HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Betchworth is a village and
civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...
in the
Mole Valley Mole Valley is a local government district in Surrey, England. Its council is based in Dorking. The other town in the district is Leatherhead. The largest villages are Ashtead, Fetcham and Great Bookham, in the northern third of the district. ...
district of Surrey, England. The village centre is on the north bank of the
River Mole The River Mole is a tributary of the River Thames in southern England. It rises in West Sussex near Gatwick Airport and flows northwest through Surrey for to the Thames at Hampton Court Palace. The river gives its name to the Surrey distri ...
and south of the
A25 road The A25 road is an east–west main road in the South-East of England. Its carries traffic east from Guildford, Surrey, eastward through Surrey and into mid-west Kent, to the town of Sevenoaks, and then on to Wrotham Heath where it connects wit ...
, almost east of Dorking and west of
Reigate Reigate ( ) is a town in Surrey, England, around south of central London. The settlement is recorded in Domesday Book in 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'' and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The earliest archaeological evidence for huma ...
. London is north of the village. Service sector occupations dominate Betchworth's economy – its station and road links make it a part of the
London commuter belt The London metropolitan area is the metropolitan area of London, England. It has several definitions, including the London Travel to Work Area, and usually consists of the London urban area, settlements that share London's infrastructure, and ...
– combined with crop agriculture and services for a relatively large retired proportion of the population. A former
lime Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Botany ...
quarry, rebuilt manor house and Grade I-listed church are within its boundaries.


History


Toponymy

State records show the name as ''Becesworde'' (11th century), ''Beceswrde'' (12th century) and ''Bechesworth'' (13th century). The name is generally agreed to mean a "farm or enclosure belonging to a person or family called Becci".


Pre-Roman settlement

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...
artefacts have been found at Betchworth only since 1944. No Roman villas, farms or camps have been found.


Medieval period

Betchworth lay within the Wotton
hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to des ...
and appears in two entries in the ''
Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...
'' as ''Becesworde'', held by Richard Fitz Gilbert, Richard de Tonebrige. On the Domesday survey in 1086 its Assets were: 27 villagers/smallholders, 15 slaves, two hides; one church, two
mills Mills is the plural form of mill, but may also refer to: As a name * Mills (surname), a common family name of English or Gaelic origin * Mills (given name) *Mills, a fictional British secret agent in a trilogy by writer Manning O'Brine Places Uni ...
worth £1 10 s, 12 
ploughland The carucate or carrucate ( lat-med, carrūcāta or ) was a medieval unit of land area approximating the land a plough team of eight oxen could till in a single annual season. It was known by different regional names and fell under different forms ...
s, of
meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or arti ...
,
pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or sw ...
for five swine and
woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (se ...
and herbage/woodland worth 81  hogs. To its overlords it rendered in total £7 10s Domesday Map website – image of Betchworth's entry and transcription in summary
retrieved 30 October 2012
A distinct part named Thorncroft is mentioned in the first listing which was split by five overlords in 1066 before the conquest, Lewis (1848) and Malden (1911) say this relates to the formerly detached part in the west that is now between
Brockham Brockham is a village and civil parish in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England. It is approximately east of Dorking and west of Reigate. The village lies south of Box Hill, with the River Mole flowing west through the village. At t ...
and Dorking. Part of the village was reclassified in the 13th century. Subsequently, the east of the village became part of Reigate hundred. Ownership of Betchworth Manor passed to
Hamelin de Warenne, Earl of Surrey Hamelin de Warenne, Earl of Surrey ( 1130 – 7 May 1202) (''alias'' Hamelin of Anjou and, anachronistically,"It is much to be wished that the surname "Plantagenet," which since the time of Charles II, has been freely given to all descendants of ...
, who did villein service on Friday's Mead as Lord of (among others) Reigate and Betchworth in 1279. Hamelin's grandson
John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey (123127 September 1304) was a prominent English nobleman and military commander during the reigns of Henry III of England and Edward I of England. During the Second Barons' War he switched sides twice, e ...
owned much land in Surrey and his widow left the land to his nephew the
Earl of Arundel Earl of Arundel is a title of nobility in England, and one of the oldest extant in the English peerage. It is currently held by the Duke of Norfolk, and is used (along with the Earl of Surrey) by his heir apparent as a courtesy title. The ...
, who eventually left the manor to
Lord Abergavenny Marquess of Abergavenny (pronounced Aber''genn''y) in the County of Monmouth, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom created on 14 January 1876, along with the title Earl of Lewes (pronounced "Lewis"), in the County of Sussex, for the ...
. The 9th Lord Abergavenny sold it in 1629 for £1,080 to Sir Ralph Freeman, in whose family's hands it remained until 1817 when it was sold to
Henry Goulburn Henry Goulburn PC FRS (19 March 1784 – 12 January 1856) was a British Conservative statesman and a member of the Peelite faction after 1846. Background and education Born in London, Goulburn was the eldest son of a wealthy planter, Munbee G ...
. Two manors existed within the boundaries of today's village: ''Wonham'', which still stands today, and ''Betchworth''. A third manor, ''
Brockham Brockham is a village and civil parish in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England. It is approximately east of Dorking and west of Reigate. The village lies south of Box Hill, with the River Mole flowing west through the village. At t ...
'', became a separate village to the west. Wonham Manor, a grade II
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
, forms the eastern corner of the parish and for centuries owned Wonham Mill at the foot of the Shag Brook, which is a tributary of the River Mole, on the boundary with Buckland.


