Crawshay Frost
Horace Crawshay Frost lived at several addresses in Fish Street between 1926 and 1964, and became well known in the village for the diversity of his pursuits, and his somewhat eccentric lifestyle. He was known locally as Crawshay, professor and Frostie. Perhaps one of the most telling aspects of his life is that many of those who contributed recollections of him in recent years, have been themselves amazed, and in some cases disbelieving, of the diversity of his endeavours and the published articles about him. This biography includes...
extracts from published documents
22 examples of his photography
___________________
Despite living in several modest cottages in Fish St he was apparently a wealthy man, coming from a privileged background. This family tree shows his links to the Crawshay Ironmasters dynasty. . .
Mr Frost had a public school
and an Oxford University education, graduating with a degree in history.
However, he was both physically and mentally injured in the Great War. Eighty
of his WW1 photographs are held in the Imperial War Museum in London (see *** note at the end of
this page),
including some taken at a London hospital on Wandsworth Common where he was treated.
This is an extract from the IWM website. . .
Collection: FROST H CRAWSHAY
Catalogue number 2811-02
Image Range: Q49525 - Q49604
Object description: 80 prints of scenes and
incidents on the Western Front during the First World War. The collection includes
photographs taken in 1919 of ruined buildings on the Western Front, scenes in
360th Prisoner of War Company Prison Camp at Vitry en Artoise January - July
1919, and scenes at 3rd London General Hospital at Wandsworth Common. Most of the collection can now
be viewed on-line at...
www.iwm.org.uk/collections/search=FROST H CRAWSHAY ...and move down the page
alternatively search for:
Frost H Crawshay photo collections
...and follow the IWM links
There are also two high quality photos of Second Lieutenant Frost available on the IWM website taken in 1917 and 1918 when he was 21 & 22 years old and referring to: `the Somerset Light Infantry, attached to the Labour Corps`. These are at...
http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205294851
& http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205294852
here are some samples from his collection in the IMW...
France
Wandsworth
On leaving the army, in the early 1920s he initially took up a post as a teacher at the private Brentwood School in Essex, but shortly after he moved to Goldhanger to give private tuition to the Curate`s children. Here he involved himself in local history, archaeology, art, sculpture, music, ornithology, horticulture, photography and writing, and also established a reputation as a local philanthropist of extreme intelligent. Whether it was because he was sufficiently wealthy, or because he was too ill, or both, it appears that for most of the time he lived in the village he did not engaged in any kind of full time employment, but rather he spent his time enthusiastically pursuing various hobbies and pastimes, and paid others to help him with them.
Crawshay with one of his pet rooks in 1938
published in the Thetford & Watton Times
___________________
These extracts of documents held in the archives demonstrate his interest in history and archaeology. . .
|
extracts from… Roman Pottery from
Goldhanger by W J and K A Rodwell published in… Transactions of The Essex Archaeological Society Vol-8, 1976 In 1968
the writers noticed four boxes of terra sigillata in Chelmsford Museum,
containing many hundreds of sherds of both plain and decorated wares. The
boxes were marked ‘Goldhanger 1966’ but there were no accompanying records.
