LASHAM COLLECTION

During 2010 the Lithics section of the Prehistoric Group reassessed a collection of stone tools which had been amassed by Frank Lasham during the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries and deposited in Guildford Museum at the end of his life. Frank Lasham was born in Essex in 1850, but lived in Guildford from the age of 16 until his death in 1925. He was a successful businessman, owning a book suppliers shop in the High Street, and supported many local worthy causes. Amongst his many interests was an enthusiasm for prehistoric studies and as a member of Surrey Archaeological Society he wrote several articles for the Collections (eg in SyAC 12 and SyAC 13). A particular interest appears to have been lithics and the collection in Guildford Museum is of 32 mainly Palaeolithic items collected from Farnham, Blackheath and Puttenham.

We are aware of a number of stone tools noted in the HER as being from a part of the ‘Lasham Collection’ which was deposited in the Sherborne School Museum. Both Guildford Museum and the lithics members were interested to know if the items in Sherborne could be accessed and Sherborne School was contacted. The archivist at the school has looked into this matter for us and confirms that the school museum was dismantled in 1948, and in 1959 at the instigation of Hugh Torrens (then a pupil and now Emeritus Professor of History at Keele) it was arranged that it would be donated to the British Museum and was handed over in January 1960. Guildford Museum will now investigate this further with the British Museum.