An event structure company and its director have been fined after a worker suffered life-changing injuries. The worker sustained multiple back fractures, a punctured lung and a broken leg. An HSE investigation found the dismantling work had not been properly planned or carried out safely.
iSkate Limited employee, Natalie McCreith, 38, a former outdoor sports instructor, had worked for the company for 14 years when she was seriously injured while working at Beaverbrook Hotel & Golf Course Leatherhead, Surrey, on 26 June 2024.
Ms McCreith underwent an 11-hour operation, spent three months in hospital and she is still recovering following the incident.
During the dismantling of a steel beam temporary structure, a ratchet strap was being used to lower a steel beam weighing over 100kg. The ratchet strap was not designed for lifting or lowering loads and failed, causing the beam to fall onto Ms McCreith. She sustained multiple fractures to her back, a punctured lung and a broken leg.
Neil Munn, director of iSkate Limited, was on site at the time and made the decision to use the ratchet strap, instructing workers where to stand. He continued with the method even after Ms McCreith raised concerns about whether it was safe.
In a victim personal statement, Ms McCreith said:
“Since the accident, my life has been completely turned upside down it’s now the polar opposite of what it once was. I will never live the life I once had or be in a body that isn’t screaming at me all day, I wish I could turn back time.
“My family spent the journey from Liverpool to London thinking I was dead, they have had to watch someone they love go through agonising pain and continue to do so. I am not the person I once was, I can’t be everything I once was and for them this Journey also continues.”
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that iSkate Limited had failed to ensure that the dismantling of the internal steel frame was properly planned and carried out safely.
HSE provides guidance on structural stability during alteration, demolition and dismantling which states that demolition or dismantling arrangements should be written down before the work begins. This safe system of work may be in the form of a safety method statement identifying the sequence required to prevent accidental collapse of the structure.
iSkate Limited, of Norfolk House, Station Road, St Ives, Cambridgeshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 16(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, by virtue of Regulation 20(1). The company was fined £12,000 and ordered to pay £6,949 in costs at a hearing at Guildford Magistrates’ Court on 28 July 2026.
Neil Munn, director of iSkate Limited, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, by virtue of Regulation 16(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 and Regulation 20(1). He received a community order with 75 hours of unpaid work to be completed.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Russell Beckett said: “Demolition and dismantling is a high-hazard work activity, but if the work is properly planned it can be carried out safely. This accident has had a devastating effect on Ms McCreith and could easily have been prevented had the right work equipment been used.”
Health and Safety Executive
Phoito: iskate ratchet strap
Water voles thriving in Ewell’s Hogsmill
1 August 2026
Camera footage and fresh field signs suggest water voles are settling in and spreading along the Surrey chalk stream
Water voles are showing encouraging signs of recovery along the Hogsmill River, one year after 50 of the threatened mammals were released into the river and surrounding wetlands in Ewell, Surrey.
Camera traps have captured a continuous flow of images showing the water voles displaying natural behaviours, while recent surveys have found evidence of their presence both upstream and downstream of the original release site.
The field signs include burrows in the riverbanks, feeding remains, vegetation chewed at a characteristic 45-degree angle and distinctive “tic-tac-shaped” droppings found at water vole latrines. The findings suggest the animals are exploring the river and establishing themselves within their restored habitat.
Water voles were released into Chamber Mead wetlands and the adjacent Upper Hogsmill River on 30 July 2025 by the South East Rivers Trust and conservation charity Citizen Zoo.
The release marked the return of water voles to Surrey following an absence of more than 20 years and complemented an earlier reintroduction further downstream on the Hogsmill.
Laura Nee, Catchment Officer at the South East Rivers Trust, said: “It’s wonderful to see how excited local people are to have water voles living on their doorstep. Residents often stop to tell me about hearing the tell-tale ‘plop’ of something entering the water and wondering whether a vole is nearby.
“Although water voles can be difficult to spot, our monitoring with Citizen Zoo is giving us an encouraging picture of how they are settling in. Camera traps have captured a continuous flow of images showing the voles displaying natural behaviours, while recent surveys have found signs of their presence both upstream and downstream, including latrines, feeding remains and burrows in the riverbanks.
“A year after the reintroduction, it’s incredibly exciting to see evidence that the water voles are thriving and making the Hogsmill their home.”
