Headley Down 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 ...
within the
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 ...
of
Headley Headley may refer to:
Places
* Headley, Basingstoke and Deane in the civil parish of Ashford Hill with Headley
* Headley, East Hampshire
** Headley Grange, Hampshire
* Headley, Surrey
Other uses
* Headley (surname)
* Baron Headley, a title in t ...
in the
East Hampshire
East Hampshire is a local government district in Hampshire, England. Its council is based in Petersfield. Other towns are Alton and Bordon.
The district was originally to be known as the District Council of Petersfield. It comprised 42 seats a ...
district of
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
, England, bounded on two sides by
Ludshott Common Ludshott Common and Waggoners Wells (the latter sometimes written with an apostrophe: Waggoners' Wells) is a National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, National Trust reserve; Ludshott Common is an area of heathland and Waggon ...
, a
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 ...
heathland reserve. The village began with a few buildings in the 1870s and became a thriving community that in the 20th century outgrew the parish centre of Headley.
Headley Down is south west 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 ...
and east of Headley village centre. Nearby are the villages of
Grayshott
Grayshott is a village and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is on the Hampshire / Surrey border northwest of Haslemere by road, and southwest of central London. The nearest rail link is Haslemere railway sta ...
to the east and
Churt
Churt is a village and civil parish in the borough of Waverley, Surrey, Waverley in Surrey, England, about south of the town of Farnham on the A287 road towards Hindhead. A nucleated village, clustered settlement is set in areas acting as its b ...
to the north.
History
The area was called Headley Down on maps as early as 1801, and from about the 1870s houses began to be built by people wishing to live or holiday in the healthy environment for which the
Hindhead
Hindhead is a village in Surrey, England. It is the highest village in Surrey, with buildings at between 185 and 253 metres above sea level. It is best known as the location of the Devil's Punch Bowl, a beauty spot and site of special scientific ...
area was notable. It was also described as Headley Common on a map (of about 1868) of the large Wishanger Manor Estate, the records of which go back at least to 1167. The name Headley Down was not mentioned in the 1908 ''History of the County of Hampshire'', but Headley Common is mentioned as an area likely to become popular as a residential neighbourhood.
The side-roads in Headley Down were laid out in a grid system at least as early as 1909, rather than radiating out from a central point such as a church.
The Land of Nod estate predates Headley Down, possibly established in the early 18th century; an owner of the estate believed its name derived from an earlier incumbent by the name of Cane or Keyne, an excommunicant, and is a reference to the biblical story of
Cain
Cain ''Káïn''; ar, قابيل/قايين, Qābīl/Qāyīn is a Biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He is the elder brother of Abel, and the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, the first couple within the Bible. He wa ...
's banishment. The estate lies mainly to the north of the village and had originally formed a part of the Manor of Wishanger.
Kelly's Directory of 1895 lists J Henry Christian as a private resident of the Land of Nod.
Headley Down was formally named in March 1923 when the
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 ...
proclaimed that "the official name of the Telephone Call Office which has been established on Stone Hill will be Headley Down". A temporary wooden building in Carlton Road erected in the 1960s housed the post office, where it remained until incorporated into Whittle's store (subsequently Londis) in Eddeys Lane.
During the Second World War the area was home to several camps for Canadian soldiers. Erie camp was a military detention centre and was built on the Land of Nod estate owned by Major L Whitaker; it was designated by the War Office as a "Military Prison and Detention Barracks" from at least 1946 to 1948. The camp was subsequently occupied by civilians and gradually replaced by an estate of 350 houses and named Heatherlands. The estate was completed by 1977. From early April 1944,
107 Regiment Royal Armoured Corps (King's Own) trained with Churchill tanks on Headley Down in preparation for the invasion of Normandy. There were other military units based on Headley Down: on the current Windmill Estate, at the back of The Mount, and down Headley Hill Road and Barley Mow Hill.
In the 1950s Alfred Whittle opened a general store, butcher's and coal merchant in Eddeys Lane to accommodate Headley Down's increasing post-war population. The store and post office closed in 2015 after 65 years' service to the village.
"Penryn" was a home for children, mainly from London, in the post-war period until the 1980s when it was replaced by private housing, now called Penryn Drive.
Heatherlands estate houses approximately one fifth of the Headley parish population. In 2006, Heatherlands/Headley Down was considered to be the most deprived ward in East Hampshire. EHDC expressed the view that Headley's Parish Plan was not sufficiently inclusive of the whole parish. The Parish Council set out to explore ways to improve social inclusion and in 2007 produced a report with recommendations for action.
Amenities
Transport
The main through road is the B3002 (Beech Hill/Grayshott Road) connecting Headley Down to the
A333 (the old A3) at
Hindhead
Hindhead is a village in Surrey, England. It is the highest village in Surrey, with buildings at between 185 and 253 metres above sea level. It is best known as the location of the Devil's Punch Bowl, a beauty spot and site of special scientific ...
via Grayshott to the east, and to the
A325
A3, A03 or A.III may refer to:
* A3 paper, a paper size defined by ISO 216
Biology
* A3 regulatory sequence, a sequence for the insulin gene
* Adenosine A3 receptor, a human gene
* Annexin A3, a human gene
* ATC code A03 ''Drugs for functi ...
at Bordon, via Headley and
Lindford to the west.
The nearest railway station is south of the village, at
Liphook
Liphook is a large village in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is 4.1 miles (6.6 km) west of Haslemere, bypassed by the A3 road, and lies on the Hampshire/West Sussex/Surrey borders. It is in the civil parish of Brams ...
.