After extensive enquiries, it was established that the collection had been
acquired following the death of Mr. H Crawshay Frost, of 32 Fish Street,
Goldhanger. In
February 1969 a thorough search of the garden and surrounding area was
undertaken and a trial trench was cut in the vegetable plot in the south-west
corner of the garden. We noted several sherds of Claudio-Neronian vessels,
found in the garden of 32 Fish Street in 1966 and were given to the new owner
Mrs. L. J. Trollope. More Claudio-Neronian sigillata was found, together with
a very few sherds of coarse pottery, at various places: in the garden; in the
ditch which formed its western boundary; and on the eastern extremity of the
ploughed field beyond that ditch. The trial trench showed that the sigillata
occurred only in the topsoil and was stratified above modern building debris;
no archaeological features were found. Frost,
it seems, was a notable eccentric who came to the district c. 1918, and much
was learned about him from local inhabitants. He claimed that there was a Roman
fort at Goldhanger, based on his finds of pottery; he uncovered a sunken boat
in Goldhanger creek, which he announced as Roman; he collected various
timbers from the marshes which he also thought to be Roman in date and he
built a fireplace-surround in the front room of house No. 32A entirely from
Romano-British coarse pottery, none of any intrinsic value. Further
information on Frost's character and activities in the City was kindly
provided by Mr. N. Cook in 1970, Director of the Guildhall Museum, London. It
appears that Frost toured the building sites in the City and acquired pottery
and other Roman antiquities from workmen, often paying very high prices for
articles of little worth. He did, however, have an important collection of
Roman finger-rings and other metal objects from London, the whereabouts of
which is unknown. After several years of investigation into the 'Goldhanger problem' and a careful consideration of all the evidence, there would appear to be little reasonable doubt that all the finds of Roman pottery from the vicinity of Fish Street were imported from London and scattered there by Frost in the early 1960s. There is no doubt that Claudio-Neronian sigillata, and the occasional fragment of other pottery, will continue to be found at Goldhanger for years to come. |
Around fifty of his photographs
have been collected from several sources, here are some samples of his... photographs
Although writing was clearly
one of his interests, no literary works solely written by him have been
identified, rather many short articles and letters published in magazines and
newspapers. Perhaps what is more significant is that a much larger volume of
material written by others in books and magazine articles about him has been found...
In 1934 a two-page article appeared in the London Illustrated News entitled: `Gardens of Owls? Rat-Catchers in need of Sanctuary Represented by Hand-Reared Barn-Owls`. The original article it was not directly attributed to Crawshay Frost, it said only that the photographs were taken by `that well known naturalist Mr Crawshay Frost`. However, a later index to London Illustrated News articles does identify him as the author. The follow short extracts are from the that article. . .
`The barn-owl` Mr. Crawshay Frost continues, `is
found almost all over the world, and if one examines a good collection of
stuffed birds, as in the New York Natural History Museum, the similarity of
plumage the world over is most striking`.
The writer noticed one day last summer in an Essex village
on the Blackwater an owl fly to a hollow tree-stump. He climbed the tree and
the bird flew out, and below on the ground, sheltered by a projection of the
bark, were two white eggs. A month later these changed into two fluffy white
owlets, which the photograph shows near their mother. The dark, hollow tree, 10
ft. high, did not allow flashlight photography. so, by reflecting sunlight from
two mirrors held by boys, with all three people standing on the tree these
photos were taken. . .`
The article ends with. . .
`Owls` faces are human-like in appearance; their
eyes being stereoscopic, so that when flying or sitting down they must turn the
head round to look at anyone on their right or left, which is a movement almost
uncannily human`.
Some of the photos used in
the article are in included in his... photograph collection
Mr Frost was very keen on
writing letters to newspapers and magazines and in the 1940s and 50s was said to
spend long periods using the public phone box in The Square, reputedly speaking
to newspaper editors. Over 50 of his letters have been found and archived
dating from 1928 to 1962, including some published in the USA, and there must
be more in various newspaper archives. Articles
that were not attributed to him and that are about him also appeared in
newspapers and magazines. This article appeared in a
local newspaper in 1939. . .
This article also appeared
in the Chelmsford Chronicle in 1939. . .
BIRDS OF THE BLACKWATER
PATIENCE
and perfect photography have combined to make a film of ` The Birds of the
Blackwater ` of great interest and value - valuable to Maldon and the district,
proud possessors of that magnificent river, and of interest to all lovers tot
wild life. Mr. Crawshay Frost, of Goldhanger, the author and constructor of the
film, is to be congratulated. In his book of ` Reminiscences,` the late Dr. J.
H. Salter, of Tolleshunt D`Arcy, gives many exciting accounts of wild-fowling
and other experiences in the Blackwater, which `glides on, and will glide on,
flowing past for all time.` Mr. Crawshay Frost has now captured the flow and
the wind and the wonderful birds in their myriads - at the expense of immense
trouble in a tent on the marshes in winter. He would have the Blackwater, or a
part of it, a sanctuary for birds, if that were possible. His picture will
accentuate that desire. With the running commentary which he proposes to give
it - and which he gave in person at a Press view in the fine Embassy theatre,
Maldon, on Friday afternoon - the picture should be popular in cinemas
generally an educational film. The Maldon Town Council ought to secure an early
copy to place with their records and to show on all occasions of public
attraction, such as the Hospital Carnival Week, which concluded on Saturday. It
should do this most attractive town a lot of good. It ought also to be in the
possession of the education authorities. Cinema goers all over Essex would do
well to ask the cinema managers to put the film on their programmes.
