Knaphill

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Knaphill
Knaphill (Surrey)
Knaphill

Knaphill shown within Surrey
Population 8,635[1]
OS grid reference SU965587
District Woking
Shire county Surrey
Region South East
Constituent country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town Woking
Postcode district GU21
Dialling code 01483
Police Surrey
Fire Surrey
Ambulance South East Coast
European Parliament South East England
UK Parliament Woking
List of places: UKEnglandSurrey

Coordinates: 51°19′09″N 0°36′60″W / 51.319149, -0.61663

Knaphill is a dispersed urban village in Surrey, UK. To the east is Woking, to the west, eventually, is Aldershot, while to the north and south on the A322 – which forms its effective western border – are Brookwood, and Bisley, respectively.

Contents

[edit] History

The village name was first recorded in 1225 as La Cnappe. Since then there has been various spellings of the name including 'Nap Hill, Naphill and Knap Hill.

In 958A.D., the village was probably part of land granted to Westminster Abbey; there is clear ownership by 1278. The land passed to Henry VIII on the dissolution of the monasteries in the 1530s.

The Basingstoke Canal was built to the south of Knaphill in 1794 and the railway line came in 1838. In 1859, a prison was built in Knaphill. This was later converted into army barracks.[2]

[edit] Today

Knaphill is also the home to two schools: Knaphill Lower & Junior. Furthermore Peer Productions, a large theatre company, is based at the Woking Youth Arts Centre in Knaphill. It provides dramatic education for students of all ages.

The local pub Hooden takes a Knap has been changed back to its original name The Garibaldi. The village has a residents' association.[3] The nearest railway stations are at Brookwood and at Woking.

[edit] Brookwood Hospital

One of the major employers in the area until its closure in the 1990s was Brookwood Hospital, a vast, rambling mental hospital that dated from the late Victorian era. The northern edge of the hospital formed the southern boundary of Knaphill (the southern edge being denoted by the Basingstoke Canal). Most of the hospital grounds have been redeveloped, the wards having made way for several superstores and a large number of houses. The central building, which is listed, has been retained and converted into luxury flats. Several of the new residential roads were named after the old hospital wards.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Census
  2. ^ Local history
  3. ^ Knaphill Residents' Association

[edit] External links