Holmbury St Mary
Encyclopedia
Holmbury St. Mary is a village near Abinger
in the Mole Valley
district of Surrey
, England
located within the Hurtwood, the largest area of common land in Surrey. Nearby to the south is Holmbury Hill
, which at 857 feet (261.2 m) is the fourth highest point in Surrey. The village itself is named after the hill and the large Victorian church at its heart. St Mary's church, which overlooks the village green, was built in 1879 by George Edmund Street
who had built himself a large house in the village between 1873-76 known as Holmdale. Holmdale later became home to Thomas Catto, the Governor of the Bank of England
from 1944 to 1949.
From 1947 to 1986 the village was home to the Webb trust set up as a memorial to Beatrice Webb
. Beatrice Webb House was opened by Clement Attlee and served as an important education and discussion facility for the Fabian society, Labour party and trade unions. The Fabian Window
, designed by George Bernard Shaw
(who co-founded the London School of Economics
with Sidney and Beatrice Webb) hung in the house until it was stolen in 1978. The window was later recovered and is now on loan to the LSE.
Holmbury-St-Mary is also home to the UCL Department of Space and Climate Physics (Mullard Space Science Laboratory)
, a department of University College London
and the UK's largest university-based space science research group. The village has two schools, Belmont School and Hurtwood House, catering for ages 2 to 13 and 16 to 18 respectively.
There are three pubs in the village, The Royal Oak, The King's Head and the Hollybush Tavern. At weekends the village is popular with walkers, horse riders and mountain bikers.
Holmbury St. Mary has two football teams. Holmbury St. Mary 1st XI and Holmbury St. Mary 2nd XI, which both compete in the Guildford and Woking Alliance. The 1st XI are in the Premier Division and the newly formed 2nd XI are in the 3rd Division.
Holmbury also has two cricket teams. The first XI plays in division two of the Surrey Downs League and the second XI play in the second division of the Village Cricket League. The village club The Hollybush Tavern also has its own cricket side which play friendly matches.
Holmbury St. Mary has its own annual bonfire and fireworks night in the Glade, made possible by local village men (The Bonfire Boys) who gather wood from the Hurtwood and put on a fireworks show on the weekend following Halloween. This is a very popular event in the village with thousands attending, and all profits are donated to charity.
Holmbury St. Mary is believed to be the basis for the fictional village of Summer Street in 'A Room With A View
'. Its author E.M. Forster was a longstanding resident in neighbouring Abinger Hammer
.
Abinger
Abinger is a civil parish in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England. It includes the villages of Abinger Hammer, Sutton Abinger, Abinger Common and part of Holmbury St Mary ....
in the Mole Valley
Mole Valley
Mole Valley is a local government district in Surrey, England. Its council is based in Dorking.The district, named after the River Mole, was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by a merger of the urban districts of Dorking and Leatherhead and most of the Dorking and Horley...
district 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...
located within the Hurtwood, the largest area of common land in Surrey. Nearby to the south is Holmbury Hill
Holmbury Hill
Holmbury Hill is the site of an Iron Age hillfort close to the village of Holmbury St. Mary in Surrey, England. Excavation of the site in 1929 by S.E. Winbolt indicated that it dated to the 1st Century AD and may have been constructed by Belgic tribes of Celts who were settling this part of Britain...
, which at 857 feet (261.2 m) is the fourth highest point in Surrey. The village itself is named after the hill and the large Victorian church at its heart. St Mary's church, which overlooks the village green, was built in 1879 by George Edmund Street
George Edmund Street
George Edmund Street was an English architect, born at Woodford in Essex.- Life :Street was the third son of Thomas Street, solicitor, by his second wife, Mary Anne Millington. George went to school at Mitcham in about 1830, and later to the Camberwell collegiate school, which he left in 1839...
who had built himself a large house in the village between 1873-76 known as Holmdale. Holmdale later became home to Thomas Catto, the Governor of the Bank of England
Governor of the Bank of England
The Governor of the Bank of England is the most senior position in the Bank of England. It is nominally a civil service post, but the appointment tends to be from within the Bank, with the incumbent grooming his or her successor...
from 1944 to 1949.
From 1947 to 1986 the village was home to the Webb trust set up as a memorial to Beatrice Webb
Beatrice Webb
Martha Beatrice Webb, Lady Passfield was an English sociologist, economist, socialist and social reformer. Although her husband became Baron Passfield in 1929, she refused to be known as Lady Passfield...
. Beatrice Webb House was opened by Clement Attlee and served as an important education and discussion facility for the Fabian society, Labour party and trade unions. The Fabian Window
Fabian Window
The founders of the Fabian Society are depicted in the famous stained-glass Fabian Windowdesigned by George Bernard Shaw. The window was stolen in 1978 and reappeared at Sotheby's in 2005...
, designed by George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
(who co-founded the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
with Sidney and Beatrice Webb) hung in the house until it was stolen in 1978. The window was later recovered and is now on loan to the LSE.
Holmbury-St-Mary is also home to the UCL Department of Space and Climate Physics (Mullard Space Science Laboratory)
Mullard Space Science Laboratory
The UCL Mullard Space Science Laboratory is the United Kingdom's largest university space research group. MSSL is the Department of Space and Climate Physics of the University College London. UCL was one of the first universities in the world to conduct space research...
, a department of University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
and the UK's largest university-based space science research group. The village has two schools, Belmont School and Hurtwood House, catering for ages 2 to 13 and 16 to 18 respectively.
There are three pubs in the village, The Royal Oak, The King's Head and the Hollybush Tavern. At weekends the village is popular with walkers, horse riders and mountain bikers.
Holmbury St. Mary has two football teams. Holmbury St. Mary 1st XI and Holmbury St. Mary 2nd XI, which both compete in the Guildford and Woking Alliance. The 1st XI are in the Premier Division and the newly formed 2nd XI are in the 3rd Division.
Holmbury also has two cricket teams. The first XI plays in division two of the Surrey Downs League and the second XI play in the second division of the Village Cricket League. The village club The Hollybush Tavern also has its own cricket side which play friendly matches.
Holmbury St. Mary has its own annual bonfire and fireworks night in the Glade, made possible by local village men (The Bonfire Boys) who gather wood from the Hurtwood and put on a fireworks show on the weekend following Halloween. This is a very popular event in the village with thousands attending, and all profits are donated to charity.
Holmbury St. Mary is believed to be the basis for the fictional village of Summer Street in 'A Room With A View
A Room with a View
A Room with a View is a 1908 novel by English writer E. M. Forster, about a young woman in the repressed culture of Edwardian England. Set in Italy and England, the story is both a romance and a critique of English society at the beginning of the 20th century...
'. Its author E.M. Forster was a longstanding resident in neighbouring Abinger Hammer
Abinger Hammer
Abinger Hammer is a village situated on the A25 between Dorking and Guildford in Surrey, England. It lies with the parish of Abinger which includes Abinger Common and Sutton Abinger...
.
