Betchworth is a 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the

Mole Valley Mole Valley is a local government district in Surrey, England. Its council is based in Dorking, and the district's other town is Leatherhead. The largest villages are Ashtead, Fetcham and Great Bookham, in the northern third of the district. ...

district of

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, England. The village centre is on the north bank of the River Mole and south of the A25 road, almost east of

Dorking Dorking () is a market town in Surrey in South East England about south-west of London. It is in Mole Valley, Mole Valley District and the non-metropolitan district, council headquarters are to the east of the centre. The High Street runs ro ...

and west 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 of 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'', and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The ea ...

. London is north of the village. Service sector occupations dominate Betchworth's economy – its station and road links make it a part of the

London commuter belt The London metropolitan area is the metropolitan area of London, England. It has several definitions, including the London Travel to work area, Travel to Work Area, and usually consists of the London urban area, settlements that share London' ...

– combined with crop agriculture and services for a relatively large retired proportion of the population. A former lime quarry, rebuilt manor house and Grade I-listed church are within its boundaries.

History

Toponymy

State records show the name as ''Becesworde'' (11th century), ''Beceswrde'' (12th century) and ''Bechesworth'' (13th century). The name is generally agreed to mean a "farm or enclosure belonging to a person or family called Becci".

Pre-Roman settlement

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

artefacts have been found at Betchworth only since 1944. No Roman villas, farms or camps have been found.

Medieval period

Betchworth lay within the Wotton

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...

and appears in two entries 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086 as ''Becesworde'', held by Richard Fitz Gilbert, Richard de Tonebrige. In the Domesday survey its assets were: 27 villagers/smallholders, 15 slaves, two hides; one church, two mills worth £1 10 s, 12 ploughlands, 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 they maintain an open character. Meadows can occur naturally under favourable con ...

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Types of pasture Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, c ...

for five swine and

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...

and herbage/woodland worth 81 hogs. To its overlords it rendered in total £7 10s.Domesday Map website – image of Betchworth's entry and transcription in summary
retrieved 30 October 2012 A distinct part named Thorncroft is mentioned in the first listing which was split by five overlords in 1066 before the conquest, Lewis (1848) and Malden (1911) say this relates to the formerly detached part in the west that is now between Brockham and

. Part of the village was reclassified in the 13th century. Subsequently, the east of the village became part of Reigate hundred. Ownership of Betchworth Manor passed to

Hamelin de Warenne, Earl of Surrey Hamelin de Warenne, Earl of Surrey ( 1130 – 7 May 1202) (''alias'' Hamelin of Anjou and, anachronistically,"It is much to be wished that the surname "Plantagenet," which since the time of Charles II, has been freely given to all descendants of ...

, who did villein service on Friday's Mead as Lord of (among others) Reigate and Betchworth in 1279. Hamelin's grandson John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey owned much land in Surrey and his widow left the land to his nephew the

Earl of Arundel Earl of Arundel is a title of nobility in England, and one of the oldest extant in the English peerage. It is currently held by the Duke of Norfolk, and it is used (along with the earldom of Surrey) by his heir apparent as a courtesy title ...

, who eventually left the manor to Lord Abergavenny. The 9th Lord Abergavenny sold it in 1629 for £1,080 to Sir Ralph Freeman, in whose family's hands it remained until 1817 when it was sold to

Henry Goulburn Henry Goulburn PC FRS (19 March 1784 – 12 January 1856) was a British Conservative statesman and a member of the Peelite faction after 1846. Background and education Born in London, Goulburn was the eldest son of a wealthy planter, Munbee G ...

. Two manors existed within the boundaries of today's village: ''Wonham'', which still stands today, and ''Betchworth''. A third manor, '' Brockham'', became a separate village to the west. Wonham Manor, a grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

, forms the eastern corner of the parish and for centuries owned Wonham Mill at the foot of the Shag Brook, which is a tributary of the River Mole, on the boundary with Buckland.

Post-Reformation

A manorial system continued for a long period in this village; the great tithes were commuted for £295 15s 4d, and the vicarial (lesser tithes) for £20.

Post-Industrial Revolution

A school was endowed with £20 per annum as at 1848 four other significant endowment charities existed then and continued though were less significant due to inflation through to at least 1911 for the benefit of the poor.

Betchworth lime quarries

To supply the cement for construction associated with required brick built housing, a rich seam of suitable chalk and limestone was identified in 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 Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Areas of Outstanding Natural Be ...