Citizen Zoo is monitoring the population using four latrine rafts, two camera traps and a clay tracking raft positioned along this stretch of the catchment.
The equipment, combined with regular field surveys, helps conservationists understand where the water voles are living, how they are moving along the river and whether the population is successfully establishing.
Water voles were once widespread along the Hogsmill but disappeared from Surrey following decades of habitat loss and pressure from invasive American mink.
Their return was made possible by long-term work to restore the river and create suitable habitat, including the development of Chamber Mead wetlands by the South East Rivers Trust and Epsom & Ewell Borough Council.
The wetlands provide the dense vegetation, connected river habitat and suitable banks that water voles need for food, shelter and burrowing.
The July 2025 release formed part of the WET Hogsmill project, delivered by the South East Rivers Trust in partnership with Citizen Zoo and supported through Natural England’s Species Recovery Programme.
The water voles were bred by Wildwood Trust, which specialises in conservation breeding and the recovery of native species.
The release also helped strengthen the population established further downstream, where Citizen Zoo released 101 water voles in 2022. Creating connected populations along the river can improve genetic diversity and support the species’ longer-term recovery.
Ongoing monitoring will help the South East Rivers Trust and Citizen Zoo track the population’s progress and guide future habitat conservation along the Hogsmill.
The Hogsmill is a rare chalk stream flowing through Epsom and Ewell and the Royal Borough of Kingston before joining the River Thames. Chalk streams are internationally important habitats, supported by clear, mineral-rich groundwater and characterised by distinctive plants and wildlife.
The WET Hogsmill project ran from September 2023 to 2025 and created or improved habitat for water voles, European eels and native trout. It was led by the South East Rivers Trust in partnership with Citizen Zoo and supported through Natural England’s Species Recovery Programme.
The water vole reintroduction was also supported by Wildwood Trust, Epsom & Ewell Borough Council and Thames Water.
Citizen Zoo is a social enterprise and conservation charity working to restore nature and reconnect people with the natural world through community-led rewilding and species recovery.
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Why procedure matters, even in little old Epsom and Ewell
1 August 2026
Nobody seriously disputes that developing Hook Road Arena as a centre for community sport, supported where necessary by housing, deserves proper investigation.
The proposal enjoyed overwhelming support. Had almost any councillor moved it at the meeting of Epsom and Ewell Borough Council on 21st July, it would have passed comfortably and probably without drama.
Yet the debate produced an adjournment, angry exchanges and the walkout of 11 councillors—including, it appears, at least one member of the ruling Residents’ Association group.
Why?
The answer cannot lie in opposition to the proposal itself. Most, if not all, of those who walked out supported giving Hook Road Arena strategic priority. Their protest concerned the process by which the decision was being made and, more particularly, the identity of the councillor who was permitted to present himself as its principal champion.
That distinction matters.
Procedure is not an inconvenience
There is a temptation, particularly where the desired outcome appears uncontroversial, to dismiss procedural objections as political gamesmanship.
Why worry about who proposed the motion if it was going to pass anyway? Why interrupt an important debate about desperately needed sports facilities with arguments about interests, declarations and who should occupy the chair?
The answer is that procedural rules are not decorative. They exist to preserve confidence in the decisions reached under them.
Substantive rules determine what a council may decide. Procedural rules determine how it must decide it, who may participate and whether the process can command public confidence.
A good outcome reached through a questionable process does not retrospectively cure that process. Nor can councillors embrace constitutional rules when those rules assist them, only to minimise or reinterpret them when their application becomes personally inconvenient.
Rules which operate only when the powerful find them useful are not rules at all. They become instruments of discretion—and discretion exercised in one’s own cause is precisely what rules governing conflicts of interest are intended to restrain.
The interest question
Cllr Neil Dallen is a director of Epsom Fireworks Display Ltd, which contracts with EEBC to hire Hook Road Arena for its annual display. He is also a trustee of the associated charitable trust.
Development could eventually end the fireworks at the Arena. The company’s precise financial arrangements remain unclear, as do any payments or expenses received by its directors.
This does not establish that Cllr Dallen possessed a disclosable pecuniary interest within the strict definition of the Localism Act. That depends upon facts which the company’s abbreviated accounts do not reveal. Though there is undoubtedly a related current contract with the Coucil and his company – which in itself – regardless of personal gain – is disclosable and prevents the councillor participating, absent a clear dispensation, on pain of a criminal penalty.
