Redhill, organised a walk for their church members. But word got around, and a couple of us former South Nutfield Free Church folks couldn’t resist joining in!
We started the day with a service at Christ Central, where Ken and Angela welcomed us.
The walk itself was interesting. Ken put so much effort into it, even clearing brambles and getting permission from landowners.
After enjoying the fresh air and scenery, we returned to Ken and Angela’s bungalow for a spread of sandwiches and cakes prepared by Angela. We sat outside in the sunshine, catching up on old times and what we are doing now. It was a reminder of what a special couple Ken and Angela are – true examples of Christian faith, kindness and hospitality.
This is the railway bridge over Mid Street. We thought of it as the SNIBO bridge – it always used to have the letters Snibo graffiti’d across. Snibo stood for South Nutfield something something something. I once knew. The graffiti no longer gets repainted as a woodern fence has replaced the iron fence, and the railway has gone mainline.
On the near wall there was a cigarette machine that never worked. Next to that was the newsagent where I’d collect my paper-round at 6:30 in the morning. Next door was the wool shop and the post office. Then the garage with petrol pump and pink paraffin where we got our car serviced. A bit further along was a grocers. Also gone, elsewhere in the village, are the baker, and the butcher. They were all there in the 1970s. They are all houses now. Just one shop remains.
The remaining South Nutfield shop was known in my time as the Corner Stores. I helped Mr Barnett deliver groceries.
It has been taken over and called Holborns. The crowd outside are enjoying mugs of mulled wine round a smoking stove. Good to see community spirit is still alive in South Nutfield.
On Christmas Eve, a group of us would follow a festive tradition, starting at the Station Hotel pub and then proceeding to Christchurch to join in the carol singing. Our enthusiasm often led to a few raised eyebrows from a particular choir member!
According to one online source, lay lines converge at Christchurch. I can’t personally confirm this.
South Nutfield once had two churches: the Free Church (Evangelical) and Christchurch (Anglican). This website is dedicated to the latter, which has since been demolished and replaced with residential properties. I’m sure lots of people have fond memories of their time there.
This oak tree has been a familiar sight for me over the years. I used to pass it daily on walks with my dog, Kip, and it hasn’t changed much in appearance.
Today, horses and ponies find shelter beneath its branches. In my youth, cows grazed in the fields nearby. Over time, the surrounding landscape has evolved, but this oak is a constant presence.
This signpost has changed since my youth. While the number of fingers remains the same, the emphasis has shifted.
One change that confused me is the inclusion of a direction to South Nutfield, as the signpost is located within South Nutfield.
This was a scene at the Sunday morning service in the Free Church, Mid Street, South Nutfield, drawn by artist Mike Young in May 1985. Mike is a member of the church, and an art teacher living in Redhill.
As part of the centenary, people came to a special exhibition of the work of the church over the last 100 years. We are looking forward to what God will do in the future, as well as rejoicing in what he is doing today and has done in days gone by. Jesus is the same. Jesus is alive.
Phil and Chris Stone moved back to Streatham after six years with the church. They first joined us when a group of young people came down from Streatham, and feel God is calling them to go back. They came with one child and leave with three, an have been a great blessing to Nutfield in their time here.
Over 200 people in Nutfield and Caterham enjoyed a new musical/drama/dance called ‘The Promise of the Father’. Phil Stone created the outline for the production, and Angela, Mike and Isobel completed the production which was performed by friends from Nutfield and Caterham-on-the-hill. The musical tells about the Holy Spirit coming down at Whitsun
The first Good News Club was enjoyed by the children who came. Parents who brought children were welcome to stay and see what happens, or return after the hour.
The majority of the church went to the Isle of Wight for a week’s holiday together. Those who could not go were welcomed at Christ Church.
Today a group of us put on a musical about the Easter Story that Phil Stone had written called ‘This is the Place’. It was performed to an audience in the large downstairs room of the manse. There was music, song, poetry, dance and drama.
First of the new simple family services this morning, lasting for just half an hour. The informal time was planned for both parents and children. This is a time of change and we are letting go some activities such as Jucos for which there are no longer leaders, and taking on more family oriented activities.