. Broome Park estate, extending to the top of the hill, included some of these quarries and was integral to the Dorking Grey Stone and Lime Company and the

North Downs Line The North Downs Line is a railway line in South East England. It runs for from in Berkshire to in Surrey. It is named after the North Downs, a range of Chalk Group, chalk hills that runs parallel to the eastern part of the route. The name wa ...

's spur lines leading to these three pits. After an Act authorising the railway from

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

was passed in 1847 and its construction, opening in 1849 the Betchworth Quarry Railways were built. To

calcinate Calcinate (Bergamasque: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Bergamo, Lombardy, northern Italy. Its economy is mostly based on industry. History The origin of the town are Gaulish and Roman, though it is first mentioned in a document f ...

the lime from the stone, lime kilns were required. The six of the

lime kiln A lime kiln is a kiln used for the calcination of limestone (calcium carbonate) to produce the form of lime called ''quicklime'' (calcium oxide). The chemical equation for this reaction is: CaCO3 + heat → CaO + CO2 This reaction can tak ...

s along the

Pilgrims' Way A pilgrims' way or pilgrim way is a standard route that pilgrims take when they go on a pilgrimage in order to reach their destination – usually a holy site or place of worship. These sites may be towns or cities of special significance such a ...

footpath in Betchworth are Scheduled Ancient Monuments, including Hoffman, Dietz and Six Flare kilns. In 1911 ''A History of the County of Surrey'' by Malden which is also a county guide, records the earlier key dates in the industry and records that "the chalk furnishes the chief industry...There are also brickyards in the parish, which is, however, mostly agricultural and residential". Accomplished surgeon to

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...

and

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

, Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, lived and died at Broome Park, a nursing home since 1993 with 11 acres at the top end of The Street. In 1924 a hydrator plant at Betchworth Limeworks was installed for slaking the lime.

Landmarks

Betchworth

Conservation Area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...

contains 22

s and the church of St Michael, the only Grade I building.

Betchworth Castle

The ruins of Betchworth Castle in Betchworth Park are a couple of miles west of Betchworth in the west of Brockham civil parish.

St Michael's Church

St Michael's Church, Betchworth is

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

, immediately northwest of the village green and is Grade I listed. Most of the church on the Betchworth site now occupied by St Michael's dates to the early 13th century, and in a pillar of the tower's south window there remains a fragment of the stone Saxon church. The south aisle chapel became known as the Hope Chapel after Henry Thomas Hope bought the Manor in 1838. A tall war memorial is outside of the main west entrance of the building. A particular fine example of medieval

Gothic architecture Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High Middle Ages, High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved f ...

pointed arches is in this church throughout its long

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and forming the entrance to its alcoves. It was used for one of the first scenes of

Richard Curtis Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis (born 8 November 1956) is a British screenwriter, producer and director. One of Britain's most successful comedy screenwriters, he is known for romantic comedy-drama films, including ''Four Weddings and a Funeral' ...

's comedy film ''

Four Weddings and a Funeral ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' is a 1994 British romantic comedy film directed by Mike Newell. It is the first of several films by screenwriter Richard Curtis to star Hugh Grant, and follows the adventures of Charles (Grant) and his circle of ...

'' (1994). The village street was used for the first shot in David Lean's film '' Lawrence of Arabia'' (1962).

Betchworth House

Grade II*-listed Betchworth House is the largest building in the village, excluding Hartsfield Manor Hotel on the opposite bank of ''the Sloughs'' brook, and was built by the lord of the manor in 1675. It was erected by the Freeman local Lords of the Manor after Ralph Freeman, judge, auditor and tin trader bought the manor in 1629, which the House replaced. A painting now in the house shows its appearance then, with corner towers. It was extended and re-faced in 1808 and again 1820.Betchworth House The house is constructed of red brick covered in

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...

, tiled roofs behind parapets, long slated roofs to the back forming

eaves The eaves are the edges of the roof which overhang the face of a wall and, normally, project beyond the side of a building. The eaves form an overhang to throw water clear of the walls and may be highly decorated as part of an architectural sty ...

and features sash windows. Merstham stone (of the North Downs) forms its main entrance surround—a "Gibbs-style door surround with pulvinated frieze and rusticated, arched, surround". Half-oval balconies are to the first floor windows. Marble columns are in the rear room. By 1961 the house was in disrepair. It was reduced in scale and rationalised in the 1980s by architect Sir William Whitfield for James Hamilton, 4th Baron Hamilton of Dalzell and today has a late

Regency In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

appearance. The stables in front of Betchworth House by ''the Street'' are separately listed.

