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Showing posts from February, 2011

Thames Tributary River Mole - Esher Road

Thames Tributary River Mole The Mole flows north east towards the Thames gradually turning north Post to the east Esher Post to the south West End Esher Road Albany Bridge over the Mole which connects Esher and Hersham. It was named after the Duchess of Albany who lived a Claremont. It was originally an ornamental timber bridge built in the mid-19th replaced by a stone bridge in 1907. A concrete bridge was put in place in 1965. South Waylands Farm . Brick house 1600 Barn . Built 17th in brick now whitewashed in an L shaped plan- 2 barns at right angles. West Weylands Farm Hersham Riverside Park Hersham Village Golf Course . Golf course set up in woodland left from a GLC tree nursery. West End Lane West End Recreation Ground

Thames Tributary River Mole = Hersham

Thames Tributary River Mole The Mole curves north west and north east Post to the east West End Post to the south Fairmile Burwood Close Scout HQ Burhill Road Church of St. Peter built 1887 by J.L. Pearson in Buff stone and with a square tower Holy Trinity church was built in 1839 as a Chapel of Ease. The land on which it stood was a gift from William Holmes, Esq. 1887, but when St Peter's was built Holy Trinity Church was demolished. The site is marked by a stone near the north wall of the Churchyard School for Infants 1842 financed by public subscription. This had had many changes but a part of the original building still stands. It was passed to Surrey County Council in 1881 Southwood Manor Farm - trading estate with many businesses. Farm House , divided into flats. 16th with 19th. Timber framed with brick cladding. Inside some exposed frames and wattle and daub infill Riverside by Southwood Manor Farm - flint instruments found in large numbers dating mostly fro

Thames Tributary River Mole - West End

Thames Tributary River Mole The Mole flows north east Post to the west Hersham Post to the north Esher Road Post to the south Esher Common Stony Hill Milestone . Unseen in grounds of a house on the north side Claremont . The 'landscape park' was part of a larger estate laid out by Charles Bridgeman for John Vanbrugh, who owned the estate in 1711 and sold it to the Duke of Newcastle. It is one of the original landscaped parks on which many others were based. In the 1730s William Kent began the transformation to the 'natural' style, converting the canal to a lake, overlooked by the grass amphitheatre, and including an island with a pavilion. A lake edged by a winding bank with scattered trees was a common feature of Kent's designs. The gardens are separate from Claremont House, are owned by The National Trust and known as Claremont Landscape Garden Grotto . This is by and built of sandstone and chalk by Joseph and Josiah Lane Bowling Green House by William K

Thames Tributary River Mole - Esher Common

Thames Tributary River Mole The Mole curls north east and then north west forming the boundary to the woods. Post to the north West End Post to the west Fairmile Esher Common A Site of Special Scientific Interest which includes heath, grassland, and scrub, woodland although heath land has been lost since grazing ceased. Many invertebrate species - over 2000 found of which many are rare. Scots pines were planted here in the 1830s and much timber has been felled since particularly in the Second World War. Black Pond . On the Kingston Zodiac this is said to be ‘on the dark twin’ of Gemini. It was a reservoir used as water supply for Claremont Gardens. Concrete changing huts for when they used to allow swimming. Pump House remains which housed a donkey operated pump on the north bank used to pump water to Claremont. The circular building was destroyed in the First World War. Horseshoe Clump. Clive of India diverted the Portsmouth Road as part of the designs for Claremont under C

Thames Tributary River Mole - Fairmile

Thames Tributary River Mole The Mole flows south east and then turns north east Post to the west Burhill Post to the north Hersham Post to the east Esher Common Portsmouth Road American International Community School . Takes children of all ages and offers an American curriculum. Although it is in effect yet another posh private school. It includes: Early Childhood village; Lower, Middle, and High School buildings; gym, dining room and dormitories. Interactive Learning Centre and sports facilities On the site of ‘Heywood; which was said to be a manor held by a family of that name in 1206 - the earliest mention of the manor of Heywood at Cobham is of ‘Heiwude’ and talk of the "the rabbit warren on Heiwudeland". In the late 18th the estate was called the Hermitage and belonged to John Campbell, The house was rebuilt in 1804 by Dr William Anderson who sold it to Prince Leopold, widower of Princess Charlotte. He sort of married someone else, Eve Karoline, and she moved he

