West Byfleet is a village in Surrey which grew up around its relatively minor stop on the

London & South Western Railway The London and South Western Railway (LSWR, sometimes written L&SWR) was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth, to Salisbury, Exeter ...

: the station, originally ''

Byfleet Byfleet is a village in Surrey, England. It is located in the far east of the borough of Woking, around east of West Byfleet, from which it is separated by the M25 motorway and the Wey Navigation. The village is of medieval origin. Its win ...

and Woodham'', opened in 1887. More than from the medieval village of Byfleet, the initial concentration of a new development soon established its own economy apart from that of a dependent London commuter village and spread in most directions to its borders including to the border of the old settlement, divided by the shielded M25 motorway today. The first place of worship was dedicated in 1912, the parish of West Byfleet associated with it was established in 1917. The village is bounded to the north by the

Basingstoke Canal The Basingstoke Canal is an English canal, completed in 1794, built to connect Basingstoke with the River Thames at Weybridge via the Wey Navigation. From Basingstoke, the canal passes through or near Greywell, North Warnborough, Odiham, ...

and to the east by the M25 and the

Wey Navigation Canal The River Wey Navigation and Godalming Navigation together provide a continuous navigable route from the River Thames near Weybridge via Guildford to Godalming (commonly called the Wey Navigation). Both waterways are in Surrey and are owned b ...

. Forming part of the contiguous development centred on London and its stockbroker belt just outside the M25 motorway, it is 18 miles from

London Heathrow Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others bei ...

and equidistant between the business parks of Woking and

Brooklands Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfie ...

. In local government it forms a

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 ...

on the same basis as its parish 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 ...

History

The history until the establishment of the parish in 1917 is that of Byfleet, which saw most of its current developed land, which was formerly fields in the east and densely wooded

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 ...

in the west turned into Victorian and Edwardian smallholdings and large houses in the Victorian and

Edwardian The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...

periods (1831–1911). The railway station, see

transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipelin ...

, opened in 1887, primarily to enable commuting. The village's first church was dedicated in 1912, the parish of West Byfleet associated with it was established in 1917.

Amenities

The

Waitrose Waitrose & Partners (formally Waitrose Limited) is a brand of British supermarkets, founded in 1904 as Waite, Rose & Taylor, later shortened to Waitrose. It was acquired in 1937 by employee-owned retailer John Lewis Partnership, which still se ...

food supermarket, built in 1989, lies at the centre of the village. Some 70 shops now trade offering a variety of goods as well as services such as hairdressing, beauty treatments, estate and employment agents. All the joint stock banks are represented. This retail offering has made it for such services a focal point for other neighbouring settlements of:

Pyrford Pyrford is a village in the borough of Woking in Surrey, England. It is on the left bank of the River Wey, around east of the town of Woking and just south of West Byfleet; the M25 motorway is northeast of the edge of the former parish. The ...

New Haw New Haw is a village which is part of the Borough of Runnymede in Surrey, England. It is located approximately south of Addlestone and southwest by west of London. Geography New Haw borders Byfleet, Addlestone, Weybridge, Ottershaw, West Byf ...

, Woodham,

and Ripley and an alternative to Woking. In the 2010s fashion and style shops have complimented the stores offered (e.g. ''Carmel Snow'' and ''Blush''). An art gallery and vintage gift emporium have also established a West Byfleet focus. West Byfleet has a large number of restaurants for its size. Three coffee shops, an Italian, London House fine dining, a North Indian, a South Indian, a Chinese restaurant and a Chinese takeaway, a pizza takeaway, a wine bar and a Subway are all contained in the small village centre. Although there is a small amount of turnover, the number tends to remain the same down the years. During the 2010s, the 1960s developments which formed much of the centre of the village were ageing, and there was a long period of redevelopment planning by various potential builders. In 2020 much of the village was boarded up in preparation for demolition. This meant the loss of the post office, a chemist and a number of other retailers. The redevelopment is expected to take till 2023, and is expected to create many flats and new retail outlets, plus a village square. The

with its tree-lined path to Woking, the

Aldershot Urban Area Farnborough/Aldershot built-up area and Aldershot Urban Area are names used by the ONS to refer to a conurbation spanning the borders of Surrey, Berkshire and Hampshire in England. The ONS found a population of 252,937 in 2011 (up 4%, rounded, f ...