The following article appeared in a local newspaper in 1947, and the
piece of wood is still kept in the village see... Goldhanger
Virtual Museum - Keel ..and.. Ancient wooden posts in
the Creek
and from the East Anglian
magazine of May 1962. . .
ESSEX DIALECT
In broad Norfolk,
bits of words are chopped off and they sing when they talk. Suffolk dialect
resembles Norfolk`s but there is more carelessness about vowels - witness
`Swarfham` for Swaffham.
The main feature
of Essex speech is the mispronunciation of vowels. Mr. Stanley Wilkin had a row
of Rhododendrons planted alongside his spinney. A 90 year old farm worker of
his, Prentice Jordan (who only went to London once - and that was when he was two),
told me: `Boss, he sigh, `Tike a barrer o` that hin muck and give each one o`
they a load`. That killed they.`
One Monday he said
to me: I wore a` charch yestern and person he sigh ol about next world. But
what `e know `bout it - `e niver bin thar.`
I am writing from
Goldhanger - a Norse name. Five places over the North Sea in Norway end in
-anger, a slope. As they came up the estuary, the Norse or Viking raiders must
have seen the banks covered with yellow wild flowers, possibly Toad flax which
is everywhere here in September, and they called it Goldhanger - the slope
covered with gold. Is your street anything to do with mustard?
H. Crawshay Frost, Goldhanger, Essex.
Perhaps the strangest, and
the most telling two-page article written about Crawshay Frost was by
journalist Roger Frith and published in the Essex Countryside magazine in 1993
entitle: `Jack of All Trades`, which was some thirty years after Frost`s
death. The article begins. . .
I suppose old Frost was what you might have called a sciolist, or a dilettante: he had a smattering of knowledge about everything but, like the proverbial Jack of all trades, he had mastered none, which I always thought was a pity, because, in a way, he was very clever. He lived in an old dilapidated house in Fish Street at Goldhanger, surrounded by geese and ducks, pigs and pottery, and many a stray cat (cats, especially, for the house always smelt strongly of them) He was a man of independent means; had been well educated and was a Cavalry officer in the First World War, His mother was a guest from South Wales, and an ancestor, a mine owner, had instructed that over his grave should be placed a twelve-ton slate slab, with `God Forgive me` inscribed on it. Frosts brother, it was said, was a KC who had converted a barge into a house-boat which was moored at Heybridge Basin.
The article then describes
the period just before Mr Frost died when he is said to have lined up 99
chickens on his garden wall. The author related the episode to a parable about
sinners in the St Matthew Gospels:
`If a man have an hundred sheep and one of them
be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety-nine and go into the mountains and
to seek that which is has gone astray. Even so, it is not the will of your
father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish...`
The article concludes with:
`I think it very strange that old Frost should have
thought of himself, if he had, not as a lost sheep but as the hundredth chicken
that had gone astray. Perhaps it all went back to that ancestor who had
engraved on his twelve ton slate slab: ` God Forgive Me` For what, I will never
know`.
The autobiography entitled `Drawn
to Trouble - Confessions of a Master Forgers` by infamous art forger Eric
Hebborn was published in 1991. He originated from Maldon and the book has a
12-page chapter (Ch-III) entitled “Work of Utmost Importance” and is about the association between Mr
Frost and himself. It describes in some detail their activities in Fish St. The
following paragraphs referring to Mr Frost are typical. . .