It is also true that Cllr Dallen was supporting a proposal which may ultimately operate against the continued use of the Arena by the fireworks company. That apparent paradox may weigh significantly against any suggestion of corrupt motivation at the meeting itself.
But the law on interests is preventive. If an interest falls within the statutory definition, a councillor cannot participate merely because he believes he is acting impartially, because his preferred outcome is publicly beneficial or because he is voting against the immediate interests of the connected organisation.
The test is not whether the councillor “feels” conflicted. It is whether the relevant facts satisfy the applicable rules.
The Mayor’s position
There was a second and arguably more obvious procedural issue which received surprisingly little attention.
The Mayor, Cllr Lucie McIntyre, is Cllr Dallen’s daughter. This is an undisputed and widely known fact, almost certainly familiar to every councillor in the chamber.
Yet the relationship was not formally disclosed at the meeting.
Being Cllr Dallen’s daughter did not automatically give the Mayor a disclosable pecuniary interest. However, she was being asked to rule on whether her father could remain in the chamber, speak, move the recommendation and participate in the vote.
Her father plainly had, at the very least, a reputational interest in that ruling. His conduct, consistency and integrity were being challenged publicly.
The question was therefore not whether the Mayor was capable of chairing impartially. It was whether public confidence would have been better protected by disclosing the relationship and allowing the Deputy Mayor to rule upon that discrete controversy.
Justice must not only be done but be seen to be done. That principle applies to modest local proceedings as surely as it applies to a courtroom.
The opposition focused its objections almost entirely on Cllr Dallen. It did not press the equally apparent question of whether his daughter should continue to chair the dispute about him.
Why?
Perhaps the relationship was so universally known that councillors did not consider a formal declaration necessary. Perhaps tempers and confusion prevented the point from being articulated. Perhaps they accepted that the Mayor was relying upon legal advice and did not wish to personalise their protest further.
But the omission also invites a less comfortable question: was the walkout motivated solely by concern for constitutional principle, or partly by anger at the spectacle of Cllr Dallen receiving public credit for a project which others believe he had previously frustrated?
From obstruction to championship?
EET has received consistent accounts from three councillors within Cllr Dallen’s own Residents’ Association group and two people closely connected with Epsom and Ewell Football Club.
They allege that proposals for Hook Road Arena were repeatedly pushed “from pillar to post” and between processes, contributing to delay. Cllr Dallen has also been quoted as saying: “I want the fireworks four more years.”
These remain allegations to which Cllr Dallen is entitled to respond and since Sunday when he was asked to EET has received no comment from him.
Was the walkout driven not merely by the disputed legal interest, but by a sense of hypocrisy? Did councillors object to seeing someone whom they believed had privately impeded progress now appearing publicly as the development’s leading promoter?
If so, the protest was about political ownership and credibility as well as legal compliance.
That would explain why councillors who supported the motion nevertheless refused to remain for it. They were not rejecting Hook Road Arena. They were rejecting the presentation of Cllr Dallen as its champion.
But that interpretation also carries a warning for the protesters. If their objection was truly one of principle, they should have applied that principle consistently—including to the Mayor’s position in the chair. Selective indignation is no more attractive from the opposition than selective compliance is from the administration.
The small scale is no excuse
It would be easy to regard this as a parochial quarrel in a council which will cease to exist in eight months.
That would be a mistake.
Respect for the rule of law is built from the bottom upwards. It begins with small decisions, modest offices and local institutions. It depends upon people following rules even when the consequences are inconvenient and even when ignoring them might produce the same substantive result more quickly.
The erosion usually starts harmlessly: a procedure is treated as unnecessary because everybody supports the outcome; an interest is dismissed because the individual believes himself honest; a relationship is left undeclared because everybody already knows about it; an awkward question is silenced because it is said to be outside the scope of the debate.
Each departure can be rationalised. Together, they create a culture in which rules become optional for those exercising power.
At national and international level, the same habit has graver consequences. Selective obedience breeds cynicism; cynicism produces contempt for institutions; and contempt for institutions opens the way to disorder, violence and, ultimately, conflict.
Epsom and Ewell is not on the verge of anarchy because of a disagreement over a fireworks display. But the principle is indivisible. We cannot demand fidelity to constitutional rules in Westminster, respect for courts nationally or adherence to international law abroad while treating procedural safeguards as dispensable in our own council chamber.
