Dunsfold is a
village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...
in the
borough of Waverley
The Borough of Waverley is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with borough status in Surrey, England. The borough's headquarters are in the town of Godalming; other notable settlements are the towns of Farnham and Haslemere an ...
,
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, 8.7 miles (14 kilometres) south of
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 ...
. It lies in
the Weald
The Weald () is an area of South East England between the parallel chalk escarpments of the North and the South Downs. It crosses the counties of Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex and Kent. It has three separate parts: the sandstone "High Weald" in the ...
and reaches in the north the southern
escarpment
An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations.
The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''escar ...
of the
Greensand Ridge
The Greensand Ridge, also known as the Wealden Greensand is an extensive, prominent, often wooded, mixed greensand/sandstone escarpment in south-east England. Forming part of the Weald, a former dense forest in Sussex, Surrey and Kent, it runs ...
. It includes the
Wey and Arun Canal
The Wey and Arun Canal is a partially open, 23-mile-long (37 km) canal in the southeast of England. It runs southwards from the River Wey at Gunsmouth in Shalford, Surrey to the River Arun at Pallingham, in West Sussex. The canal compri ...
, and just under half of
Dunsfold Aerodrome
Dunsfold Aerodrome (former ICAO code EGTD) is an unlicensed airfield in Surrey, England, near the village of Cranleigh. It extends across land in the villages of Dunsfold and Alfold.
It was built by the Canadian Army and civilian contracto ...
, which is shared with
Alfold
Alfold is a village and civil parish in Surrey, England on the West Sussex border. Alfold is a dispersed or polyfocal village in the Green Belt, which is buffered from all other settlements. The Greensand Way runs north of the village along th ...
.
History
Norman English (Middle Ages) building and records
The village's name was recorded as ''Duntesfaude'' in 1259, ''Duntesfaud'' in 1272 and ''Duntesfalde'' in 1291, apparently meaning ''Dunt's fold''. Alternatively it may be derived from the
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
(and Celtic) ''dun'' (hill i.e. down) and ''fold'' (enclosure). Either way folding means enclosing with fences, a way of moving sheep around the land to graze off the remains of previously harvested crops. It still emulated in modern sheep farming with and without pens around the village. There are some prize-winning Aberdeen Angus cattle farmed here but the last dairy herd has now closed.
St Mary & All Saints' Church is a Norman building, containing the oldest
pew
A pew () is a long bench (furniture), bench seat or enclosed box, used for seating Member (local church), members of a Church (congregation), congregation or choir in a Church (building), church, synagogue or sometimes a courtroom.
Overview
...
s in England. The nearby Holy Well was a site of
pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...
– its waters were thought to cure diseases of the eye. It would be consistent with the topography of the site that the well be a pre-Christian site and the church itself be constructed on a man-made hill of pre-Christian origin. The current rector is Paul Jenkins who has been installed since 23 January 2007.
Manors
Three
manor
Manor may refer to:
Land ownership
*Manorialism or "manor system", the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of medieval Europe, notably England
*Lord of the manor, the owner of an agreed area of land (or "manor") under manorialism
*Man ...
s were here, all had more cultivated fields, in order of size: Burningfold, Field Place and Graffham Grange.
;Burningfold
Anthony Browne, 6th Viscount Montagu
Viscount Montagu was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created on 2 September 1554 for Anthony Browne of the Noble House of Montagu. It became extinct on the death of the ninth Viscount in 1797. The title Viscount Montagu was chose ...
(d. 1767) held this largest estate from a purchase from a Mr Tanner in 1751 until 1756 and his son sold it to Edmund Woods jun. in 1790. Owner Charlotte Woods built and endowed the first school, on the Green in 1850.
;Field Place
Held by Emery Cranley, it briefly split by
moiety title
In law, a moiety title is the ownership of part of a property. The word derives from Old French ''moitié'', "half" (the word has the same meaning in modern French), from Latin ''medietas'' ("middle"), from ''medius''.
In English law, it relates ...
between Quenell and Stoughton sisters (both born Cranley), was reunited by Peter Quenell then sold 1651 (to William Yalden) and 1677 (to William Sadler). In 1850 of James Sadler of Chiddingfold held it, by which time its main economy legacy was Field Place, a small
manor house
A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...
, with "a most delightful collection" of roofs of many of pitches and dispositions.
