Walton-on-the-Hill,
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. ...
, is a village in England midway between the market towns of
Reigate
Reigate ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, town in Surrey, England, around south of central London. The settlement is recorded in Domesday Book in 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'' and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The earlie ...
and
Epsom
Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...
. The village is a
dispersed cluster on 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 ...
centred less than one mile inside of the
M25 motorway
The M25 or London Orbital Motorway is a major road encircling most of Greater London. The motorway is one of the most important roads in the UK and one of the busiest. Margaret Thatcher opened the final section in 1986, making the M25 the lon ...
. The village hosts the
Walton Heath Golf Club
Walton Heath Golf Club is a golf club in England, near Walton-on-the-Hill in Surrey, southwest of London. Founded in 1903, the club comprises two 18-hole golf courses, both of which are well known for having heather covering many of the areas o ...
, whose former members include
King Edward VIII
Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 1 ...
,
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
and
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...
.
Geography
The
M25 motorway
The M25 or London Orbital Motorway is a major road encircling most of Greater London. The motorway is one of the most important roads in the UK and one of the busiest. Margaret Thatcher opened the final section in 1986, making the M25 the lon ...
, less than a mile from the centre, roughly marks the northern boundary of the
Surrey Hills AONB
The Surrey Hills is a Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), which principally covers parts of the North Downs and Greensand Ridge in Surrey, England (approximately one quarter of the land area of the county). The AONB was designated in 1958 ...
(Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty); it contains the village among others and orbits London. The village except for one street is surrounded by
Green Belt
A green belt is a policy and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges, which hav ...
including farmland and protected heathland managed by the Banstead Common
Conservators In certain areas of England, Conservators are statutory bodies which manage areas of countryside for the use of the public.
Establishment, Role and Powers
Conservators are bodies corporate generally established, and granted their powers, by a ...
. Along its
green buffers it borders to the north-east its
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 ...
,
Tadworth
Tadworth is a large suburban village in Surrey, England in the south-east of the Epsom Downs, part of the North Downs. It forms part of the Borough of Reigate and Banstead. At the 2011 census, Tadworth (and Walton-on-the-Hill) had a population o ...
and
Kingswood,
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 ...
and
Box Hill.
Tadworth railway station
Tadworth railway station is a passenger railway station serving the large suburban village of Tadworth in Surrey, England, on the North Downs. It is from .
Status
This is the penultimate station on the Tattenham Corner Line. Train services ...
is the nearest station about from its centre which provides a commuter line into
London Bridge Station
London Bridge is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Southwark, south-east London. It occupies a large area on three levels immediately south-east of London Bridge, from which it takes its name. The m ...
. Its normal broad definition, the former
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 ...
, which resembles its
ecclesiastical parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish priest ...
of ancient foundation, is in the Tadworth and Walton
Ward
Ward may refer to:
Division or unit
* Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward
* Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...
of
Reigate and Banstead
Reigate and Banstead is a local government district with borough status in east Surrey, England. It includes the towns of Reigate, Redhill, Horley and Banstead. The borough borders the Borough of Crawley (in West Sussex) to the south, the Boro ...
Council. Across the motorway — within its long-established bounds — is the Headquarters of Pfizer UK at the business park known as The Hermitage.
Walton-on-the-Hill has a large pond, a
green
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...
, a primary school, an independent
preparatory school for girls, convenience/repair
shops and
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 was ...
s.
The village is home to
Walton Heath Golf Club
Walton Heath Golf Club is a golf club in England, near Walton-on-the-Hill in Surrey, southwest of London. Founded in 1903, the club comprises two 18-hole golf courses, both of which are well known for having heather covering many of the areas o ...
, whose former members include
King Edward VIII
Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 1 ...
,
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
and
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...
.
History
The
Romans
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
are known to have settled here in the 1st century AD: a substantial villa has been excavated in Sandlands Road, and is believed to have been inhabited until around 400 AD. Roman finds have been discovered here and in the neighbouring village 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 ...
.
Walton-on-the-Hill lay within the
Copthorne hundred
100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101.
In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to de ...
, an administrative division devised by the
Saxons
The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic
*
*
*
*
peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
.
Walton-on-the-Hill was called ''Waltone'' in
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 manusc ...
of 1086. It was held by John from
Richard Fitz Gilbert
Richard fitz Gilbert (before 1035–), 1st feudal baron of Clare in Suffolk, was a Norman lord who participated in the Norman conquest of England in 1066, and was styled "de Bienfaite", "de Clare", and of "Tonbridge" from his holdings.G. E. ...
. Its Domesday assets were: 2
hides and 1
virgate
The virgate, yardland, or yard of land ( la, virgāta was an English unit of land. Primarily a measure of tax assessment rather than area, the virgate was usually (but not always) reckoned as hide and notionally (but seldom exactly) equal ...
. It had 5½
plough
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 ...
s, 1 house in
Southwark
Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...
. It rendered £6. There is an early post-conquest
motte
A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to ...
within the grounds of Walton Place, the remains of a timber castle.
The name Walton comes from settlement/farmstead of Wealas –
Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
(
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
) for "Celtic-speaking tribes" or by derivation, "strangers/foreigners", see later form
Welsh people
The Welsh ( cy, Cymry) are an ethnic group native to Wales. "Welsh people" applies to those who were born in Wales ( cy, Cymru) and to those who have Welsh ancestry, perceiving themselves or being perceived as sharing a cultural heritage and sh ...
and related old-fashioned phrases.
A legal record of 1418 mentioning Wauton Athill'' may refer to the village.
Landmarks
Mound
This is a
scheduled ancient monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.
