Shalford 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
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 ...
district, in
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 on the
A281 Horsham
Horsham () is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...
road immediately south of Guildford. It has a
railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
which is between Guildford and
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 ...
on the
Reading to Gatwick Airport line. In 2011 the parish had a population of 4,142.
It has one named locality, occupying the west of the area, Peasmarsh.
Shalford's
village sign
In many parts of England, an ornamental village sign is erected to announce the village name to those entering the village. They are typically placed on the principal road entrance or in a prominent location such as a village green. The desig ...
was designed by
Christopher Webb
Christopher Rahere Webb (1886–1966) was an English stained glass designer.
His unusual second name was derived from that of the founder of St Bartholomew's Priory in London where his father, Edward Alfred Webb and his uncle, Sir Aston We ...
and W H Randall Blacking in 1922, as part of a competition run by the ''
Daily Mail
The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily Middle-market newspaper, middle-market Tabloid journalism, tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the List of newspapers in the United Kingdom by circulation, h ...
''. It shows
Saint Christopher
Saint Christopher (, , ; ) is venerated by several Christian denominations. According to these traditions, he was a martyr killed in the reign of the 3rd-century Roman Empire, Roman emperor Decius (), or alternatively under the emperor Maximin ...
carrying the Christ Child over a shallow ford.
History
Shalford 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
of 1086 as ''Scaldefor''. It was held by Robert de Wateville from
Richard Fitz Gilbert. Its Domesday assets were: 4
hides; 1 church, 3
mill
Mill may refer to:
Science and technology
* Factory
* Mill (grinding)
* Milling (machining)
* Millwork
* Paper mill
* Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel
* Sugarcane mill
* Textile mill
* List of types of mill
* Mill, the arithmetic ...
s worth 16s, 11½
plough
A plough or ( US) plow (both pronounced ) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses but modern ploughs are drawn by tractors. A plough may have a wooden ...
s, 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 ...
, wood worth 20
hogs. It rendered £20.
The village also became well known for "the Great Fair of Shalford" which was set up by a charter issued by
King John. In its heyday, it was said to have covered and attracted merchants from across the country.
The original church, mentioned in the
Domesday
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 ...
survey, no longer exists. An early
Victorian
Victorian or Victorians may refer to:
19th century
* Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign
** Victorian architecture
** Victorian house
** Victorian decorative arts
** Victorian fashion
** Victorian literatur ...
church now stands in its place. St Mary's was built in 1846 with a
lychgate
A lychgate (from Old English ''līc'', corpse) or resurrection gate is a covered gateway found at the entrance to a traditional English or English-style churchyard. Examples also exist outside the British Isles in places such as Newfoundland, the ...
and stained glass. Many older cottages do survive. One of the finest properties, Shalford House, dated back to the
Tudor period
In England and Wales, the Tudor period occurred between 1485 and 1603, including the Elizabethan era during the reign of Elizabeth I (1558–1603). The Tudor period coincides with the dynasty of the House of Tudor in England, which began with ...
and featured a carved stone fireplace dated 1609. The house was demolished in 1967 to make way for a water treatment plant. There are many Grade II listed structures including
stocks and whipping post.
World War II
On 11 April 1944 two goods trains collided at . One of them consisted of tankers of aviation fuel en route to airfields in Kent. Leaks from the damaged wagons caused a major fire which was eventually brought under control by the Fire Brigade, with assistance of members of the local police and
Home Guard
Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense.
The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting ...
volunteers, who used sandbags to contain the spread of the burning fuel. Nearby properties, including a potato and vegetable store, were badly damaged as was the steel road bridge over the railway that was buckled by the heat. The local pub, the ''Queen Victoria'', escaped unharmed.
Geography
The
River Tillingbourne
The River Tillingbourne (also known as the Tilling Bourne) runs along the south side of the North Downs and joins the River Wey at Guildford. Its source is a mile south of Tilling Springs to the north of Leith Hill at and it runs through Friday ...
joins 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, Hampshire, Alton in Hampshire and the other in West Sussex to the south of Haslemere, join at Tilford in Surrey. Onc ...
at Shalford adjacent to the parish church. For centuries, the river provided an important source of income for the village with various local industries, such the manufacture of gunpowder, utilising it as a source of power.
Cranleigh Waters
The Cranleigh Waters or Bramley Wey is a tributary of the River Wey in Surrey.
