Mickleham, Surrey
Encyclopedia
Mickleham is a village and civil parish between the towns of Dorking
and Leatherhead
in Surrey
, England
covering 731 hectares (1,806.3 acre). The parish includes the hamlet of Fredley.
hundred
, an administrative division devised by the Saxons
.
Mickleham appears in Domesday Book
of 1086 as Michelham and Micleham. It was partly held by Nigel from the Bishop of Bayeux and partly by Oswald from Richard de Tonbrige. Its domesday assets were: 7 hide
s; 1 church, 7 plough
s, 3 acres (12,140.6 m²) of meadow
, woodland
worth 4 hogs. It rendered £10.
is located in the village, close to the village shop.
The A24
bypasses Mickleham with what is said to be the first dual-carriageway bypass to be built in the United Kingdom. Across the A24, and towards Dorking, Westhumble
is also part of the parish. There is a chapel there, originally a barn converted into a place of worship for the benefit of those building the railway over 100 years ago. Ninety navvies
died in an accident when a tunnel they were working on collapsed; it has been posited that God was displeased with the barn conversion
. Box Hill & Westhumble station provides a link to London and Horsham.
Due south of the village, at , is the manor and hamlet
of Fredley. There is also the Field Studies Council
's Juniper Hall
centre. Further to the south of the village is the Burford Bridge Hotel
that was frequented by Lord Nelson. Across the A24 in Norbury Parks is 'Druids Grove' which is an area of mature Yew tree
s indicating an ancient place of worship for Druids.
The village gave its name to HMS Mickleham
, a Ham class minesweeper
.
.
The River Mole
flows nearby and indeed as its name suggests the river in places goes underground due to the chalk bed being dissolved in places forming Swallow holes or Sinkhole
s. Ian Middleton tells of his father, sometime in the 1950s, the village police officer P.C. Middleton, looking past his bathroom mirror one morning whilst shaving to see a mature oak tree disappear into the ground. It turned out that the river flowing underground had been gradually wearing away the supporting ground under the tree forming a giant Swallow Hole
which had collapsed. The subsequent pit was not filled in until 1968 approx when it was still 30 ft deep and 30 ft across. P.C. Middleton also reportedly removed parts from an unexploded V2 which fell in the village during WW2. The adjacent River Mole is well known for its Swallow Hole
s.
Dorking
Dorking is a historic market town at the foot of the North Downs approximately south of London, in Surrey, England.- History and development :...
and Leatherhead
Leatherhead
Leatherhead is a town in the County of Surrey, England, on the River Mole, part of Mole Valley district. It is thought to be of Saxon origin...
in 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...
covering 731 hectares (1,806.3 acre). The parish includes the hamlet of Fredley.
History
Mickleham lies near to the old Roman road known as Stane Street. It lay within the CopthorneCopthorne (hundred)
Copthorne was a hundred in what is now Surrey, England. It includes the following places: Ashtead, Burgh, Cuddington, Epsom, Ewell, Fetcham, Headley, Leatherhead, Mickleham, Pachevesham , Tadworth, Thorncroft and Walton-on-the-Hill....
hundred
Hundred (division)
A hundred is a geographic division formerly used in England, Wales, Denmark, South Australia, some parts of the United States, Germany , Sweden, Finland and Norway, which historically was used to divide a larger region into smaller administrative divisions...
, an administrative division devised by the Saxons
Saxons
The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...
.
Mickleham appears in Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086 as Michelham and Micleham. It was partly held by Nigel from the Bishop of Bayeux and partly by Oswald from Richard de Tonbrige. Its domesday assets were: 7 hide
Hide (unit)
The hide was originally an amount of land sufficient to support a household, but later in Anglo-Saxon England became a unit used in assessing land for liability to "geld", or land tax. The geld would be collected at a stated rate per hide...
s; 1 church, 7 plough
Plough
The plough or plow is a tool used in farming for initial cultivation of soil in preparation for sowing seed or planting. It has been a basic instrument for most of recorded history, and represents one of the major advances in agriculture...
s, 3 acres (12,140.6 m²) of meadow
Meadow
A meadow is a field vegetated primarily by grass and other non-woody plants . The term is from Old English mædwe. In agriculture a meadow is grassland which is not grazed by domestic livestock but rather allowed to grow unchecked in order to make hay...
, woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
worth 4 hogs. It rendered £10.
Village
The village has a very old church, two pubs (The Running Horses and The King William IV) and a village shop. Box Hill SchoolBox Hill School
Box Hill School is an independent coeducational boarding and day school situated in the village of Mickleham near Dorking, Surrey, England. The school has approximately 425 pupils aged 11–18, about a quarter of which are from overseas...
is located in the village, close to the village shop.
The A24
A24 road (Great Britain)
The A24 is a major road in England. It runs south from Clapham in southwest London through Morden before entering Surrey and heading through Ewell, Epsom, Ashtead, Leatherhead and Dorking...
bypasses Mickleham with what is said to be the first dual-carriageway bypass to be built in the United Kingdom. Across the A24, and towards Dorking, Westhumble
Westhumble
Westhumble is a village situated north of Dorking in Surrey, England. Neighbouring villages include Mickleham and Great Bookham. The census area Mickleham, Westhumble and Pixham has a population of 1,932....
is also part of the parish. There is a chapel there, originally a barn converted into a place of worship for the benefit of those building the railway over 100 years ago. Ninety navvies
Navvy
Navvy is a shorter form of navigator or navigational engineer and is particularly applied to describe the manual labourers working on major civil engineering projects...
died in an accident when a tunnel they were working on collapsed; it has been posited that God was displeased with the barn conversion
Conversion (barn)
The Conversion of Barns involves the conversion of old farming barns to commercial or residential use structures. Many older farm buildings are being converted for holiday use...
