Surrey
:
For other places with the same name, see Surrey (disambiguation). Surrey is a
county in southern
England, part of the
South East England region and one of the
Home Counties. The county borders
Berkshire,
Greater London,
Hampshire,
Kent,
East Sussex and
West Sussex. The county town is
Guildford.
Surrey is divided into 11
boroughs and districts:
Elmbridge,
Epsom and Ewell,
Guildford,
Mole Valley,
Reigate and Banstead,
Runnymede,
Spelthorne,
Surrey Heath,
Tandridge,
Waverley,
Woking.
See also list of places in Surrey. Surrey has a population of approximately one million people. The county town is
Guildford, which despite having a
University, a
Castle and a
Cathedral is not a
city. Unusually, the county administration is based outside of the county's current boundaries in
Kingston upon Thames and has been since
April 1 1965 when that area, and others, were included within
Greater London by an act of
Parliament[
1]. Recent plans to move the offices to a new site in
Woking have now been abandoned[
2].
Due to its proximity to London there are many commuter towns and villages in Surrey, the population density is high and the area is more affluent, on average, than other parts of the
UK.
Most English counties have nicknames for people from that county, such as a
Tyke from
Yorkshire and a
Yellowbelly from
Lincolnshire; the traditional
nickname for people from Surrey is 'Surrey Capon', as it was well known in the later Middle Ages as the county where chickens were fattened up for the London meat markets.
Surrey contains a good deal of mature
woodland (reflected in the official logo of Surrey County Council, a pair of interlocking oak leaves). Among its many notable beauty spots are
Box Hill,
Leith Hill,
Frensham Ponds and
Puttenham Common. It is the most wooded county in Great Britain, with 22.4% coverage compared to a national average of 11.8% [
3] and as such is one of the few counties to not include new woodlands in their strategic plans. Box Hill has the oldest untouched area of natural woodland in the UK, one of the oldest in Europe.
Much of Surrey is in the
Green Belt and is rolling
downland, the county's geology being dominated by the chalk hills of the
North Downs. Agriculture not being intensive, there are many
commons and access lands, together with an extensive network of
footpaths and bridleways including the
North Downs Way, a scenic
long-distance path. Accordingly, Surrey provides much in the way of rural leisure activities, with a very large
horse population. Towards the north of the county, the land is largely flat around
Staines and bi-sected by the River
Thames.
The highest point in Surrey is
Leith Hill near
Dorking at 968 ft (295 m) above sea level.
British and Roman Surrey
Before Roman times the area today known as Surrey was very probably governed by the
Atrebates tribe centred at
Calleva in the modern county of
Hampshire. They were known to have controlled the southern bank of the
Thames from Roman documents describing the nature of tribal relations between them and the powerful
Catuvellauni on the north banks. In about 42AD King
Cynfelin ap Tegfan of the Catuvellauni died and war broke out between his sons and between King
Verica of the Atrebates. The Catuvellauni invaded the Atrebatean lands, probably crossing the River Thames near modern
Staines where the river could be forded. The Atrebates were defeated in the conflict, their capital captured and their lands made subject to the Catuvellauni now led by
Togodumnus ruling from
Camulodunum. Verica fled to
Gaul and appealed for Roman aid. The Atrebates were allies with
Rome during their invasion of Britain in
43AD. The territory of Surrey was traversed by
Stane Street and other less well known Roman roads.
After the Romans left Britain in c.
410AD the territory of modern Surrey was officially part of
Britannia Prima but was probably ruled by the successor realm of the
Atrebates tribe. It has long been speculated that
Guildford may have been the
Astolat of
Arthurian renown, however the legendary city is more likely to have been Calleva (modern day
Silchester), the capital of the Atrebates, which resisted the
Anglo-Saxons for many years.
The Saxon tribes and the sub-kingdom
From around 480 AD Saxons from the south and Jutes from east invaded and began settling in the area and establishing a sub-kingdom probably with
Middle Saxon overlords. At this time the area was sparsely populated and almost entirely forested. There was a local truce recorded in c.500 (possibly as a result of the
Battle of Badon Hill) and only north and east Surrey were retained by the
Anglo-Saxons. The westward expansion into British territory continued from c.550AD with some local British communities becoming marooned within the confines of Saxon Surrey, probably around
Walton-on-Thames. From
568 the eastern border of Surrey and Kent is agreed and marked by a ditch. Local tribes named
Æschingas,
Godhelmingas (around
Godalming),
Tetingas (around
Tooting),
Woccingas (between
Woking and
Wokingham),
Basingas (the
Blackwater Valley) and
Sonningas (around
Sonning) are known to have existed.
