Home of Surrey Comet founder Thomas Philpott found in Thames Ditton

Research by the paper’s features editor, June Sampson, had revealed one reference to the fact that he lived in a house called the Saltbox in Thames Ditton, but no one knew where the house was or even whether it still existed.

But last year the paper was contacted by Jonathan Coggins who had read an article written by editor Sean Duggan in the Thames Ditton Magazine, about the history of the newspaper.

He realised that the dilapidated house he had been lovingly restoring for the past decade was the Saltbox.

Although dying of cancer, he was keen to ensure there was a permanent reminder at the house of its connection with the extraordinary Mr Philpott.

On Friday his wish came true, when a plaque was unveiled beside the door of the white clapperboard house in Portsmouth Road which is known to be more than 300 years old.

Sadly Mr Coggins was not alive to witness the event but his widow, daughter and two of his sisters attended the ceremony, and were fascinated to hear more about the life of Mr Philpott.

His wife Dee Coggins, 53, said: “My husband would have been delighted. He read the article and he was very impressed. Thomas Philpott seemed like a really great man.”

A deeply religious man who ran a small printing company in nearby Surbiton, legend has it that he was acting on divine command when he founded the Surrey Comet in 1854, to promote good and punish wrongdoers.

While he ran the paper it campaigned on a variety of subjects, from improving sanitation in the slums of Kingston to bringing an end to the bloody Crimean War.

A century-and-a-half later his campaigning spirit continues, with recent successes including helping raise millions for a new cancer unit at Kingston Hospital and saving Kingston Magistrates’ Court.

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