Post-Reformation

A manorial system continued for a long period in this village; the great tithes were commuted for £295 15s 4d, and the vicarial (lesser tithes) for £20.


Post-Industrial Revolution

A school was endowed with £20 per annum as at 1848 four other significant endowment charities existed then and continued though were less significant due to inflation through to at least 1911 for the benefit of the poor.


Betchworth lime quarries

To supply the cement for construction associated with required brick built housing, a rich seam of suitable chalk and limestone was identified in the
North Downs The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs): the Surrey Hills a ...
. Broome Park estate, extending to the top of the hill, included some of these quarries and was integral to the Dorking Grey Stone and Lime Company and the
North Downs Line The North Downs Line is a passenger-train line connecting Reading, on the Great Western Main Line, to Redhill and , along the Brighton Main Line, linking many centres of population in that part of the North Downs which it traverses en route. ...
's spur lines leading to these three pits. After an Act authorising the railway from
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...
to
Reigate Reigate ( ) is a town in Surrey, England, around south of central London. The settlement is recorded in Domesday Book in 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'' and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The earliest archaeological evidence for huma ...
was passed in 1847 and its construction, opening in 1849 the Betchworth Quarry Railways were built. To calcinate the lime from the stone, lime kilns were required. The six of the
lime kiln A lime kiln is a kiln used for the calcination of limestone ( calcium carbonate) to produce the form of lime called quicklime (calcium oxide). The chemical equation for this reaction is : CaCO3 + heat → CaO + CO2 This reaction can take p ...
s along the
Pilgrims' Way The Pilgrims' Way (also Pilgrim's Way or Pilgrims Way) is the historical route supposedly taken by pilgrims from Winchester in Hampshire, England, to the shrine of Thomas Becket at Canterbury in Kent. This name, of comparatively recent coinage ...
footpath in Betchworth are Scheduled Ancient Monuments, including Hoffman, Dietz and Six Flare kilns. In 1911 ''A History of the County of Surrey'' by Malden which is also a county guide, records the earlier key dates in the industry and records that "the chalk furnishes the chief industry...There are also brickyards in the parish, which is, however, mostly agricultural and residential". Accomplished surgeon to
George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...
,
William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded h ...
and
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...
, Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, lived and died at Broome Park a nursing home since 1993 with 11 acres at the top end of The Street. In 1924 a hydrator plant at Betchworth Limeworks was installed for slaking the lime.


Landmarks

Betchworth Conservation Area contains 22
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
s and the church of St Michael, the only Grade I building.


