Chelsham

Chelsham
The water tower of the former Warlingham Park Hospital
Chelsham  Chelsham shown within Surrey
OS grid reference	TQ383593
Civil parish	Chelsham and Farleigh
District	Tandridge
Shire county	Surrey
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	WARLINGHAM
Postcode district	CR6
Dialling code	01883
Police	Surrey
Fire	Surrey
Ambulance	South East Coast
EU Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	East Surrey
List of places UK England Surrey

Chelsham is a village in the civil parish of Chelsham and Farleigh and the Tandridge District of Surrey, England. It is located in the Metropolitan Green Belt, 15.3 miles (24.6 km) from London, 3 miles (4.8 km) from Oxted and 23.8 miles (38.3 km) from Guildford.

History

Early history

Two Iron Age scheduled ancient monuments spread across the immediate south of the village church and only street which contains almost on one side housing, albeit it stops at Henley Wood so is not completely lined by houses; this road faces Chelsham Common which contains at its heart The Bull Inn: earthworks in Holt Wood ^[1] and earthworks in Henley Wood.^[2] Just to the southeast of these are foundations and walls of a Romano-British villa at Chelsham Court Farm.^[3][4] About Warlingham and Chelsham flint implements and flakes are not uncommon, and evidence of a neolithic population frequenting the area.^[5]

Dark, Middle Ages and Post Reformation

The village lay within the Anglo-Saxon feudal division of Tandridge hundred when Chelsham appeared in Domesday Book as Celesham held by Robert de Wateville from Richard de Clare, just one of his many local pseudonyms. Its domesday assets were: 1 church, 11 ploughs, from customary dues 1 hog. It rendered £15.^[6]

Three manors existed at times: Chelsham Watevile, Chelsham also known as Chelsham Court and Chelsham Le Holt also known as Rowholt.

Chelsham Watervile

From first being held by Robert de Watevile of de Clare (in return for a rent and fealty) its tenancy passed to Walter de Godstone in 1284. The overlordship remained in the Clare family until the death of Gilbert de Clare Earl of Gloucester without issue in 1314; one third of the estates taken by Hugh le Despenser (from one of Gilbert's three sisters) included this manor, passing down the family Beauchamps and Nevills to King Richard III through his wife. To this manor, the manors of Chelsham Court and Titsey paid annual rents of 4s. and 6s. respectively with suits of court, reliefs and heriots, and Bardolf's Court paid yearly a bushel of grain called Park Corn as at 1428.^[5] In 1455 a sale took place to Sir Thomas Cook, a draper and Alderman of the City of London, who mortgaged it to Robert Harding, goldsmith, could not pay most and who then became lord of this manor; his son who inherited William Harding, merchant of London, died in 1549. His daughter Helen who married Richard Knyvett may have passed it to Helen's sister husband, that is Katherine Harding's husband Richard Onslow, who was not Richard Onslow (Parliamentarian). In any case, it became united in the 17th century with the Uvedales who ran Chelsham Court.^[5]

Chelsham Court

In 1306 Reginald de Chelsham and Dionisia his wife were holding the manor. Andrew Peverel inherited it from next owner John de Ifield. In 1428 John Uvedale had already acquired Chelsham Court. Knight Sir William Uvedale died here 1525.^{[n 1]} Four younger sons shared a £20 per year annuity each as an elder Uvedale brother inherited, one of these was Richard Uvedale, one of these younger sons, described as of Chilling, Hampshire and Chelsham Court, Surrey was implicated in the Dudley conspiracy in Mary I of England's reign. A great-grandson gave what remained to Sir Edward Banister to pay his debts after his death, from whom two male trustees held for Harman Atwood of Sanderstead, whose family held it for over a three centuries, despite making Sanderstead their principal estate; thereafter on male heirs failing, their heirs the Wigsells held it. Esmé Francis Wigsell Arkwright held it in 1911.^[5]

