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Archibald Slyfield: Horsham's
Town Clerk 1919-1948
These days any self-respecting district
has a Chief Executive to administer its affairs. But
once upon a time it was different, and when Horsham
was managed by an Urban District Council, and before
the amalgamation of the Urban and Rural District
Councils, together with Chanctonbury Rural District
Council, in 1974, to form Horsham District Council, it
was presided over by a more modestly-titled Town
Clerk. The Clerk, for much of the first half of the
twentieth century, was Archibald Slyfield, whose
period of office lasted just short of thirty years,
and as we will see, during this long spell he was to
be central to its affairs, both large and small. He
started in the aftermath of one war, and retired
shortly after the end of another. In this time Horsham
was to develop from a small market town, where
everyone knew each other, to a much larger and more
impersonal place, and by the mid-twentieth century it
was set on a course that was to result in the
extensive urban sprawl we have now become accustomed
to.
Archibald was not a Sussex man. He was born in
Guildford, in 1885, the only son of James and
Charlotte Slyfield, and he had one older sister, Lily.
He came from an old Surrey family that could trace its
pedigree back to 1280. The family's principal home had
been Slyfield House in Stoke D'Abernon (close to
today's Yehudi Menuhin school) and brasses and a
dedicated chapel in Great Bookham church testify to
its one-time importance. Among its early members was
William Slyfield, King's Secretary to Edward IV and
Treasurer of Calais, and later John Slyfield was
Master of Queen Elizabeth's stud, while his brother
Edmund was Sheriff of Surrey and Sussex. However, as
with many families there was a black sheep (in this
case another Edmund) and in 1614 the family's
extensive properties, including Slyfield, had to be
sold off to cover debts and maladministration. But
centuries later the family name regained a little
(unglamorous) recognition, with the naming of a
Guildford industrial estate, no less (as well as, more
combustibly, a projected local incinerator).
Archibald, not a man to reflect on past glories, set
about building a career for himself, and after school
went into local government, where he specialised in
finance, and gained valuable experience by conducting
audits around the country. He was also a young man of
considerable sporting and athletic ability, and was
captain of Guildford football club (a senior amateur
team, founded in 1877 and known as the 'Pinks'), for
some seasons during the period 1905-1910.
He remained a Methodist all his life, and met his
wife-to-be Dora Naylor (they married in 1912) when
they both attended a church convention at Whitby. She
was from Halifax,Yorkshire, and they were to have
three sons: Gordon, Donald and Malcolm, and all were
to make their homes in Horsham. Gordon in particular
will be remembered by many for his interest in the
local history of the town, and one of his important
contributions to later researchers was his record of
graveyard inscriptions, noted before the ravages of
time and weather made many of them indecipherable.
In 1919 the town advertised for a new Clerk, as Samuel
Mitchell was about to relinquish the role. Archibald
Slyfield got the job, at the age of 34, and so made
the move from Guildford with his young family. His
track record in managing money and in local
administration, together with a strong personality, no
doubt swung things his way at the interview, and he
started on 21st July of that year. His first Chairman
(he was to work with many) was ET Lane, recommended by
his predecessor as 'one of those few people well able
to express himself' – which doesn't say that much for
the rest of the field, does it. It must have been a
biggish leap in experience for the new Clerk, and
Mitchell shadowed him for a while in the role - but at
least Archibald just missed having to deal with a
knotty issue that had taxed the council a month or two
earlier.
Remember it was only a year since the end of the Great
War, and the Controller of the National War Savings
Committee, in recognition of the good work that had
been done on the ground at Horsham, wanted to donate a
gift to the town. But this was no ordinary gift: it
was a tank....a real live tank. Presumably he had a
job lot to get rid of, and was trying to get shot of
them round the country. Arguments in the council
chamber raged back and forth. Did the town really want
'one of those big hideous things?' Where on earth
would they put it? Someone thought it would be good to
have one taken from the Germans – but another wag held
that it would be better to have 'the Kaiser in a
cage'. Just how big was this tank? Samuel Mitchell had
done his homework, and spelt out the facts: 30 feet by
13 feet, and 9 feet high. And it weighed 26 tons. That
was the clincher – the vote was: 'no thanks, no tank'.