Rules matter most when they are inconvenient.
Hook Road Arena deserved to be made a strategic priority. It did not need Cllr Dallen to move the recommendation, and the proposal would have passed without his participation.
The Council could therefore have avoided the entire controversy at virtually no cost. Cllr Dallen could have withdrawn; another councillor could have proposed the recommendation; the Mayor could have disclosed the family relationship and allowed her deputy to determine the procedural objections.
The same substantive decision would have been reached, but through a process carrying far greater public confidence.
That is the point of procedure. It is not there to frustrate good decisions. It is there to ensure that good decisions are reached in a way that deserves respect.
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Readers bemoan Council’s feet-dragging on twinning Epsom with Bucha
1 August 2026
Dear Editor,
Very disappointed with Epsom and Ewell Council, this would have been a simple arrangement. I myself stayed in the borough of Bucha only a few weeks ago on my way to Odesa. I was only a few miles from the area occupied by the Russians, they were only stopped by the Ukrainians destroying the bridge. Imagine living in Epsom and enemy forces occupying Ewell killing people in the streets. Shame on the council members voting against this.
Yours faithfully,
Richard Gough
Dear Editor,
As a Ukrainian, I want to sincerely thank the people of Epsom and Ewell for everything they have done to support Ukraine over the past more than four years. Your kindness, generosity and the incredible humanitarian support you have provided have meant more than words can express.
Humanitarian aid has saved lives. But today, a statement of friendship and solidarity matters too. It tells Ukrainians that we have not been forgotten and that we are not standing alone.
The war has not become easier. Every day people continue to die, and cities continue to be attacked. We all hope this war ends in Ukraine, because if Russian aggression is not stopped here, its consequences will not stop at Ukraine’s borders.
Thank you for speaking up, for raising these issues, and for continuing to stand with Ukraine. It means more to us than you may ever know.
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Free bus travel for children across England this August
1 August 2026
Children aged five to 15 in England will be able to travel free on local buses throughout August as part of a Government summer cost-of-living support package.
The free travel offer will run from 1 August to 31 August and is intended to help families reduce the cost of summer holiday journeys to parks, museums, beaches, cinemas, theatres and other attractions.
The Department for Transport says the scheme will apply to local bus services in England. Families are already able to benefit from free travel for children under five across the main bus operators.
Roads Minister Simon Lightwood visited Bath on Thursday 9 July to meet local leaders and bus companies ahead of the scheme’s launch.
The measure forms part of the Government’s “Great British Summer Savings” scheme, which also includes temporary reductions aimed at cutting the cost of children’s meals, cinema and theatre tickets, and admission to family attractions such as theme parks, adventure centres and soft play venues.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said:
“Great British Summer Savings means more people can be excited about getting out and about this summer, whether it’s seeing the Roman Baths, learning something new at the Science Museum, or falling asleep on the bus ride home after a day riding rollercoasters at Alton Towers.
“I know that the cost of living is a concern for households across the UK, which is why we’re cutting the cost of the day-to-day, with free bus travel for children this summer and the £3 bus fare cap helping more families make the most of the small plans that make life enjoyable.”
The Government says the free children’s travel offer comes alongside the extension of the £3 bus fare cap until March 2027, and follows the first rail fare freeze in 30 years.
Ministers say they are also investing £3 billion nationally to improve bus services and support local leaders and operators in delivering more reliable services.
Helen Godwin, Mayor of the West of England, said:
“I am so excited that Kids Go Free is back again. We know what a massive impact this has had for families in the West, helping kids explore the best of the West and putting money back in parents’ pockets.
“I am thrilled that the Government has seen how successful our scheme has been, and that Kids Go Free is going national for August. This will give West Country families the chance to explore even further.”
VisitEngland Director Andrew Stokes said:
“It’s fantastic to see free bus travel for children as the summer holidays get underway, supporting families to get out and explore the outstanding attractions and destinations across England in a stress-free and environmentally friendly way.
“Whether enjoying a trip to our stunning seaside destinations, beautiful countryside or our vibrant city attractions, there is so much to discover during the summer across England. I know our tourism and hospitality businesses will be very pleased to see you.”
Editor’s note:
The free bus travel scheme applies to children aged five to 15 in England during August 2026. It should be checked locally whether any particular operator or route is excluded before travel.