....it was the antithesis of the spirit that led him to the passionate pursuit of sculpture, painting, music, ornithology and photography. To this list I should perhaps add archaeology, because in the museum in Colchester Castle are preserved the remains of a Roman galley excavated by Mr Frost in Goldhanger Greek. Although these various interests were pursued in a totally haphazard and amateurish way, Mr Frost`s efforts were the reflection of a truly independent spirit that was not afraid to question generally held views, to have its own taste, or make mistakes in a vigorous quest for something beyond mundane existence. I would like to think that a little of this quality rubbed off on my youthful self, and whether it did or not, I owe a great debt of gratitude to Mr Frost. In retrospect it is my belief that he knew before our meeting (probably through the Maldon Art Club of which I discovered he was also a member) both of my own interest in art and my poverty, and had embarked on the `work of the utmost importance` to help me financially, without it appearing as an act of charity.
....he disappeared into his house by a side-entrance
leaving me in the street. I noticed in the failing light, that the house, for
all its air of neglect, was probably not more than twenty years old, and that
it was unique in Fish Street, insofar as it rose above one storey. Indeed it
was virtually three storeys, for above the second floor a kind of look-out
tower had been attached. This I later discovered to be designed for the
watching of seabirds, one of Mr Frost`s many interests. Out of the downstairs
windows issued the flourishing branches of well-established trees, indicating
that the lower rooms were used for horticultural purposes, a fact that seemed
to explain the quantities of rotting furniture arranged among, and half-hidden
by, the weeds of what I could see of the garden. The front porch was occupied
by a large company of swollen cats that had fallen asleep. In their midst,
completely blocking the front entrance, stood the cause of their somnolence, a
half-eaten mountain of stinking fish.
...Mr Frost was of philanthropic bent, and having inherited that sufficiency of wealth as in the eyes of the world distinguishes the eccentric from the mad, was free to indulge in good works without troubling other people either for their money or their opinions. He had, for instance, presented the local church with a splendid organ, making only one condition to the gift: that he himself should retain the right to practise on the instrument whenever he pleased. The vicar, I recall, had reason to regret having accepted this condition, for when Mr Frost was pleased to play the organ, this invariably coincided with when he himself was pleased to preach a sermon.
In 1996 the autobiography of Graham David Smith was published entitled: Celebration. For many years Mr Smith had been a close friend and the business partner of Eric Hebborn. The autobiography also describes visiting Crawshay Frost in a chapter entitled: Maldon 1955. Here are some extracts...
Our destination was Mr Frost's two cottages on Fish
Street. Eric had told me many tales about Crawshay Frost, Goldhanger's notable
eccentric who, before the First World War, had been an acclaimed nature
photographer. During the war, shell shocked and traumatised, he was invalided
out, and never recovered from his experiences. As a youth, Eric had often been
hired as an artist and odd-job man by Mr Frost, who paid him generously.
The garden surrounding Mr Frost's cottages resembled
a plundered jumble-sale. Bushes, trees, even the front hedges were strewn and
decorated with sheets, towels, various pieces of clothing, including underwear
and socks, in all a condition of decay and hanging in skeletal shreds from
branches and twigs. The ground was a palimpsest of books, more assorted linens,
pots, pans, china (some of it old and fine), with knives and forks driven into
the earth, their bone and silvered handles looking like a child's toy soldiers
standing at angled and undisciplined mention, overseeing a mutinous and
disarrayed campsite.
Mr Frost, an elderly, thin, rather dirty
white-haired man wearing a pair of stained shorts and a jersey, cycled into his
garden in a distracted manner. He was delighted to see Eric but was also
preoccupied. He had been feeding his geese along the sea wall.
He had discovered an ancient landing-stage and was
attempting to excavate a submerged Roman galley from one of the many mud
filled creeks nearby. He wanted to house
his finds in a small museum but had met with strong local opposition. To find a
storage place was important since several rooms, including the bathrooms in
both his cottages, were packed with Roman remains.
We had come to work and earn money. Mr Frost had a perfect
job for us. Laid out in front of the open kitchen door were several mahogany
beams ordered through local woodyards and a large satchel of finely honed steel
chisels from Harrod's. Mr Frost, deeply disturbed by any stories about war, had
come by what he thought would be a perfect solution of that awful Mau-Mau
business in Kenya: art to soothe the savage breast. To get the Africans
started, he had sketched out the wood scenes and motifs he thought conducive to
a peaceful and pastoral life.
