I am immensely grateful to John Baker for his inclusion of the pictures of "23 Mountsidee" in the latest issue of the Forum. When I visited Guildford in April 2007 John provided me with some hints as to the three locations where Carpenter had resided in his Guildford years. There was no good information available as to the exact Mountside address as the House itself was unmarked. However, Roger Nicholas, my volunteer guide and author of a book on the lower hillside cemetery where Lewis Carroll is interred, had dome some ingenious sleutheing and was able to identify the house based on excluding the names of other owners of numbered residencences on Mountside. Upon visiting the Guidford Museum I received from the curator confirmation that "23" was the correct address by reading a speech given by a local Labour Party official, Roy Burgess, back in the 50's. There is a wonderful working library in Guildford which houses many of Carpenter's works, including a first edition of "My Days with Walt Whitman." Liz Maxwell, the curator of the collection, can arrange a private visit if any are interested. The nearby public loo on the corner with High Street (part of an an old fire-house in Carpenter's day - which has delightful tile renderings of old Guildford landscapes) is also worth a look.

At the time of the grave campaign, a friend of mine wrote to the Guildford Museum enquiring whether there was any chance of E.C. being given a space similar to that of Lewis Carroll's on the premisses. The reply was that the museum would be happy to do such a thing, but a lack of historical material relating to his time in Guildford meant it wasn't possible.
Perhaps times may have changed a little since then?

P.S. I do believe that Ron Burgess deserves a special mention. He flew the flag for E.C. for many years in Guildford and was delighted to see the signposts erected on the grave. He died a few years ago,sadly, but his devotion to the cause should be recognised.
Post edited by: Alan Page, at: 2009/01/13 03:39

Post edited by: Alan Page, at: 2009/01/13 03:42<br><br>Post edited by: Alan Page, at: 2009/01/13 03:44