THE BOX HILL FUND. (To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.]
Sta,—About a year ago attention was called, in the Press, to the fact that Box Hill was in danger, a very large adjoining portion being for sale and described as " ripe for develop- ment." The enclosed map shows the present extent of the nation's property there, which, after Miss Warburg's gift last year, consists of Box Hill and half a mile of the main ridge to the eastwards, together with the northerly spur, the valley up which the road runs and the next spur to the east, which forms one side of the most beautiful part of the whole 'place, " Happy Valley." Thus the nation's estate of 800 acres is of an " L " shape, very narrow on the main ridge.
It is the area, 248 acres in all, immediately north of this narrow strip which is now offered for sale by Lord Francis Hope. It consists of open woods, a bracken-clothed plateau
with gorgeous views over " Little Switzerland " and the line of the downs westwards, and—most important—forms the eastern side of " Happy Valley " ; its acquisition would convert the nation's property into a compact rectangle. Lord Francis Hope has intimated that, in the event of the land being sold to the nation, he would put forward to his trustees a price of £5,000 for the land, plus £2,000 for the timber or, alternatively, £5,000 net provided he is allowed to
cut timber not exceeding £2,000 in value before sale. This latter, of course, is most undesirable. The offer is a generous one, for it works out, with the timber, at £28 per acre as com- pared with £50 per acre paid by the late Leopold Salomon for the original gift of Box Hill proper.
The articles and correspondence which appeared last year in the Press provoked an offer as generous from a reader of Country Life living in Rio de Janeiro, who wrote as follows :—
" I have carefully studied the matter and think it is a good opportunity for anyone wishing to do something pro bona publieo, and therefore am very glad to send you the enclosed draft of £1,000 towards the purchase of the land (with the conditions I will mention later).
In buying land for the public one has to be careful that private interests do not reap as much, or more, benefit than the public, but the present estate, lying alongside a piece already public property, gives the public not only its own actual area, but adds a value to what the public already owns. This is a great point."
[We would add that it does more : it prevents the deteriora- tion of what the public now holds through the sale of the
land for what proves to be the most vulgar form of develop- ment.] " Now, I am net a wealthy man ; I work very hard for every £1,000 I earn, but I do not pay English taxation, and I want to help decent things to be done in England. So I send you the £1,000 with the following obligations and conditions :— (a) That the purchase be completed before September 30th, 1923. (b) That in addition to this £1,000 herewith, I will subscribe the last £1,000 required. This should encourage other subscribers. (c) That if the money be not subscribed by the date mentioned above, you return to me the £1,000 and I am absolved from further responsibility. 1 think it very good of you to be working up this purchase. I do not want my name to figure, you can use my initials.—Yours very truly, G. IL C."
The Box Hill Committee have voted £1,000, but we must appeal to England for the balance-24,000—to those who, like our friend in South America, wish to see decent things done in England. Country Life will give an initial £250 on condition that three donations of a like sum are forthcoming.
The danger is a very real one. Where land has already been developed, as along the road to Box Hill from Walton, it is horribly disfigured by ruined woods and bungalows of the meanest sort. The oaks on the land under consideration have already been marked for felling, and unless the money can be secured the beauty of the Box Hill woods will be greatly diminished.
We hope that you will permit us to make use of your columns in order to appeal to your readers for subscriptions, which will be very gratefully received if addressed to " The Box Hill Fund," 20 Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, W.C. 2. — I
am, Sir, &c. P. ANDERSON GRAHAM. 20 Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, W.C. 2.
[Our sympathies are strongly with this admirable scheme. The man of Rio deserves to be as immortal as the Man of Ross. Perhaps a reader of the Spectator in Buenos Ayres will sec his £2,000 and go £100 better, i.e., will make it guineas. —En. Spectator.]
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