This is named after the Master of Revels to Queen Elizabeth I and King James I. Edmund Tylney lived at The Mansion which stood on the site of the present library.

Images showing the history of the site 

Right: The site of The Edmund Tylney was Gothic Lodge. This 1895 image shows the garden of Gothic Lodge and Gothic Cottage.
Above: The present building was a Woolworths, seen here in 1957 and 1962
Left: The garden wall and Gothic Lodge in the 1920s

An illustration and text about Edmund Tylney

The text reads: Edmund Tylney was one of Leatherhead’s most distinguished residents in the late 16th century. Master of the Revels to Queen Elizabeth I and King James I, he was also a lay subsidy commissioner and a justice of the peace for the town.

Tylney was responsible for granting licences for the performer of plays, and as the official censor, he had unrivalled power over the spoken word at that time. He is likely to have been one of the first people to have read the works of Shakespeare and Ben Jonson.

It is thought that Shakespeare visited Leatherhead to consult Tylney over his work. The assistant officer of the watch Verges, in Much Ado About Nothing, may be named after the local constable George Varges.

Above: Elizabeth I
Top: William Shakespeare

Prints and text about Goblin Hoovers

The text reads: Hubert Cecil Booth, founder of the Goblin works at Ermyn Way, is credited with having been the inventor of the world’s first-ever vacuum cleaner. His new invention needed a five-horsepower engine and a team of operators, but nonetheless received its Royal Warrant.

In 1904, Booth produced the world’s first portable vacuum, which needed just two operators. By 1921, the company turned out the first electric upright bag model, and a few years later the cylindrical model. After World War II, fierce competition eventually led to steady decline, until the works’ closure in 1984.

Above, right: Hubert C Booth
Above, left: 1927 model
Left: The 1908 model

Photographs of Swan Brewery, including the staff of the brewery a year before its closure

Top, left: The Swan Brewery, 1903. Founded in 1859 and rebuilt in 1874 using mostly local brick. It closed in 1921, and was used by the removal company Bishops until 1950. The site became the Swan Centre in 1979.
Top, right: The Swan Inn from Church Street, 1908. It was demolished in 1937.
Bottom, left: The original swan from the Swan Inn, now in the museum garden.
Bottom, right: The staff of the Swan Brewery a year before its closure.

Photographs of High Street in 1927 and 1888

Photographs of the Clock Tower

Above: The Clock Tower, which was built in 1859 and demolished in 1952, housed the fire engine. Behind it is the shop and corn store owned by Henry Moore, who lived in Gothic Lodge on this site.
Below: North Street, 1905. Moore’s store has been replaced by the Capital and Counties Bank.

A photograph of Bridge Street, c1905

External photograph of the building – main entrance