Chaldon 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 authority ...
in the
Tandridge District
Tandridge is a local government district in east Surrey, England. Its council is based in Oxted, although the largest settlement is Caterham; other notable settlements include Warlingham, Godstone and Lingfield. In mid-2019, the district had an e ...
of
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
, England. The village is situated high on 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 and ...
, immediately west of
Caterham
Caterham () is a town in the Tandridge District of Surrey, England. The town is administratively divided into two: Caterham on the Hill, and Caterham Valley, which includes the main town centre in the middle of a dry valley but rises to equal ...
and south of
Charing Cross
Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City; ...
, the traditional centre of
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
.
History
Etymology and Dark Ages
''Chalvedune'' is the first written record of the place in 675 AD, meaning the hill (down) where calves were pastured, in a grant of land to
Chertsey Abbey
Chertsey Abbey, dedicated to St Peter, was a Benedictine monastery located at Chertsey in the English county of Surrey.
It was founded in 666 AD by Saint Erkenwald who was the first abbot, and from 675 AD the Bishop of London. At the same time ...
.
[''Chaldon Explored, Appraisal on the Designation of Chaldon's Conservation Area:'' www.tandridge.gov.uk/Tandridge%20District%20Council/Planning/ChaldonExplored pdf Tandridge District Council] Prior to this period of human history, White Hill on the borders of Chaldon and Caterham has yielded
neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
flints.
The village lay within the
Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
administrative division of
Wallington 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 de ...
.
Middle Ages
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 manusc ...
the manor of ''Calvedone'' appears in Wallington hundred rendering £4 to its lord Ralph Fitz Turold, holding it as was most of the
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 de ...
of Bishop
Odo of Bayeux
Odo of Bayeux (died 1097), Earl of Kent and Bishop of Bayeux, was the maternal half-brother of William the Conqueror, and was, for a time, second in power after the King of England.
Early life
Odo was the son of William the Conqueror's mother ...
. Prior to the conquest it had been held by the Saxon lord Dernic of King Edward. It consisted of two
hides, land for two lord's plough teams and a church. In medieval times the parish included a narrow strip of land below the southern foot of the Downs and a wedge of land to the north of the church that in the 19th century were transferred to Bletchingley and Coulsdon respectively
[ – these are omitted from this article.
An inscribed stone dedicates a pond for use by residents not animals dated to the late 18th or early 19th century illustrates the lack of water in the village during summer months.][ St Catherine's south chancel chapel in the church became devoted to the memory of Christian Hane (d.1752) of an aedicular type with a white stone rectangular panel flanked by Doric pilasters with red marble inlay, swan-neck pediment and crowning shell.][Church of St Peter and St Paul ]
Church of St Peter and St Paul
The Grade I architecturally listed church of Saints Peter and Paul (built before 1086 AD) contains a large wall painting
A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage.
Word mural in art
The word ''mural'' is a Spanish ...
of around 1170 depicting images of the ways of salvation and damnation and their result [Executed in accordance with a scheme originating in the Eastern church, preserved to us in the 'Guide to Painting of the Greek Church,' as used by the monk-painters of the monasteries of ]Mount Athos
Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the penins ...
whose title is "The Ladder of the Salvation of the Human Soul and the Road to Heaven"
Post industrial revolution
Under Rev. James Legrew, the tithe
A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques or more r ...
s were commuted for £335. 11s 3d, however as rector retaining a glebe of 31 acres, with a glebe house. A tower and spire were added to the church in 1843[ from a ]bellcote
A bellcote, bell-cote or bell-cot is a small framework and shelter for one or more bells. Bellcotes are most common in church architecture but are also seen on institutions such as schools. The bellcote may be carried on brackets projecting from ...
before.[ Given its steep, dry landscape on top 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 and ...
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty
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 ...
, Chaldon did not develop new homes substantially even in the 19th and 20th centuries; though replacements to farmhouses were built in this period.
In 1848 the population was 197[ and the population in 1901 was only 266][ and it consisted of little more than "the church and six scattered farms".][ By 1911 Viscount Hylton connected his farms and cottages with the East Surrey Water Company's mains; otherwise the supply depended upon the shallow wells and ponds, filled in a wet season and empty in a dry one.][
]
Geography
Elevations, geology and soil
Chaldon has received by some locals the epithet "Little Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
" because of the microclimate
A microclimate (or micro-climate) is a local set of atmospheric conditions that differ from those in the surrounding areas, often with a slight difference but sometimes with a substantial one. The term may refer to areas as small as a few squ ...
resulting in heavier snowfall here than in other parts of the region when there is snow in Winter. Caterham-on-the-Hill is centred ENE
Ene or ENE may refer to:
Ene
* Ene (name), a given name and surname
* Ene, a type of hydrocarbon involved in the Ene reaction and the Thiol-ene reaction
* -ene'', a suffix used in the names of certain organic compounds (alkenes)
* Ene, Spanish ...
of Chaldon and London is north.
