Worplesdon

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Worplesdon
Worplesdon (Surrey)
Worplesdon

Worplesdon shown within Surrey
Population 1,503[1]
OS grid reference SU969534
District Guildford
Shire county Surrey
Region South East
Constituent country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town Guildford
Postcode district GU3
Dialling code 01483
Police Surrey
Fire Surrey
Ambulance South East Coast
European Parliament South East England
UK Parliament Guildford
List of places: UKEnglandSurrey

Coordinates: 51°16′20″N 0°36′42″W / 51.2722, -0.6117

Worplesdon is a village in Surrey, England, located two miles north of Guildford. The parish includes the settlements of Fairlands, Jacobs Well and Wood Street. Nearby villages include Pirbright and Deepcut, with significant military presences.

Worplesdon has a medieval village church, St Mary's. Worplesdon appears in Domesday Book of 1086 as Werpesdune. It was held by Turald (Thorold) from Roger de Montgomery. Its domesday assets were: 6½ hides; 1 church, 9 ploughs, 1 mill worth 2s 6d, 8 acres of meadow, wood worth 60 hogs. It rendered £10.[2] Adjacent to the church, a semaphore tower (now demolished) served in the Napoleonic wars.

In the early 20th century, Worplesdon was home to the artist Sidney Sime, best known for magazine illustration and work on the books of the prolific author Lord Dunsany.

Worplesdon is served by the Worplesdon Memorial Hall, built in 1922 to recall those who died in World War I; it and the adjacent recreation grounds are managed by trustees representing the donors and the Parish Council. A caretaker lives nearby. Beside the Hall are a playground and tennis and cricket facilities. There are a large events room, a meeting room, and the Sidney Sime Memorial Gallery.

The Worplesdon and Burpham Cricket Club traces its origins to 1890, and there is also Worplesdon Phoenix FC playing in the Surrey Counties Intermediate League and Guildford and Woking Alliance League[1] and, since 1991, Worplesdon Tennis Club, with a new Clubhouse (2005).

Worplesdon no longer has shops or banking facilities but there is the Worplesdon Place Hotel and Worplesdon railway station is located approximately a mile and a half to the north-east of the village. There are a number of commons, managed by Surrey Wildlife Trust, in the area, including Broadstreet & Backside Commons, Stringer’s Common, Littlefield Common and Chitty’s Common.

[edit] Education

Merrist Wood Agricultural College stands on the hill to the west of Worplesdon encompassing a wood and pond, a plant nursery, an arboriculture training area, an equestrian center, a golf course, and a farm.

The village school, Perry Hill, closed in the 1960s. There is now a new school, Worplesdon Primary, in Fairlands. Worplesdon Primary School caters for 409 students from the ages of 4-11. The head teacher is Mr A Parsons.[3]

[edit] References

  • Notes within www.surreycc.gov.uk, as checked at April 6th 2007