Betchworth Castle

The ruins of
Betchworth Castle Betchworth Castle is a mostly crumbled ruin of a fortified medieval stone house with some tall, two-storey corners strengthened in the 18th century, in the north of the semi-rural parish of Brockham. It is built on a sandstone spur overlooking ...
in Betchworth Park are a couple of miles west of Betchworth in the west of
Brockham Brockham is a village and civil parish in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England. It is approximately east of Dorking and west of Reigate. The village lies south of Box Hill, with the River Mole flowing west through the village. At t ...
civil parish.


St Michael's Church

St Michael's Church, Betchworth is
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
, immediately northwest of the village green and is Grade I listed. Most of the church on the Betchworth site now occupied by St Michael's dates to the early 13th century and in a pillar of the tower's south window, there remains a fragment of the stone Saxon church. The south aisle chapel became known as the Hope Chapel after Henry Thomas Hope bought the Manor in 1838. A tall war memorial is outside of the main west entrance of the building. A particular fine example of medieval
Gothic architecture Gothic architecture (or pointed architecture) is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It ...
pointed arches is in this church throughout its long
nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
and forming the entrance to its alcoves. It was used for the first scene of Richard Curtis's 'Four Weddings and a Funeral' (1994). And with the church behind you the village street was used for the very first shot in David Lean's 'Lawrence of Arabia' (1962).


Betchworth House

Architecturally Grade II*-listed Betchworth House is the largest building in the village, excluding Hartsfield Manor Hotel on the opposite bank of ''the Sloughs'' brook, and was built by the lord of the manor in 1675. Erected by the Freeman local Lords of the Manor after Ralph Freeman, judge, auditor and tin trader bought the manor in 1629 which the House replaced. A painting now in the house shows its appearance then, with corner towers. It was extended and re-faced in 1808 and again 1820.Betchworth House The house is constructed of red brick covered in stucco, tiled roofs behind parapets, long slated roofs to the back forming eaves and features sash windows. Merstham stone (of the North Downs) forms its main entrance surround—a "Gibbs-style door surround with pulvinated frieze and rusticated, arched, surround". Half-oval balconies are to the first floor windows. Marble columns are in the rear room. The house was further modified in the 1980s by architect Sir William Whitfield. The stables in front of Betchworth House by ''the Street'' are separately listed.
Humphry Repton Humphry Repton (21 April 1752 – 24 March 1818) was the last great English landscape designer of the eighteenth century, often regarded as the successor to Capability Brown; he also sowed the seeds of the more intricate and eclectic styles of ...
produced a Red Book for the estate in 1801 which is still held at the house.


Broome Park

Broome Park is a Grade II listed early 19th century house. It was the home of Sir Benjamin Brodie, the royal physician. After his death in 1862, it was sold to General Sir Percy R. B. Feilding, son of the 7th Earl of Denbigh, and was later the home of his daughter, Lady Louisa Feilding (d.1918). It is now a nursing home.


Local Government


County

Falling within the
county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
of Surrey, a third tier of local government is responsible for education, almost all built infrastructure and other services such as social care.
Surrey County Council Surrey County Council is the county council administering certain services in the non-metropolitan county of Surrey in England. The council is composed of 81 elected councillors, and in all but one election since 1965 the Conservative Party has ...
is elected every four years and has one representative, from Betchworth for Dorking Rural: *Helyn Clack, ( Con) who participates in these committees: **Cabinet Member for Community Services and the 2012 Games decisions **People, Performance and Development **The Mole Valley local committee (obligatory) The second party forming the main local opposition in the 2013 election, was the Liberal Democrats gaining 1,527 votes versus the winning candidate's 1,810.


District

Betchworth is in the east of
Mole Valley Mole Valley is a local government district in Surrey, England. Its council is based in Dorking. The other town in the district is Leatherhead. The largest villages are Ashtead, Fetcham and Great Bookham, in the northern third of the district. ...
District Council area, in which the main town is Dorking. Two councillors sit on
Mole Valley Mole Valley is a local government district in Surrey, England. Its council is based in Dorking. The other town in the district is Leatherhead. The largest villages are Ashtead, Fetcham and Great Bookham, in the northern third of the district. ...
District Council, who are:


Parish

At the local level Betchworth Parish Council provides certain local facilities and services.