Humphry Repton Humphry Repton (21 April 1752 – 24 March 1818) was the last great designer of the classic phase of the English landscape garden, often regarded as the successor to Capability Brown. His style is thought of as the precursor of the more intric ...

produced a Red Book for Betchworth in 1801, which is still held by the estate. Repton created long-distance views radiating from the Garden front of the house. A facsimile of the Betchworth Red Book has been published.

Broome Park

Broome Park is a Grade II listed early 19th-century house. It was the home of Sir Benjamin Brodie, the royal physician. After his death in 1862, it was sold to General Sir Percy R. B. Feilding, son of the 7th Earl of Denbigh, and was later the home of his daughter, Lady Louisa Feilding (d.1918). It is now a nursing home.

Local Government

County

Betchworth falls within the

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

of Surrey which is responsible for education, almost all built infrastructure and other services such as social care.

Surrey County Council Surrey County Council is the county council for the non-metropolitan county of Surrey, England. The council is composed of 81 elected councillors, and in all but one election since 1974 the Conservative Party has held the majority. The leader ...

is elected every four years and has one representative, from Dorking Rural ward. In 2021 Helyn Clack, ( Con) was elected.

District

Betchworth is in the east of

District Council area, in which the main town is

. Three councillors sit on

District Council, who are:

Parish

At the local level Betchworth Parish Council provides certain local facilities and services.

Parliamentary Constituency

Betchworth is within Dorking and Horley parliamentary constituency.

Geography

Location

Betchworth is east of

and west of

.Grid Reference Finder measurement tools
/ref> The village is south of London, in the outer

Elevation

Elevations range from 216 m at the water tower, which marks the highest point of the parish on Box Hill, down to the River Mole, which runs east–west through the village at 43 m AOD. Between these extremes the landscape is mainly undulating, except for the steep (and where quarried for several hundred metres, sheer) chalk face of the North Downs.Map
created by

Ordnance Survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...

courtesy of ''English Heritage''

Geology & Soil

Formation of the

and the

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust and then sediment transport, tran ...

that has taken place widely with repeated sea inundations and deposition is described in detail in the Geology of Surrey.

Mammoth A mammoth is any species of the extinct elephantid genus ''Mammuthus.'' They lived from the late Miocene epoch (from around 6.2 million years ago) into the Holocene until about 4,000 years ago, with mammoth species at various times inhabi ...

fossilised bone remains have been found below flint beds under considerable clay in the low hills by the bank of the River Mole in Betchworth. Most of the parish has free draining slightly acid loamy soil. Soil of the area that forms the top of the Betchworth Hills is "free draining, slightly acid but base-rich soil" rather than "shallow, lime-rich soil over chalk or limestone" which dominates the middle of Box Hill.Cranfield University National Soil Resources Institute
/ref> This is the natural spur to the trees that line the top as it produces extremely fertile pastures and deciduous woodland. Surrey Wildlife Trust manages the rare flower meadows beneath the old quarry. The land rises towards the

AONB. Below this range of hills the Mole flows briefly along the Vale of Holmesdale and the area around its tributary the Gadbrook is within the village.

Demography & Housing

In 2001 Betchworth comprised 372 households and 12 vacant houses, shops and country businesses such as stone merchants and garden centres.Surrey County Council collated figures from the 2001 census
/ref> In the 2001 census, Betchworth had 919 residents, of whom 26.5% were aged over 65; 4.8% of the population were in full-time further education; 74.5% of all men were economically active whereas 2.5% were unemployed and 4.2% worked part-time; 56.1% of all women were economically active whereas 1.6% were unemployed and 35.1% worked part-time. In the 2001 census 98.5% of the population identified as white, 0.7% as mixed and 1.3% as one of the four other main categories (five including ''mixed''). In 2001 74.7% of the population identified themselves as Christian, 0.7% as Muslim, 1.4% other religions, 13.4% as atheist. 10.5% declined to state a religious affiliation. Betchworth's economy is predominantly a service sector economy reflected by the low concentration at one end of the official categorisation table of occupation given, compiled from the 2001 census: Whereas 34.3% of the population worked in middle or higher professional occupations. 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 percent is made up of rented dwellings (plus a negligible percentage of households living rent-free).

