Sir Arthur Conan Doyle fans want author's home in Surrey preserved

Fans of the creator of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - are trying to save his boarded-up home in Surrey from being redeveloped.

The future of Grade II-listed Undershaw, at Hindhead, has been in doubt since 2004 when the hotel which occupied the building closed.
It was built by Conan Doyle in the 1890s, but has been owned by a developer for the last six years.

Campaigners want it saved as a single building or turned into a museum.

The house, which overlooks the Devil's Punch Bowl, is in need of repair following a number of failed planning applications.

The latest plan is for it to be extended and divided into three properties.

John Gibson, of the Undershaw Preservation Trust, said: "Conan Doyle lived in this house between the ages of 37 and 47, and really when he left this house I think his best work was behind him.

"He did some of his finest work actually in this house. This house is a microcosm of the age."
Members of the public have until 19 March to comment on the proposal for the property.

Bryant And May Match Makers Of Bow , London

A scarce little booklet called Fun Among The Matches , containing 12 pages illustrated in colour.
It was published by Bryant & May match makers probably in the 1880s . The contents show games and puzzles that could be played with matches . The back cover is an advertisement regarding supporting Home Industries and inside back cover shows a full page illustration of the Fairfield Works at Bow , London .

The company, Bryant and May, was founded with the specific aim of making only Safety Matches .They were influential in fighting against the dreadful disease known as Phossy jaw which was caused by white Phosphorus used in the manufacture of the early matches. They started in 1861, on a dilapidated site in Bow which had once been used for the manufacture of Candles , Crinolene & Rope . This site was gradually expanded as a model factory.

However the public were initially unwilling to buy the more expensive safety matches so they also had to make the traditional Lucifer Matches.
They were the target of the London matchgirls strike of 1888 which was led by Annie Besant, which was part of the suffragette movement and one of the defining moments in trade union history and they won important improvements in working conditions and pay for the mostly female workforce .