Hurst Green and Stonyhurst
In the quiet churchyard of St.John the Evangelist, Hurst Green, there is a striking obelisk memorial dedicated to one Ikutaro Sugi, a "Japanese Subject" who died in October 1905 at the age of 30. The monument has always intrigued this writer. How did such a comparatively young man come to be in the Ribble Valley and die there. What was his story?
Local enquiry yielded no results. Neither did research in the local newspapers of the time. However there was a significant piece of information on the memorial - that he was an "assistant commissioner in the Chinese Imperial Maritime Customs".(CIMC) Of course this seemed to beg more questions - a Japanese working for the Chinese in the 1900s? And whatever the CIMC was, surely its writ did not extend to Lancashire! A web search put us onto Bristol University where a team led by Professor Robert Bickers was part way through a major project examining the work of the CIMC and its vast archive of records. The Maritime Customs was a branch of the Imperial Chinese government that was mainly staffed by foreign personnel. At its head was the remarkable Ulster man Sir Robert Hart who directed the work of the service as inspector-general for a period of 44 years (1864-1908).
Through Professor Bickers and Dr Weipin Tsai at Bristol we were able to ascertain that Ikaturo (note that name on memorial and death certificate had been mistranscribed) had been recruited into the service as a translator and teacher in 1898 working in Peking (Beijing).
Later he came to England in late 1900. In 1902 he underwent a "severe operation" at St.Thomas's, London. (Note that surgical operations of any kind were serious enough even without the adjective of "severe" at the beginning of the last century). It seemed that ill health dogged Sugi throughout his last years. By June 1905 he was receiving treatment for T.B. in Southport. From here on 18th October 1905 he wrote one of his last letters.In it he shows that there was he had no hope of getting better and that while he had strength he would "go back to Stoneyhurst (sic) while I can still travel". Less than two weeks later he died at Fairfield House, close by the college. Representatives from the Customs Service and the Japanese legation attended his funeral which took place Thursday 2nd November, 1905. The legation paid for the memorial. And yet while this has given some answers, not all. The Stonyhurst connection is not fully understood.
Our supposition is that a H.B.Groves, who was present at his death, and head of the classics department at the time, may have been the teacher who taught Sugi English back in the 1880s in Japan, and remained his friend. But so far we have found no evidence to support this theory. We shall continue to investigate the story of Ikaturo Sugi and update this page whenever new information comes forward. As Professor Bickers noted "This is a sad little story" but some solace may be derived from the fact that Sugi's resting place is in one of the loveliest corners of England. This short walk explores the village, the grounds of Stonyhurst and some of the nearby countryside.
[Our thanks to Professor Bickers and Dr Tsai for helping our researches so far. Readers wishing to find out more about the Chinese Imperial Maritime Customs can check out www.bris.ac.uk/history/customs]
Distance: 5 Km or 3 miles
Time: 1½ hours
Terrain: Very easy in general, with a short climb away from Dean Brook.
The walk starts along the road towards Clitheroe for some 700m. Here turn left along the drive leading up to Fair Field.
Here, in late October 1905, Ikaturo Sugi died after a long and painful illness. Follow the track to the right of the house and then through a gate into the grounds of Stonyhurst College. Across the cricket field there is a handsome pavilion.
Near at hand perhaps one of the grandest notices for dog walkers we have ever encountered.
The track leads around to a farm building, here turn left.
This track will bring you quickly to Stonyhurst College itself. The right of way crosses the main entrance with the drive and ornamental ponds on the left.
Keep ahead passing college houses on the left to arrive at a lane.
Turn left. After passing Stockbridge Cottages on the left reach the drive of Higher Deer House, also on the left, its public footpath sign somewhat concealed by foliage in the summer.
Walk down the farm track for 800m and through the farm (aided by yellow waymark arrows) taking a footpath across a field to Deer House Wood. Drop down to Dean Brook, cross the footbridge and climb the steep side valley to reach a fence, which is crossed by ladder stile.
The path edges around the wood and after another ladder stile, reaches a stile in a wall. Cross this onto a broad farm track. From this point you may wish to take a short detour to admire the former royal hunting lodge of Greengore a little way to the right.
The route now turns left and follow the track as it bends to the right. Keep on this as it reaches tarmac on its descent towards the village. After 900 metres or 15mins turn left at the lane. After 250 metres this brings you round to a lane leading to the rear of the church.
Sugi-san's memorial is not far from this entrance.
After paying your respects return to the lane to follow it down a pretty dell and then up into the village. Turn right to return to the car.
The Bayley Arms
Hurst Green is one of the loveliest villages in Lancashire and The Bayley Arms does it justice. Heavy dark beams and dark wood panels, a mixture of carpet, flags and wood floors. Food that is served to a high standard. Our 'sandwiches' were in fact a meal in themselves coming with home made chips and a generous salad. 2 cask ales were on offer on this visit - Theakston's Best Bitter(3.8%) and Black Sheep Bitter(3.8%). Black Sheep, when served as it is at The Barley Arms, is close to perfection. If you have not yet acquired a taste for cask ales then this might just be the place to start! This was our final (52nd) walk and The Bayley Arms was a fitting place to finish!