. Box Hill & Westhumble station provides a link to London and Horsham.
Due south of the village, at , is the manor and hamlet
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
of Fredley. There is also the Field Studies Council
Field Studies Council
The Field Studies Council is an educational charity based in the UK. It opened its first Field Centre in 1947 at Flatford Mill, and now operates 17 Field Centres in various locations in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland offering both residential and non-residential field courses...
's Juniper Hall
Juniper Hall
Juniper Hall Field Centre, leased from the National Trust, is a 18th century country house in a quiet wooded valley within the chalk North Downs in Surrey. It is about from Box Hill and only from central London. Nearby habitats and environments for study include unimproved chalk grassland,...
centre. Further to the south of the village is the Burford Bridge Hotel
Burford Bridge Hotel
Burford Bridge Hotel is an historic hotel in the village of Mickleham, Surrey, England. It is to the south of Leatherhead and north of Dorking at the foot of Box Hill on the River Mole. It is now owned by Mercure Hotels.- History :...
that was frequented by Lord Nelson. Across the A24 in Norbury Parks is 'Druids Grove' which is an area of mature Yew tree
Taxus
Taxus is a genus of yews, small coniferous trees or shrubs in the yew family Taxaceae. They are relatively slow-growing and can be very long-lived, and reach heights of 1-40 m, with trunk diameters of up to 4 m...
s indicating an ancient place of worship for Druids.
The village gave its name to HMS Mickleham
HMS Mickleham
HMS Mickleham was one of 93 ships of the of inshore minesweepers.Their names were all chosen from villages ending in -ham. The minesweeper was named after Mickleham in Surrey.-References:*Blackman, R.V.B. ed. Jane's Fighting Ships...
, a Ham class minesweeper
Ham class minesweeper
The Ham class was a class of inshore minesweepers , known as the Type 1, of the British Royal Navy. The class was designed to operate in the shallow water of rivers and estuaries. It took its name from the fact that all the ship names were British place names ending in -"ham"...
.
Area
The surrounding area contains many Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) including the popular beauty spot of Box HillBox Hill, Surrey
Box Hill is a summit of the North Downs in Surrey, approximately south west of London. The hill takes its name from the ancient box woodland found on the steepest west-facing chalk slopes overlooking the River Mole. The western part of the hill is owned and managed by the National Trust, whilst...
.
The River Mole
River Mole, Surrey
The River Mole is a tributary of the River Thames in southern England. It rises in West Sussex near Gatwick Airport and flows north west through Surrey for to the Thames near Hampton Court Palace. The river gives its name to the Surrey district of Mole Valley...
flows nearby and indeed as its name suggests the river in places goes underground due to the chalk bed being dissolved in places forming Swallow holes or Sinkhole
Sinkhole
A sinkhole, also known as a sink, shake hole, swallow hole, swallet, doline or cenote, is a natural depression or hole in the Earth's surface caused by karst processes — the chemical dissolution of carbonate rocks or suffosion processes for example in sandstone...
s. Ian Middleton tells of his father, sometime in the 1950s, the village police officer P.C. Middleton, looking past his bathroom mirror one morning whilst shaving to see a mature oak tree disappear into the ground. It turned out that the river flowing underground had been gradually wearing away the supporting ground under the tree forming a giant Swallow Hole
Sinkhole
A sinkhole, also known as a sink, shake hole, swallow hole, swallet, doline or cenote, is a natural depression or hole in the Earth's surface caused by karst processes — the chemical dissolution of carbonate rocks or suffosion processes for example in sandstone...
which had collapsed. The subsequent pit was not filled in until 1968 approx when it was still 30 ft deep and 30 ft across. P.C. Middleton also reportedly removed parts from an unexploded V2 which fell in the village during WW2. The adjacent River Mole is well known for its Swallow Hole
Sinkhole
A sinkhole, also known as a sink, shake hole, swallow hole, swallet, doline or cenote, is a natural depression or hole in the Earth's surface caused by karst processes — the chemical dissolution of carbonate rocks or suffosion processes for example in sandstone...
s.
Famous people
- Richard Bedford Bennett, Prime MinisterPrime ministerA prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
of CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
from 1930 to 1935, retired here after his life in politics. He is buried in St Michael's Churchyard, the only former Prime Minister of Canada not buried in that country. - Lt-Col Sir John Norton-GriffithsJohn Norton-GriffithsLieutenant-Colonel Sir John Norton-Griffiths, 1st Baronet KCB DSO was an engineer, soldier during the Second Boer War and World War I, and later a British Member of Parliament.-Early life:...
, "Empire Jack", was buried at Mickleham Church on 18 October 1930. - Mystery writer Cyril HareCyril HareCyril Hare, the pseudonym of Alfred Alexander Gordon Clark was an English judge and crime writer.- Life and work :...
was born here in 1900. - Mrs. Maria DrummondMaria KinnairdMaria Kinnaird was born on St. Vincent, but was orphaned by a volcanic eruption and she was adopted by the politician, Conversation Sharp. She was the heiress of her adopted father and she has been described as a accomplished, attractive, and intelligent woman...
lived at Fredley and was buried here - Conversation SharpRichard Sharp (politician)Richard Sharp, FRS, FSA , also known as "Conversation" Sharp, was a hat-maker, banker, merchant, poet, critic, British politician, but above all - doyen of the conversationalists.-Family background:...
, politician lived at Fredley. - William Wingfield (MP)William Wingfield (MP)William Wingfield KC, MP , was an attorney, judge, and Member of Parliament in 19th century England.-Early years:...
, was born here.