In
661 the sub-kingdom took
Mercia as its overlord. In
675 Surrey became one of the last portions of
England to convert to
Christianity when its sub-King
Friþuwald and his son were baptised. The name of the area at this time is recorded as
Sudergeona or "southern region". In
685 Surrey changed allegiance and took
Wessex as its overlord. In
690 the western border of Surrey was settled with
Wessex; the tribal territory of the
Sonningas became part of
Berkshire and the
Basingas became part of
Hampshire. In
705 Surrey was transferred from the Middle Saxon diocese of
London to the West Saxon
diocese of Winchester. After
771 Surrey came under the rule of
Offa of Mercia and was so until
823 when Surrey reverted to
Wessex and so remained. Some historians have also speculated that the
Nox gaga and the
Oht gaga tribes listed in the Mercian
Tribal Hidage refers to two distinct groups living in Surrey. They were valued together at 7,000
hides.
Sub Kings and Eorldermen of Surrey * Friþuwald (c.673 - 675)
* Friþuric (675 - c.686)
an unknown series of
sub regulus until;
* Brorda (c.775)
an unknown series of
Eorldermen until;
* Wulfherd (c.823)
* Huda (c.853)
an unknown series of
Eorldermen until;
* Æðelwerd (late 10th century)
* Æðelmær (? - 1016) son
The West Saxon shire
The territory of Surrey was formally annexed by Wessex in
860 and became a
Shire under the same model as the other counties of Wessex. It is around this time that the wars between the
Ænglecynn and the Danes reach their crescendo with Surrey becoming the arena for a number of key battles; most notably at the
Battle of Ockley in
851 and the
Battle of Farnham in
894.
After the death of King
Alfred the Great in
899 his son, King
Eadweard I was crowned on the
King's Stone at
Kingston upon Thames. The use of this stone before
902 is unknown but it seems likely that it would have been something of ancient spiritual or political significance. After him another six kings of England from the
House of Wessex were crowned here, the last being
Æþelræd II in
978.
In
1011 it is recorded that Surrey was over-run by Danish forces led by
Knud II den Store before all of England submitted to them in
1016.
In 1035 the foreign tyrant Knud died and during the uncertainty that followed the heirs of former Anglo-Saxon rulers attempted to restore the
House of Wessex to the throne of
Ænglalond.
Ælfred Æþling the younger of the two heirs (his older brother being the future
Eadweard III) landed on the coast of Sussex with a
Norman mercenary body guard and attempted to make his way to London. In the
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle there is an account of this fateful encounter:
:"As Ælfred and his men approached the town of
Guildford in Surrey, thirty miles south-west of London, they were met by the powerful
Earl Godwin of Wessex, who professed loyalty to the young prince and procured lodgings for him and his men in the town. The next morning, Godwin said to Ælfred:
"I will safely and securely conduct you to London, where the great men of the kingdom are awaiting your coming, that they may raise you to the throne." This he said in spite of the fact that the throne was already occupied by the son of Knud,
Harold Harefoot, and he was actually in league with King Harold to lure the young prince to his death."
:"Then the earl led the prince and his men over the hill of
Guildown (called today
The Hog's Back and is the route of the
A31), which is to the west of Guildford, on the road to
Winchester, not London. Perhaps the prince had insisted on continuing his journey to his original destination, his mother's court in Winchester, in any case, Godwin repeated his tempting offer; showing the prince the magnificent panorama from the hill both to the north and to the south, he said:
"Look around on the right hand and on the left, and behold what a realm will be subject to your dominion." Ælfred then gave thanks to God and promised that if he should ever be crowned king, he would institute such laws as would be pleasing and acceptable to God and men. At that moment, however, he was seized and bound together with all his men. Nine tenths of them were then murdered. And since the remaining tenth was still so numerous, they, too, were decimated."
:"Ælfred was tied to a horse and then conveyed by boat to the monastery of Ely. As the boat reached land, his eyes were put out. For a while he was looked after by the monks, who were fond of him, but soon after he died, probably on February 5, 1036."