For a week or so we made sporadic forays from our
tent to Goldhanger, hammering and chiselling out Mr Frost's ethical pictographs
as he directed our efforts. Each night we would walk back to our tent, hands
blistered, happy with a pound or two in our pockets.
In 2006 retired journalist Joseph Canning, who grew up in Goldhanger and attended
the village school, published a semi-biographical novel entitled Once Upon
An Island. He describes the book as. . . `written about places that
exist and characters I knew as I grew up along the estuary and in the village
that I describe`. To anyone who lived in the village in the 1940s and 50s
or who is familiar with recent village history there is one character in the
book who stands out: `Horatio Crockshay Volwycke-Hoar`. The various
descriptions of him, and his lifestyle portrayed in the book, can only be
Horace Crawshay Frost. Without doubt, Mr Frost continues to fascinate all who
have studied the village past and have chosen to write about it.
For many years Mr. Frost had
the reputation of being an intelligent eccentric bachelor, and most attributed
this eccentricity to his world war one injuries, however an investigation into
his family background would also indicated that he came from a long line of notable
eccentric males within the Crawshay family. Today this is well documented on
the internet, which a search for: crawshay eccentrics reveals.
Perhaps because of his
unusual and eccentric ways, many local people have remembered and passed on
their reminiscences about him. It is these stories that have led to the
research into his past and the desire to seek out articles published by and
about him, together with his letters and collection of photographs. Information
about his life continues to emerge.
___________________
The following paragraphs were written by a former resident and a
contemporary of Frost and Hebborn...
Concerning Capt. Horace Crawshay Frost and Eric
Hebborn
Horace Crawshay Frost was a
friend of my father`s and as a boy I spent much time with Frost,
fascinated by his photography, cavalry experience (with photos) during WWI (I
can confirm that he held the rank of captain) and many of his books, amongst
which was included a large and beautifully illustrated German Bible, printed
in old Gothic script and having illuminated chapter headings, from which
he would sometimes read to me, having explaining the characters of the
Gothic alphabet which I remembered many years later when taking
university papers in German Language.
Mr. Frost was a gentle-man
of whom I have fond memories, having admired and respected him as, in my
estimation, the only really well-educated man in Goldhanger; he was much
influenced by Capt. C.W.R. Knight, who was a well-known falconer, bird photographer
and author, producing beautiful black-and-white, plate camera photos, typically
depicted in his volume Wildlife
In The Tree Tops, a copy of which Mr. Frost gave to my father and
which I have beside me.
Along with H. C. Frost, he
now takes his place in my memory amongst the ranks of those whose lives I
consider to have been `unfortunate`, in that they could have developed to
greater personal and social benefit than circumstances permitted, though the
most unfortunate person who figured during my boyish years was Richard Horsley,
well know in the Goldhanger of those days as a visitor to the Chequers and also
to services at the parish church. Richard was a conspicuous character amongst
the Chequers patrons, having come from a titled family and benefited from a similar
education to H. C. Frost, being an ex-Naval Officer and secretary to a large
company that had its head office in London.
While it is my intention to
meld my joint-experiences and opinions regarding these two people of widely
different backgrounds, the decision to deal with them jointly has been derived
from the awareness that their personalities had common factors, also that they
knew one another, while both were personally known to myself. Frost was
resident at Goldhanger throughout my formative years, while Hebborn was one
year ahead of me as a pupil at Maldon Secondary School.
Resident at Goldhanger, a
village then peopled largely by labourers, artisans and minor business folk,
Frost, coming from an upper-class, public school and Oxford University background
was socially isolated, having no kindred spirit with whom he could share his
artistic and literary interests or discuss at depth, worldly or political
affairs. Therefore, it was frequently the case that local residents totally
failed to understand the attitudes behind some of Frost`s actions; a typical
case being illustrated at the close of WWII hostilities when Frost hung a large
Italian flag on the front of his house, an action that was taken by some local
residents to signify that Frost had Fascist sympathies. In fact, Frost`s long
study of Italian history and culture, his delight in everything Latin, made it
impossible for him not to hold some degree of sympathy for the country that had
suffered so much at the hands of the dictator who bound its people to Nazi
Germany. Considering the limitations of local public understanding, Frost`s
benevolent and generous nature perhaps too often disregarded the popular social
mood of the day.