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Tomorrow’s Epsom six race tips
1 August 2026
There’s more Flat action at Epsom Racecourse this Thursday with six races to get stuck into across the evening; five handicaps and a fillies’ maiden.
Read on for a preview of and tips for the Epsom card, brought to you by BOYLE Sports, who have all the horse racing odds.
First up is a mile and a half handicap for three-year-olds (18.05). Celestarak was a winner last time, while Darkest Red was only narrowly beaten. Zurna could be interesting, making his handicap debut for Julia and Shelley Birkett. Given that Darkest Red can go on any ground and looks favourably weighted here, he could be the one.
Race two is a seven-furlong two-year-old fillies’ maiden (18.40). Tiora Time and Chaise Longue are the only newcomers, but David Simcock’s Minnal brings the best form, having not been beaten too far at Doncaster on debut. Chaise Longue could be good on debut, though, forr her in-form trainer.
Race three is a seven-furlong handicap (19.15). This looks a competitive affair, with plenty of good recent form on show. Dandy Khan looks to be down to a competitive mark now for Kim Boyle, while Jersey Maverick is a course and distance winner who also should be able to win off today’s mark.
Next is a six-furlong handicap (19.50). King Of Chaos and Rage Of Thunder both won their latest starts, and both look hard pressed to reproduce that form today. Aberma Gold is a reasonably reliable sort who looks ready to go again, but Balon d’Or could be the one to beat here from a nice draw in two.
The penultimate race is an extended mile handicap (20.22). Play Me is a course and distance winner and won here last time, while Ritaal could be down to a winnable mark and has first-time blinkers to help here. Swiped is another in first-time headgear and might be worth thinking about.
We conclude with a 10-furlong three-year-olds’ handicap (20.52). The majority of the field are making their handicap debuts here, while the more experienced Sail On Sailor seeks a hat-trick. Sweep In Time is intriguing stepping up in trip for the first time here, a distance that ought to suit well. Living In Hope might be the one to cope with the undulations best, though.
Epsom selections – Thursday:
18.05 – Darkest Red
18.40 – Chaise Longue
19.15 – Dandy Khan
19.50 – Balon d’Or
20.22 – Swiped
20.52 – Living In Hope
Horses racing Image: Credit Paul. CC BY 2.0
Local runners reunite for triumphant return of the Perch 2000
1 August 2026
There was a lively atmosphere on Friday evening as the local running community gathered for the return of the Perch 2000 run.
Hosted by the Oddballs Running Club, the event returned after a hiatus, bringing together runners, supporters and volunteers for an evening of local sport on Epsom Downs.
The revival of the Perch 2000 was led by the club’s committee, with Peter Black and Mark playing key roles. Working with the Epsom & Walton Downs Conservators, the team secured the venue and dealt with the practical arrangements needed to bring the historic event back.
The organisers’ plans were then tested by soaring summer temperatures, which led to a safety-based postponement. The run was rescheduled by a week at short notice, with cooler conditions on Friday evening providing a safer setting for participants to take on the course.
Club member, local photographer and councillor Steven McCormick worked with Peter, Mark and the committee in support of the event’s return.
“It’s just fantastic to see everyone out here again,” Mr McCormick said. “The Oddballs committee put in a monumental amount of work to make this happen and to pull off the last-minute date change. Community events like this are the heartbeat of our local area.”
Mr McCormick was also on the sidelines photographing the runners. A gallery of race-day photographs is available to view and download on his website:
Friend of George Washington who came to Epsom after opposing armed revolt against the Monarchy
1 August 2026
Revd. Jonathan Boucher was the Vicar of Epsom for 20 of the last 25 years of the mediaeval church, 1785–1805.
Born in Blencago, Cumbria, into a family ruined by the Jacobite rebellion, he did however get to WIgton Grammar School and eventually taught at St Bees.
He emigrated to Virginia in 1772 at the age of 16 to teach there. He served first as a tutor to the children of plantation owner Edward Dixon, and ran a school that had as a pupil Jackie Custis, stepson of George Washington.
He returned to England to be ordained and then returned and settled in Maryland through the patronage of the Governor Sir Robert Eden. He settled in Caroline county as rector of St Mary’s Parish where he served until 1772.
