Dunsfold
Encyclopedia
Dunsfold is a village
in the Waverley
district of the county of Surrey
, England
, 8.7 miles (14 kilometres) south of Guildford
. The census area Chiddingfold
and Dunsfold has a population of 3,812.
dun (hill, cf. down) and fold (enclosure) - folding or enclosing being a way of moving sheep around the land to graze off crops remains previously harvested. It is a practice still followed on some of the farmland around the village. There are some prize-winning Aberdeen Angus cattle farmed here but the last dairy herd has now closed.
St Mary & All Saints' Church is a Norman building, containing the oldest pew
s in England. The nearby Holy Well was formerly a site of pilgrimage and its waters were thought to cure diseases of the eye. It is further thought that the well may be a pre-Christian site and the church itself may be constructed on a man-made hill of pre-Christian origin. The current rector is Paul Jenkins who has been installed since 23/01/2007
Common House is a medieval hall which dates from circa 1500 and is of architectural importance. The village has many other houses of architectural interest including The Sun Inn public house, set back from the Common, parts of which are clearly ancient particularly the rear bar.
The village has one of the best-kept cricket pitches in the area for a village club and holds matches throughout the season, usually on Sunday afternoons.
The village was a site of iron
-working in the Middle Ages
. Later, Dunsfold benefited from the construction of the Wey and Arun Canal
, and Dunsfold Aerodrome
.
Dunsfold has a small Post Office
and shop located in the middle of the village.
as an emergency landing airfield. After the war the airfield was used to repatriate prisoners of war. Dunsfold was declared inactive in 1946 but was used again in 1948 and 1949 as part of the Berlin Airlift. In 1950 The Hawker Aircraft Company acquired the lease of the site.
In October 1960 the then Hawker Siddeley flight tested its Hawker P.1127
prototype, the development aircraft that led to the Hawker Siddeley Harrier, the first VTOL
jet fighter bomber. Final assembly of the Harrier and the Hawk
trainer aircraft was at Dunsfold. Hawker Siddelely became part of British Aerospace
in 1977. On 2 July 1986 British Aerospace's deputy chief test pilot Jim Hawkins was killed at Dunsfold when his developmental Hawk 200 crashed. On 24 June 1999 British Aerospace announced the closure of Dunsfold as part of a restructuring; Hawk final assembly had been transferred to Warton in 1988 and Harrier production finished in 1998.
(British Aerospace's successor) sold Dunsfold Park to The Rutland Group and The Royal Bank of Scotland
forming Dunsfold Park Ltd with the intention of developing the site as Britain' s most sustainable village with 2500 homes. Since 2002, the BBC
motoring show Top Gear has been recorded at the park using the former paint shop as a studio and parts of the runways and taxiways of the aerodrome as a test track
.
Since June 2007 Dunsfold Park has been home of the Surrey Air Ambulance Service
. Dunsfold Park is the home to Wings & Wheels, an air and motor show that has been running for many years now and typically held in late August. Currently run by the site owners, Dunsfold Park Ltd, it will continue until the park is redeveloped.
until 2002 as City of Birmingham, G-BDXJ
, was purchased by Aces High Limited, a company specialising in supplying aircraft for television and film work, and transferred to Dunsfold.
It was modified and used for filming for the 2006 James Bond
film Casino Royale
. Some of the scenes set at Miami International Airport
were filmed at Dunsfold. It has also appeared in the background of numerous Top Gear episodes and directly in an episode where it is towed by a JCB Fastrac
tractor. It was also towed by a Volkswagen
Touareg in a 2006 Fifth Gear episode, the same year that the modified aircraft and Dunsfold Airfield were featured in a television advertisement filmed for the Volkswagen Touareg
, demonstrating the vehicle's towing ability. In 2008 it featured in an episode of Scrapheap Challenge
in which contestants created machines to tow the aircraft. Modifications to the aircraft include the removal of the existing Rolls Royce
engines and replacement with twin mount engines, similar to those fitted to aircraft such as the B-52 Heavy Bomber.
The aircraft was a major feature in Primeval
on the 18 April 2009, in which it was nearly eaten by a dinosaur.
The plane was also used in the 2009 BBC
production of The Day Of The Triffids, in the scene where Bill Masen woke up in its engine nacelle
.
In late 2007, Dunsfold Park Ltd. applied to have their plans for the new town selected as one of Gordon Brown's proposed "eco-towns". On 3 April 2008 Dunsfold Park was denied Eco-town status by the Housing Minister Caroline Flint. According to the Government's press release over 40 applications including Dunsfold Park were rejected "for being undeliverable or not ambitious enough to meet the high environmental and affordability standards set by Government."
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
in the Waverley
Waverley, Surrey
Waverley is a local government district with borough status in Surrey, England. The borough's headquarters are in the town of Godalming, with Farnham and Haslemere being the other large notable towns....
district of the county of Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, 8.7 miles (14 kilometres) south of Guildford
Guildford
Guildford is the county town of Surrey. England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...
