Pallinghurst: The MacAndrew Years, 1919-1959
Chapter 13. The MacAndrews at Tisman’s Park
The lower slopes of the ridge in Tisman’s
Park were ideal for an exciting venture.
The first ever point-to-point meeting in
Tisman’s Park was in March 1933
(below), then part of Mr MacAndrew’s
estates. In the second race, the Mr Lund,
riding Spark, is Alfred Lund, his South
African son-in-law, presumably visiting
England at the time.
In 1934 The Times announced the event
would be held at 1.30 pm, Wednesday
12th March as “Lord Leconfield’s and 5th
Inniskilling Dragoon Guards Point-toPoint Meeting”, and, as always, reported
the results afterwards. In this second
meeting, there were seven races in very
wet conditions. Mr MacAndrew’s Slam,
ridden by Mr Swetenham came third this
time in the first
race. One of
the races was
the 5th
Inniskilling
Dragoon
Guards
Regimental
Race, the
regiment
turning out in
support of their
event, as had
the 11th Field
Brigade RA the
year before.
Military units
did not appear
in subsequent
years. Mr
Wadey of Newbridge Farm, Billingshurst won the final Farmer’s Race again, not for
the last time. Another local name appearing among the winners is Mr HL Ireland from
Exfold (Tismans Common) who was regularly placed in the Farmers’ Race. The event
continued annually to 1939. The Times photograph (above) was taken in 1938,
showing the attractive but challenging terrain.Point-to-pointing resumed after the war
with the Chiddingfold and Leconfield Hunts merged, from 1946 to 1968. A course
map from 1962 (below), with south at the top, shows the course was on lower ground,
Barnsfold Lane at 9 and 18. I have been shown that gaps in the hedges can still be
discerned even now where the fences were. The higher ground was where the social
areas, parking and betting took place. The author remembers going to the point-topoint several times c1960-5, walking on footpaths from his home in Loxwood (where
incidentally the commentary could be distantly heard) and seeing the start and finish
of races on the hill. From 1957-68 there were two
meetings a year, as the Surrey Union also came
here. From 1969 the meetings have been at Parham,
near the South Downs. For the sake of the
inhabitants and country lanes of Tisman’s Common
that is just as well! Even in the 1950s the traffic
was chaotic, with one way systems in place. The
inclusion of Tisman’s Park in the estate made
point-to-pointing possible, and no doubt gave
enormous kudos to Mr MacAndrew as host. As he
was ill at one of the last race days before he died in
1958, the commentary was relayed to his bedroom
up at the house. Clearly, he was dedicated to this
event, and would have been pleased to know it
continued for a few years more.
The second house of the estate, Tisman’s House was rented to well-heeled tenants.
But it appears not to have been let out at first, as no one is recorded there in Kelly’s
Directory between 1919 and c1927, when Capt ABP Roberts is there for 2-3 years.
From 1930 to 1944, Mrs CA James lived there. Later it was the home of
MacAndrew’s daughter Kitty Shepherd, her second husband and family from their
marriage in 1944 to 1952. In 1959, on the sale of the estate it was occupied by Mr
Sarw (sic), sub-tenant of Col Peter Jackson, who was first listed there in the 1954
telephone directory (from which source the dates above are devised, with assistance
of other directories).