Part 1 of this extract from Chipperfield Within Living Memory was published in the May 2003 issue of Chipperfield News. Due to lack of space, we were unable to publish the remaining parts, but we can now print part 2 below:
Having established that there was a boarding school at Callipers Hall between 1856 and 1863, I was curious to find out more about the history of the house and its occupants. Nowadays it is hidden away from public view by Chipperfield Woods, but 150 years ago, there were far fewer trees in the area and, looking towards Bucks Hill, it would have been clearly visible from the Common and Two Brewers. Searching through my scrapbooks, I came across a 1997 newspaper copy of a photograph of Callipers Hall but it was of poor quality and the details were hardly visible. Tom Price, of the Gazette, was most helpful and provided an excellent copy of the old postcard photograph, dated pre-1911. At that time, the house had a Georgian fa‡ade and was 3 storeys high. There were trellis and climbing plants up to the first floor windows and the garden was meticulously laid out with well tended flower beds.
From County Records, old newspaper cuttings, church magazines and information from a few Chipperfield residents, I have pieced together a little of the history of the house and its occupants. In general, people knew very little about it, so further contributions and amendments would be appreciated. More extensive notes are recorded for the village archives.
1854 Deeds show that there was a farmhouse called Callipers Hall.
1856-63 Boarding school.
1895 Listed as a farm in Kellys’ Directory.
1896 Plan of sale particulars of a freehold residential estate
1911 Newspaper reports of death of Mr. Robert John Porcher Broughton, aged 95, at Callipers Hall. He was educated at Harrow and Cambridge and became a Queen’s solicitor. In cricket records, he was described as a slashing and lively hitter and one of the most active fieldsmen ever seen. He originally played in the era of tall hats, linen shirts and collars and flannel trousers. He welcomed the dress changes that followed. In his retirement, he visited the sick and poor of Chipperfield. He contributed greatly to the Baptist Church funds.

Mary Nobbs