Local Government
Historical
The civil parish of Chaldon fell within the Reigate
Reigate ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, 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 earlie ...
Poor Law Union upon its creation in 1837, subsequently coming under control of Reigate Rural Sanitary District
Sanitary districts were established in England and Wales in 1872 and in Ireland in 1878. The districts were of two types, based on existing structures:
*Urban sanitary districts in towns with existing local government bodies
*Rural sanitary dis ...
from 1875 and Reigate Rural District
Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the Ad ...
from 1894 until its abolition in 1933.[F. Youngs, Local Administrative Units: Southern England (London: Royal Historical Society, 1979), p. 476] Thereafter it became part of the Caterham & Warlingham Urban District
Urban district may refer to:
* District
* Urban area
* Quarter (urban subdivision)
* Neighbourhood
Specific subdivisions in some countries:
* Urban districts of Denmark
* Urban districts of Germany
* Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (hist ...
until 1 April 1974 when the major local government reorganisation brought Chaldon under the newly formed Tandridge District
Tandridge is a local government district in east Surrey, England. Its council is based in Oxted, although the largest settlement is Caterham; other notable settlements include Warlingham, Godstone and Lingfield. In mid-2019, the district had an e ...
.
For the purposes of parliamentary elections, Chaldon became part of the Eastern Division of the Surrey county constituency
An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...
upon its creation in 1832. It moved to the Mid Division in 1867, to the South Eastern Division in 1885, to the Reigate Division in 1918 and to the East Surrey Division in 1948 where it remains to this day.[
]
Current authorities
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 ...
, headquartered in Kingston, elected every four years, has one representative councillor as follows:
Chaldon has a representative on Tandridge District Council
Tandridge is a village and civil parish in the Tandridge District, in the county of Surrey, England. Its nucleus is on a rise of the Greensand Ridge between Oxted and Godstone. It includes, towards its middle one named sub-locality (hamlet), ...
, headquartered in Oxted
Oxted is a town and civil parish in the Tandridge district of Surrey, England, at the foot of the North Downs. It is south south-east of Croydon in Greater London, west of Sevenoaks in Kent, and north of East Grinstead in West Sussex.
Oxte ...
:
Civil parish
Chaldon's residents can participate in the Civil Parish Council with five village councillors and the parish clerk.
Demography and housing
In 2001, there were 1,821 residents in 639 households, of which 18.8% were aged over 65; 4.5% of the population were in full-time further education; 70.9% of all men were economically active whereas 3.2% were unemployed, 5.2% worked part-time; 58.9% of all women were economically active whereas 1.2% were unemployed, 37.7% worked part-time.
As to ethnicity, 97.3% of the population identified themselves as being white, 0.5% as mixed, 1.0% as of Indian descent, and 1.5% as other of the three main categories.[
In terms of religion, 80.1%% of the population responded as being Christian, 0.6% as Muslim, 2.0% other religions, 11.1% as atheist and 6% declined to answer.][
Chaldon's economy is predominantly a service sector economy reflected by the lower end of the official categorisation table of occupation given, compiled from the 2001 census:
Whereas in this census, 24% of the population worked in lower managerial and professional occupations and 7.9% in 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 % is made up of rented dwellings (plus a negligible % of households living rent-free).
]
Landmarks
Along the north street, Church Lane, is a line of houses ending with the Church Green. Here is a close cluster of five listed buildings including the two most highly ranked 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 plus farm outbuildings. This area forms a conservation area. Its booklet with hand-drawn illustrations was produced in 1975, year of European Architectural Heritage.[
On Roffes Lane at no. 18 and no. 20 are two unusual ]Arts and Crafts
A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...
elm timber framed and panelled cottages by the architect Ernest George Trobridge
Ernest George Trobridge (1884–1942) was an architect and developer. He was active in domestic architecture during the first half of the 20th century, especially in what became the North Western suburbs of London.
Career
Trobridge was an adhe ...
. There was a third at no. 22; however, this was demolished in 2015 and no. 18 is under threat from developers.
Church of St Peter and St Paul
See above.
Chaldon Court
This Grade II* listed timber-framed
Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...
building was built in the 14th century and encased in brick and flint in the 18th century; its door is of the Tudor period
The Tudor period occurred between 1485 and 1603 in History of England, England and Wales and includes the Elizabethan period during the reign of Elizabeth I until 1603. The Tudor period coincides with the dynasty of the House of Tudor in Englan ...
.[Chaldon Court Grade II* Listing] Its large gable ends have a large window housing a third floor; however, its extension at a right-angle has instead two taller storeys, slightly lower in height.[
]
Surrey National Golf Course
Although almost a plateau, the highest part of Chaldon is White Hill, which overlooks Caterham and southeast London beyond and is occupied by Surrey National Golf Course.
Notes
References
External links
Chaldon Village Council
Chaldon
*
{{authority control
Villages in Surrey
Tandridge
Civil parishes in Surrey