Hambledon, Surrey

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Hambledon, Surrey, in England, is a small and scattered village, tucked away amongst fields and woodland.

In the 16th century, its land was mined for iron ore. In recent times this was replaced by another local industry - brick making.

The church of St Peter lies some distance from most of the houses, at the top of a hill. The churchyard contains two gigantic yew trees - one with a 30 foot circumference and hollow, with space for 4 people inside. Legend has it that if you walk around the interior three times you will see a witch. The trees outdate the present church by many centuries.

Today’s building was constructed in the 19th century, although it does contain traces of its 14th century predecessor.

St. Dominic's School is situated atop Mount Oliviet.

Beside the village green stands Oakhurst Cottage - a traditional 16th century labourer’s home, which has been restored and is now owned by the National Trust.

A short distance up the hill, close to the A283 Petworth Road, is a building which was originally built as the local workhouse. It was managed by the Hambledon Poor Law Union, formed in 1836. An infirmary block and a mortuary were built to the north of the site in the 1870s, and these buildings later became Hambledon Hospital, which closed in 1948.

Hambledon workhouse was used by King Edward's School in nearby Wormley from 1940 to 1949 while the school buildings were taken over by the Royal Navy.

The buildings were then used by the Institute of Oceanographic Sciences until the 1990s when the site was acquired by property developers Berkeley Homes and redeveloped for residential use. Only the workhouse survives - now converted into apartments.