Thames Tributary River Mole - Burhill

Thames Tributary River Mole The Mole flows north west TQ 11307 63307 Posh Surrey countryside Post to the east Fairmile Post to the south Old Common Burhill Road Burhill Golf Course . Opened in 1907. The Club House is a Georgian mansion house, built in 1726. Riverside Farm . Livery Yard Elvedon Road Norwood Farm . Late stone age axe found here in 1968. In Domesday this is in the manor of Esher. Sources Burhill Golf Course. Web site Surrey History

Thames Tributary River Mole - Old Common

Thames Tributary River Mole The Mole flows north east Post to the north Burhill Post to the south Cobham Post to the west Convent Lane Old Common Road Entrance Lodge to Chestnut Lodge c1830. Stucco Chestnut Lodge , originally Marsh Place Farm and home of the Freeland family. c1830. Hollybush Cottages

Thames Tributary River Mole - Convent Lane

Thames Tributary River Mole The Mole continues to flow north TQ 09842 60578 Rural area north of Cobham with institutions on old estate areas Post to the west Old Common Post to the south Painshill Convent Lane Beards Hill Burwood House used by Blue Belles Nursery and Notre Dame Preparatory and Senior Schools. A Foundation of the Company of Mary Our Lady. Founded in Bordeaux in 1607 by Jeanne de Lestonnac – middle class French lady who joined the church when widowed and did a lot of surprisingly effective good works. Late 18th house in yellow stock brick. On the first floor relief panel of "Battle of the Lapiths and Centaurs” above that are some battlements Seven Hills Estate Walton Firs Scout Camp . In the 1930s Walton Firs was a private golf club. The old wooden bungalow, now the Service Team quarters, was the club house. In 1936 “Scottie Robertson", a Scout, discovered the abandoned site and arranged for it to be used for weekend camps. It was then purchased

Thames Tributary River Mole - Painshill

Thames Tributary River Mole The Mole now flows Post to the north Convent Lane Post to the east Cobham Post to the south Painshill   A3 roundabout A full time gyratory roundabout at the junction of the old Portsmouth Road and the A3 Esher Bypass built in the 1970s. Byfleet Road Manor Pond owned as a fishery by C entral Association London Provincial Angling Clubs. Up to the 18th it is thought that the area occupied by Manor Pond was a marshy expanse with a stream running through it. The stream still exists and travels west to East through the pond. Part of the area, was dammed, to make a lake. Adder Pond is artificial and built at the same time as Manor Pond Feltonfleet School . House built in the 1870s. Yet another posh private school, this time one which moved here from Folkestone. Street Cobham Street Cobham is a settlement which grew around the area where the main road to Portsmouth crosses the river Mole. It is possible that the name of Elmbridge – which is the name

Thames Tributary River Mole - Cobham

Thames Tributary River Mole The Mole curves north east and then north west TQ 10671 60296 Central area of this upmarket small town. Post to the west Painshill Post to the north Old Common Post to the south Cobham Anyards Road Built in the 1880s on land from Leigh Hill Farm. First development of low cost middle class housing in the area. Cobham Village Hall . Built by subscription 1888. The Village Hall showed silent films from 1916, on a couple of evenings a week. It stopped in 1929. This building has now gone. Gospel hall Between Streets A very sensible name for the road which joins the two communities of Church Cobham and Street Cobham. Originally seems to have been a lane which crossed Church Field. Market. A market granted by King Stephen may have been held at the junction with Portsmouth Road –where the road widens. The road from Leatherhead is older than the Portsmouth Road hence the bend in the main road. A market here would have funded a settlement in Church C