and Basingstoke passes straight forming the north-west border of the village of West Byfleet. An old lady told there was a story of Ghost seen at Woodham Lock on the Basingstoke Canal. The town has one main football club, West Byfleet Albion (not to be confused with

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...

) who play in the Guildford and Woking Alliance League.

Schools

Most secondary school students attend Fullbrook School, St John the Baptist School or Bishop David Brown School. Primary level schools are: *West Byfleet Junior School *The Marist School.

Churches

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

– St John's the Baptist Church, originally part of the

parish until West Byfleet was established as a parish in 1917. The church, in its entirety, is the work of the architect W.D. Caroe, including the furnishings. The building was completed in 1912.St John's history
/ref> *

Roman Catholic 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 let ...

– Our Lady Help of Christians

Soil, topography and elevations

The surface undulates gently from the west to the east, where West Byfleet's land is drained in the parish of Byfleet itself by the

River Wey The River Wey is a main tributary of the River Thames in south east England. Its two branches, one of which rises near Alton in Hampshire and the other in West Sussex to the south of Haslemere, join at Tilford in Surrey. Once combined the ...

. Soil ranges from sandy acidic soil in the west to more

alluvial Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. All ...

soil in the east, underlain by a mixture of gravel and clay. Elevations range from 18m

Above Ordnance Datum In the British Isles, an ordnance datum or OD is a vertical datum used by an ordnance survey as the basis for deriving altitudes on maps. A spot height may be expressed as AOD for "above ordnance datum". Usually mean sea level (MSL) is used ...

to 33m. Old Avenue has been designated a Conservation Area due its Arcadian environment of substantial family homes of interesting architecture and still good sized gardens. It Is considered the most desirable location of the Parish as it is within easy walking distance of West Byfleet station and as a no through road, a safe and beautiful place to live. Birchwood Road and part of Station Road has been designated a Conservation Area. Birchwood Road, built between 1910 and 1920 by Mr Stoop a local landowner, is a mixed development of semi-detached Houses and 3 Blocks of 2 Bedroom flats and at the end of the road is a block of one Bedroom Flats. Between nos 18-18a and 19-19a was a drying ground with washing lines, that has been sold by Woking Brough Council. There was another Drying ground and allotments at the back of houses no 47 -56 no 61-65, from no 1 – 8 Station Road it now totally overgrown. The green between the Station and Birchwood Road was given to the tenants as for their use as a Recreation Space by Mr Stoop. There is another Conservation Area east of the Station in Station Approach.

Notable inhabitants

*Sir Sydney Camm, Hawker aircraft designer, see also

*Sir George Edwards,

Vickers Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public i ...

aircraft designer, see also

JC Carroll Jean-Marie "JC" Carroll is an English composer, songwriter and musician. He has been a members of the post-punk group The Members for over 40 years, and is an established film composer. Biography JC Carroll was born in Camberley on 9 February ...

composer (inc. of ''The Sound of The Suburbs'') *

J C Stobart John Clarke Stobart (5 March 1878 – 11 May 1933), commonly known as J. C. Stobart, was a classical scholar, a University of Cambridge lecturer, an HM Inspector of Schools and the BBC's first Director of Education. Early life Known as 'Jack' to ...

(1878–1933), author lived latterly by West Byfleet Golf Course, but buried at (Old) Byfleet (inc. of ''The Glory That Was Greece'') * Dame

Anna Neagle Dame Florence Marjorie Wilcox (''née'' Robertson; 20 October 1904 – 3 June 1986), known professionally as Anna Neagle, was an English stage and film actress, singer, and dancer. She was a successful box-office draw in the British cinema ...

