Badshot Lea
| Badshot Lea | |
  Badshot Lea Badshot Lea shown within Surrey | |
| Population | 1,509 [1] |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | SU865489 |
| District | Waverley |
| Shire county | Surrey |
| Region | South East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Farnham |
| Postcode district | GU9 |
| Dialling code | 01252 |
| Police | Surrey |
| Fire | Surrey |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | South West Surrey |
Badshot Lea is the village immediately ENE of Farnham, Surrey, England, midway between the town composed of buildings of wide-ranging date and that chiefly of the 19th century onwards, Aldershot known as the home of the British Army, with near access to the A31 and A331. The village is part of the Blackwater Valley or Aldershot Urban Area, the thirtieth largest conurbation in the UK. Badshot Lea's boundaries are four bridges—three western railway bridges and Pea Bridge over the uppermost part of the River Blackwater— these inspired a logo for the village. The Blackwater separates Badshot Lea from Aldershot to the north and north-east; the eastern boundary is short and the southern boundary is the A331.
Amenities
Educational and general
The village has an infant school, a nursery school, "the Kiln" village hall (built in 1886),[2] an electrical substation, a sewage treatment facility, a visiting mobile library, T.S. Swiftsure sea cadets centre, St Georges C of E Church and hall,[3] a cemetery, a pond dipping stage, an animal sanctuary, a working men's club and two pubs/inns, The Cricketers and The Crown. A large a garden centre with an aquatic department and blasé. Formally known as 'Badshot Lea Garden Centre' and owned by the Caffyn Parsons family, it was taken over by Squires in 2006. Its extensive pets and aquatics centre was opened in 1999 by Charlie Dimmock.[4]
The Bishop Sumner Educational Foundation
Young people in the village in full time education can apply for grants from the Bishop Sumner Educational Foundation.[5]
Media services
The local BBC TV news is BBC South Today. Badshot Lea is covered by national radio stations and BBC Surrey (which covers Surrey & North-East Hampshire on 104.6FM), and Eagle radio covering roughly the same area.
Sports and open spaces
Sports include a pavilion for football and cricket, two tennis courts, a cricket club, cricket nets,[6] indoor and outdoor shooting ranges, a riding school, an equestrian centre,[7] a dog agility club, two fishing ponds, a model car club with outdoor racing track, Badshot Lea Football Club, four geocaches,[8] and a children's playground.
An extensive leisure centre and Farnham RFU club are outside of the village border, close to Weybourne.
The village has green buffers to all sides but the north, intersected by paths. The north has a buffer which is pond named the King's Pond, separating it from Aldershot in a salient part of Hampshire.
Commercial
Badshot Lea has hairdressers, a Chinese take-away, a plant nursery, an army shop, a pottery shop and an army memorobilia store.
History
In prehistory Mammoths used to freely roam the area now encompassed by the village boundaries, evidenced by the Mammoth tusks [9][10] occasionally excavated by Surrey Archaeological Society.
The village has a very long history with remains in, or close to, the village from the Mesolithic, Neolithic, Iron Age, Roman and medieval periods. In 1967 the Badshot Lea Village school master and amateur archaeologist William (Billy) Rankine discovered the remains of a Neolithic Long Barrow (burial mound also known as a tumulus) here. The site was excavated by the Surrey Archaeological Society and many finds are on display at Guildford Museum. Little remains of the original mound due to quarrying and the excavation of the Railway cutting in the 1800s.[11] The burial mound was sited close to the Harrow Way.[12] The village also previously was surrounded by thriving farms, with a particular focus on hop growing; these played such an important role in the economic development of the village that hops feature in the village logo.
The Eastern end of village has suffered terrible flooding in times gone by. This led to the road near the Aldershot boundary being nicknamed the 'docks'.[13]
Economy
Commuting
The village has commuters to such major technology centres as at Farnborough and Fleet; homes for ex-personnel and senior military personnel, being on the border of Aldershot and is a commuter suburb to Farnham, Guildford and to a lesser extent London, being in European standard measurements considered at the edge of the London Commuter Belt.