This post-war phase provided the context to the new
Clerk's early days in Horsham. Austerity was still the
key note, and the International Stores, in a run of
punchy advertisements in the local paper, promoted
hard the fact that there were 'no coupons needed for
corned beef' - which it declared to be tremendous
value at 1/10s per pound. More seriously, lists of the
war dead were regularly published, but on a more
hopeful note there were also Peace Celebrations, and a
'Grand Carnival and Torchlight Procession and
Fireworks' in Horsham Park in mid-July that year.
Some small but good things began to happen. That same
July, for example, saw the opening of the Monica Tea
Rooms in West Street. 'Until a week or two ago it was
a standing reproach to Horsham that it was difficult
to get satisfactory light refreshments in the town'.
But all was now changed, with the Tea Rooms offering
'dainties straight from bakehouse to table'.
But whether the Town Clerk had time to slip away for a
fresh dainty was another matter. Not for him the
elaborate support systems you get today. While it was
expected that 'the person appointed should devote his
whole time to the duties of the office, and should
reside in Horsham' (Archibald's first home was at 51
Clarence Road), at the same time his back up ran to no
more than a clerical assistant and office accomodation.
The first person to assist him was Miss Eva
Richardson, at 30s per week, and a couple of
councillors were deputed to sort out some office
furniture. His starting salary was £350 per annum, and
his first office was at the top of the Causeway, where
he could (if he had the time) keep a watchful eye on
two of his sons, as he had a good view overlooking
their classroom at Mrs Munro Higgs's just across the
road.
In later years he was to reminisce about his early
role, and how he had to cover much of the ground
himself, including all the town's financial work as
well as a whole raft of administration. The key
support officers at the time seemed to be the
Surveyor, the Electrical Engineer, the Inspector and
the Fuel Overseer, and it was these managers who
generally accompanied him to the monthly Council
meetings. Economic issues such as fuel control must
have been top of the agenda, but the council also had
to make time for other matters as well. Mr A Faux was
a fruiterer in the Carfax, and he made strong
representations regarding a certain 'truck' that was
allowed to pitch up close to his shop every evening
for three to four hours, undermining his trade. Some
discussion ensued ('a disgrace on Sundays') and it was
agreed to refer the matter to the police, specifically
on the question of possible obstruction.
Indeed in 1921 the police reported to the Council that
hawkers who pitched their stalls in the Carfax on a
Saturday had been ordered to remove them by 10pm as
'men from licenced premises congregated around the
barrows and became a nuisance to people living
nearby'. In that same year the Clerk and his members
heard of a nine-year old local boy who had fallen ill
with 'sleeping sickness' (which then had an 80%
mortality rate) and the only isolation hospital
hospital that would accept him was at Brighton.
Arrangements were made to transfer him there, and the
Council was pleased to learn later that he was
recovering well.
Councillor Pannett believed that a ladies' lavatory in
the basement of the Town Hall was 'absolutely
essential', and a quote was obtained. At one meeting
there was general discussion about the 1921 traffic
jams in Middle Street, and to cries of 'hear, hear'
the view was trenchantly put that all traffic must in
future go one way, either up or down. More alarmingly,
in this post-war period, the Clerk asked for a letter
to be placed in the local paper, warning householders
of the dangers of placing 'explosive articles' in
their dustbins. The public were informed that all
refuse 'was burnt at the electrical works, and steam
raised therefrom', and on several occasions
'explosions have taken place in these fires and clips
of service ammunitiom found'. Horsham folk really had
to desist from dumping such relics in this thoughtless
and risky way.
Other matters, which would raise the odd eyebrow
today, were then routine. It was reported at one of
the monthly meetings that 'five sows had farrowed,
with 11,11,10, 8 and 5 young pigs respectively', and
it was agreed that the meadow next to Hills cemetery
should be let to a local farmer. The Council, in fact,
was itself in the farming business, and the town farm,
at Broadbridge Heath, was presided over by the Farm
and Sewage Committee (some of the fields were used for
the latter purpose), with much talk every month of
crop successes, the buying and selling of livestock,
and the management of land such as Upper Wickhurst
field. In the 1920s the Town Clerk's brief was a
flexible one.