. The census area Chiddingfold
Chiddingfold
Chiddingfold is a village and civil parish in the heart of The Weald in the Waverley district of Surrey, England. It lies on the A283 between Milford and Petworth...
and Dunsfold has a population of 3,812.
History
The village's name was recorded as Duntesfaude in 1259, Duntesfaud in 1272 and Duntesfalde in 1291, apparently meaning Dunt's fold. Alternatively it may be derived from the Old EnglishOld English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
dun (hill, cf. down) and fold (enclosure) - folding or enclosing being a way of moving sheep around the land to graze off crops remains previously harvested. It is a practice still followed on some of the farmland around the village. There are some prize-winning Aberdeen Angus cattle farmed here but the last dairy herd has now closed.
Pew
A pew is a long bench seat or enclosed box used for seating members of a congregation or choir in a church, or sometimes in a courtroom.-Overview:Churches were not commonly furnished with permanent pews before the Protestant Reformation...
s in England. The nearby Holy Well was formerly a site of pilgrimage and its waters were thought to cure diseases of the eye. It is further thought that the well may be a pre-Christian site and the church itself may be constructed on a man-made hill of pre-Christian origin. The current rector is Paul Jenkins who has been installed since 23/01/2007
Common House is a medieval hall which dates from circa 1500 and is of architectural importance. The village has many other houses of architectural interest including The Sun Inn public house, set back from the Common, parts of which are clearly ancient particularly the rear bar.
The village has one of the best-kept cricket pitches in the area for a village club and holds matches throughout the season, usually on Sunday afternoons.
The village was a site of iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
-working in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. Later, Dunsfold benefited from the construction of the Wey and Arun Canal
Wey and Arun Canal
The Wey and Arun Canal is a 23-mile-long canal in the south of England, between the River Wey at Shalford, Surrey and the River Arun at Pallingham, in West Sussex...
, and Dunsfold Aerodrome
Dunsfold Aerodrome
Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey, England, near the village of Cranleigh, was built by the Canadian Army and civilian contractors as a Class A Bomber Airfield for Army Co-operation Command...
.
Dunsfold has a small Post Office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
and shop located in the middle of the village.
Dunsfold Park
The airstrip was built by the Canadian Army during World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
as an emergency landing airfield. After the war the airfield was used to repatriate prisoners of war. Dunsfold was declared inactive in 1946 but was used again in 1948 and 1949 as part of the Berlin Airlift. In 1950 The Hawker Aircraft Company acquired the lease of the site.
In October 1960 the then Hawker Siddeley flight tested its Hawker P.1127
Hawker P.1127
The Hawker P.1127 and the Hawker Siddeley Kestrel FGA.1 were the experimental and development aircraft that led to the Hawker Siddeley Harrier, the first vertical and/or short take-off and landing jet fighter-bomber...
prototype, the development aircraft that led to the Hawker Siddeley Harrier, the first VTOL
VTOL
A vertical take-off and landing aircraft is one that can hover, take off and land vertically. This classification includes fixed-wing aircraft as well as helicopters and other aircraft with powered rotors, such as cyclogyros/cyclocopters and tiltrotors...
jet fighter bomber. Final assembly of the Harrier and the Hawk
BAE Hawk
The BAE Systems Hawk is a British single-engine, advanced jet trainer aircraft. It first flew in 1974 as the Hawker Siddeley Hawk. The Hawk is used by the Royal Air Force, and other air forces, as either a trainer or a low-cost combat aircraft...
trainer aircraft was at Dunsfold. Hawker Siddelely became part of British Aerospace
British Aerospace
British Aerospace plc was a UK aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was in the Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire...
in 1977. On 2 July 1986 British Aerospace's deputy chief test pilot Jim Hawkins was killed at Dunsfold when his developmental Hawk 200 crashed. On 24 June 1999 British Aerospace announced the closure of Dunsfold as part of a restructuring; Hawk final assembly had been transferred to Warton in 1988 and Harrier production finished in 1998.
Post-British Aerospace
In 2002, BAE SystemsBAE Systems
BAE Systems plc is a British multinational defence, security and aerospace company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that has global interests, particularly in North America through its subsidiary BAE Systems Inc. BAE is among the world's largest military contractors; in 2009 it was the...
(British Aerospace's successor) sold Dunsfold Park to The Rutland Group and The Royal Bank of Scotland
Royal Bank of Scotland
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group is a British banking and insurance holding company in which the UK Government holds an 84% stake. This stake is held and managed through UK Financial Investments Limited, whose voting rights are limited to 75% in order for the bank to retain its listing on the...
forming Dunsfold Park Ltd with the intention of developing the site as Britain' s most sustainable village with 2500 homes. Since 2002, the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
motoring show Top Gear has been recorded at the park using the former paint shop as a studio and parts of the runways and taxiways of the aerodrome as a test track
Top Gear Test Track
The Top Gear test track is used by the BBC automotive television programme Top Gear. It is located at Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey, United Kingdom. The track was designed by Lotus Cars...