Thames Tributary River Mole - Chatley

Thames Tributary River Mole The Mole flows north west, and then turns north east, forming the southern boundary of Painshill The square covers only the south western section of Painshill Park. TQ 08906 59088 A quarter section of amazing Painshill Park plus some surrounding posh countryside Post to the east Painshill Post to the south Chatley Heath Post to the west Wisley Common Painshill Park The Park was the idea of Charles Hamilton 1704-1780, fourth son of the Duke of Abercorn. It was laid out on what was barren heath land as a pleasure garden in a series of three dimensional pictures altered by surprises and illusions - a garden of the mood as you moved on. Inspired by the paintings of Poussan. In 1952 many of the follies were being destroyed by a timber company but the park has since been opened and restored by a Trust. Waterwheel . The great Bramah wheel, said to be the first recorded use of cast iron in gardening. The lake is above the level of the River Mole, and h

Thames Tributary River Mole - Painshill South

Thames Tributary River Mole The Mole continues to flow north west and forms the southern boundary of Painshill Park  Painshill The square covers some of the southern area of Painshill Park Post to the west Chatley Post to the north Painshill Post to the south Hatchford Park Post to the east Cobham Painshill Park The park was designed and implemented by Charles Hamilton 1704-1780, fourth son of the Duke of Abercorn, and probably financed by borrowing from Walpole. It was laid out on what was barren heathland. Hamilton made it a pleasure garden as a series of three dimensional pictures altered by surprises and illusions - a garden of the mood as you moved on. In many of the 1953 follies were being destroyed by a timber company. The park has since been opened and restored by a Trust. Some of the earliest rhodedendrons in this country are here and one of the largest cedars of Lebanon in Europe. The Lake . This is an artificial lake built above the level of the river Mole and origi

Thames Tributary River Mole - Hatchford Park

Thames Tributary River Mole The Mole flows south west and then turns north west Post to the north Painshill Park Post to the east Chilbrook Post to the west Chatley Heath Ockham Lane Little Brickfield Copse Pointers Road Hatchford Park . A manor house was first built on the site around 1740. It belonged to a John Wilson and was purchased in 1744 by John Lewin Smith who rebuilt the house. It passed through several hands including by Isabella Saltenstall in 1802. In the mid 1800s Lady Ellesmere laid out some 70 acres of gardens and woodlands. The original house of 1850 was remodelled in the 1890s by Rowland Plumbe. It was red brick with half timbered gables. Inside some panelling and plasterwork remained along with a Jacobean style staircase. The estate was later bought by Sir Bernhard Samuelson whose mausoleum is in the woods, and Canadian troops were billeted there in the Second World War. It became a private school in 1947. Then the house was for a while a school for handicap

Thames Tributary River Mole - Chilbrook

Thames Tributary River Mole The Mole flows south west and is joined by the Chilbrook Stream TQ 10793 58154 Pleasant village area in upmarket countryside Post to the west Hatchford Park Post to the north Cobham Post to the east Downside Post to the south Downside Horsley Road Chilbrook Farm Road Chilbrook refers to a stream in this area. Chilbrook Farm. 18th, with mid 17th origins. It is in red brick with black brick headers and has gabled dormers and a brick and wood porch. There is a "priest's hole" at the side of a first floor brick chimney stack accessed from floorboards in the attic Pondtail Farm Forge Cottages Downside Hamlet with model cottages. Downside Common Road Downside Common. St. Matthews Church of England, Primary Schools . Building of 1867 The Cricketers Pub. The building is mid 16th but first noted as a pub in the mid 19th. Downside and Hatchford Village Hall Downside Road Cobham Stud Farm . Opened by Charles Coombe on the site o

Thames Tributary River Mole - Cobham

Thames Tributary River Mole The Mole flows south west TQ 10400 60208 Central area of this upmarket village, taking in some of the Park and other 'big' houses. Post to the west Painshill Post to the north Cobham Post to the east Cobham Tilt Post to the south Chilbrook Anvil Lane Anvil is a corruption of Hamwell Cobham Court . The centre for administration of the Manor of Cobham and home of the Chertsey Abbey bailiff. Repaired the Chertsey Abbey in 1331 and a chapel added. Local medieval courts were held here. The Surrey Union Hunt had its kennels here in 1902 and from the 19th in the same ownership at Cobham Park. The original house, called Gavells, has been replaced. Cobham Court Farm. 17th house with Edwardian front and early 20th extension. It has a Timber framed core Barn. 18th Timber framed barn. Listed. Church Cobham The settlement which grew around St.Andrew’s Church. The area was owned by Chertsey Abbey but this part of the village was probably laid ou