Course
The Cranleigh Waters or Bramley Wey rises at a source close to the sources of two tributaries, the Thornhurst Brook and Coneyhurst Gill in the rural north of ...
joins the Wey at the northern terminus of the
Wey and Arun Canal
The Wey and Arun Canal is a partially open, canal in the southeast of England. It runs southwards from the River Wey at Gunsmouth in Shalford, Surrey to the River Arun at Wisborough Green, Pallingham, in West Sussex. The canal comprises parts ...
. Shalford was a landing place for barges, and continues to be visited by boats today – but for pleasure rather than trade.
The surviving mill is now preserved as a tourist attraction:
Shalford Mill
Shalford Mill is an 18th-century Grade II* listed watermill located on the River Tillingbourne in Shalford, near Guildford, Surrey, England. In 1932, the mill was endowed to the National Trust by a group of eccentric young female philanthropi ...
, 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 ...
, situated in the centre of the village opposite the ''Sea Horse'' public house, was built in the 18th century and is now owned by the
National Trust
The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...
.
Notable residents
Some claim that the author of ''
The Pilgrim's Progress
''The Pilgrim's Progress from This World, to That Which Is to Come'' is a 1678 Christian allegory written by John Bunyan. It is commonly regarded as one of the most significant works of Protestant devotional literature and of wider early moder ...
'',
John Bunyan
John Bunyan (; 1628 – 31 August 1688) was an English writer and preacher. He is best remembered as the author of the Christian allegory ''The Pilgrim's Progress'', which also became an influential literary model. In addition to ''The Pilgrim' ...
, once lived in hiding in a cottage called ''Horn Hatch'' on Shalford Common and drew his inspiration from the fair held on the common and from the ancient route known as 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 ...
, which passes nearby, on its way to
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
.
Lt.Col.
Henry Haversham Godwin-Austen
Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Haversham Godwin-Austen Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS Zoological Society of London, FZS Royal Geographical Society, FRGS British Ornithologists' Union, MBOU (6 July 1834 – 2 December 1923), known until 1854 as Henry ...
(1834–1923), topographer, geologist, naturalist and explorer who surveyed the Himalayan region, including
K2, sometimes known as Mt. Godwin-Austen, for a time had an estate in Shalford.
A watercolour sketch titled 'In Captain Pierrepont's Grounds' was painted by
Anthony Devis
Anthony Devis (18 March 1729 – 26 April 1816) was an English Landscape art, landscape painter, working especially in watercolor and oils and active in London.Waterhouse, E., ''Dictionary of British 18th century painters'', 1981, p. 108
Anthon ...
(1729–1817) not long after Captain
William Pierrepont of acquired Shalford Manor in 1800.
Brigadier
George Roupell
Brigadier George Rowland Patrick Roupell, (7 April 1892 – 4 March 1974) was a senior officer in the British Army and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British ...
, a
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...
recipient, died in Shalford in 1974.
The
Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Religion
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...
singer/drummer
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis and had a successful solo career, ac ...
had a home in Shalford named ''Old Croft'', where he wrote music which would end up on his first solo album ''
Face Value
The face value, sometimes called nominal value, is the value of a coin, bond, stamp or paper money as printed on the coin, stamp or bill itself by the issuing authority.
The face value of coins, stamps, or bill is usually its legal value. Ho ...
'', and also the Genesis album, ''
Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
''.
Localities
Peasmarsh
The settlement of Peasmarsh on the left bank of the river Wey between
Artington
Artington is a Hamlet and civil parish in the borough of Guildford, Surrey, England. It covers the area from the southern edge of the built-up centre of Guildford and steep Guildown, the start of the Hog's Back and part of the North Downs AONB, ...
and
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 settl ...
is contained in the parish. It consists of a retirement home; Astolat and Weyvern business parks; and four short residential roads close to the
River Wey Navigation
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 ...
including ''Tilthams Green''. A woodland surrounding the rebuilt manor house, being higher up than most of the reclaimed marshland, is named Peas Marsh. A barn at Littlemarsh Farm, one at Tilthams Farm and Tilthams farmhouse are grade II listed. There is a
C of E
C, or c, is the third letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''cee'' (pronounced ), plural ''cees''.
History
"C ...
church; St Michael's. The water meadows form the Wey Valley
SSSI
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...
.
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).
See also
*
List of places of worship in Guildford (borough)
References
External links
Shalford*
{{Authority control
Villages in Surrey
Civil parishes in Surrey
Borough of Guildford