.
The Young Drivers Track
Some of the track (The Young Drivers Track) is now used by many driving schools and instructors to enable under seventeen year olds to learn to drive. Hundreds of youngsters have now had their first driving experience at the Top Gear location before going out on to the road.Since June 2007 Dunsfold Park has been home of the Surrey Air Ambulance Service
South East Coast Ambulance Service
The South East Coast Ambulance Service is the NHS Ambulance Services Trust for south-eastern England, covering Kent , Surrey, West Sussex and East Sussex . It also covers a part of north-eastern Hampshire around Aldershot...
. Dunsfold Park is the home to Wings & Wheels, an air and motor show that has been running for many years now and typically held in late August. Currently run by the site owners, Dunsfold Park Ltd, it will continue until the park is redeveloped.
747
A Boeing 747-200 which served with British AirwaysBritish Airways
British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...
until 2002 as City of Birmingham, G-BDXJ
G-BDXJ
G-BDXJ is the registration of a Boeing 747-236B aircraft purchased by British Airways in 1980, which after retirement found a new life as a film prop.-Aircraft history:...
, was purchased by Aces High Limited, a company specialising in supplying aircraft for television and film work, and transferred to Dunsfold.
It was modified and used for filming for the 2006 James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
film Casino Royale
Casino Royale (2006 film)
Casino Royale is the twenty-first film in the James Bond film series and the first to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond...
. Some of the scenes set at Miami International Airport
Miami International Airport
Miami International Airport , also known as MIA and historically Wilcox Field, is the primary airport serving the South Florida area...
were filmed at Dunsfold. It has also appeared in the background of numerous Top Gear episodes and directly in an episode where it is towed by a JCB Fastrac
JCB Fastrac
The Fastrac is a high speed agricultural tractor series manufactured by JCB Landpower, part of the J. C. Bamford group of companies.Production began in 1991, with continual development to the present day...
tractor. It was also towed by a Volkswagen
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
Touareg in a 2006 Fifth Gear episode, the same year that the modified aircraft and Dunsfold Airfield were featured in a television advertisement filmed for the Volkswagen Touareg
Volkswagen Touareg
The Volkswagen Touareg is a mid-size crossover SUV produced by German automaker Volkswagen since 2002. The vehicle was named after the Tuareg people, a Berber-speaking group in North Africa...
, demonstrating the vehicle's towing ability. In 2008 it featured in an episode of Scrapheap Challenge
Scrapheap Challenge
Scrapheap Challenge is an engineering game show produced by RDF Media and broadcast on Channel 4 in the UK. In the show, teams of contestants have 10 hours in which to build a working machine that can do a specific task, using materials available in a scrapheap. The format was exported to the...
in which contestants created machines to tow the aircraft. Modifications to the aircraft include the removal of the existing Rolls Royce
Rolls-Royce plc
Rolls-Royce Group plc is a global power systems company headquartered in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s second-largest maker of aircraft engines , and also has major businesses in the marine propulsion and energy sectors. Through its defence-related activities...
engines and replacement with twin mount engines, similar to those fitted to aircraft such as the B-52 Heavy Bomber.
The aircraft was a major feature in Primeval
Primeval
Primeval or primæval may refer to:* Primeval, a British science fiction television series.* Primeval , a 2007 film* Primeval , a score of music from the BBC TV series Doctor Who...
on the 18 April 2009, in which it was nearly eaten by a dinosaur.
The plane was also used in the 2009 BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
production of The Day Of The Triffids, in the scene where Bill Masen woke up in its engine nacelle
Nacelle
The nacelle is a cover housing that holds engines, fuel, or equipment on an aircraft. In some cases—for instance in the typical "Farman" type "pusher" aircraft, or the World War II-era P-38 Lightning—an aircraft's cockpit may also be housed in a nacelle, which essentially fills the...
.
Future
In 2006, the owners of Dunsfold Park proposed the construction of a new town with 2,600 homes on the site, a school, health services, public transport and road links to the A281, and an expanded business district. One of the largest construction projects in Surrey, it would result in the closure and replacement of the aerodrome. A project of this kind and size is controversial, resulting in the formation of the STOP Dunsfold Park New Town campaign.In late 2007, Dunsfold Park Ltd. applied to have their plans for the new town selected as one of Gordon Brown's proposed "eco-towns". On 3 April 2008 Dunsfold Park was denied Eco-town status by the Housing Minister Caroline Flint. According to the Government's press release over 40 applications including Dunsfold Park were rejected "for being undeliverable or not ambitious enough to meet the high environmental and affordability standards set by Government."