While it was not uncommon
for local residents to pass derogatory comments about the untidiness of Frost`s
house and garden, in fixating upon such factors they totally overlooked his
vast knowledge and potential as a source of learning; this was, however,
inevitable as most local residents, ably relating to social factors such as
`tidiness` and `conformity`, found Greek and Latin culture and foreign
languages totally beyond their mental orbit.
Introducing Eric Hebborn into the picture
necessitates dealing first with his personality as a teenager. Hebborn had an
unforgettable presence whenever a group member, frequently surrounded by
listening boys, he would stand gesticulating, loudly delivering a lecture in
his usual florid style, on some topic of conversational interest, from school
discipline to painting. While many considered Hebborn to be `odd` he was in
fact as misplaced in the Maldon Secondary School environment as Frost was in a
rustic village setting, neither being more than partially understood by most of
those who surrounded them; in fact, Hebborn`s boyish nickname at school was
`Mad Starkins`, the derivation of which now eludes me.
In Hebborn`s book, Drawn to
Trouble, he illustrates Frost`s continual conflict with `Major Page` of Thatch End which seems
rather incongruous as Francis Page, owner and resident of Thatch End was an
avid amateur landscape painter, a relevant point of interest somehow excluded
from Hebborn`s narrative; however, Hebborn, ever effusive as I knew him, in
handling his association with Frost was at full-gallop with a dash of poetic
licence included, obviously enjoying the process of creating caricatures, both
highly eccentric and intriguing, for the reader`s delectation.
As Hebborn`s experiences
with Frost suggest, Frost was not a man buried in melancholy for he could be
very jolly on occasions, while at other times he would be immersed in his
reading or thoughts and disinclined to indulge in light conversation. I recall
one fine summer afternoon when, surrounded by appreciative lads, Frost talked
of the lighter side of his days in the cavalry, showing photos from his large
albums to support his discourse and one photo in particular comes to my mind:
it showed an expansive lawn upon which stood a trestle-table that was laid as
if for a banquet, adorned with the silver and trophies of his regiment, leaping
over which was an airborne horse with Frost in the saddle, daringly exhibiting
his confidence as a horseman. His afternoon presentation was duly followed by
the emergence of his cavalry officer`s sword, to be used in a demonstration of
how he and his young cavalry contemporaries would toss apples into the air and
impale or bisect them as they fell, followed by his generously permitting us to
attempt to emulate his skill, which we did to rather poor effect.
In reality, neither Frost
nor Hebborn was mentally unhinged and neither represented a threat to society;
yet both would have benefitted greatly from living amongst people who were
capable of fully appreciating their intellectual and artistic capabilities.
Such social transposition never occurred for Frost though Hebborn probably
found his appreciators at arts college, in London, when he was well advanced
along the path to becoming an exceptional artist.
What did these two men, in many
respects cast from such different moulds, have in common? Frost was raised as a
typical upper-class gentleman who, through the twist of circumstances, found
himself in a British cavalry regiment where, ultimately on the WWI, Somme
battlefield, he and his horse were subjected to a close artillery shell
explosion, the horse killed and Frost rendered, as he would describe `like
something more suited to a butcher`s slab.` This experience, as I interpret it,
was roughly paralleled by the shock of Hebborn`s early school experience, that
of being totally disbelieved while innocent and then sent to live in a Borstal
home.
Thus, in the light of
re-examining my own childhood experiences, I now consider that the effect of
Hebborn`s treatment, both at school and in court, created within him the
feeling of being unjustly selected for maltreatment by authority, and that
these experiences possibly provided the corner-stone, initially responsible for
his eventually `thumbing his nose` at the established, official art world that
valued his work little while paying fortunes for his superb `originals`,
rendered in the style of the classical grand masters. Indeed, injuries to the
psyche frequently have effects that endure long after physical damage would
have healed, as in the case of Frost, the battlefield shock going untreated to
affect the remainder of his life; also arguably in Hebborn`s case, for shock,
especially if coupled with perceived social injustice, engenders a deep
introspection that so easily can result in a lingering, cynical view of one`s
fellow humans and society.
