Lingfield to Crowhurst on the Age to Age footpath trail
My Agent and Ellis ancestors are documented as living and working in Lingfield and Crowhurst from at least the
mid-eighteenth century through to the early nineteenth century. As with most places in England there is an extensive
network of public footpaths across otherwise privately owned land. I contacted a local rambler's organization and they
kindly pointed me to a pamphlet that outlines a walk titled Age to Age (in case this link
fails printed versions are available at the Lingfield Library). This walk started at the old oak tree next to The Cage in
Lingfield, then circled up to the Crowhurst Yew
then back to Lingfield.
The Open Street Map project has all the public footpaths on the route mapped, and using point-to-point
directions in the app we easily navigated from the Star in Lingfield to St George's Church in Crowhurst.
Upper left
We encountered a number of fields with livestock and were careful to ensure gates were closed. In this case the bull
was at the other end of the field keeping some cows company.
Upper right
The public footpaths traversed numerous fences and field-stone walls. There were a handful of stiles, and quite a few
kissing-gates.
Lower left
There was a lot of Autumn color in mid-October. This section of footpath ran along the fenceline of Crowhurst Place. I have no way of knowing, but I'd
guess my Ellis ancestors likely worked for tenant farmers who were renting from the Gainsford family who owned
Crowhurst Place.
Lower right
After about 3 miles of walking from Lingfield we reached St George's Church in Crowhurst. St George's was the place of
many important Ellis family events. Benjamin Ellis was baptized in 1791, he and Hannah Agent married in 1819, and their son George Ellis (my 2x great grandfather) was baptized in 1820. When Hannah tragically died at
only age 24 her burial was at St George's.
The weather was starting to turn and we were severely jet-lagged so at this point we ordered a taxi and headed back to the
Star in Lingfield. We will have to complete the full Age to Age Walk on our next trip to Surrey.