(1904-1986) one of Britain's leading film stars in the late 1930s and 1940s, specializing in romantic comedies and costume biographies.

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 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).

Transport

West Byfleet is an excellent transport hub with convenient commuter train services, approximately 30 minutes to Waterloo, good local bus services and easy access to Junctions 10 and 11 of the M25. It is also within 20 minutes of Heathrow and 40 minutes of Gatwick. ;Roads Motorways are in reach but do not concentrate the traffic in particular parts of West Byfleet. Access to the M25 is via any one of two junctions of the motorway-standard section of the A3, east (Cobham) or south (Pyrford), or via a busy road through

for which roads join to the east to travel the average of north to the north-west of

Addlestone Addlestone ( or ) is a town in Surrey, England. It is located approximately southwest of London. The town is the administrative centre of the Runnymede (borough), Borough of Runnymede, of which it is the largest settlement. History The town is ...

. ;Rail The

South West Main Line The South West Main Line (SWML) is a 143-mile (230 km) major railway line between Waterloo station in central London and Weymouth on the south coast of England. A predominantly passenger line, it serves many commuter areas including south we ...

provides, typically 4 trains per hour to London and other destinations in various directions to the south-west including Woking. Branch lines off this general SW axis connect to other cardinal compass points of the compass (west and south) in the country at

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 ...

and at

Clapham Junction Clapham Junction is an urban locality around Clapham Junction railway station in London, England. Despite its name, it is not located in Clapham, but forms the commercial centre of Battersea. Clapham Junction was a scene of disturbances during ...

stations. Currently for destinations north of Oxford a change should be made in London for faster connections.

More pictures of the village

West-Byfleet-Basingstoke-Canal-Sign-2012.jpg, West Byfleet Basingstoke Canal Sign 2012 West-Byfleet-Basingstoke-Canal-2012.jpg, West Byfleet Basingstoke Canal 2012 West-Byfleet-Basingstoke-Canal-Cottages-2012.jpg, West Byfleet Basingstoke Canal Cottages 2012 West-Byfleet-Basingstoke-Canal-Path-2012.jpg, West Byfleet Basingstoke Canal Path 2012 West-Byfleet-Avenue-2012.jpg, West Byfleet Woodlands Avenue 2012 West-Byfleet-1930s-Architecture.jpg, West Byfleet 1930s Architecture West-Byfleet-Old-Avenue-2012.jpg, West Byfleet Old Avenue 2012 West-Byfleet-Pub-2012.jpg, West Byfleet Pub 2012 West-Byfleet-Village-Green-2012.jpg, West Byfleet Village Green 2012 West-Byfleet-Crocuses-on-Village-Green-2012.jpg, West Byfleet Crocuses on Village Green, Feb 2012 West-Byfleet's-Neighbours-2012.jpg, West Byfleet's Neighbours 2012 West-Byfleet-Marist-Convent-Replacement.jpg, West Byfleet Marist Convent Replacement West-Byfleet-2nd-Marist-School-2012.jpg, West Byfleet 2nd Marist School 2012

References

Bibliography

Gardner, Robert (2006) 'From Bouncing Bombs to Concorde – The Authorised Biography of Aviation Pioneer Sir George Edwards, OM' (Sutton Publishing Ltd, Stroud, Gloucs.) Stevens, Leonard, R (2001) 'A Village of England – Byfleet’ Wakeford, Iain (2004) 'West Byfleet – A Self-Guided Heritage Walk With Notes and Illustrations on the History of the Village and the Basingstoke Canal' (Iain Wakeford, Old Woking, Surrey).

External links

Woking Borough Council page on West Byfleet

West Byfleet Business Association

Local Plan

War Memorial Photo
{{authority control Villages in Surrey