Thames Tributary River Mole - Cobham Tilt

Thames Tributary River Mole The Mole flows west, and then north, then loops back south west. TQ 11888 59732 Posh suburbs and sort of countryside in posh area. Intersting mill and associated buildings very tarted up Post to the west Cobham Post to the south Downside Brook Farm Road Site of Brook Farm built in 1801 by Col. Edward Leatherland on land enclosed from Tilt Common. In 1807 it was bought by Sir Graham Moore, R.N., latterly Admiral of the White and brother to Sir John Moore of Corunna. It is said to have been bought with the prize-money of the Spanish treasure ships, the capture of which by Captain Moore gave an excuse for war in 1804. Sir John Moore is said to have planted an oak tree in the garden – now in the garden of a house in Oak Road. Demolished 1926. Mill Road Cobham Mill . Probably the site of one of the three mills listed in Domesday and rebuilt by Chertsey Abbey in the 1330s. In 1799 the mill was washed away in a flood. There are two buildings with unders

Thames Tributary River Mole - Downside

Thames Tributary River Mole The Mole now turns north Area  of mills on the Mole as part of the upmarket area of Cobham, Surrey Post to the north Cobham Tilt Post to the west Chilbrook Post to the east Stoke D'Abernon Post to the south Downside Bookham Road Cobham Park Road Downside Farm . On the site of the manor house of the Manor of Down. May have the remains of a moat on site. Also known as Downe Place or Downe House. In 1806 it was bought by Harvey Christian Coombe who actually lived at Painshill. He and his son dominated Cobham in the 19th. The house is late 18th red brick on a rendered plinth. Listed Grade II. Cobham Lodge. Built 1803 for Col Joseph Hardy and designed by J.B.Papworth. Later the home of Caroline Molesworth who kept a record of all the local natural history. Downside Mill. One of the three mills listed in Domesday. It was a medieval corn which was a paper mill at least by 1687 owned by a William Berrey and John Meers and which burnt down in 173

Thames Tributary River Mole - Bookham Lodge

Thames Tributary River Mole The Mole flows westwards Posh Surrey area with woodland and posh farms. M25 goes through the area Post to the north Stoke D'Abernon Post to the east Slyfield Post to the west Downside Bookham Road Bookham Lodge. Yet another livery stable Chasemore Wood, ancient and semi natural woodland Lady Chewton’s Wood M25 Muggeridge Wood Spring Meadow Wood Wrens Hill Wood Sources Bookham Lodge. Web site

Thames Tributary River Mole - Stoke D'Abernon

Thames Tributary River Mole The Mole now flows north west Post to the west Downside Post to the east Cobham Road Post to the south Bookham Lodge Station Road Cobham and Stoke d'Abernon Station . Opened 1885 and is now Between Effingham Junction and Oxshott on South Western Rail. Stoke Road ‘Stoke’ itself may mean a stockaded manor – and ‘D’Abernon’ relates to a Norman landowner. Lower Farm . This is now a livery stable. 16th house to rear with a 17th granary addition at the front and also a 19th wing. Timber framed with whitewashed brick cladding and red brick. Parkside School. Another posh fee paying school – says it is a ‘prep’ school for young boys. This one was founded in 1879 at East Horsley, and moved here in 1979. Manor House. This is now used by the ‘prep’ school above . Home of Josiah Wedgewood II in the late 18th. It is a Grade II listed, mid-18th Palladian villa which incorporates a Tudor timber framed house which was visited by Elizabeth. The medieval gre

Thames Tributary Mole - Cobham Road

Thames Tributary Mole The Mole flows south west and turns north west at the bridge TQ 12853 58463 Posh school in posh area just off the M25 Post to the south Slyfield Post to the east Woodlands Park Post to the west Stoke D'Abernon Cobham Road Stoke D’Abernon Bridge Parkside School. Another posh fee paying school. This one was founded in 1879 at East Horsley, and moved here in 1979. The Manor, is Grade II listed, mid-18th Palladian villa which incorporates a Tudor timber framed house. Tithe Barn, used as a gymnasium. 16th Red brick Woodlands Lane Old Parks Old Parks Copse Little Park Old Parks Cottage Pine Trees Sources Parkside School. Web site Pevsner and Cherry. Surrey