He resided in Port Royal but wrote in his diary: “There was not a literary man, for aught I could find.”
He had become a personal friend of George Washington and sympathetic to the interests of the colonists. He opposed the Stamp Act and the Vestry Act. He could not support armed resistance to the king.
He was always a sturdy Royalist and once thrashed a rebel Yankee blacksmith who had insulted his king and country and this made him so unpopular that he had to return to England.
Indeed he had to hold the leader of his congregation at gunpoint to ensure his safe departure. He had been informed that if he dared pray for King George he would be fired at in his pulpit.
Nothing daunted the next Sunday the resolute man ascended the pulpit stairs armed with two horse pistols, one of which he laid on either side on his pulpit cushion; with this preamble he preached what has become known as his “Farewell Sermon”.
In an unflinching sermon, on Nehemiah 6,10-11, he ended with this stinging passage.
“Unless I forbear praying for the king I have been notified that I am to pray no longer. No intimation could be more distressing to me; but I do not require a moment’s hesitation distressing as the dilemma is. Entertaining my respect for my ordination vow, I am firm in my Resolution, whilst I pray in public at all, to conform to the unmutilated Liturgy of my Church and reverencing the injunctions of the Apostle ‘I will pray for the king and all who are in authority under him as long as I live’. Yea while I have my being, I will, with Zadok, the priest and Nathan, the prophet, proclaim GOD SAVE THE KING”
The Americans had no heart to fire at so bold and honest a man and Jonathan Boucher descended his pulpit stairs unharmed.
On September 10, 1775 Revd. Boucher and his wife amidst tears and cries of their slaves, went aboard the ship “Nell Goynne” and sailed for England, where he received a government pension.
No longer living a life of ease and affluence he was at first supported by William Stevens and Friends.
Wm Stevens was it was ten years later, through the good offices of Revd. J. Parkhurst, another member of Stevens’ circle, he was appointed Vicar of Epsom in 1785.
While serving here in Epsom he gained a reputation as a writer and scholar and acquired a reputation as one of the finest preachers of his day.
He made substantial contributions to William Hutchinson’s “History of the County of Cumberland” (1794) his home county and where he was educated and had his first teaching post in St Bees.
St Bees School is on the Cumbrian coast below Whitehaven. Interestingly, in the American Revolutionary War, Whitehaven was raided by John Paul Jones the well known United States naval commander.
According to some this attack, in 1778, was the very last invasion of England.
He went on to write “A view of the Causes and Consequences of the American Revolution in thirteen discourses preached in North America between the years 1763 and 1775 which he dedicated to George Washington published in 1797, as well as “a Glossary of Provincial and Archaic Words, which was later used by the compilers of Webster’s Dictionary, and “Reminiscences of and American Loyalist” published in the 1870’s.
A magisterial biography and appreciation of his role in the revolution by Anne Young Zimmer “Jonathan Boucher: Moderate Loyalist and Public Man” (1966). In a Wayne State University Dissertation can be found on the internet
In 1786 Boucher wrote to make a proposal of marriage to Miss Mary Elizabeth Foreman a lady of about his own age (48) who had devoted herself to looking after two sick and elderly maiden aunts recently deceased.
She accepted the offer and, in anticipation of their union, Jonathan rented from Northey a large house on Woodcote Green [Woodcote House] for £100 p.a., purchased a coach and four horses, hired seven servants etc to set up an establishment in a “dear but genteel neighbourhood”.
Sadly, she, his second wife, survived only until 17 September1788.
Following her demise, Boucher had spent months away in Cumberland adding to his real estate at Blencogo but seems to have returned in December 1788 to a ‘melancholy and uncomfortable home…at the Vicarage – extremely inconvenient and quite too small especially for the books (he had ten thousand of them according to White and Hart, many collected for an improved edition of Dr. Johnson’s English Dictionary), whilst impossible to be enlarged and improved at any reasonable expense’.
He decided to purchase ‘a good house with about 5 acres of land on Clay-Hill’ although distant from the church and with an unsatisfactory water supply: alterations to provide rooms for a library were not completed until July 1789.
Consequently, when Edwards conducted a survey for his COMPANION FROM LONDON TO BRIGHTHELMSTON the vicarage house was occupied by ‘Miss Boucher’, the Vicar’s daughter.
Jonathan Boucher continued vicar of Epsom until his death in 1804.
