MARY CHRYSTIE: BENEFACTOR, PROPERTY DEVELOPER AND TEMPERANCE ACTIVIST

Local historian Judith Witter will be telling the tale of one of the district's most remarkable women on Saturday, 15 September as part of the Heritage Week programme.

Mrs Mary Chrystie (1838-1911), shown above, of Fife Lodge, Church Road, Bookham, was a wealthy widow whose activities and development of property made a massive and lasting contribution to the appearance of the villages of Great and Little Bookham that we still know today. Speaking at the Pastoral Centre, St Nicolas Parish Church, Lower Road, Great Bookham, KT23 3PN, Judith will look at her life and the family background that influenced her decisions.

Judith's biography Mary Chrystie and her Family was published by the Leatherhead & District Local History Society in 2013. It revealed how Mrs Chrystie came by her fortune, how her family dealt with various crises and were involved in both Jamaican sugar plantations and the East India Company. However Judith's forthcoming talk will include very recent research not previously published.

The 45-minute talk starts at 2pm on 15 September and pre-booking is required as there will be a maximum of 50 people per session. Tickets will be available for purchase from 10am on 13 August until 5pm on 10 September by email from boxoffice@molevalley.gov.uk or by writing to Dorking Halls Box Office, Reigate Road, Dorking RH4 1SG.

The Pastoral Centre is attached to Great Bookham's parish church, located at the crossroads where Lower Road meets High Street and Church Road. Parking is available in the nearby pay and display car park off Lower Road.

Refreshments will be served after the talk. Contact for the day: Bronwen Mills 07979 556639

 

AUTUMN REPERTORY RETURNS TO LEATHERHEAD THEATRE

Leatherhead Theatre's first repertory season in more than 30 years will continue this autumn after its successful launch in spring. Three more great productions by Hordern Ciani are scheduled between 6 and 24 November with a similar format of comedy and musical charm for all the family.

A spokesperson said: "The audience numbers grew for each successive production in the spring as more and more people heard about us. We are now really looking forward to the follow-up season and plans are under way for more productions next year too."

The new series kicks off at 7.30pm on Tuesday 6 November with Michael Aitkens' stage adaptation of his TV sitcom Waiting for God, set in a care home. He got the title from a retirement village near his home in Australia which some staff members called "God’s waiting room". The show relocates the place to Bournemouth and focuses on the relationship between a cynical, cantankerous spinster and a jovial former accountant.

Second in the series from Thursday 15 November will be Dave Simpson's stage musical adaptation of E Nesbit's The Railway Children,  a compelling Edwardian period story about youngsters who leave their privileged London life for a very different existence in the Yorkshirecountryside.

Finally, from 20 November will be Alan Ayckbourn's Seasons Greetings. As friends and relatives gather to celebrate the festive period, relationships strain and nerves run high. An unexpected guest, a grumpy uncle with a shotgun and a host determined to perform a puppet show all entertain the gathering in ways they were not anticipating.

​

​Other treats at Leatherhead Theatre before the repertory season include a production of The Goon Show on Tuesday 16 October. Marking Spike Milligan's centenary year, the Apollo Theatre Company will present this comedy classic at theatres around the country so it is a one-off opportunity for the Leatherhead audience.