Sir Henry Bell bought Mynthurst from the Freshfield family who had built
the house in 1856. Sir Henry was said to have made his fortune from
being the first to bring meat from the Antipodes by sea using refrigeration.
He was created Baron in 1909.
Notes from the Honeyball Tapes written in the
period 1993 to 1994
Marjorie Honeyball remembers Sir Henry as being "The Man" of the village.
At one time he owned the only car in the village, it being a shooting brake.
Sir Henry and the Charrington family were the chief employers in the village, Sir Henry owning most of Leigh, and there was a specialist work force for every job which had to be done on the estate. Marjorie recalls that each day at ten minutes to twelve the road from Mynthurst to the village centre was "black with bicycles" as the workers went home for dinner, and again at ten minutes to one when they returned.
Everyone seemed to work at Mynthurst. Marjorie's brother was taught carpentry by the Mynthurst carpenter who was a "brilliant craftsman". The senior estate workers in charge of different sections of the estate management had houses on the estate, these all being private houses today, and Mynthurst House itself was converted into private apartments after the Second World War by the Chudley family.
Marjorie remembers Mr Warrington wanting to marry Sir Henry's housemaid and having to ask his permission because Sir Henry regarded his staff as an extended family, and he wanted to be sure that Warrington would make a responsible husband.
Notes from stories overheard
Sir Henry Bell died of a heart attack when climbing the stairs in Redhill
Station to catch a train to London.