Quarries
The village's entire eastern tract and formerly its southern borders have and had sand and gravel extraction quarries (respectively), the eastern site is operational that provides significant employment to the local community. Older quarries have been converted to lakes, replenished with rainwater, providing local beauty spots and fishing lakes, newer quarries in the area have been typically backfilled with refuse and converted to open fields, woods or agricultural use.[citation needed]
Landmarks
St George's Church
Badshot Lea has a relatively modern parish church in traditional stonemasonry, named after St George. The Foundation Stone was laid on 23 August 1902 by the Lord Lieutenant of Surrey, Viscount Middleton. The stone can still be seen today, at the West end of the church. A year later the church was completed and was consecrated on 24 October 1903 by the Bishop of Winchester.
Following the demolition of the Old Parsonage, and construction of a new Vicarage in 1999, the funds released were used for the further development of the church. The Southern aisle of the church was not completed with the rest of the building. However, in 1999 a new Church Room was added, and opened on 10 October 1999 by Rt. Rev. John Gladwin, Bishop of Guildford. This room has greatly extended the activities undertaken by the church.
The church's memorials include:
- Elizabeth Allen — Treasurer of the Badshot Lea Mothers' Union and Women's Fellowship
- Sarah Emmerson — Headmistress of Badshot Lea Infant School
- Thomas Kitchin
- William Garrett — Royal Navy
The church is now part of the Church of England Parish of Hale and works in unison with the churches of St John and St Mark. In turn this is in the Rural Deanery of Farnham, part of the Diocese of Guildford. The church is closely linked to the 45-strong SATB choir, the Carillon Singers.[14]
Crime
In a county with a very low crime rate, the village saw connected drugs-related offences from 2005-2010, the most serious such offence being stabbings,[15] followed by dealing (in broad daylight),[16] and a cannabis factory.[17] Other crimes adding to the relative severity of this spate include horse stabbing,[18] and repeated distraction burglary.[19]
Climate
Badshot Lea has a temperate maritime climate, free from extreme temperatures, with moderate rainfall and often breezy conditions. The nearest official weather station to Badshot Lea is Alice Holt Lodge. The highest temperature recorded was 35.4C (95.7F),[20] in July 2006. In an 'average' year, the warmest day would reach 29.1C (84.4F),[21] with 15.2 days[22] attaining a temperature of 25.1C (77.2F) or higher. The lowest temperature recorded was -14.0C (7.0F)[23] in February 1986. On average, 58.6 nights of the year will register an air frost. Annual rainfall averages 799mm,[24] with at least 1mm of rain reported on 122.4 days.[25] All averages refer to the 1971-2000 observation period.
| Climate data for Alice Holt Lodge, elevation 115m, 1971-2000, extremes 1960- | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 15.0 (59) |
17.0 (62.6) |
21.1 (70) |
25.8 (78.4) |
27.6 (81.7) |
34.2 (93.6) |
35.4 (95.7) |
35.1 (95.2) |
28.9 (84) |
24.0 (75.2) |
18.1 (64.6) |
14.7 (58.5) |
35.4 (95.7) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 6.9 (44.4) |
7.2 (45) |
10.0 (50) |
12.5 (54.5) |
16.5 (61.7) |
19.2 (66.6) |
21.8 (71.2) |
21.6 (70.9) |
18.3 (64.9) |
14.2 (57.6) |
9.9 (49.8) |
7.7 (45.9) |
13.82 (56.88) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 0.8 (33.4) |
0.6 (33.1) |
2.1 (35.8) |
3.2 (37.8) |
6.1 (43) |
9.0 (48.2) |
11.2 (52.2) |
10.9 (51.6) |
8.8 (47.8) |
6.1 (43) |
3.0 (37.4) |
1.8 (35.2) |
5.3 (41.54) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −13.6 (7.5) |
−14 (7) |
−10.6 (12.9) |
−6 (21) |
−3.3 (26.1) |
0.5 (32.9) |
3.9 (39) |
3.1 (37.6) |
−0.8 (30.6) |
−6.0 (21.2) |
−7.6 (18.3) |
−12.9 (8.8) |
−14 (7) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 85.98 (3.385) |
58.21 (2.2917) |
62.65 (2.4665) |
53.84 (2.1197) |
53.99 (2.1256) |
53.42 (2.1031) |
46.85 (1.8445) |
53.34 (2.1) |
68.96 (2.715) |
88.89 (3.4996) |
80.62 (3.174) |
91.22 (3.5913) |
798.86 (31.4512) |
| Source #1: YR.NO[26] | |||||||||||||
| Source #2: KNMI[27] | |||||||||||||
Politics
Local
Badshot Lea has a strong Community Association but has no civil parish.[28] Badshot Lea is represented at Waverley Borough Council by two councillors: Gillian Beel (Con) and Christopher Storeyf (Con). Of the 81 single-member electoral divisions of Surrey County Council Badshot Lea is in Farnham North, represented by Denise Le Gal (Con).