Perhaps it may not surprise
you to read now that I do not consider Hebborn to be `infamous` in the commonly
held meaning of the word; more pertinently, I consider that he made a life-long
statement in opposition to what he saw as false social values, deliberately
spawned by the predominantly money-hungry sharks and theatrical poseurs of the
established art world, elements in his life so well depicted in the skillfully
composed BBC documentary `Eric Hebborn - Forger Extraordinary` with its
personal interviews that revealed `art world notables`, some of whom displayed
superficial notions of art, while also uttering subjective and arbitrary
opinions on both Hebborn`s ability as an artist and also upon his character.
Horace Crawshay Frost was a
gentleman, both in word and manner, a sensitive man who lived akin to Swift`s
`Gulliver`, in being isolated as a classics scholar amongst relatively
uneducated people, while Eric Hebborn found himself cast into a rather cruel
world of inflexible authority and social theatre that ill-befitted his complex
personality and supreme skill as an artist. Both men suffered needlessly, as
perhaps we all have at times, while their lives illuminated many aspects of
British Society with its inflexible and indifferent usage of people from all
social classes and the ingrained intolerance of those who failed, or chose not
to, march with the conforming crowd.
As a contemporary of the two
subjects in question, this limited dissertation has inevitably drawn myself
into the picture, not only as a personal experience reference but also as the
writer, to more than qualify a statement made by Sir Philip Sidney: that `he
who essays reveals himself.` To round-off this treatment of two individuals who
exhibited far greater abilities than my own, how can I do them justice, other
than to perhaps inadequately resort to the language that wove its way steadily
through the fabric of their lives.
Sic transit gloria humanus
eruditio.
(Thus passes the glory of
the human learning)
___________________
another former resident recalls...
“One of Mr Frost’s frequent habits was to sit
in the creek at low tide where it was sandy with the water up to his waist,
washing himself as if he were in a bath. He would wear at least three
all-in-one swimming costumes to keep out the cold.
As a young teenager I used to do a lot of
work for Mr Frost for cash. One of the best well-paid jobs was going up to
London with him by taxi (possibly George Stokes’s taxi) carrying a couple of
large sacks. The object was to go around three or four of the bigger hotels to
collect all their stale buns and cakes. The bulging sacks would then be brought
back to the village and over the ensuing days the stale cakes and buns would be
fed to a dozen or so geese and ducks which Mr Frost kept ‘free-range’ in ‘the
Pits’ near the Seawall”.
___________________
a quantity of Crawshay Frost’s ephemera, with 19th century indentures
were offered in a 2021 auction...
(see *** note at the end of
this page)
___________________
A
biographical summary of Crawshay Frost
o
Horace Crawshay Frost was born on 24 November 1896 in Norfolk
o
He was the second son of Thomas Crawshay Frost, a wealthy Watton brewer
o
The family were descended from a long line of Norfolk Rectors with the surname
of Frost
o
He was educated at the Gresham public school in Holt
o
He told friends and neighbours that his family fortune came from coal
and mining in South Wales
o
His grandmother was Elizabeth Crawshay and so was directly descended
from the famous `Cyfarthfa Ironmasters`
o
The Crawshay dynasty of mine owners and steel producers lived and
worked at Merthyr Tydfil
o
The family had Cyfarthfa Castle built in
1825
o
Crawshay Frost when to Oriel College Oxford on 25 January 1916, a BA in
history was conferred in October 1921
o
He was recruited directly into the army from university as an officer
in WW-1
o
`Frost H.C. July 15th 1916 Lt. 13th Somerset L.I., France 1916-17`
o
He said he was in the cavalry during WW-1 with the rank of Captain and
was known to be a capable horseman
o
He spent two days on the quayside at Southampton with hundreds of other
wounded men
o
He was taken to the 3rd London General Hospital at Wandsworth Common
o
Eighty of his photographs are held in the Imperial War Museum in London,
including some taken in a hospital. ***
o
He Left the Army in Dec 1919 with discharge papers marked `LMF` = `Lack
of Moral Fibre`. . .