Interestingly, during the 1920's the remains of several hundred soldiers, probably Normans, were found to the west of Guildford. They were bound and had been executed. The grave was dated to c.1040. It is likely that they were the guards of poor Prince Ælfred.
After the Anglo-Saxon restoration through the accession of
Eadweard III in
1042 Surrey remained unmolested until the
Norman Conquest in 1066. Few remains of either the ancient British, the Roman, or the Saxon periods in Surrey exist. Stone Street and Ermine Street have left some vestiges, and Roman relics, of no great interest, have been found at various places.
Medieval Surrey
|
Hundreds of Surrey c.825 - 1889 |
After the Norman Conquest,
William the Bastard gave the county to
William de Warenne, and gave to him and his descendants the title of
Earl. The chief subsequent event connected with it was the signing of the great charter at
Runnymede, and other public events were mostly intertwined with the history of the metropolis. However, Guildford Castle was captured by forces supporting the
Dauphin of
France in
1216, and in June
1497 the county was overrun by as many as 15,000
Cornish rebels heading for
London. This would have been the first Brythonic army to move through Surrey for nearly 900 years. There was a brief battle just outside
Guildford at
Gil Down before the Cornish rebels marched north east through
Banstead and right across Wallington and Brixton Hundreds as far as
Blackheath in
Kent where they were eventually routed by an English army.
Specimens of monastic buildings of early English date occur in
Waverley Abbey and
Newark Priory. These were both destroyed during
the reformation. It was also the home of the
Merton Priory from 1114 until 1538. From the Saxon period up until
Victorian times Surrey was divided into the 14
hundreds of
Blackheath,
Brixton,
Copthorne,
Effingham Half-Hundred,
Elmbridge,
Farnham,
Godalming,
Godley,
Kingston,
Reigate,
Tandridge,
Wallington,
Woking and
Wotton.
Modern history
The modern county of Surrey was formed in 1889 when the Provisional
Surrey County Council first met. At this time, until future local government reorganisation, it comprised of
Lord Lieutenant and Custos Rotulorum (Chief
Magistrate), a
High Sheriff, and a county council consisting of 19
aldermen and 57
councillors. This assumed the responsibilities of the now defunct
Shire Court and
Hundred Courts. The new county of Surrey was reduced in size with the loss of areas in the north east bordering the
City of London which became part of the new
County of London and today form the London Boroughs of
Lambeth,
Southwark and
Wandsworth.
Penge was lost to neighbouring Kent in 1899.
Reforms in local government in 1965 further changed the borders of the county. The area that now forms the London Boroughs of
Croydon,
Kingston,
Merton,
Sutton and that part of
Richmond south of the
River Thames were made part of
Greater London and the area that is now
Spelthorne was acquired from
Middlesex.
The 1974 local government reforms caused
Gatwick Airport and some surrounding land to be transferred to
West Sussex. Under the
Local Government Act 1972 Horley and
Charlwood were transferred, however fierce local opposition led to a reversal of this under the
Charlwood and Horley Act 1974.
This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Surrey at current basic prices
published (pp.240-253) by
Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.
| Agriculture | Industry | Services |
|---|
| 1995 | 12,177 | 116 | 2,414 | 9,647 |
| 2000 | 19,811 | 103 | 3,288 | 16,420 |
| 2003 | 22,790 | 99 | 3,394 | 19,297 |
includes hunting and forestry
includes energy and construction
includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured
Components may not sum to totals due to rounding
*
Guildford, Called the County Town after
Kingston-upon-Thames became part of
Greater London in 1969.
*
Epsom*
Redhill*
Reigate*
Staines, Part of Surrey since 1969.
*
Dorking*
Farnham*
Leatherhead*
Caterham*
Camberley*
Woking*
Esher*
Walton-on-Thames*
Chertsey*
Shepperton, Part of Surrey since 1969.
*
Ashford, Surrey, Part of Surrey since 1969.
*
Laleham, Part of Surrey since 1969.
*
Sunbury, Part of Surrey since 1969.
*
Godalming*
Oxted*
Horley, Was almost apart of
West Sussex (See Above).