National
Badshot Lea is part of the South West Surrey constituency.
Transport
Road
Badshot Lea lies on the A31 and so benefits from strong links both to Guildford, London, and down South to Portsmouth. It also lies at the Southern tip of the A331 (the Blackwater Valley Route) which connects the village to Northern towns of Farnborough and Camberley.
Bus
Bus services are provided by Stagecoach and Fleet Buzz. There are links to Farnham, Aldershot, Guildford, Elstead, and Hale.
Rail
Badshot Lea is equidistant from Aldershot and Farnham Railway stations.
Air
The nearest airport for business passengers is Farnborough Airport. The nearest major airport is London Heathrow Airport which is 31 miles (50 km) by road. Gatwick Airport and Southampton Airport are each about 43 miles (69 km) away by main roads.
Famous residents
Notable former residents of Badshot Lea include
- Lieutenant-Commander William Armstrong D.S.M. - Airman who initiated the hunt for the World War II Nazi Germany battleship Bismarck
- Lance Corporal Alan Davis — Bomb disposal expert[29]
- John Henry Knight — Inventor, engineer and local landowner
- William Rankine — Archaeologist and schoolmaster
- Rt. Rev. Humphrey Southern — Anglican Bishop (Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Derby (Bishop of Repton))
- Rev. Harry Topham — Cricketer and Anglican clergyman (highest position: Rector of Middleham, North Yorkshire)
- Rev. Dean Henley — Anglican clergyman (highest position: Rector of Campton, Clophill and Haynes, Bedfordshire)
References
- ↑ Surrey County Council 2001 Census information
- ↑ BBC History website Picture of village hall in black and white photograph
- ↑ St George's Church, Badshot Lea
- ↑ http://www.gethampshire.co.uk/news/s/37568_badshot_lea_simply_the_best__by_alan_franklin
- ↑ Bishop Sumner Educational Foundation Opencharities.org
- ↑ http://www.badshotleacc.com/
- ↑ http://www.badshotleaequestrian.co.uk/
- ↑ http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=c2ec4ce4-7a46-454a-8aa5-ec1ba49a4341
- ↑ http://www.flickr.com/photos/surreyarchaeology/2326343719/
- ↑ http://surrey.greatbritishlife.co.uk/community/blogs/detail/farnhams-inhabitants-have-a-hairy-history/id/3916/
- ↑ "Between Four Bridges - a history of Badshot Lea," , Maurice Hewins
- ↑ Surrey Archaeological Society
- ↑ http://www.visitoruk.com/historydetail.php?id=30992&cid=592&f=farnham
- ↑ http://archive.is/20120630225122/http://www.btinternet.com/~richard.earnshaw/carillon.html[]
- ↑ http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/s/26909_stabbing_attacks_in_quiet_lane_connected_to_drugs
- ↑ http://www.gethampshire.co.uk/news/s/33906_drug_dealers_target_town
- ↑ http://www.surrey.police.uk/news_item.asp?artid=11524
- ↑ http://www.themissinglist.co.uk/police-appeal/latest-victim-of-horse-stabbing-needs-20-stitches-badshot-lea
- ↑ http://www.surrey.police.uk/media/news_item.asp?area=2&itemID=12202
- ↑ "July 2006 Maximum". Retrieved 2011-02-28.
- ↑ "Annual average warmest day". Retrieved 2011-02-28.
- ↑ "average >25+ days". Retrieved 2011-02-28.
- ↑ "Feb 1986 Minimum". Retrieved 2011-02-28.
- ↑ "Average rainfall". Retrieved 2011-02-28.
- ↑ "Average Raindays". Retrieved 2011-02-28.
- ↑ "Climate Normals 1971–2000". YR.NO. July 2011. Retrieved 28 feb 2011.
- ↑ "Climate Normals 1971–2000". KNMI. Retrieved 28 feb 2011.
- ↑ http://badshotleacommunity.co.uk/
- ↑ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/7614997/Bomb-disposal-experts-parents-hanged-themselves-amid-fears-for-his-safety.html
External links
Media related to Badshot Lea at Wikimedia Commons