Parliamentary Constituency

Betchworth is within
Mole Valley Mole Valley is a local government district in Surrey, England. Its council is based in Dorking. The other town in the district is Leatherhead. The largest villages are Ashtead, Fetcham and Great Bookham, in the northern third of the district. ...
parliamentary constituency.


Geography


Location

Betchworth is east of Dorking and west of
Reigate Reigate ( ) is a town in Surrey, England, around south of central London. The settlement is recorded in Domesday Book in 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'' and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The earliest archaeological evidence for huma ...
.Grid Reference Finder measurement tools
/ref> The village is south of London, in the outer
London commuter belt The London metropolitan area is the metropolitan area of London, England. It has several definitions, including the London Travel to Work Area, and usually consists of the London urban area, settlements that share London's infrastructure, and ...
.


Elevation

Elevations range from 216 m at the water tower, which marks the highest point of the parish on Box Hill, down to the
River Mole The River Mole is a tributary of the River Thames in southern England. It rises in West Sussex near Gatwick Airport and flows northwest through Surrey for to the Thames at Hampton Court Palace. The river gives its name to the Surrey distri ...
, which runs east–west through the village at 43 m AOD. Between these extremes the landscape is mainly undulating, except for the steep (and where quarried for several hundred metres, sheer) chalk face of the North Downs.Map
created by
Ordnance Survey Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was a ...
courtesy of ''English Heritage''


Geology & Soil

Formation of the
North Downs The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs): the Surrey Hills a ...
and the
erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...
that has taken place widely with repeated sea inundations and deposition is described in detail in the
Geology of Surrey The geology of Surrey is dominated by sedimentary strata from the Cretaceous, overlaid by clay and superficial deposits from the Cenozoic. Cretaceous strata During the Early Cretaceous epoch (from about 145 to about 100 million years ago) Sur ...
.
Mammoth A mammoth is any species of the extinct elephantid genus ''Mammuthus'', one of the many genera that make up the order of trunked mammals called proboscideans. The various species of mammoth were commonly equipped with long, curved tusks and, ...
fossilised bone remains have been found below flint beds under considerable clay in the low hills by the bank of the
River Mole The River Mole is a tributary of the River Thames in southern England. It rises in West Sussex near Gatwick Airport and flows northwest through Surrey for to the Thames at Hampton Court Palace. The river gives its name to the Surrey distri ...
in Betchworth. Most of the parish has free draining slightly acid loamy soil. Soil of the area that forms the top of the Betchworth Hills is "free draining, slightly acid but base-rich soil" rather than "shallow, lime-rich soil over chalk or limestone" which dominates the middle of Box Hill.Cranfield University National Soil Resources Institute
/ref> This is the natural spur to the trees that line the top as it produces extremely fertile pastures and deciduous woodland.
Surrey Wildlife Trust Surrey Wildlife Trust (SWT) was founded in 1959 as Surrey Naturalists' Trust and it is one of forty-six wildlife trusts covering Great Britain, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man and Alderney. SWT carries out conservation activities on a considerable ...
manages the rare flower meadows beneath the old quarry. The land rises towards the
North Downs The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs): the Surrey Hills a ...
AONB An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of thei ...
. Below this range of hills the
Mole Mole (or Molé) may refer to: Animals * Mole (animal) or "true mole", mammals in the family Talpidae, found in Eurasia and North America * Golden moles, southern African mammals in the family Chrysochloridae, similar to but unrelated to Talpida ...
flows briefly along the
Vale of Holmesdale Holmesdale, also known as the Vale of Holmesdale, is a valley in South-East England South East England is one of the nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It consists of the counties of ...
and the area around its tributary the Gadbrook is within the village.


