Great Bookham is a village in Surrey, England, one of six semi-urban spring line settlements between the towns of

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, Leathe ...

and Guildford. With the narrow

strip parish A strip parish is a parish with a narrow, elongated shape, typically formed during the Anglo-Saxon and early medieval period. The shape is influenced by landscape, political and economic factors. Evidence of such parishes can be found throughout En ...

of Little Bookham, it forms part of the Saxon settlement of ''Bocham'' ("the village by the beeches"). The Bookhams are surrounded by

common land Common land is land owned by a person or collectively by a number of persons, over which other persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person who has a ...

, and Bookham railway station in Church Road, Great Bookham, serves both settlements. The villages are astride the A246, which is the non-motorway and direct route between the two towns. Once two distinct villages, the Bookhams have long been interconnected with residential roads that give the impression of one large village. On the southern edge of the village is Polesden Lacey, a country house surrounded by more than of grounds. It is owned by the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

and open to the public.

History

According to a charter c.675, the original of which is lost but which exists in a later form, there were granted to the Abbey ''twenty dwellings at Bocham cum Effingham''. This was confirmed by four Saxon kings; King Offa of Mercia and of the nations roundabout in 787; King

Æthelstan Æthelstan or Athelstan (; ang, Æðelstān ; on, Aðalsteinn; ; – 27 October 939) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 924 to 927 and King of the English from 927 to his death in 939. He was the son of King Edward the Elder and his fir ...

who was "King and ruler of the whole island of Britain" in 933 confirmed the privileges to the

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

; King Edgar, "Emperor of all Britain" in 967 confirmed "twelve mansiones" in Bocham, and King Edward the Confessor, King of the English, in 1062 confirmed twenty mansae at Bocham cum Effingham, Driteham and Pechingeorde. Great Bookham lay within the Anglo-Saxon administrative district of Effingham half hundred. 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 ...

of 1086, which was a survey for taxation purposes, makes the first known distinction between the parishes of Great and Little Bookham, if it is assumed that there was no separate parish at the time of the charter of Edward the Confessor in 1062. Driteham and Pechingeorde are both referred to in the Domesday Book and appear to have been absorbed into the manors of Effingham and Effingham East Court. Great Bookham appears in the Domesday Book as ''Bocheham''. It was held by St Peter's Abbey,

Chertsey Chertsey is a town in the Borough of Runnymede, Surrey, England, south-west of central London. It grew up round Chertsey Abbey, founded in 666 CE, and gained a market charter from Henry I. A bridge across the River Thames first appeared in t ...

. Its Domesday Assets were: 13 hides; 1 church, 1

mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Textile mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic unit of the Analytical Engine early ...

worth 10s, 20

ploughs A plough or plow ( US; both ) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses, but in modern farms are drawn by tractors. A plough may have a wooden, iron or ...

, 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 ...

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 worth 110 hogs. It rendered (in total): £15. It seems probable, as the number of cottages in Bookham and Effingham remained constant, that the later charters must have been copies of earlier charters which were not revised to accord with the actual number of cottages at any one time.

Polesden Lacey

A regency villa on the southern edge of the village, Polesden Lacey has been the site of a house since at least 1336. The current house dates from the 17th century, and was bequeathed by its last owner, the Hon. Mrs. Greville, a legendary Edwardian hostess, to the

in 1942. When the Grevilles purchased the property in 1906, they extensively remodelled the house with the help of Mewes and Davis, architects of

the Ritz Hotel, London The Ritz London is a Grade II listed 5-star hotel in Piccadilly, London, England. A symbol of high society and luxury, the hotel is one of the world's most prestigious and best known. The Ritz has become so associated with luxury and elegance ...

. There are large walled and formal gardens, an orchard and croquet lawn, as well as extensive farmland. The property and its estate are open to the public, and is one of the National Trust's most visited properties. The house is also the National Trust's Southern Region head office. The future King George VI and his bride spent part of their honeymoon at Polesden Lacey, as guests of Mrs. Greville. The poet and playwright

Richard Brinsley Sheridan Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan (30 October 17517 July 1816) was an Irish satirist, a politician, a playwright, poet, and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. He is known for his plays such as '' The Rivals'', '' The ...

was a previous owner of the property from 1804.

Bookham Grove

To the south side of the High Street stands Bookham Grove Manor, built in the early 18th century, once owned by the Dawnay family. It is now converted into apartments, with coach houses built in its now grounds. The manor's original large estate covered the surrounding roads up to Dorking Road, and Groveside, and had grounds to the front, running down to the Guildford Road. When the land was sold for development in 1947, the shops and car park were built in the grounds to the front of the house. Another surviving part of the estate is the stables, on the corner of Dorking Road.

Eastwick Park

Eastwick Park, a beautiful manor in the village, was lost in 1958. The house stood within the area of roads now known as the 'Eastwick area', and its very large private estate included Great Bookham Commons, which were saved by the village and given to the National Trust. After ceasing to be used as a private house, the manor was used by the Canadian military in World War II, and was also a school called Southey Hall, before being demolished for redevelopment. The original gates to the house stand just west of Eastwick Park Avenue on Lower Road.

Geography

To the west of the Bookhams lies the village of Effingham; further west on the road to Guildford lie the similar villages of

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

and

West Horsley West Horsley is a semi-rural village between Guildford and Leatherhead in Surrey, England. It lies on the A246, and south of the M25 and the A3. Its civil parish ascends to an ancient woodland Sheepleas Woods which are on the northern downsl ...

and

and West Clandon. To the north-east lie Fetcham and Leatherhead, north of which the area becomes increasingly urban heading towards central London, which is only away. To the south-east, across 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 ...

