Wanborough, Surrey
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Wanborough is a small hamlet in Surrey approximately 6 km west of Guildford on the northern slopes of the Hog's Back with geographic coordinates of . The hamlet has grown up around and to service Wanborough Manor.
According to local publication Wanborough and its church, early man travelled along the Hog's Back, found the spring in the village and had settled there by 8000 BC. The Saxon name of Wenberge means bump-barrow, this barrow was situated south of Wanborough on the top of the Hog's Back.
The first mention of Wanborough is in the Domesday Book where the manor and church are listed as belonging to Geoffrey de Mandeville. It also states that it had been held before the Norman conquest by two thegns, Sweign and Leofwin, who may have been brothers of King Harold. The manor was taxed at seven hides and was thus about 840 acres.
In 1130 the Manor was sold to Waverley Abbey for £80 and put to use to farm sheep to supply the Cistercians. The present Great Barn was built in 1388 and was used for storing and processing crops (threshing and winnowing). Having been built for the Cistercian Abbey, the barn was not a tithe barn, and would have stored the entire manor crop. The barn is made from massive oak timbers and is an aisled barn with large doors on either long side to permit entry by carts. It was extended in 1705. The dates have been obtained using tree-ring dating techniques.
In 1511 the Abbey obtained the right to hold an annual fair at Wanborough for 3 days from August 23. By 1536 the fair was making £35 for the abbey and had a pie poudre court to try trading offences.
In 1536, Waverley Abbey was dissolved and the manor passed into secular ownership. The church was in regular use until at least 1675, but by the 18th century the Quaker Birkbeck family were farming the hamlet innovating with 'modern techniques' and they used the church as a wood store and barn.
The present manor house was built starting in about 1670 by Thomas Dalmahoy, MP for Guildford for most of the reign of Charles II.
Whilst nearby Puttenham church was closed for repairs it was decided by their Rector, Rev W A Duckworth, to hold services in Wanborough's Church of St. Bartholmew. He thus arranged and paid for the restoration of St Bartholomew's by architect Henry Woodyer. It was rededicated in 1861.
From 1880, Sir Algernon West lived at the Manor. West was Principal Private Secretary to Prime Minister Gladstone. West entertained many political figures at the Manor including Gladstone, Queen Victoria and Bismarck. West was also a director of the South Eastern Railway and he caused a new station, named Wanborough but actually in Normandy, to be opened in 1891. In 1900, the Manor was passed onto Asquith until he became Prime Minister. In 1908 West returned to stay until his death in 1921.
During World War II the manor was converted into a training centre for Special Operations Executive agents. The manor was designated Special Training School 5 and handled the first three phases of agent training. It operated from spring 1941 to March 1943 under the command of Major Roger de Wesselow, a Coldstream guard officer in World War I. Many agents in 'Section F' (France) passed through STS5 and courses lasted 3 weeks. Each course was specific to one country and during them all conversation was in the target language. Trainees were taught theoretical and practical subjects including physical training, shooting, explosives, sabotage, map-reading, Morse code and observation skills.
[edit] St Bartholomew's Church
The village church is small, only 13.5 m by 5.5 m internally. It was originally built around 1060 replacing an earlier wooden Saxon church. It was rebuilt in the 1200s and restored in 1861. Thus the various walls and windows have significantly different heritage. The Victorian west brick wall now supports an external bell.