*
Royal Holloway, University of London is based in
Egham* The
University of Surrey is based in
GuildfordAmongst many schools in Surrey, notable ones are:
*
The Ashcombe School in
Dorking*
Caterham School in
Caterham *
Charterhouse School in
Godalming *
Cranleigh School in
Cranleigh*
The Royal Grammar School in
Guildford*
St John's School,
LeatherheadNational Trust properties
*
Box Hill just north of Dorking is woodland and chalk downland with superb views from the top of the hill. The eminent British
myrmecologist and
coleopterist Horace Donisthorpe frequented this location during his studies of
British ants.
*
Clandon Park, an
18th century Palladian mansion in West Clandon to the east of Guildford. The house, which holds interesting collections, and the gardens are both attractive.
*
Claremont Landscape Garden, south of Esher. The gardens date from 1715,
*
Dapdune Wharf on the River Wey in Guildford is home to a restored Wey barge, the Reliance.
*
Devil's Punch Bowl at Hindhead is another common with fine views and walks.
*
Frensham Common home to a variety of plant, animal and birdlife. Scenic with pleasant walks (and horse rides). Frensham Great Pond houses assorted sailing activities whilst Frensham Little Pond provides family picnicing spots.
*
Hatchlands Park in East Clandon, east of Guildford, was built in
1758 with
Robert Adam interiors and a fine keyboard collection.
*
Holmbury St Mary is a charming village in an
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, close to the
Greensand Way and
North Downs Way. It was developed in the 19th century and still has a mainly
Victorian character as on the whole no new building is allowed. The
youth hostel, constructed in the village in
1935, was the first purpose-built by the
Youth Hostels Association.
*
Leith Hill to the south west of Dorking is the highest point in south-east England. Woods,
Rhododendrons and magnificent views from the many walks.
*
Oakhurst Cottage in Hambledon near Godalming is a restored
16th century worker's home.
*
Polesden Lacey south of Great Bookham is a
Regency villa with extensive grounds. Each summer open air theatre is presented in the grounds.
*
River Wey & Godalming Navigations from Godalming to the Thames at Weybridge. Interesting scenery, well kept locks and well maintained towpaths make for pleasant walks.
*
Runnymede at Egham is the site of the signing of the
Magna Carta in
1215. Attractive meadows and woodland, part of which are a
Site of Special Scientific Interest.
*
Shalford Mill is an
18th century water-mill on the River Tillingbourne.
*
Winkworth Arboretum south east of Godalming was created in the
20th century with impressive flowers in the spring and magnificent colours in the autumn.
*
Witley Common is heathland south of Godalming.
*
Wotton Wotton House was the family seat of
John Evelyn, the 17th-century diarist and horticulturist.
Other places of interest
*
Guildford Cathedral is a post-war cathedral built from bricks made from the clay hill on which it stands.
*
Waverley Abbey.
*
Surrey Hills AONB *
Royal Earlswood Hospital is an early
psychiatric hospital which housed the
autistic savant James Henry Pullen and
The Queen Mother's two nieces:
Nerissa Bowes-Lyon and
Katherine Bowes-Lyon.
*
Royal Horticultural Society Garden, Wisley.
*
Brooklands Museum
*
Hindhead -
Devil's Punch Bowl,
Thursley. This is a totally secluded cottage in a rural beauty spot and has no car access.
*
Holmbury St Mary - In wooded grounds in the hills with easy access. SE of Abinger.
*Tanners Hatch - A cottage in the woods on the outskirts of Ranmore Common NW of Dorking.
Surrey is served by these emergency sevices.
*
Surrey Police, with 12 stations.
*
South East Coast Ambulance Service as of 1st July 2006. The
Surrey Ambulance Service,
Sussex, and
Kent Ambulance services have all merged, and have now ceased to exist.
*
Surrey Fire & Rescue Service, with 24 fire stations.
*
Surrey County Council *
Surrey Interactive Map *
University of Surrey Homepage *
SurreyProperty.com/aerial.html aerial photographs
*
Surrey only Search Engine*
So Surrey Crew Website for Surrey youth
*
The River Wey and Wey Navigations Community Site *
The Bourne Children and Youth Initiative *http://uk.geocities.com/guildfordian2002/AngloSaxon/PrinceAlfred.htm
*http://www.omnipelagos.com/
*http://www.btinternet.com/~john.whitbourn/Cornish.htm