. . .now
known as `combat stress` or `Post Traumatic Stress Disorder` (PTSD)
o
Suffered the effects of shell shock and gas for the rest of his life
o
Awarded the Victory Medal and British War Medal
o
He taught Goldhanger farmer Barry Rose at Brentwood School in the 1920s
o
He moved to the Goldhanger to give private tuition to the Curate`s
children in 1925
o
He rented a Coastguard Cottage for use as a schoolroom
o
He lived at several addresses in Fish Street between 1926 and 1964
o
Known by some in the village as `the professor` he was fluent in
German, Greek and Esperanto
o
He had the Belvedere built on roof of one of his cottages in Fish St,
which still exists
. . .it was
built to look out over the estuary during the day to observe birds and to
observe the stars at night
o
He constructed a `library` at another of his cottages in Fish St with
an underground `nuclear bunker` beneath it
o
The library has very impressive panelled wooden walls and flooring that
he purchased in Wales
o
He participated in: archaeology, art, music, ornithology, horticulture,
photography, writing
o
He was described as `the well known naturalist` in a London Illustrated
News article of 1934.
o
He recovered what he believed it to be a keel from a Roman barge, it
was used...
as the
archway over the gateway of his cottage in Fish
street for many years
o
A wooden sculpture was donated by him to
the St Peter`s Church and is still in Lady Chapel. . .
the back of
the sculpture is engraved: `Burma Teak - Crawshay Frost 1953`
o
He was an accomplished musician, playing the organ in the church, and
the piano and violin in the Chequers inn
o
He tamed various wild birds and was frequently seen with tame crows and
jackdoors on his shoulder
o
Some of Frost`s bird photographs were
used in brochures by Wilkin & Sons Ltd. in the 1930s
o
He built his own duck Decoy Pond to catch ducks and geese which he
ringed and released
o
He planted the two Sequoia trees that
are still in the churchyard
o
He was known for his collection `exotic plants` in the gardens of his
cottages
o
He wrote many letters to newspapers and magazines in 1940s and 50s -
about 50 have been found
o
Frost claimed to be a close friend of the then Archbishop of
Canterbury, Dr Fisher
o
As a pacifist he strongly objected to plans for the nuclear power
station at Bradwell. . .
he spent
days/weeks participating in these public hearings in Maldon
o
His increasingly eccentric lifestyle in later life resulted in many
people still remembering him
o
When he died in 1964 his remains were taken to the family grave at
Pulham Market in Norfolk.
o
A biography of him was published in the Chelmsford Chronicle in August
1939 (shown above).
o
He was a member of the Maldon Art Club, which is where he met infamous art
forger Eric Hebborn
o
The autobiography of Eric Hebborn written in 1991 has a long chapter on
his association with Mr. Frost (extracts above).
o
In 1993 (30 years after his death) a feature article appeared in the
Essex Countryside magazine by a Roger Frith. . .
describing
the period just before Frost`s death entitled `Jack of All Trades` (extracts
above)
o
The autobiography of Graham David Smith written in 1996 has several
pages about a visit to Mr Frost in Fish St. (extracts above).
o
In 2012 the recollections of Frost and Hebborn by a former resident living
abroad were received (presented above)
o
In 2021 a quantity of Mr H. Crawshay Frost ephemera, with 19th century
indentures were offered at auctioned (show above)
o
In 2024 the sketch of Mr Frost shown at the top of this
page appeared on two social media platforms
o
Information and reminiscences about Mr Frost and his ancestors continue
to surface
*** Mr Frost`s collection of
WW-1 photographs would appear to have been donated to the Imperial War Museum
in relatively recent years, and a Mr H. Crawshay Frost’s ephemera was offered at
auctioned in 2021. These were most probably donated by members of his wider
family and the Goldhanger History Group would be very keen to establish contact
with members of the family through...
david<at>churchside1<dot> plus<dot>com
last updated
in Oct 2024
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