Demography & Housing

In 2001 Betchworth comprised 372 households and 12 vacant houses, shops and country businesses such as stone merchants and garden centres.Surrey County Council collated figures from the 2001 census
/ref> In the 2001 census, Betchworth had 919 residents, of whom 26.5% were aged over 65; 4.8% of the population were in full-time further education; 74.5% of all men were economically active whereas 2.5% were unemployed and 4.2% worked part-time; 56.1% of all women were economically active whereas 1.6% were unemployed and 35.1% worked part-time. In the 2001 census 98.5% of the population identified as white, 0.7% as mixed and 1.3% as one of the four other main categories (five including ''mixed''). In 2001 74.7% of the population identified themselves as Christian, 0.7% as Muslim, 1.4% other religions, 13.4% as atheist. 10.5% declined to state a religious affiliation. Betchworth's economy is predominantly a service sector economy reflected by the low concentration at one end of the official categorisation table of occupation given, compiled from the 2001 census: Whereas 34.3% of the population worked in middle or higher professional occupations. The average level of accommodation in the region composed of detached houses was 28%, the average that was apartments was 22.6%. The proportion of households in the civil parish who owned their home outright compares to the regional average of 35.1%. The proportion who owned their home with a loan compares to the regional average of 32.5%. The remaining percent is made up of rented dwellings (plus a negligible percentage of households living rent-free).


Economy

Betchworth's economy is predominantly a service sector economy. With its rail station and road links it forms part of the London
commuter belt A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...
. Cleaning and gardening companies find a strong local market. Crop, chicken and pasture agriculture as well as a relatively large retired proportion of the population. The former
lime Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Botany ...
quarry is managed by workers from
Surrey Wildlife Trust Surrey Wildlife Trust (SWT) was founded in 1959 as Surrey Naturalists' Trust and it is one of forty-six wildlife trusts covering Great Britain, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man and Alderney. SWT carries out conservation activities on a considerable ...
and
English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...
. Great Brockhamhurst Farm is one of eleven farms in Betchworth and produces cereals and breeds horses. Root Hill farm is a farm and missionary camp. Local businesses include an air filters company. Yellow Pages: Westbury Filters, Betchworth and kennels. Hartsfield Manor Hotel is a major local employer with a long entrance drive off Sandy Lane has of parkland containing a small gatehouse called Ye Olde Gatehouse and serves also as a Wedding and conference venue. Betchworth Park Golf Club holding in its grounds the ruined Betchworth castle is in
Brockham Brockham is a village and civil parish in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England. It is approximately east of Dorking and west of Reigate. The village lies south of Box Hill, with the River Mole flowing west through the village. At t ...
though keeps the historic association with Betchworth.


Culture & Community


Memorial Hall

Betchworth Memorial Hall is a large village hall with a wooden floor, a high ceiling and a stage, making it suitable for self-nominated activities including badminton, lectures, receptions, and local operatics and drama, with seating for 150 people; leads to a smaller community room, the Geoffrey Browne Room, for 40/50 people available for hire separately. There is a 21st-century construction kitchen which can serve either hall, and all are available for hire.Betchworth Parish Council
/ref>


Hamilton Room

An Archives/Meeting Room, ''The
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...
Room'', suitable for meetings of 30/40 people, and small parties with adjoining kitchen and all amenities, is situated in conservation area ''Church Street'' in the centre of the village. Within it is a room housing village archives, known as the Meg Ryan Room.


Public house

The public house in Betchworth is ''The Dolphin'' which is near the church and opposite the blacksmith. It has flagstone floors, log fires and a large rear garden.


Village Green

Goulburn Green, the alternative name for the Village Green has stalls and maypole dancing in the children-costumed May bank holiday ''Medieval Fayre'', hosts occasional summer celebrations and is the venue of the ''Harvest Lunch'' in alternate years. James Hamilton donated the Green.


Allotments

Betchworth parish council operates six full size allotments at the rear of The Walled Garden allocated at a nominal fee.


Post Office

A Post Office with banking facilities is on Old Reigate Road, to the north of the village.


Local Walks

A popular local pastime is walking because in the
Vale of Holmesdale Holmesdale, also known as the Vale of Holmesdale, is a valley in South-East England South East England is one of the nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It consists of the counties of ...
and elsewhere. The Parish Council website has details of four walks.


