Pirbright
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Pirbright ( ) is a village in
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. Pirbright is in the
borough of Guildford The Borough of Guildford is a local government district with borough status in Surrey, England. With around half of the borough's population, Guildford is its largest settlement and only town, and is the location of the council. The distr ...
and has a civil parish council covering the traditional boundaries of the area. Pirbright contains one buffered sub-locality, Stanford Common near the nation's farm animal disease research institute. The village's grade II*
listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...
medieval church has a large Boulder grave for explorer
Henry Morton Stanley Sir Henry Morton Stanley (born John Rowlands; 28 January 1841 – 10 May 1904) was a Welsh-American explorer, journalist, soldier, colonial administrator, author and politician who was famous for his exploration of Central Africa Cen ...
. The nearby Hodge Brook is marked as Congo Stream, between Ruwenzori and Stanley Hills.


Geography

Pirbright has two communities: army training barracks and designated homes are north of a London main axis (south-west) railway and the slightly dispersed village is south. The village is almost entirely surrounded by
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 ...
, much of it owned by the Ministry of Defence and used by the
Army Training Centre Pirbright The Army Training Centre Pirbright is an initial training establishment of the British Army, at Pirbright Camp. Scope The ATC, along with the Army Training Regiment Winchester and the Army Training Regiment Grantham, provides Phase 1 milita ...
. The south and south-east of the parish is mostly woodland and has three small farms. The south-west of the parish has a large military training area, Pirbright Common. Near to the church are several features due to Stanley's association with the village: Hodge Brook is equally marked as Congo Stream, between Ruwenzori Hill and Stanley Hill. Mazamboni Farm is next to Aruwimi Wood.


History


Name

Its name had three medieval variants (each involving the letter 'f' where there is currently a 'b'). It came from Anglo-Saxon (Old English) ''Pirige-fyrhþ'' = "sparse woodland where peartrees grow".


Medieval and Tudor periods

The manor of Pirbright does not seem to occur earlier than the 13th century, when it was reported to be held of the honour of Clare by Peter de Pirbright. John Trenchard died seised of it (holding) under the
Earl of Gloucester The title of Earl of Gloucester was created several times in the Peerage of England. A fictional earl is also a character in William Shakespeare's play ''King Lear.'' Earls of Gloucester, 1st Creation (1121) *Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester (1100â ...
in 1301–2. In this time it had a medieval deer park, disparked under Richard II. During the reign of
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
the manor changed hands several times: it formed part of the marriage portion of Queen Katharine of Aragon and was successively in the possession of Sir Thomas Boleyn and Sir William Fitz William. Finally it was granted to Sir Anthony Browne, afterwards Viscount Montagu, with whose family it remained until the middle of the next century.


18th century and afterwards

The locality saw development in the form of brick labourers' cottages with a few
Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
large homes, some with modest estates of land. Of the last sort, Vice-Admiral the Hon. John "Foulweather Jack" Byron, explorer, grandfather of George Gordon Byron, 6th Lord Byron (usually known as 'the poet, Lord Byron') planted in the late 18th century an avenue of
Scotch pine ''Pinus sylvestris'', the Scots pine (UK), Scotch pine (US) or Baltic pine, is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae that is native to Eurasia. It can readily be identified by its combination of fairly short, blue-green leaves and orang ...
s to the foot of a tower hill, Crown Prince Hill, in the woods, still called Admiral's Walk or 'road', which extends for , half within the Danger Area owned by the Ministry of Defence of Pirbright Common. Heatherside was the early 20th century home of F. C. Selous, the African big-game hunter, and contained a "remarkable collection of hunting spoils and native African curiosities." Pirbright's traditional churchyard contains the large block of granite, 11-feet high, marking the grave of
British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
soldier and explorer
Henry Morton Stanley Sir Henry Morton Stanley (born John Rowlands; 28 January 1841 – 10 May 1904) was a Welsh-American explorer, journalist, soldier, colonial administrator, author and politician who was famous for his exploration of Central Africa Cen ...
, who died in London aged 63. This is partly inscribed with the words "Henry Morton Stanley Bula Matari 1841–1904 Africa". Bula Matari was another of his names and translates as "Breaker of Rocks" or "Breakstones" in
Kongo Congo or The Congo may refer to either of two countries that border the Congo River in central Africa: * Democratic Republic of the Congo, the larger country to the southeast, capital Kinshasa, formerly known as Zaire, sometimes referred to a ...
. A large fire occurred in the area in April 2022.