Economy

Betchworth's economy is predominantly a service sector economy. With its rail station and road links it forms part of the London commuter belt. Cleaning and gardening companies find a strong local market. Crop, chicken and pasture agriculture as well as a relatively large retired proportion of the population. The former lime quarry is managed by workers from Surrey Wildlife Trust and

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

. Great Brockhamhurst Farm is one of eleven farms in Betchworth and produces cereals and breeds horses. Root Hill farm is a farm and missionary camp. Local businesses include an air filters company. Yellow Pages: Westbury Filters, Betchworth and kennels. Hartsfield Manor Hotel is a major local employer with a long entrance drive off Sandy Lane has of parkland containing a small gatehouse called Ye Olde Gatehouse and serves also as a Wedding and conference venue. Betchworth Park Golf Club holding in its grounds the ruined Betchworth castle is in Brockham though keeps the historic association with Betchworth.

Culture & Community

Memorial Hall

Betchworth Memorial Hall is a large village hall with a stage and seating for 150 people; it leads to a smaller community room, the Geoffrey Browne Room, for 40/50 people. There is a kitchen which can serve either hall. All are available for hire.Betchworth Parish Council
/ref>

Hamilton Room

An Archives/Meeting Room, ''The

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

Room'', suitable for meetings of 30/40 people, and small parties with adjoining kitchen and all amenities, is situated in conservation area ''Church Street'' in the centre of the village. Within it is a room housing village archives, known as the Meg Ryan Room.

Public house

The public house in Betchworth is ''The Dolphin'' which is near the church and opposite the blacksmith. It has flagstone floors, log fires and a large rear garden.

Village Green

Goulburn Green, the alternative name for the Village Green has stalls and maypole dancing in the children-costumed May bank holiday ''Medieval Fayre'', hosts occasional summer celebrations and is the venue of the ''Harvest Lunch'' in alternate years.

James Hamilton James Hamilton may refer to: Dukes *James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton (1606–1649), heir to the throne of Scotland *James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton (1658–1712), Scottish nobleman *James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton (1703–1743), Sco ...

donated the Green.

Allotments

Betchworth parish council operates six full size allotments at the rear of The Walled Garden allocated at a nominal fee.

Post Office

A Post Office with banking facilities is on Old Reigate Road, to the north of the village.

Local Walks

A popular local pastime is walking because in the Vale of Holmesdale and elsewhere.

Transport

Railways

Trains call at Betchworth station at approximately hourly intervals in each direction in the morning and evening peaks and at two-hourly intervals off-peak. The route is known as the

and runs between the stations of

and

Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport , also known as London Gatwick Airport (), is the Airports of London, secondary international airport serving London, West Sussex and Surrey. It is located near Crawley in West Sussex, south of Central London. In 2024, Gatwic ...

. Other stations along this route include Dorking (Deepdene),

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, England, around south-west 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 nam ...

and Redhill.

Roads

The A25 road that runs from the county of Kent to

via

and

skirts the north of the village centre. From its roundabout on the A25, less major roads provide a cut-through towards Walton-on-the-Hill, via the notoriously steep Pebble Hill, a route towards

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location * S ...

, London, the M25's Reigate Hill junction or

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-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon ...

and minor routes to the south connect southern villages, including Leigh, Surrey. A-road intersections of the A25 are in Dorking (A24) and at the foot of Reigate Hill in Reigate (A217).

Notable people

*Sir Ralph Freeman (abt 1590–1650) * Sidonie Goossens, harpist, lived at Woodstock Farm, Gadbrook Road, Betchworth from 1949 until her death, aged 105, in December 2004. *

, Chancellor of the Exchequer (1828) and slave owner at his Jamaican estate, Amity Hall * John Hamilton, 3rd Baron Hamilton * Lord James Hamilton (1938–2006)

Lord-in-waiting Lords-in-waiting (male) or baronesses-in-waiting (female) are peers who hold office in the Royal Household of the sovereign of the United Kingdom. In the official Court Circular they are styled "Lord in Waiting" or "Baroness in Waiting" (without ...

to the Queen * Henry Hare, 3rd Baron Coleraine (1693–1749) * Norton-Griffiths Baronets, Baronetcy of Wonham (1922)

Education

North Downs Primary School is state-paid and has one of its three sites in the village.

Notes and references

;Notes ;References

External links

Betchworth Parish Council
* {{Authority control Villages in Surrey Mole Valley Civil parishes in Surrey