[
;Graffham Grange
In the early 13th century Walter Giffard, Abbot of Waverley, (1236–51), granted all the rights of the abbey in Graffham to Walter de Graffham for a rent of 16s. a year, rent paid to Markwick, a former possession of ]Waverley Abbey
Waverley Abbey was the first Cistercian abbey in England, founded in 1128 by William Giffard, the Bishop of Winchester.
Located about southeast of Farnham, Surrey, it is situated on a flood-plain; surrounded by current and previous channels o ...
as late as 1808. Mr. J. C. McAndrew was an owner of what was left of it towards the end of 19th century followed by Mr. F. A. Shepherd.[
]
Other buildings and industries
Common House is a late medieval hall which dates from circa 1500, of lowest listing category, Grade II architectural importance. The village has many other houses of architectural interest e.g. ''Lark's Rise'', ''Yonder Lye'' and ''The Sun Inn'' public house, set back from the common
Common may refer to:
Places
* Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
* Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts
* Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts
* Clapham Common, originally com ...
, parts of which are clearly ancient particularly the rear bar.
The village was a site of iron smelting
Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including silver, iron, copper, and other base metals. Smelting uses heat and a ch ...
from local ironstone
Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical replacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron ore compound from which iron (Fe) can be smelted commercially. Not to be con ...
(see Bargate stone
__NOTOC__
Bargate stone is a highly durable form of sandstone. It owes its yellow, butter or honey colouring to a high iron content. In some contexts it may be considered to be a form of ironstone. However, in the context of stone buildings local ...
) and iron-smithery in the Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
. Later, Dunsfold has hosted the construction of the Wey and Arun Canal
The Wey and Arun Canal is a partially open, 23-mile-long (37 km) canal in the southeast of England. It runs southwards from the River Wey at Gunsmouth in Shalford, Surrey to the River Arun at Pallingham, in West Sussex. The canal compri ...
which is being gradually reopened, and Dunsfold Aerodrome
Dunsfold Aerodrome (former ICAO code EGTD) is an unlicensed airfield in Surrey, England, near the village of Cranleigh. It extends across land in the villages of Dunsfold and Alfold.
It was built by the Canadian Army and civilian contracto ...
which is used primarily in connection with automobile
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...
s of many times, hosting a major television programme on the subject.
Amenities
The village has a cricket club with matches usually on Sunday afternoons.
Dunsfold has a small Post Office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...
and shop in the middle of the village.
Dunsfold Park
The airstrip was built by the Canadian Army
The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...
during World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. After the war the airfield was used to repatriate prisoners of war. Dunsfold was declared inactive in 1946 but was used again in 1948 and 1949 as part of the Berlin Airlift
The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, road ...
. In 1950 The Hawker Aircraft Company acquired the lease of the site.
In October 1960 the then Hawker Siddeley
Hawker Siddeley was a group of British manufacturing companies engaged in aircraft production. Hawker Siddeley combined the legacies of several British aircraft manufacturers, emerging through a series of mergers and acquisitions as one of onl ...
flight tested its Hawker P. 1127 prototype, the development aircraft that led to the Hawker Siddeley Harrier
The Hawker Siddeley Harrier is a British military aircraft. It was the first of the Harrier series of aircraft and was developed in the 1960s as the first operational ground attack and reconnaissance aircraft with vertical/short takeoff and ...
, the first VTOL
A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft is one that can take off and land vertically without relying on a runway. This classification can include a variety of types of aircraft including helicopters as well as thrust-vectoring fixed-win ...
jet fighter bomber. Final assembly of the Harrier and the Hawk
Hawks are bird of prey, birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica.
* The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. Th ...
trainer aircraft was at Dunsfold. Hawker Siddeley became part of British Aerospace
British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. Formed in 1977, in 1999 it purchased Marconi ...
in 1977. On 2 July 1986 British Aerospace's deputy chief test pilot Jim Hawkins was killed at Dunsfold when his developmental Hawk 200 crashed. On 24 June 1999 British Aerospace announced the closure of Dunsfold as part of a restructuring; Hawk final assembly had been transferred to Warton in 1988 and Harrier production finished in 1998.
Post-British Aerospace
In 2002, BAE Systems
BAE Systems plc (BAE) is a British multinational arms, security, and aerospace company based in London, England. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe, and ranked the seventh-largest in the world based on applicable 2021 revenues. ...
