Ripley is a village in Surrey, England. The village has existed since Norman times – the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. ...

of the church of St. Mary Magdalen shows construction of circa 1160 there and supporting feet of fines and ecclesiastical records mention the village at the time. Ripley's sister village of Send to the south-west was the governing parish over the village for over 700 years until 1878 when they became two separate ecclesiastical parishes; they became separate

civil parishes In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

in 1933. Lying on the main road from London to Portsmouth (from the 1930s referred to as the A3), Ripley was the

post town A post town is a required part of all postal addresses in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and a basic unit of the postal delivery system.Royal Mail, ''Address Management Guide'', (2004) Including the correct post town in the address increases ...

for the whole area (including

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 ...

) from 1813 to 1865. With the coming of the railway to what was then

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 ...

in 1838, Ripley's importance diminished, and Woking became its post town in 1865. As motor traffic increased during the 1960s and the 1970s, the Portsmouth Road at Ripley became a notorious bottleneck, relieved by the building of the Ripley bypass in 1976. The A3 was renamed the B2215, and what has always been a major trunk road was expanded into six lanes north of Guildford, bypassing Send and Ripley. The distance is to the M25 motorway. It is centred southeast of

, northeast 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 ...

and southwest of London. Neighbouring villages Send and Send Marsh to the South-West and Ockham to the East have fewer shopping facilities.

Amenities

The village includes a

coaching inn The coaching inn (also coaching house or staging inn) was a vital part of Europe's inland transport infrastructure until the development of the railway, providing a resting point ( layover) for people and horses. The inn served the needs of tra ...

, the ''Talbot Inn'', which dates back to 1453, as well as The Clockhouse (formerly Drake's) restaurant, which has been awarded a Michelin star and 3 AA rosettes. The village high street includes two small supermarkets, cobblers and a bakery. The other pubs in the village are the ''Jovial Sailor'' on the western outskirts, ''The Anchor'', ''The Ship Inn'', ''The Seven Stars'' and ''The Half Moon''. The village church of St Mary Magdalen has a fine Norman

and is a Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

. Among the more than 20 listed buildings and cottages in the village are Pinnocks Café the ''Ship Inn and Ye Old Sweet Shoppe'', J Hartley Antiques, Sage Antiques (Green Cottage), the Clock House and the Old Pharmacy. This last building is a historical place of interest with a

Blue Plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...

located outside commemorating the production of

penicillin Penicillins (P, PCN or PEN) are a group of β-lactam antibiotics originally obtained from ''Penicillium'' moulds, principally '' P. chrysogenum'' and '' P. rubens''. Most penicillins in clinical use are synthesised by P. chrysogenum using ...

for the first time in the UK, possibly the world, for civilian use, by Kenneth White in 1944. Cedar House and Tudor House (one joint property) is another listed building, Cedar House - geograph

Ripley has one school, Ripley Court Preparatory School, a private school. The Ripley C of E Primary School has since shut.

Literary references

Ripley is mentioned in H. G. Wells' novels ''

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 in the US. The novel's first appearance in hardcover was i ...

'' and '' The Wheels of Chance''. The Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes short story "The Naval Treaty" includes a setting in Ripley.

Famous residents

Ripley is the birthplace of the acclaimed rock/blues guitarist Eric Clapton, and resting place of his son, Conor, who died after falling from his mother's New York apartment window.

Paul Weller Paul John Weller (born John William Weller; 25 May 1958) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame with the punk rock/ new wave/ mod revival band the Jam (1972–1982). He had further success with the blue-eyed soul m ...

is a long-term resident of Ripley and runs local recording studios Black Barn Studios.

Sport

Cricket

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

has been a popular sport in the village for 200 years and is played on the Green.

Cycling

Cycling heritage

In the 1870s, cycling also became a popular activity in the South of England and Ripley was a convenient distance from London so that many cyclists would stop there for a break at the Anchor Inn. Sisters Annie and Harriet Dibble encouraged the cyclists so much that, in some years in the following decade, their visitors' book was signed with over 7,000 names – all arriving on

penny-farthing The penny-farthing, also known as a high wheel, high wheeler or ordinary, is an early type of bicycle. It was popular in the 1870s and 1880s, with its large front wheel providing high speeds (owing to its travelling a large distance for every ...

s or boneshakers.

Cycling routes today

The 2012 Summer Olympics road races started at The Mall in central London, passed Richmond and extended into Surrey to the south via

Hampton Court Palace Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chief ...

Weybridge Weybridge () is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. The settlement is recorded as ''Waigebrugge'' and ''Weibrugge'' in the 7th century and the name derives from a crossing point of the ...

, Byfleet,

West Byfleet West Byfleet is a village in Surrey which grew up around its relatively minor stop on the London & South Western Railway: the station, originally '' Byfleet and Woodham'', opened in 1887. More than from the medieval village of Byfleet, the ...

, Ripley,

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

Dorking Dorking () is a market town in Surrey in South East England, about south of London. It is in Mole Valley District and the council headquarters are to the east of the centre. The High Street runs roughly east–west, parallel to the Pipp ...

then returned to The Mall via

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, Lea ...

Oxshott Oxshott is a suburban village in the borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England. Oxshott includes hilly acidic heath which is partly wooded (see Esher Commons and Prince's Coverts) and occupies the land between the large towns of Esher and Leath ...

and

Kingston-upon-Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...

. Since then the Surrey 100 sportive and race have come through the village each July.

Bonfire

Since the 1930s a bonfire has been held on the Green to celebrate

Guy Fawkes Night Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Guy Fawkes Day, Bonfire Night and Fireworks Night, is an annual commemoration observed on 5 November, primarily in Great Britain, involving bonfires and fireworks displays. Its history begins with the ev ...

. It is a major local event with several thousand attending to see the bonfire, fireworks and funfair.

Surrounds

This area has a number of short and long walks. The Ripley Green is an integral part of the community and can be accessed from Newark Lane and the High Street. There is a village common and a small woods which are surrounded by farmland. Walkers can walk down the River Wey from here and see views of Newark Priory.

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).

References

Published sources

McCann, Clare (editor) (2009) 'Memories of War' (Send and Ripley History Society, )

External links

Ripley Parish Council

Ripley Village Website

Ripley Village Community and Culture
{{authority control Villages in Surrey Borough of Guildford Civil parishes in Surrey