The Hendrey's (1917–52)

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Following the death of Florence Grant and the sale at auction, Twyford was

purchased by William John Cossar Hendrey. William was born on 6 April

1857 in Stoke Newington, London, and his wife Henrietta Katherine Callender

(1857–1930) was born in Glasgow. William and Henrietta were married on 7

March 1883, both aged 26, at the Presbyterian church in Willesden. William

came from a large family, having six siblings. His father was a tailor and

outfitter from Scotland who died in 1869 when William was just twelve.

It is likely William and Harry Grant were at least acquaintances, if not

friends. They moved in similar circles; they were of a similar age; they grew

up 1½ miles apart in London; they were both merchants importing produce

from the colonies; and their offices were 300 metres apart. This point is further

supported by the fact that in 1917 William’s youngest daughter Henrietta

Katherine Hendrey was living at Twyford (as stated in her nursing war

records). Henrietta was a nurse during World War I at Purley Hospital, and it

is possible that Henrietta was also nursing Florence Grant at this time while

living at Twyford. Florence was then in the last year of her life, dying in

December 1917. William’s wife Henrietta Katherine Callender was ‘a much loved

lady.’ Her elder brother would become Sir Thomas Callender (1862–

1938), founder and director of Callenders Cables Ltd, one of the pioneers in

inventing and developing the insulated cable.

William and Henrietta had four children: William Graeme (1885–1972),

Jean (b.1884), Kenneth Callender (b.1889) and Henrietta Katherine (1893– 1970). The children Jean and Kenneth had left home by 1919, but the youngest

daughter, Henrietta Katherine, lived for some time at Twyford. The eldest son

William Graeme was still living at Twyford in the 1930s, using the house as

his base when he returned from working in India where he had been based

since before World War I. William Hendrey died at Twyford on 21 April 1947

after living in the house for 29 years.

William Hendrey’s granddaughter, Katrina Hendrey (b.1937) has

memories of her grandfather going back to her early childhood. She ‘would

play in the big garden at Twyford’ and had ‘great fun playing on the pianola in

the drawing room’ in the 1940s. He [William] would usually have Sunday

lunch with us every other week, alternating with the Lines family at Leigh

Place in Godstone. William’s eldest son, Graeme Hendrey, was a successful

engineer who became the heir apparent to his uncle Sir Thomas Callender.

Graeme was sent out to India about 1905, first to Bombay and then Calcutta

where he became a leading figure in the business. He lived and worked in

India for about fifteen years, only returning to see his family when he was on

leave. He spent the whole of World War I in India. When he returned on leave,

he would usually stay with his father at Twyford or with Henrietta (Rieta)

Lines, who had married Walter Lines in 1921 and was living in Leigh Place.

In February 1937 Graeme Hendrey married Janet Eiluned Lewis (1900–

1979) a Welsh novelist, poet and journalist. They had one daughter, Katrina,

who went on to marry Richard Burnett. Richard (Dick) was born at Stratton, an

early Georgian farmhouse in Godstone. He was the fifth child of Joan and Sir

Leslie Burnett, 2nd Baronet. His parents were wealthy by virtue of being two

of the proprietors of Hay’s Wharf, a warehouse on the Thames in London.

Leslie’s father David had been Lord Mayor of London in 1912. Nonetheless,

the family home had only one bathroom, and no central heating because Dick’s

father had it removed. The Stratton Estate is now Godstone Farm.

Janet Eiluned Lewis was the longest standing contributor to Country Life

magazine, and produced ‘A Country Woman’s Notes’, a monthly column, for

35 years. Janet was born in Penstrowed near Newtown, Montgomeryshire. The

Lewis family had a close friendship with writer Sir James Barrie (author of

Peter Pan), who visited for holidays at Glanhafren, the Lewis’s home on the

banks of the Severn.

Katrina says her father ‘met my mother, Eiluned Lewis, who was a

poet, on The Sunday Times. She also went to India in 1936 as P.A. and

journalist to Dame Elizabeth Cadbury, a philanthropist and sister to Henry

Cadbury, editor of the Daily News, for whom my mother first worked on the

paper – her first job as a professional writer. When World War 2 broke out my

father would go up to London every day from Caterham station and would

usually always call in on his father at Twyford on the way home in the

evening.’ On Graeme Hendrey’s death in 1974, ten hectares of woodland close

to his house in Bletchingley was donated to the Surrey Wildlife Trust to create

the Graeme Hendrey Wood.

William’s youngest daughter, Henrietta Katherine, married Walter Lines

in 1921 and they had four children. Walter was a distinguished World War I

officer, rising to the rank of captain in the Royal Horse Artillery Company and

was even mentioned in dispatches. His family had founded a toy firm in 1850,

but when he and his brothers came home from the war they decided to set up a

new company. The Lines brothers also owned and ran the famous toy shop

called Hamleys on Regent Street. From modest beginnings in an old

woodworking factory after the war, Walter, William and Arthur Lines built

their company by 1950 into the world’s first multinational toy-making

business and largest in the world. The core of Lines Brothers Ltd’s extensive

manufacturing network was always Tri-ang Toys, but by the time of its demise

in 1971 what had by then become the Lines Group incorporated many

subsidiary firms which made some of the most popular British playthings of

the twentieth century: Frog model aircraft, Minic transport toys, Pedigree

prams, Spot-On model cars, Tri-ang Hornby trains, Scalextric racing sets,

Sindy Dolls and Meccano. Back in the U.K. the Lines Brothers’ headquarters

in Merton (next to South Wimbledon tube) was by now the largest toy factory

in the world, with an area of 750,000 sq. ft. and over 4,000 employees. The

family moved to the impressive Leigh Place, Church Lane, Godstone, in 1927,

where they lived until their deaths in the 1970s.

Walter Lines and Henrietta were frequent visitors to Twyford, both

before and after their marriage, and there are pictures of both Henrietta and

Walter attending summer parties in Twyford’s large garden. William Cossar

Hendrey was a regular guest at Leigh Place. After William Hendrey died in

April 1947 the family did not sell Twyford for a few years. It held a strong

connection to their father that they did not want to lose, as well as some

longstanding and loyal servants. The Evening Telegraph even reported an

interesting story of William Hendrey leaving £200 to his chauffeur, Harry

Thomas. In 1952 the house was eventually sold. It was advertised as a ‘Large,

superbly constructed, detached, double-fronted Mansion Residence, together

with attached cottage, three acres of beautiful, wooded grounds, tennis court

and superb uninterrupted panoramic views.’ The price was £6,950. Eventually,

the lodge and the main house were sold separately, and the garden was split

up.