Thames Tributary Mole - Slyfield

Thames Tributary Mole The Mole flows south east and then turns north east Post to the north Cobham Road Post to the west Bookham Lodge Post to the east Fetcham Splash Cobham Road Slyfield House . Slyfield dates probably to the 14th. In the 16th Edmund Slyfield was Sheriff of Surrey and in 1614 it was sold to George Shiers, the apothecary to James I who rebuilt it. Artisan brickwork from the 17th - Decorative with Italian influence but there are fragments of a larger house from 1625-40. This is a 17th house plus a late medieval timber framed building in a square courtyard house in the style of the most advanced City of London work although much of it was demolished 1743. The main building is considered to be one of the finest examples of Jacobean domestic architecture. Garden walls with original archways. It was here that Sir John Fenwick was arrested in the Cedar bedroom in 1659 to be executed on Tower Hill. He had been part of a plot to kill William III which failed but ironica

Thames Tributary Mole - Woodlands Park

Thames Tributary Mole The Mole continues to flow north and west – but also has a parallel channel which loops round to meet itself, forming a large island. Post to the south Fetcham Splash Post to the west Cobham Road Post to the east The Rye Heathfield Copse Woodlands Lane Woodlands Park Hotel . Late Victorian ‘Tudor’ designed by Roland Plumbe Red brick, with tile hanging and lots of half timbering and gables. Built by Frederick Bryant, a director of Bryant and May, match manufacturers. It is said to be one of only 11 houses in the country with electric light in the 1880s, having its own generator. The original farmhouse is also incorporated into the building. In 1897 it became the property of jeweller, W. Benson, and in 1911 Eustratio Ralli, who sold it after the Wall Street Crash of 1929. It became a hotel but in the Second World War, an old peoples home for Middlesex County Council and later an educational centre. It re-opened as a hotel in 1981. Iron Age pottery found. T

Thames Tributary River Mole - Fetcham Splash

Thames Tributary River Mole The Mole continues to flow north and west towards the Thames and is joined by The Rye from the north east. Post to the north Woodlands Park Post to the west Slyfield Post to the east Pachesham Thames Water Leatherhead Sewage Treatment works Surrey County Council Tip with some related landfill River Lane Fetcham Splash. Area used by anglers Old Mill Bridge River Lane Open Space countryside area maintained by the local authority. It is the northern tip of the River Mole Corridor Local Nature Reserve. Fields are cut for hay each year Fetcham Splash - Island in the river accessed from footbridges

Thames Tributary. The Rye

Thames Tributary. The Rye The Rye continues to flow south toward the River Mole Post to the east Leatherhead Post to the south Pachesham Post to the west Woodlands Park Oaklawn Road Pylons. The line in this area was an experimental line built for the Central Electricity Research Laboratories. Dorincourt . Ronsons. In 1918 Louis V Aronson patented the action for a cigarette lighter in the USA and made the first pocket lighter with the trade name 'Ronson'. J Liddiatt imported then and moved to Dorincourt. During World War II the company made incendiary bomb fuses, bomber gearbox parts, tension rods for aircraft and parts for guns here and built workshops in the grounds of Dorincourt. In 1952 they moved to Randalls Road, selling Dorincourt to Queen Elizabeth's Foundation for the Disabled. Queen Elizabeth’s foundation. In 1932, Georgiana Buller, Chairman of the Central Council for the Care of Cripples, suggested a residential training college for disabled people. I

Thames Tributary The Rye - Leatherhead

Thames Tributary The Rye The Rye flows south west towards the River Mole Post to the north Malden Rushett Post to the west Oaklawn Road Post to the east Lower Ashtead Post to the south Leatherhead industrial rail side Kingston Road This was once called Bradmere Lane B&Q. Previously car service station, air raid shelters in the banks behind Golf Club House at the back of the current B & Q, West Hill School. A Special school with science status Oxshott Road Woodbridge Brickworks. In the woods to the rear of the Tesco Store. This was a 19th brickfield and some flooded pits remain. Once again this section would have been impossible without Peter Tarp lee’s ‘Industrial History of the Mole Valley.