Transport


Railways

Trains call at Betchworth at approximately hourly intervals in each direction in the morning and evening peaks and at two-hourly intervals off-peak. The route is known as the
North Downs Line The North Downs Line is a passenger-train line connecting Reading, on the Great Western Main Line, to Redhill and , along the Brighton Main Line, linking many centres of population in that part of the North Downs which it traverses en route. ...
and runs between the stations of
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...
and
Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after H ...
. Other stations along this route include Dorking (Deepdene),
Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...
,
Reigate Reigate ( ) is a town in Surrey, England, around south of central London. The settlement is recorded in Domesday Book in 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'' and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The earliest archaeological evidence for huma ...
and Redhill.


Roads

The A25 road that runs from the county of Kent to
Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...
via
Reigate Reigate ( ) is a town in Surrey, England, around south of central London. The settlement is recorded in Domesday Book in 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'' and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The earliest archaeological evidence for huma ...
and Dorking skirts the north of the village centre. From its roundabout on the A25, less major roads provide a cut-through towards
Walton-on-the-Hill Walton-on-the-Hill, Surrey, is a village in England midway between the market towns of Reigate and Epsom. The village is a dispersed cluster on the North Downs centred less than one mile inside of the M25 motorway. The village hosts the Walto ...
, via the notoriously steep Pebble Hill, a route towards
Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location * S ...
, London, the M25's Reigate Hill junction or
Leatherhead Leatherhead is a town in the Mole Valley District of Surrey, England, about south of Central London. The settlement grew up beside a ford on the River Mole, from which its name is thought to derive. During the late Anglo-Saxon period, Leath ...
and minor routes to the south connect southern villages, including
Leigh, Surrey Leigh is a village and civil parish in Surrey, between Reigate, Dorking and Charlwood in the east of Mole Valley district. The village centre is suburban and its remainder is agricultural, interspersed by four satellite clustered localities: ...
.
A-road A roads may be *motorways or freeways, usually where the local word for motorway begins with A (for example, ''Autobahn'' in German; ''Autostrada'' in Italian). * main roads or highways, in a system where roads are graded A, B and sometimes lower c ...
intersections of the A25 are in Dorking (A24) and at the foot of Reigate Hill in Reigate (A217).


Notable people

*Sir Ralph Freeman (abt 1590–1650) *
Sidonie Goossens Annie Sidonie Goossens OBE (19 October 1899 – 15 December 2004) was one of Britain's most enduring harpists. She made her professional debut in 1921, was a founder member of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and went on to play for more than half ...
, harpist, lived at Woodstock Farm, Gadbrook Road, Betchworth from 1949 until her death, aged 105, in December 2004. *
Henry Hare, 3rd Baron Coleraine Henry Hare, 3rd Baron Coleraine FRS; FSA (10 May 1693 – 1 August 1749) was an English antiquary, peer politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1730 to 1734. Life Born in Betchworth, Surrey, 10 May 1693, he was the eldest son of ...
(1693–1749) *
Henry Goulburn Henry Goulburn PC FRS (19 March 1784 – 12 January 1856) was a British Conservative statesman and a member of the Peelite faction after 1846. Background and education Born in London, Goulburn was the eldest son of a wealthy planter, Munbee G ...
, Chancellor of the Exchequer (1828) and slave owner at his Jamaican estate, Amity Hall * John Hamilton, 3rd Baron Hamilton * Lord James Hamilton (1938–2006)
Lord-in-waiting Lords-in-waiting (male) or baronesses-in-waiting (female) are peers who hold office in the Royal Household of the sovereign of the United Kingdom. In the official Court Circular they are styled "Lord in Waiting" or "Baroness in Waiting" (without ...
to the Queen * Norton-Griffiths Baronets, Baronetcy of Wonham (1922)


Education

North Downs Primary School is state-paid and has ones of its three sites in the village.


Notes and references

;Notes ;References


External links

* {{Authority control Villages in Surrey Mole Valley Civil parishes in Surrey