Much more significantly, in the early part of his
career Archibald presided over a transaction which was
to have lasting benefit to the town. In early 1928
Colonel Hurst made an offer to the Council of 16 acres
of Hurst Park, including the house, for an asking
price of £23,000. The District Valuer put a sum of
£17,000 on the deal, and Hurst responded by claiming
that he 'entirely disagreed with the valuation and
would have no hesitation in rejecting it' – except for
the fact that he was conscious of the general good
such a facility would bring to Horsham. The amicable
outcome was an agreed price of £18,000. The 16 acres
represented that part of the Park 'which runs back
some 200 yards from the North Street frontage and
extends from Mr King's nurseries on the north, to the
cottages above the Hurst Arms'. Interestingly, the
subway through to New Street was also included, but
the full extent of the public space we now know as
Horsham Park was to come later. As a result of the
Hurst sale the Council offices, by then in a building
that used to be the Anchor Hotel in Market Square
(from where some enterprising and muscular thieves
once stole the Council safe, which was later found
down by the Arun), moved to a new home in Park House.
Apart from his council work, Archibald Slyfield was
active locally in many other ways. He was a lay
preacher at the London Road Methodist church, and in
his younger days gave much time to the running of
gymnastics classes, which some local people, now in
their late 80s, still remember taking part in. He
played cricket for the YMCA team, and in the 1922
season came second in the batting averages. He was
also a useful billiards player, who later imparted his
skills to younger generations on the family table in
North Parade. Gardening was one of his great passions,
and he tended his fruit and vegetable plots with great
care. And despite being the most upright of men, he
was not above surreptitiously annexing the odd cutting
from the Godmans', when he visited their splendid
grounds at South Lodge (in the days before it became a
hotel). Last, but not least, he was an early
vice-chairman of the Horsham Society.
He was a companion to Bernard Lintott (one of his
council chairmen, and a keen photographer and amateur
artist), and they enjoyed each other's company. He was
also a supporter of William Albery's writings, and the
author sent him early 'Millennium' proofs for comment.
He is listed as a subscriber to the private edition of
the Albery's 'Parliamentary History'. He was sought
out for his advice by many in the town, and with a
strong character allied with a good sense of humour,
was respected by those who dealt with him.
In November 1948 Archibald Slyfield retired, to be
succeeded by Sidney Ashton-Stray. As was to be
expected after such a long period in office, his
departure was marked with due ceremony. The council
officers, in a farewell presentation, noted that he
had been a long-lasting local government officer of
some 48 years, and CG Atkinson, the council surveyor,
gave him, apropriately enough, a fine gold watch and
chain. More bizarrely (especially if you knew the man)
he was presented with a silk umbrella and a bouquet of
carnations – more Noel Coward than Archibald Slyfield.
At a second leaving do in the council chamber, on 24th
November, there was a gathering of chairmen and
councillors, wives and officials - past and present -
and more speeches were made. All the big Horsham names
were there: William Albery, Bernard Lintott, David
Bryce, as well as Messrs. Padwick, Hunt and Chart.
Chairman BN Piggott spoke of how the retiring Clerk
was 'held in high esteem' and 'without exception they
realised the value that he has been to each councillor
and to the town as a whole'. He went on to say,
graciously, that 'I have learnt much of the work of
the council from him', and he noted that outside his
council duties Archibald took particular pleasure,
among other things, in assisting in the distribution
of food parcels to the old folk of Horsham.
In turn Archibald noted that he had served under 57
members of council, and claimed, modestly 'I have
always felt that you treated me rather more as a
partner in this very important business than as a paid
servant'. He was a formidable fellow, and one suspects
they showed much sense in so doing
.
He was given a very fine engraved silver platter, 'as
a token of appreciation for his services to the town',
and his wife was presented with a handbag and a
bouquet by Nellie Vesta Laughton, one of Horsham's
great characters and the woman behind the Remembrance
Garden. Mrs Laughton, at an earlier occasion, declared
'I am the oldest and most troublesome (councillor) but
I have worked with Mr Slyfield for 25 years. God bless
you and I hope you have many happy years of
retirement'.
His retirement was indeed long, and he eventually died
on xxxx, aged xx. Where the gold watch and the handbag
are now, I really am not sure, but it is good to know
that the engraved platter remains within the family,
and is, of course, much treasured. |
