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Henry Blackburn was Randolph Caldecott's publisher and a close friend. Gwen Reichert, of the Randolph
Caldecott Soc USA, received a response from a query submitted to the
Buckinghamshire County Council by Mr. G. S. Caldecott of Newbury, Berkshire,
dated 31 May 2002, concerning Henry Blackburn's Cottage in Farnham Royal,
Surrey, England. "Dear Mr. Caldecott, Thank you for your letter of 24th May
relating to Henry Blackburn's cottage in Farnham Royal. I have checked out indexes of
personal names and found that we hold several letters relating to Randolph
Caldecott and his works (Ref: D 162/1/3/1). These letters are part of the
collection of a local historian, Mr. E. Basden of Farnham Royal. One of the
letters, written by Basden to the Oxford University Press in 1957, refers to
Caldecott's stay at The letter goes on to say that 'The Rest was later occupied by the
Hills, of whom a daughter Cecilia Hill (Mrs. Picton) was a writer &
playwright. Just round the corner from The Rest lived Barry Pain for a few
years.' The 1957 electoral register lists the
following at The Rest, Farnham Royal:
No further information on its
location is given although it is clear that it is in Farnham Royal proper and
not at Farnham Common. There were also properties called Rest Cottage and Rest
Lodge. The house is listed again in 1958 but by 1959 there is no reference to
The Rest nor to Rest Cottage, although The Rest Lodge is still listed. By 1965,
this too has disappeared from the list. I also checked the electoral register
for 1999, but found no property listed as The Rest. Unfortunately, it is not
possible to say whether the house was renamed or demolished. I also checked (but did not find any
entry for the names Blackburn or Caldecott):
I hope this information will be
of some assistance. I regret that we are unable to offer a research service but
I enclose a list of independent record searchers should you wish to try to
pursue this matter further. Yours sincerely, ********************************************************* Gerry stated in his enclosed
letter that he had contacted a Mrs. Tippings of Farnham, who is an authority on
the area, who told him:
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