(British Aerospace's successor) sold Dunsfold Park to The Rutland Group and The Royal Bank of Scotland
The Royal Bank of Scotland plc (RBS; gd, Banca Rìoghail na h-Alba) is a major retail banking, retail and commercial bank in Scotland. It is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of NatWest Group, together with NatWest (in England and Wales) ...
forming Dunsfold Park Ltd with the intention of developing the site as Britain' s most sustainable village with 2500 homes. Since 2002, the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
motoring show ''Top Gear
Top Gear may refer to:
* "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission
Television
* ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme
* ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the or ...
'' has been recorded at the park using the former paint shop as a studio and parts of the runways and taxiways of the aerodrome as a test track
Test Track is a high-speed slot car thrill ride located in World Discovery at Epcot, a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. The ride is a simulated excursion through the rigorous testing procedures that General Mot ...
.
The Young Drivers Track
Some of the track (The Young Drivers Track) is now used by many driving schools and instructors to enable under seventeen-year-olds to learn to drive.
Dunsfold Park is the home to Wings and Wheels, an air and motor show that has been running for many years now and typically held in late August. Currently run by the site owners, Dunsfold Park Ltd, it will continue until the park is redeveloped.
Demography and housing
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).
Eco-town expansion plan
In 2006, the owners of Dunsfold Park proposed the construction of a new town with 2,600 homes on the site, a school, health services, public transport and road links to the A281, and an expanded business district. One of the largest construction projects in Surrey, it would result in the closure and replacement of the aerodrome. A project of this kind and size is controversial, resulting in the formation of the ''STOP Dunsfold Park New Town'' campaign.
In late 2007, Dunsfold Park Ltd. applied to have their plans for the new town selected as one of the Brown Ministry
Gordon Brown formed the Brown ministry after being invited by Queen Elizabeth II to form a new administration following the resignation of the previous Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair, on 27 June 2007. Brown formed his governm ...
's proposed "eco-towns". On 3 April 2008 Dunsfold Park was denied Eco-town status by Housing Minister, Caroline Flint
Caroline Louise Flint (born 20 September 1961) is a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Don Valley from 1997 to 2019. A member of the Labour Party, she attended the Cabinet of the United Kingdom as Minister for Hous ...
. According to the Government's press release over 40 applications including Dunsfold Park were rejected "for being undeliverable or not ambitious enough to meet the high environmental and affordability standards set by Government."
An appeal in 2009 was rejected by the then Secretary of State John Denham John Denham may refer to:
* John Denham (died 1556 or later), English MP for Shaftesbury
* John Denham (judge), (1559–1639), father of the poet below, and one of the Ship Money judges
* John Denham (poet) (1615–1669), English poet
* John Denham ...
. Inquiry conclusions included remarks on the sustainability of the site including at paragraph 37 of the report dated 24 September 2009 "The Secretary of State has concluded that the development would generate a considerable amount of additional road traffic and he considers that this would have a severe and unacceptable impact on an overstretched local road network, and that the scheme would be unsustainable in transport terms."
Notable residents
* Peter Curry, barrister and athlete
* Reynold Higgins
Reynold Alleyne Higgins (born 26 November 1916 in Weybridge, Surrey; died 18 April 1993 in Dunsfold, Surrey) was a Classical Archaeologist. He worked at the department of Greek and Roman Antiquities at the British Museum from 1947 to 1977, finishi ...
, classical archaeologist
* John King, Baron King of Wartnaby
John Leonard King, Baron King of Wartnaby (29 August 1917 – 12 July 2005) was a British businessman, who was noted for leading British Airways from an inefficient, nationalised company to one of the most successful airlines of recent times. ...
, businessman and Conservative peer
* Albert Nelson, 6th Earl Nelson, hereditary peer
* Richard Nugent, Baron Nugent of Guildford
George Richard Hodges Nugent, Baron Nugent of Guildford, (6 June 1907 – 16 March 1994),[Joseph Warton
Joseph Warton (April 1722 – 23 February 1800) was an English academic and literary critic.
He was born in Dunsfold, Surrey, England, but his family soon moved to Hampshire, where his father, the Reverend Thomas Warton, became vicar of B ...](_blank)
, academic and literary critic
References
*''Dunsfold - Surrey's Most Secret Airfield'' Paul McCue, Air Research Publications, 1991
External links
Dunsfold Online
Dunsfold Aerodrome
Wings & Wheels
{{authority control
Villages in Surrey
Borough of Waverley
Civil parishes in Surrey