Wrecclesham is a village on the southern outskirts of the large town of
Farnham
Farnham ( /ˈfɑːnəm/) is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a trib ...
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. Its local government district is the
Borough of Waverley
The Borough of Waverley is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with borough status in Surrey, England. The borough's headquarters are in the town of Godalming; other notable settlements are the towns of Farnham and Haslemere an ...
.
History
It was once in the estate of
Henry of Westminster and Blois the powerful 13th-century bishop who owned the majority of the fertile portion of the land, in what was then Farnham and soon became the related parishes of Farnham and Frensham in
Farnham Hundred
Farnham ( /ˈfɑːnəm/) is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a tri ...
. Farnham remains in use as Wrecclesham's
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 ...
. Wrecclesham acquired
village status in 1840 when its first place of worship was built.
Notable places
Wrecclesham's historic character is shown by the presence of the
Farnham Pottery
Farnham Pottery is located in Wrecclesham near Farnham, Surrey. This is one of the best preserved examples of a working Victorian country pottery left in England and is a grade II listed building. Its significance in the local area is shown by ...
, one of the best-preserved examples of a working Victorian country pottery in England and is 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 ...
. It serves as a cafe for locals. Just past Wrecclesham Hill is the hamlet of
Holt Pound
Holt Pound is a hamlet on the A325 road and two side roads and forms a slight projection of the county borders into Surrey in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is between Bordon several miles south and Farnham, which is beyon ...
; what is now the Holt Pound recreation ground was one of the chief cricket grounds in Surrey. It was used as the venue for three first-class matches between 1791 and 1809 as well as for a number of minor matches.
[First Class matches played on Holt Pound, Wrecclesham]
/ref>
Runwick
Runwick () is located across the A31 road
The A31 is a major trunk road in southern England that runs from Guildford in Surrey to Bere Regis in Dorset.
Route of road
The road begins in Guildford at the start of Farnham Road near Guildford Station, coming out of the town and passin ...
, north of Wrecclesham. It is made up of small holdings on the 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 ...
-Surrey border. The '-wick
Wick most often refers to:
* Capillary action ("wicking")
** Candle wick, the cord used in a candle or oil lamp
** Solder wick, a copper-braided wire used to desolder electronic contacts
Wick or WICK may also refer to:
Places and placename ...
' part of the name meant ″hamlet″ and, from the 13th-century, ″farm″, and is still used in the far east of England to mean ″farm″. The ″run″ part of the name relates to an Anglo Saxon England
Anglo-Saxon England or Early Medieval England, existing from the 5th to the 11th centuries from the end of Roman Britain until the Norman conquest in 1066, consisted of various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms until 927, when it was united as the Kingdom of ...
owner, as in Runfold
Runfold is a village in Surrey, U.K., about ENE of Farnham.
Runfold lies on the ancient trackway known as the Pilgrims' Way and on the former route of the A31 road, which has by-passed the village since the early 1990s. Loss of through tra ...
, which is a similar distance from Farnham.
Transport
The A325 road
List of A roads in zone 3 in Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island ...
passes through Wrecclesham, connecting it to the garrison towns of Bordon
Bordon is a town in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It lies in the interior of the royal Woolmer Forest, about southeast of Alton. The town forms a part of the civil parish of Whitehill which is one of two contiguous villag ...
in the south and Aldershot
Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alders ...
in the north. The A31, connecting Farnham to Alton
Alton may refer to:
People
*Alton (given name)
*Alton (surname)
Places Australia
*Alton National Park, Queensland
* Alton, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Balonne
Canada
* Alton, Ontario
*Alton, Nova Scotia
New Zealand
* Alton, New Zealand, ...
, runs close by the village.[Ordnance Survey]
Education
Wrecclesham has one primary school, St. Peter's C of E School on Little Green Lane. The presence of Weydon School
Weydon School is a secondary academy school located in Weydon Lane, Farnham, Surrey, England. It is the lead school of the Weydon Multi Academy Trust.
History
Opened as Weydon County Secondary School on 16 September 1957. The first headmast ...
in Wrecclesham makes it the major education centre of the area because there are no secondary schools in central Farnham.
Facilities
St Peter's Church is the oldest church in the parish and was consecrated in 1840 by the Bishop of Winchester
The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' (except dur ...
, Charles Sumner
Charles Sumner (January 6, 1811March 11, 1874) was an American statesman and United States Senator from Massachusetts. As an academic lawyer and a powerful orator, Sumner was the leader of the anti-slavery forces in the state and a leader of th ...
