Main image: Burpham Chapel Postcard 1906 (D Rose)

Moira MacQuaide’s history of Burpham

In the 1850s, William Robert Alchin, a prosperous merchant and farmer from Kent, settled in Burpham with his wife, Mary Ann. They lived at Marlyn’s on London Road, where William played a significant role in establishing a Methodist chapel for the community. Despite retiring early, William remained active in local horticulture. After Mary Ann’s passing, he remarried and lived out his days in Sussex. The chapel they built still stands, now repurposed and restored, serving as offices.

In the 1850s William Robert Alchin bought Marlyn’s on London Road, and lived there with his wife, Mary Ann, for over twenty years. William was born in 1829, in Linton, Kent, where his father was a wealthy farmer. In 1852 he married Mary Anne Prior, and soon after moved to Burpham.

The 1861 census describes him as a ‘merchant and farmer’, working 17 acres of land and employing one man and one boy. However, there doesn’t seem to be any record of what sort of merchant he was and the 1871 census described him as a ‘retired merchant’ – at the age of 40 years. Roger Marjoribanks’ history of the village recorded that the Alchin family were prime movers for the establishment of a Methodist chapel for the community. In the 1881 census William was described as a ‘Protestant Trinitarian Minister at Marlyn’s Chapel, Marlyn’s House’. It is likely that he built on the chapel at the back of the house and there were stained glass windows in the rear wall of the building.

In 1876 Mary Ann Alchin purchased part of the land of the blacksmith’s shop on London Road, where Charles Puttock leased the forge and neighbouring house. This is where the chapel was built, but after the Alchins retired to Sussex. The land was sold on for £60 to the Trustees of the Guildford Circuit of the Primitive Methodist Church. The Old Chapel was built in 1888, and the foundation stone was laid by Rev. George Cripps of that Circuit. A house for the minister was built next door – 170 London Road.

On the OS Map of 1895, the building is clearly marked as Mission Hall, but by the 1912 Map it is marked as Methodist Chapel Primitive. By 1934 the building is still shown, but with no narrative. It is thought that the chapel didn’t survive for long after the Great War. The chapel and the minister’s house were sold separately by the Trustees in 1951.

The chapel has been used for a variety of business offices since then, and the house is still a private residence. In around 2000, James Rackham bought the chapel as a wreck and restored it, winning an architectural award in the process. It is now used as offices for Emporia Brands Ltd, part of the Rackham wine business. They still have the foundation stone, but these days it is better known for having the large boar sculpture at the front – which, apparently, some people go up to and stroke on their way past!

It is thought that the chapel didn’t survive for long after the Great War. The chapel and the minister’s house were sold separately by the Trustees in 1951.

William Alchin was a keen gardener and his produce was exhibited in the Send & Ripley Society’s Horticultural Exhibition held at Ripley Court. In 1870 a newspaper report said he was “an honorary contributor with four brace of cucumbers grown by his gardener at Marlyn’s House”. Two cucumbers were called Marlyn’s Challenge and Marlyn’s Surprise – all over 30 inches in length and covered in beautiful bloom.

William and Mary Ann retired to Hastings in the late 1880s, but she died in 1901. They had no children. However, William married again in 1902 at the age of 73 years. He died in Ticehurst in 1906, leaving his estate to his second wife.

If you are willing to share your memories and/or photos to tell us more about Burpham then please contact Moira MacQuaide, either by e-mail (moira.macquaide@gmail.com) or by phone or text (07963 756543). My book, Burpham – A Gateway to Guildford is still available from me for £10 (free delivery locally) or on Amazon, but the History of Burpham Primary School 1908-2014 is now out of print (available to borrow at Guildford Library).