, are the village of

Westhumble Westhumble is a village in south east England, approximately north of Dorking, Surrey. The village is not part of a civil parish, however the majority of the settlement is in the ecclesiastical Parish of Mickleham. The area is served by Bo ...

and the market town of Dorking.

Today

The village has a short high street at its centre, which has two butchers, a family-run

fishmonger A fishmonger (historically fishwife for female practitioners) is someone who sells raw fish and seafood. Fishmongers can be wholesalers or retailers and are trained at selecting and purchasing, handling, gutting, boning, filleting, displaying, m ...

s and two traditional greengrocers. The beautiful Rayleigh House at the top of the high street, originally built as the Victoria Temperance Hotel by Mary Chrystie, now contains Henshaws Estate Agents and a healthcare practice. Three

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

s are in Great Bookham: ''The Anchor'', ''The Royal Oak'', ''The Old Crown'' and one in Little Bookham, ''Ye Olde Windsor Castle''. A loose association with the latter is that the

Ranger of Windsor Great Park The office of Ranger of Windsor Great Park was established to oversee the protection and maintenance of the Great Park at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. The ranger has always been somebody close to the monarch. Apart from a single ...

was often appointed from the area by King Henry VIII which was more than five times larger, stretching as far as Guildford. The Old Barn Hall is the main community centre, regularly used for staging

amateur dramatics An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, self-taught, user-generated, DIY, and hobbyist. History Hist ...

productions and hosting parties and receptions. There are two successful primary schools in the village, which makes the area sought after with families: Eastwick Junior School in Eastwick Drive and The Dawnay School in Griffin Way. There are three infant schools in Great Bookham: the Polesden Lacey School in Oakfield Close, Eastwick Infant School in Eastwick Drive, and The Dawnay Infant School in Griffin Way.

Sport and leisure

Great Bookham has a Non-League football club Bookham F.C. who play at the Chrystie Recreation Ground in the Surrey Elite Intermediate Football League. The club was founded before the First World War.

Bookham Commons

Bookham Commons includes the two commons in Great Bookham and Little Bookham. Great Bookham Common was bought by local residents in 1923 to save the

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

woodlands, then given to the

. Little Bookham Common was given to the Trust in 1924 by Mr H. Willock-Pollen, then Banks Common in 1925 by Mr R. Calburn. The London Natural History Society has been surveying Bookham Commons for more than fifty years, making it one of the best recorded sites for wildlife in southeast England. The common land consist of

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur na ...

(wet, low-lying

s),

, scrub and twelve ponds. The ponds are home to all three British species of

newt A newt is a salamander in the subfamily Pleurodelinae. The terrestrial juvenile phase is called an eft. Unlike other members of the family Salamandridae, newts are semiaquatic, alternating between aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Not all aqua ...

, including the rare

Great Crested Newt The northern crested newt, great crested newt or warty newt (''Triturus cristatus'') is a newt species native to Great Britain, northern and central continental Europe and parts of Western Siberia. It is a large newt, with females growing up to ...

. The five largest ponds are man-made, formed for fish production in the 17th century.

Emergency services

Great Bookham is served by these emergency services: *

Surrey Police Surrey Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Surrey in South East England. The force is currently led by Chief Constable Gavin Stephens. Previously the force was led by Nick Ephgrave who left the force t ...

. Leatherhead Police Station is only used for minor issues now; everything else is handled from Dorking Police Station. *

South East Coast Ambulance Service The South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SECAmb) is the NHS ambulance services trust for south-eastern England, covering Kent (including Medway), Surrey, West Sussex and East Sussex (including Brighton and Hove). It also co ...

as of 1 July 2006, is the local

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

Ambulance Services Trust. The Surrey, Sussex, and

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

Ambulance services have all merged, and have now ceased to exist. * Surrey Fire & Rescue Service, Actually in Fetcham, but called Leatherhead Fire Station. ** 1 x Water tender ladder ** 1 x Water carrier

Notable residents

* Jane Austen, whose godfather and cousin Rev. Samuel Cooke was vicar of Great Bookham (1769-1820), is said to have spent time in Bookham whilst writing several of her novels in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Its location is consistent with the geographical details in '' Emma''. *The author

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univers ...

studied privately with

William T. Kirkpatrick William Thompson Kirkpatrick (10 January 1848 - 22 March 1921) was an Irish teacher and grammar school headmaster. He is best known for having been the tutor of the two Lewis brothers from Belfast, Warren Hamilton Lewis, Warnie Lewis and C.S. Lew ...

in Great Bookham between September 1914 and April 1917. * Louis Essen, pioneer of the

atomic clock An atomic clock is a clock that measures time by monitoring the resonant frequency of atoms. It is based on atoms having different energy levels. Electron states in an atom are associated with different energy levels, and in transitions betwe ...

, died in Great Bookham * Pink Floyd bass player and singer Roger Waters was born in Great Bookham in 1943. *

Chelsea FC Chelsea Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, West London. Founded in 1905, they play their home games at Stamford Bridge. The club competes in the Premier League, the top division of English football. Th ...

footballer Conor Gallagher grew up in Great Bookham.

References

External links

Bookham Community Association
{{authority control Villages in Surrey Mole Valley