Peper Harow is a rural village and

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 ...

in south-west

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. ...

close to the town of

Godalming Godalming is a market town and civil parish in southwest Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, at the confluence of the Rivers Wey and Ock. The civil parish covers and includes the settleme ...

. It was a noted early

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 striki ...

venue. Its easternmost fields are in part given up to the A3 trunk road.

Location and history

The name "Peper Harow" is very unusual and comes from

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 ...

''Pipers Hear(g)'' perhaps meaning, approximately "The pagan stone altar of the pipers"; however, hearg can also be haeg meaning more prosaically hedged enclosure (of the pipers), or even hay meadow. Pipers might mean musicians, or sandpipers (the green sandpiper and wood sandpiper are migrants to marsh and swampy ground – as this is). Peper Harow appears in the ''

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 as ''Pipereherge''. It was held by Girard (Gerard) from Walter, son of Othere. Its domesday assets were: 3 hides. It had 3

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

mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Textile mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic unit of the Analytical Engine early ...

worth 15s, of

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non-woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or artifi ...

. It rendered £5 per year to its

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a wa ...

overlords. Later documented forms are: Pipereherge (11th century); Piperinges (13th century); Pyperhaghe (14th century). In the graveyard of St. Nicholas's Church (dating to 1301) is an ancient yew tree which has been dated to being 800 years old which could stand on the site of an old pagan site. Close to Peper Harow at Bonville Hanger Wood is a

Holy well A holy well or sacred spring is a well, spring or small pool of water revered either in a Christian or pagan context, sometimes both. The water of holy wells is often thought to have healing qualities, through the numinous presence of its gua ...

called ''Bonfield Spring'' that is also thought to have held pre-Christian religious significance. ;Descent of the manor Denzil Holles (who had no issue) died in 1694, and the manor reverted to John,

Duke of Newcastle Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne was a title that was created three times, once in the Peerage of England and twice in the Peerage of Great Britain. The first grant of the title was made in 1665 to William Cavendish, 1st Marquess of Newcastle u ...

, his male heir who sold it in February 1699 – 1700 to Philip Frowde, who in 1713 sold it to Alan Brodrick, who was elevated to the Viscountcy of Midleton. In 1725 this

Viscount Midleton Viscount Midleton, of Midleton in the County of Cork, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1717 for Alan Brodrick, 1st Baron Brodrick, the Lord Chancellor of Ireland and former Speaker of the Irish House of Commons. He was ...

was 'expected to reside manor.html" ;"title="Manorialism.html" ;"title="n the Manorialism">manor">Manorialism.html" ;"title="n the Manorialism">manorshortly, and was patron (sponsor) of the church, whose son died 1747. In the son's time his first cousin Vice-Admiral Thomas Brodrick also lived at the estate. George Brodrick, the third viscount died holding it in 1765. He was succeeded by his son George, created Baron Brodrick of Peper Harow in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, who died 1836. His son George Alan was succeeded in 1848 by his cousin Charles, grandson of the third viscount, who died in 1863. The manor passed to his brother, the Very Rev. W J Brodrick, who dying in 1870 was succeeded by his son William, appointed (for the year term)

Lord Lieutenant of Surrey This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Surrey. Since 1737, all Lords Lieutenant have also been Custos Rotulorum of Surrey. Lord Lieutenants of Surrey *William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton 1551–1553? *William Howard, ...

. This Viscount Midleton died in 1907, and was succeeded by his eldest son. George Broderick, (who married

Rene Ray Irene Lilian Brodrick, Countess of Midleton (née Creese, known as Rene Ray, 22 September 1911 – 28 August 1993) was a British stage and screen actress of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s and also a novelist. Acting career Ray made her screen début ...

), was the eldest son of five children born to St John Brodrick, 1st Earl of Midleton by his first wife, Lady Hilda Charteris. ;21st-century history St. Nicholas's church was almost destroyed by fire in December 2007. The yew was unharmed and the church has been restored. Parts of the village are privately owned with restricted access.

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 striki ...

has long been played here, with evidence of rules and matches dating to 1727.

Alan Brodrick, 2nd Viscount Midleton Alan Brodrick, 2nd Viscount Midleton (31 January 1702 – 8 June 1747) was a British peer and significant cricket patron who was jointly responsible for creating the sport's earliest known written rules. Cricket patronage Midleton succeeded his ...

was a cricket patron and one match against a side organised by

Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond, 2nd Duke of Lennox, 2nd Duke of Aubigny, (18 May 17018 August 1750) of Goodwood House near Chichester in Sussex, was a British nobleman and politician. He was the son of Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmo ...

is believed to have taken place at Peper Harow in the 1727 English cricket season.

Other activities

During the Second World War, Peper Harow was used as a holding area for Canadian Forces. Part of the park not in the parish is used annually for point-to-point horse racing.

Peper Harow House

Peper Harow House was built by

Sir William Chambers __NOTOC__ Sir William Chambers (23 February 1723 – 10 March 1796) was a Swedish-Scottish architect, based in London. Among his best-known works are Somerset House, and the pagoda at Kew. Chambers was a founder member of the Royal Academy. Biog ...

for

George Brodrick, 3rd Viscount Midleton George Brodrick, 3rd Viscount Midleton (3 October 1730 – 22 August 1765) was a British nobleman. Origins Brodrick was the first and only surviving son of Alan Brodrick, 2nd Viscount Midleton and Mary Capell, the second daughter of Algernon Ca ...

in 1765. Still incomplete when the 3rd Viscount died (in 1765) it was completed by his son after he came of age. It is a

Grade I 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 Irel ...

Lancelot 'Capability' Brown Lancelot Brown (born c. 1715–16, baptised 30 August 1716 – 6 February 1783), more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English gardener and landscape architect, who remains the most famous figure in the history of the English lan ...

landscaped the park in 1762–3, and many fine trees remain from this time. Particularly notable are the

Lebanon Cedar ''Cedrus libani'', the cedar of Lebanon or Lebanese cedar (), is a species of tree in the genus cedrus, a part of the pine family, native to the mountains of the Eastern Mediterranean basin. It is a large evergreen conifer that has great religi ...

. According to 'A History of the County of Surrey' published in 1911, the park and grounds at Peper Harow contained some fine timber at that time, notably the cedars of Lebanon, which were put in as seedlings from pots in 1735. Somerset Bridge from the Southeast with the river Wey at Summer level DSC 1565

Somerset Bridge from the Southeast with the river Wey at Summer level DSC 1565

There is also an ancient bridge called Somerset Bridge which crosses the River Wey and connects Peper Harow with nearby

Elstead Elstead is a civil parish in Surrey, England with shops, houses and cottages spanning the north and south sides of the River Wey; development is concentrated on two roads that meet at a central green. It includes Pot Common its southern neighbo ...

. The house was owned by the

Midleton Midleton (; , meaning "monastery at the weir") is a town in south-eastern County Cork, Ireland. It lies approximately 16 km east of Cork City on the Owenacurra River and the N25 road, which connects Cork to the port of Rosslare. A satellit ...

family until 1944 when it was sold to property developers. It, and the entire village, is now owned by a trust.

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

Bibliography

* * *

External links

Peper Harow websitePeper Harow history
{{authority control Villages in Surrey Country houses in Surrey Civil parishes in Surrey English cricket venues in the 18th century Defunct cricket grounds in England Sports venues completed in 1727