The bus route serving Headley Down is Stagecoach 23, Alton to Haslemere.
Shops
*There is a One Stop local shop, a.k.a. M&W's, on the Heatherlands estate.
*Beech Hill Garage (formerly Wilson & Pickett Ltd) has stood at the crossroads at the top of Beech Hill for at least 50 years but closed in 2018. A Texaco petrol station with a
Budgens
Budgens Stores Ltd, trading as Budgens, is a chain of grocery stores in the United Kingdom. The business was founded in 1872 by John Budgen, who opened the first shop in Maidenhead, Berkshire and was incorporated as a private limited company o ...
store opened in spring 2019 on the site.
Education
There is no school in Headley Down; the nearest for up to 11 year olds is The Holme Church of England Controlled Primary School in Headley village.
Community
![St Francis Church and Hall at Headley Down - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/St_Francis_Church_and_Hall_at_Headley_Down_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1705075.jpg)
*St Francis Community Church - An interdenominational church established in 1921 and dedicated in 1964.
*Headley Scouts - A Scout, Cub and Beaver Group meets at the Scout Centre on Beech Hill Road.
*Headley Down Community Association (HDCA) is a charity dedicated to the improvement of the local community.
*Naturism - Headley Down has been the home of a naturist establishment for many years; the
Haslemere
The town of Haslemere () and the villages of Shottermill and Grayswood are in south west Surrey, England, around south west of London. Together with the settlements of Hindhead and Beacon Hill, they comprise the civil parish of Haslemere i ...
Sun Club (established 1947) is in Pond Road.
*The Heatherley Wood Greenacres burial park, with 12 acres of woodland and meadow, opened in 2015.
Environment
Ludshott Common Ludshott Common and Waggoners Wells (the latter sometimes written with an apostrophe: Waggoners' Wells) is a National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, National Trust reserve; Ludshott Common is an area of heathland and Waggon ...
, adjoining the eastern and southern boundary of the village, is one of the largest remaining areas of
heathland
A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...
in East Hampshire. A
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 ...
property, it covers 285 ha (705 acres) and is designated a
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
(SSSI) and
Special Protection Area
A Special Protection Area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and cert ...
(SPA) due to the number of endangered species, including
woodlark
The woodlark or wood lark (''Lullula arborea'') is the only extant species in the lark genus ''Lullula''. It is found across most of Europe, the Middle East, western Asia and the mountains of north Africa. It is mainly resident (non- migratory) ...
,
nightjar
Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds in the family Caprimulgidae and order Caprimulgiformes, characterised by long wings, short legs, and very short bills. They are sometimes called goatsuckers, due to the ancient folk ta ...
and
Dartford warbler
The Dartford warbler (''Curruca undata'') is a typical warbler from the warmer parts of western Europe and northwestern Africa. It is a small warbler with a long thin tail and a thin pointed bill. The adult male has grey-brown upperparts and is d ...
. There is also a great variety of spider and butterfly species, including the
silver-studded blue
The silver-studded blue (''Plebejus argus'') is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It has bright blue wings rimmed in black with white edges and silver spots on its hindwings, lending it the name of the silver-studded blue. ''P. argus'' can be ...
,
grayling and
green hairstreak
The green hairstreak (''Callophrys rubi'') is a small butterfly in the family Lycaenidae.
Etymology
The genus name '' Callophrys'' is a Greek word meaning "beautiful eyebrows", while the species Latin name ''rubi'' derives from ''Rubus'' (bramb ...
.
Pond Road is so named for a pond that existed up until the 1970s when it was drained and subsequently attracted fly-tipping. Local residents remembered it had previously contained a wide variety of insect life, amphibians and fish, and attracted kingfishers. With the aid of local and county council grants it was re-established in 2003 and is now known as Fuller's Vale Wildlife Pond.
Notable people
*
Elizabeth Wilks died here having given the village sixteen new cottages and ten acres of woodland.
*The King of Norway (
Haakon VII
Haakon VII (; born Prince Carl of Denmark; 3 August 187221 September 1957) was the King of Norway from November 1905 until his death in September 1957.
Originally a Danish prince, he was born in Copenhagen as the son of the future Frederick VI ...
) lived in Headley Down for a time after his country was invaded by the Germans; the house, ''Stonedene'', has since been demolished, replaced by a residential development called Stonedene Close. ''Stonedene'', built in the 1890s, had been a childhood home of writer
Anthony Powell
Anthony Dymoke Powell ( ; 21 December 1905 – 28 March 2000) was an English novelist best known for his 12-volume work ''A Dance to the Music of Time'', published between 1951 and 1975. It is on the list of longest novels in English.
Powell' ...
.
*
Lady Diana Spencer
Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...
's first job after leaving
finishing school
A finishing school focuses on teaching young women social graces and upper-class cultural rites as a preparation for entry into society. The name reflects that it follows on from ordinary school and is intended to complete the education, wit ...
(1977–78) was nanny with the Whitaker family of the Land of Nod.
*Major L I T Whitaker of the Land of Nod was
High Sheriff of Hampshire
This is a list of High Sheriffs of Hampshire. This title was often given as High Sheriff of the County of Southampton until 1959.
List of High Sheriffs
*1070–1096: Hugh de Port "Domesday Book Online"
*1105: Henry de Port (son of Hugh)
*1129: W ...
in 1962.
References
Further reading
*John Owen Smith. ''All Tanked Up...: Canadians in Headley During World War II'' (1994)
External links
Headley Village Website.St Francis Community Church.Old Photos and Maps of Headley DownHistorical links and publications about Headley Down
{{authority control
Villages in Hampshire