Thames Tributary The Rye - Lower Ashtead

Thames Tributary The Rye The Rye continues to flow south west towards the River Mole Post to the west Leatherhead Post to the north Ashstead Common Post to the south Lower Ashtead Post to the east Ashtead Barnett Wood Lane 216-218 said to be Brickfield Cottages built for the Church Road Brickworks, Tall cast-iron sewer vent pipe one of an ornate series with spiral decoration and a decorated section below the slotted outlet at the top. Woodman Public House St.George’s Church designed by Blomfield and built in 1905 in simple brick Barnet Wood Infant School War memorial Ashstead Baptist Church built 1895 Church Road Brickworks , G P Sparrow operated a brickworks here 1880-1909, when he sold the site for housing. Hall built by George Baker 1905 as a cinema and in 1911 used as a roller skating rink. Links Road Tall cast-iron sewer vent pipe Oakhill Road/Green Lane Green Lane Brickworks. In 1896 J. L. P. Sanderson bought 30 acres and built kilns. He went bankrupt

Thames Tributary – The Rye - Ashtead

Thames Tributary – The Rye The Rye continues to flow south west towards the River Mole. A pleasant area of scrub, fields and woodland to the east of Epsom, with considerable Roman remains. Post to the north The Forest Post to the west Malden Rushett Post to the east Ashstead Post to the south Lower Ashstead Ashstead Common Ashstead Common is an extension of Epsom Common. During the Second World War, areas of the Common were cleared as agricultural land. This is a heavy clay soil and was not really viable arable land and farming there soon ceased, Ashtead Common National Nature Reserve, managed by the City of London Corporation. The Rye was straightened during the Second World War to drain the surrounding land for agriculture. The spoil was left on the banks. The stream continues to follow this straight channelled course but in 2005 the Corporation, began to remodel the stream. This has led to a reinstatement of the meanders to create a natural setting and a wetland habitat

Thames Tributory The Rye - Ashtead

Thames Tributary.  The Rye The Rye continues to flow south west providing the boundary to the built up area and Ashstead Common An area of 1930s housing with a large expanse of common land, scrub and woodland to the north Post to the west Ashtead Common Post to the south Ashtead Overdale Pillar Box. The box here was an Edward VIII B box made by the Carron Company, in 1936, most of which have been replaced. Sources Industrial Archaelogy of Surrey Surrey History

Thames Tributary- The Rye - Epsom Common

Thames Tributary- The Rye The Rye flows south and then turns abruptly west on its way to the River Mole. Castle Road 54 tower and battlements. A folly built round some cottages Dorking Road This becomes Epsom Road at the local authority boundary Epsom Common Coal Post on the down side embankment of the railway where it crosses The Rye. A stone coal dues obelisk, about 14ft high with the City's coat of arms on the front. This is of the type placed beside railways under an act of 1851 which defined the area of taxation as that within 20 miles of the General Post Office. The post may have been moved here from another site when the area was matched to that of the Metropolitan Police District in 1861. Epsom Road This becomes Dorking Road at the boundary Coal Post. On the north side of Dorking Road, a few yards towards Epsom from Craddocks Avenue, south east of the centre of Epsom Wells Estate. At the point at which the road names change. The Greenway Wells Est

Thames Tributary The Rye - Ashstead Park

Thames Tributary The Rye The Rye rises in this area and flows south towards the River Mole Upmarket area with posh houses in country lanes around Ashtead Park. Lots of open space. Modest 1950s estate to the north west. Ashstead Park Ashstead Park . Fine trees, mentioned by Evelyn. The house is in the southern part of the park and is now a school. The Park was set up before 1640 and walled after 1680 by Sir Robert Howard. At the same time ponds were excavated, and a Mount built. The park was enlarged again in the late 18th and deer were kept. In the 1920s the estate was broken up ad sold in lots. The wilder northern part of the park is now managed by Surrey Wildlife Trust. The Mount . This is now a posh housing area in Rookery Hill, but the original artificial hill survives to the north Island Pond Wildlife Pond. 2 ½ acre pond neglected for 50 years and now upgraded by a local angling club. Silt removed, along with fallen trees and branches, banks which were leaking repaired