Pirbright Institute

The
Pirbright Institute The Pirbright Institute (formerly the Institute for Animal Health) is a research institute in Surrey, England, dedicated to the study of infectious diseases of farm animals. It forms part of the UK government's Biotechnology and Biological Sc ...
is a research establishment, based at Pirbright, that investigates diseases in farm animals. (A second site at
Compton, Berkshire Compton is a village and civil parish in the River Pang valley in the Berkshire Downs about south of Didcot which is buffered from neighbouring settlements by cultivated fields to all sides. The village is in a gently-sloped dry valley and t ...
was closed in 2016 with research being transferred to the Pirbright site.) It is one of eight UK research institutes supported by the UK's Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). The Pirbright site includes international reference laboratories for the diagnosis of livestock diseases exotic to the UK, including the World Reference Laboratory for
foot and mouth disease Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or hoof-and-mouth disease (HMD) is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild bovids. The virus causes a high fever lasting two to six days, follow ...
. The site also conducts research on viruses including
foot and mouth disease Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or hoof-and-mouth disease (HMD) is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild bovids. The virus causes a high fever lasting two to six days, follow ...
and
bluetongue virus Bluetongue disease is a noncontagious, insect-borne, viral disease of ruminants, mainly sheep and less frequently cattle, yaks, goats, buffalo, deer, dromedaries, and antelope. It is caused by ''Bluetongue virus'' (''BTV''). The virus is ...
. On Saturday 4 August 2007 it was announced that the strain of foot-and-mouth disease detected in cattle three miles (5 km) away was similar to that in use at the Pirbright site. Professor Brian Spratt's report found that more likely than not the strain of the virus understandably came from the
Merial Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health is a multinational animal health company, formed in January 2017 when Merial was acquired by Boehringer Ingelheim and merged with Boehringer Ingelheim's existing animal health assets. Overview In August 1997, ...
vaccine production facility or the
Pirbright Institute The Pirbright Institute (formerly the Institute for Animal Health) is a research institute in Surrey, England, dedicated to the study of infectious diseases of farm animals. It forms part of the UK government's Biotechnology and Biological Sc ...
laboratory: whose shared "effluent pipes eading to final small treatment plant werenot contained, as they should be as part of Category 4 containment at Pirbright." This poor condition of pipes and incursion of trees in the site has since been rectified and significant investment (over £170 million) is taking place at Pirbright to provide new laboratory and animal facilities.


Education

Pirbright has non-secondary schools, including two on School Lane, and a small all-through school, Knowl Hill School, for children with dyslexia which provides education for around fifty pupils. The largest school is the centrally located, Pirbright Village Primary School, which educates children from the age of 4 to 11.


Youth outreach

The Normandy Youth Centre serves the wider area by sponsoring community-based programmes targeting youth in the area for the purpose of increasing exposure to educational opportunities and building a stronger
community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...
.''Award for Mother Who Transformed Her Village''
18 October 2010 article; at Get Surrey News; retrieved 30 January 2013.


Landmarks


Church of St Michael and All Angels

The small church stands by Church Cottage in the meadows directly west of the village centre. It is built of brick dressings to a galleted 'heathstone' walls to its Nave, with a galleted heathstone tower to west and chancel to east. Plain tiled roof with lead spike over tower. Box nave with square tower to west, gabled porch to south, aisle to north, chancel to east with vestry to north and organ bay to south.


Moated 'manor house' which held the manorial courts

The
manorial court The manorial courts were the lowest courts of law in England during the feudal period. They had a civil jurisdiction limited both in subject matter and geography. They dealt with matters over which the lord of the manor had jurisdiction, primarily ...
house was renamed in the 19th century and has a moat, and a great proportion of the building was built in the 16th century, is
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 ...
however the building is partially clad in red and blue brick and in brown and red brick on its non-timber framed cross wing.


Sport

Cricket has been played on the village green since 1780. The principal cricket club is Pirbright Cricket Club which has a 1st XI, and a Sunday team. Pirbright is the home of Pirbright Tennis Club which was formed in 1976. Initially playing in the Burrow Hill part of the village, the club soon moved to its ground on School Lane. Pirbright Tennis Club has over 300 members and five adult teams; the courts are also used by students from the local schools.


Famous residents

*
Ross Lowis Mangles Ross Lowis Mangles VC (14 April 1833 – 28 February 1905) was a British administrator in India and the recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British ...
, first civilian recipient of the
Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...
who has a brass memorial on the north wall of St Michael and All Angels Church, Pirbright. *
James Pearce James Alfred Pearce (December 14, 1805December 20, 1862) was an American politician. He was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing the second district of Maryland from 1835 to 1839 and 1841 to 1843. He later served as a ...
, presenter for
BBC Sport BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC television, radio and online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadcasting the sport live or alongside flag ...
* Henry de Worms, Lord Pirbright PC, DL, JP, FRS chose to relate his peerage to his later life home when elevated to the peerage in 1895 however he died without male heirs in 1903. * Sir G. A. H. Branson (1871–1951), a High Court judge and the grandfather of
Richard Branson Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is a British billionaire, entrepreneur, and business magnate. In the 1970s he founded the Virgin Group, which today controls more than 400 companies in various fields. Branson expressed ...
, lived at Bullswater House, Pirbright.'BRANSON, Rt Hon. Sir George Arthur Harwin' in '' Who Was Who 1951–1960'' (London: A. & C. Black, 1984 reprint, ) * Sir
Edmund Thiele Edmund Oswald Thiele (1874–1971), later known as Sir Edmund Oswald Teale KBE (he changed the spelling of his surname in 1917) was a prominent geologist from Doncaster, Victoria, Australia. He was created a knight in 1936 during Colonial service ...
, a famous geologist, lived out his later years with his wife until he died in 1971.


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).


Twinning

Pirbright is twinned with : * Cagny, Calvados, France


Further reading

* ''The Story of Pirbright Church'' by J.H. Curtis, 1930


References


External links


Institute for Animal Health

BBC News article on Foot-and-Mouth
* {{authority control Villages in Surrey Borough of Guildford Civil parishes in Surrey