. At the time the population was believed to be around 800 inhabitants. Grace Church is a newer Baptist church, founded in 2013, which meets in St Peter's School.
Sport
Wrecclesham recreation ground caters for cricket, football, rugby and tennis clubs. This is where Jonny Wilkinson
Jonathan Peter Wilkinson, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 25 May 1979) is an English former rugby union player. A Fly-half (rugby union), fly-half, he played for Newcastle Falcons and RC Toulonnais, Toulon and represente ...
and Graham Thorpe
Graham Paul Thorpe, (born 1 August 1969) is a former English cricketer who played for England internationally and Surrey domestically. A left-handed middle-order batsman and slip fielder, he appeared in 100 Test matches.
Early life
Thorpe was ...
started careers in their professional sports, as well as many sportsmen of some generations before such as Billy Beldham and Vic Cannings
Victor Henry Douglas Cannings (3 April 1919 – 27 October 2016) was an English cricketer, cricket coach and colonial police officer. Born in Hampshire in April 1919, Cannings joined the Palestine Police Force in 1938 and spent the Second World ...
.
;Cricket
Wrecclesham Cricket Club can be linked back to 4 May 1901, where an advert in the '' Farnham Herald'' was posted to find players willing to play cricket. The club moved to the recreation ground in Riverdale in the 1930s. Competing in the Farnham and District Cricket league, the club won its first honours in 1934 and 1936.
Wrecclesham joined the I’Anson competition in 1953 and won it in 1956. In 2008, Wrecclesham's 1st XI cricket team were relegated to the Division 4 (of 6) of the I’Anson league. However, in the following 3 seasons, the club earned three consecutive promotions. The ''Farnham Herald'' recognised this achievement, publishing with the statement ‘there is no precedent for an established club winning three consecutive promotions as Wrecclesham have done’, praising the teams ‘high team ethic’. The club's crest, made in 2008, is of an owl over a pottery kiln, referencing the Farnham Pottery
Farnham Pottery is located in Wrecclesham near Farnham, Surrey. This is one of the best preserved examples of a working Victorian country pottery left in England and is a grade II listed building. Its significance in the local area is shown by ...
which was widely known for its 'owl jugs' which were produced up to the 1950s.Farnham Pottery Wares
/ref>
; Association Football
Wrecclesham Football Club joined the Surrey County Intermediate League (Western) in 2007 and won its Premier Division in 2011. The club's 1st XI team opted to promotion to the top division of the Aldershot & District Football League where it has a second team who play some divisions below. Wrecclesham Football Club folded at the end of the 2013/14 season. After the folding of Wrecclesham FC, United Football Club of Farnham (UFC Farnham) became the only football club based in Wrecclesham from the 2014/15 season with their first and reserve teams playing in the Guildford & Woking Alliance Football League Divisions Three and Five respectively. In May 2016 it was announced that UFC Farnham would merge with the Wrecclesham Social Club to once again become Wrecclesham FC, continuing the tradition of a club which was founded in 1904.
In 2019 Badshot Lea F.C. opened The Operatix Community Ground at Westfield Lane, the site previously used by Farnham Rugby Club. Their first game at the ground was played against Aldershot Town F.C.
Aldershot Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Aldershot, Hampshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in the spring ...
of the Vanarama National League on 6 July 2019 with an attendance of over 600 people. In 2007, Badshot Lea F.C. were promoted to the Football Association National Non-League Pyramid. They ground-shared at several clubs so that they could meet the FA Ground Compliance requirements, before settling at the old Farnham Rugby Club ground in Wrecclesham. Their men's 1st Xl compete in national competitions such as the FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
and FA Vase
The Football Association Challenge Vase, usually referred to as the FA Vase, is an annual football competition for teams playing in Steps 5 and 6 of the English National League System (or equivalently, tier 9 or 10 of the overall English footbal ...
. Badshot Lea Ladies 1st Xl compete in the Thames Valley Counties Women's Football League Div 1 and the Women's FA Cup
The Women's FA Challenge Cup Competition is the top annual cup tournament for women's clubs in English football. Founded in 1970, it has been named the WFA Cup, FA Women's Cup and now Women's FA Cup (Vitality Women's FA Cup for sponsorship rea ...
, and the youth plays in various league competitions in Surrey and Hampshire.
See also
* Wrecclesham Traincare Depot
References
{{authority control
Villages in Surrey
Farnham