The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...
built at a date in period from the 11th to 13th centuries, covering a small area in Walton Place by the public road, standing 2.4 metres above the land to all sides. The manor of Walton was held by
Richard de Tonbridge soon after the
Norman Conquest
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...
and later by
Gilbert de Clare (or Fitz Richard), both of whom are known to be prolific castle builders, but it was also owned by the Carew family in the early 17th century at which time the manor house was extensively rebuilt, who English Heritage believe therefore slightly altered it as a garden feature.
St Peter's Church
The church of
St Peter partially dates to the 12th century; one of its oldest features is an 800-year-old font, constructed in lead, although this is thought to have originally stood in a chapel alongside the village's
manor house
A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...
, which is equally Grade II* listed. The interior of the church features examples of 16th-century artwork and stained glass. Another old church font was set up as a mounting stone outside the nearby public house.
[Westwood, Jennifer (1985), ''Albion. A Guide to Legendary Britain''. London: Grafton Books. . p. 241.]
Manor house
The house has features from the 14th century onwards, though was remodelled in the 16th century and the late 19th century and has been much reduced. Some of the tilework is in the technique of
Norman Shaw
Richard Norman Shaw RA (7 May 1831 – 17 November 1912), also known as Norman Shaw, was a British architect who worked from the 1870s to the 1900s, known for his country houses and for commercial buildings. He is considered to be among the g ...
.
Local
oral history
Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people wh ...
has it that the manor house was visited by
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 ...
, and his wife
Anne of Cleves
Anne of Cleves (german: Anna von Kleve; 1515 – 16 July 1557) was Queen of England from 6 January to 12 July 1540 as the fourth wife of King Henry VIII. Not much is known about Anne before 1527, when she became betrothed to Francis, Duke of ...
is also thought to have stayed here.
Walton Oaks
Pharmaceutical company
Pfizer
Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered on 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in 1849 in New York by two German entrepreneurs, Charles Pfizer ...
's offices were built on the site of the Hermitage country house at Walton Oaks. A separate entrance leads to the remaining Hermitage Lodge and farm cottages. Local planning guidance issued in 2001 notes that at Walton Oaks the 1920 formal gardens, pond and temple by the architect Morley Horder and the adjoining rhododendron walks are of interest. The Victorian sunken garden and Georgian parkland trees of the Hermitage within the Walton Oaks site are also of interest.
Buildings
There is a wide variety of housing, in size, type and age. The earliest buildings include Walton Manor with its 14th-century foundations and a number of 16th- and 17th-century properties in Walton Street and Deans Lane.
[https://www.reigate-banstead.gov.uk/Images/List%2014%20May%202014_tcm9-10503.pdf ]
Closer to the centre are smaller
Victorian houses, while further out and especially to the south of the village are larger detached houses on
private road
A private road is a road owned or controlled by a private person, persons or corporation rather than a road open to the public and owned by a government. Private roads can be on private land or can be constructed on government land for use by go ...
s. Many of these were built in the early to mid-20th century and include designs by architect
Sir Edwin Lutyens
Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens ( ; 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memoria ...
and his followers.
Prime Minister
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...
owned one such property, Pinfold Manor on Nursery Road. On 19 February 1913, Pinfold Manor was bombed by the
Women's Social and Political Union
The Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) was a women-only political movement and leading militant organisation campaigning for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom from 1903 to 1918. Known from 1906 as the suffragettes, its membership an ...
, a militant
suffragette
A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...
group led by
Emmeline Pankhurst
Emmeline Pankhurst ('' née'' Goulden; 15 July 1858 – 14 June 1928) was an English political activist who organised the UK suffragette movement and helped women win the right to vote. In 1999, ''Time'' named her as one of the 100 Most Impo ...
. The house was repaired and still stands today.
![LloydGeorgeWalton](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/LloydGeorgeWalton.jpg)
In the centre of the village are more recent developments of
flats
Flat or flats may refer to:
Architecture
* Flat (housing), an apartment in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and other Commonwealth countries
Arts and entertainment
* Flat (music), a symbol () which denotes a lower pitch
* Flat (soldier), ...
, including
retirement flats. Bramley School, an independent day school for girls aged three to eleven was located in the village.
[The Bramley School website]
. Retrieved on 11 June 2014. but closed in 2017.
St Cross was a large building to the north of the village which was formerly a boys' school. From 1948 it was a
British Transport Police
, nativename =
, abbreviation = BTP
, patch =
, patchcaption =
, logo = British Transport Police Logo.svg
, logocaption = Logo of the British Transport Police
, badge =
, badgecaption =
, f ...
Training Centre with a
police dog training school. The building has since been demolished and replaced with a small housing development.
Notable residents
Prime Minister
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...
Sir Anthony Hope Hawkins, author
James Braid, champion golfer
Mary Millington
Mary Ruth Maxted (née Quilter; 30 November 1945 – 19 August 1979), known professionally as Mary Millington from 1974 onwards, was an English model and pornographic actress. Her appearance in the short softcore film ''Sex is My Business'' ...
, pornographic actress
See also
*
List of places of worship in Reigate and Banstead
The borough of Reigate and Banstead, one of 11 local government districts in the English county of Surrey, has more than 80 current and former places of worship. There are 70 places of worship in active use and a further 13 at which religious ...
*
Walton-on-Thames
Walton-on-Thames, locally known as Walton, is a market town on the south bank of the Thames in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England. Walton forms part of the Greater London built-up area, within the KT postcode and is served by a wide ran ...
, which is located about to the north-west, in the
Borough of Elmbridge
Elmbridge is a local government district with borough status in Surrey, England.
Its principal towns and villages are Esher, Cobham, Walton-on-Thames, Weybridge and Molesey. It directly borders the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and t ...
in the same county, hence a suffix is typically seen in most publications after both places.
References
{{authority control
Reigate and Banstead
Villages in Surrey