Horsell is a village in the

borough of Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...

in Surrey, England, less than a mile north-west of Woking town centre. In November 2012, its population was 9,384. Horsell is integral to

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

novel ''

The War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by ''Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and by ''Cosmopolitan (magazine), Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US. The novel's first appear ...

'', the sand pits of

Horsell Common Horsell Common is a open space in Horsell, near Woking in Surrey. It is owned and managed by the Horsell Common Preservation Society. An area of is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest and part of the Thames Basin Heaths Special ...

being the site of the first

Martian Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, has appeared as a setting in works of fiction since at least the mid-1600s. It became the most popular celestial object in fiction in the late 1800s as the Moon was evidently lifeless. At the time, the pr ...

landing. Horsell Common has since been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Another landmark is the McLaren Technology Centre, built on the northern edge of the common in the early 2000s for the

McLaren Group The McLaren Group is a British holding company based in Woking, England, which is involved in Formula One and other motorsport and the manufacture of luxury cars. The group was founded by Ron Dennis shortly after his acquisition of the McLaren ...

History

Horsell was first documented in the 13th century, although the parish church of St Mary the Virgin is believed to date from the middle of the 12th century. The name probably comes from the Anglo-Saxon ''horig scylf'', meaning "muddy slope". This may refer to the hill known as Horsell Rise now carrying the metalled track. Until the late 19th century, the village consisted of scattered cottages and farms, surrounded by fields,

heath 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 a ...

lands and nurseries. Suburban development began in the 1880s, but the village remains largely rural in character. Horsell church - geograph

Terrain

Horsell is located in northern Surrey and is surrounded by deciduous woodland. Some geographic locations in Horsell are; *Church Hill *Horsell Rise *Horsell Common *The sandpit *ex-Norman Lake

Horsell Common

One of Horsell's significant locations is

, where

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

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 opposing ...

, a large, seasonal pond with a sandpit, and an open field extending to the grounds of the McLaren headquarters. It hosts a wide variety of plant and wildlife species and has the status of a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The World War II

Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting w ...

base on the common has disappeared. Several smaller institutions were evacuated here during the war.

Schools and facilities

The Anglican parish church of St Mary the Virgin dates back to the middle of the 12th century, and still retains the original doors. The church has strong links with one of the village's junior schools, Horsell C of E Junior School. The village's other schools include the Horsell Village School, built 1851, and independent school St. Andrew's School along with

Woking High School Woking High School (formerly named Horsell High School) is a coeducational secondary school with academy status, located in the Horsell area of Woking, Surrey, England. The school has held specialist technology status since 2004, and convert ...

, formerly Horsell High School. It is also the home of Woking and Horsell Cricket Club, whose members have included

Alec Alec or Aleck is a Scottish form of the given name Alex. It may be a diminutive of the name Alexander or a given name in its own right. Notable people with the name include: People *Alec Aalto (1942–2018), Finnish diplomat * Alec Acton (1938– ...

and

Eric Bedser Eric Arthur Bedser (4 July 1918 – 24 May 2006) was a cricketer who played for Surrey County Cricket Club. He was the elder identical twin brother of Alec Bedser (1918–2010), widely regarded as one of England's top bowlers of the 20th centur ...

. The famous twins played cricket for Surrey; Alec also played with great success for England.

Notable people

In birth order: *

Norman Pares Canon Rev. Norman Pares (16 June 1857 – 23 June 1936) was an English canon and amateur footballer who was on the winning side in the 1879 FA Cup Final. Family Pares was born at the family home at 12 Devonshire Gardens, Portland Place, London, t ...

(1857–1936), Vicar of Horsell from 1897 to 1936, had been a member of the

Old Etonians Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

team that won the

1879 FA Cup Final The 1879 FA Cup Final was contested by Old Etonians and Clapham Rovers at the Kennington Oval, London Borough of Lambeth, South London. Old Etonians won by 1–0, the only goal scored by Charles Clerke. Summary Although Clapham dominated the ...

. *

Ursula Bethell Mary Ursula Bethell (pseudonym, Evelyn Hayes; 6 October 1874 – 15 January 1945), was a New Zealand social worker and poet. She settled at the age of 50 at Rise Cottage on the Cashmere Hills near Christchurch, with her companion Effie Pollen, ...

(1874–1945), a New Zealand poet, was born in Horsell. *

Lewis Leigh Fermor Sir Lewis Leigh Fermor, OBE, FRS (18 September 1880 – 24 May 1954), was a British chemist and geologist and the first president of the Indian National Science Academy and a director of the Geological Survey of India (1930-1935). His son was ...

(1880–1954), chemist/biologist father of travel writer

Patrick Leigh Fermor Sir Patrick Michael Leigh Fermor (11 February 1915 – 10 June 2011) was an English writer, scholar, soldier and polyglot. He played a prominent role in the Cretan resistance during the Second World War, and was widely seen as Britain's greates ...

, died in Horsell. *

(1918–2010) and

(1918–2006), first-class cricketers, spent some of their childhood in Horsell.

Gallery

File:Horsell Common woodland - geograph.org.uk - 168427.jpg, Horsell Common File:Arriva Guildford & West Surrey 4017 GN58 BUA and Horsell Crown.JPG, Part of Horsell High Street File:The Red Lion, Horsell - geograph.org.uk - 601418.jpg, The Red Lion Pub File:Littlewick Road, Horsell - geograph.org.uk - 166260.jpg, Littlewick Road File:War memorial, Horsell - geograph.org.uk - 45601.jpg, The war memorial

References

External links

Pictures of the Martian invasion memorial statuesInformation about Horsell from Horsell Residents' Association
{{authority control Villages in Surrey Woking