Rowholt

This small manor passed, by heirs' confirmation of their father's gift, in 1243-4 to Tonbridge Priory. They ran this small estate but the priory was suppressed by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey under a bull of Pope Clement VII dated September 1524 for the endowment of his foundation of Cardinal College, Oxford and this manor was granted to him by Henry VIII in January 1526. On Wolsey's fall from grace, for a brief period Henry granted it in a land-swap to Sheen Priory, until he dissolved that priory in 1539; when its tenant William Hardyng, who paid a rent of 13s. 4d. and a red rose. In 1539 this rent was granted by the king to John Gresham, and in 1545 the manor of Rowholt was sold to Gresham, now Sir John Gresham of London. On his death in 1556 it passed to his wife Katherine and their son William, Beatrice widow of the latter holding it in 1604. By a deed dated 9 January 1598 she had settled it after her death on her daughter Cicely, wife of Sir Henry Woodhouse, for life, with remainder to Cicely's son Gresham Woodhouse. Later the estate was sold in parcels to various people, about 120 acres being now part of Chelsham Court Farm. The house formerly known as Rowholt is now called Ledgers Park or Ledgers Farm.^[7] The present house is Victorian, but close to it are the remains of a moat round the site of an older house.^[5]

Post-Industrial Revolution

Warlingham Common, a large tract of common land was inclosed in 1866 and extended into Chelsham.^[8]

A small estate of detached and semi-detached houses now occupy that land that was once the site of Warlingham Park Hospital, built as Croydon Mental Hospital in 1903 on the borders of the north of the parish. It cost £200,000 to lay out grounds and erect the buildings, including the iconic central tower which is the only edifice that still stands. In 1911 gravel diggings^[9] were present as a form of small industry within the Worms Heath and Elmes & Son had plant nurseries at Langhurst. Its most important homes were Ledgers Park and Chelsham Lodge, as by 1911 Chelsham Place had become a farmhouse.^[5]

Geography

Typical Chelsham countryside at Beddlestead Lane

Together with Farleigh the total population of the civil parish was 356 as measured by the 2001 census.^[10]

Chelsham lies high and commands views for a long distance, but though in parts well wooded it is generally somewhat barren and featureless in the nearer landscape,^[5][7] including over London,^[11] from the centre of which it is 15.3 miles (24.6 km) south by southeast. The administrative centre of the district, Oxted is below the uplands upon which Chelsham lies, 3 miles (4.8 km) due south and Guildford, the county town is 23.8 miles (38.3 km) west by south-west. Croydon is 6 miles (9.7 km) NNW. The highest point of the North Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is a slight, gentle rise south of the village along the straight road Croydon Road at Botley Hill, which leads towards Westerham, Kent.^[12]

A large triangular village green, bounded by two roads, named Bull Green is managed by the parish council and hosts annual events.^[11]

map showing the position of Chelsham (within the most northern civil parish) of Tandridge

Elevations

Elevations vary from 251m AOD towards the southeast, highest on the border with Titsey to the middle of a deep crevasse/ravine in the east, traversed by Hester's Hill/Beddlestead Leane at 145m AOD^[12]

Local government

Five of the seven parish councillors represent Chelsham and the clerk is Maureen Turner.^[11][13]

Surrey County Council, headquartered in Kingston, elected every four years, has one representative of the area. David Hodge, leader of the county council is its representative as Chelsham and Farleigh are within the Surrey Council Council ward of Warlingham.^[14]

Chelsham and Farleigh share in three representative on Tandridge District Council, headquartered in Oxted:

Landmarks

St Leonards Church

Exterior of Church

Other than the historic manors mentioned, there are more than 10 other listed buildings and monuments across the village.^[7] The Church of St Leonard is a 13th-century church largely rebuilt in the 19th century. It was built to serve the farms in Chelsham, and still sits in farmland in the centre of the roads and bridle ways of the parish. In addition to the regular services, there is a yearly cycle of services celebrating the farming year and creation, starting with a Plough Sunday service in January, and including services for Rogation, Lammas and Harvest.

During the year there are other special services, including services to remember all those who have been baptized and married at the church, an Animal Blessing service, a service to remember the departed, and the Kelly service to remember the charitable giving of a local man who became Lord Mayor of London and who is buried in the churchyard. There are also Taize services on some evenings. The rector is the Revd Jeremy Augustine Blunden.^[16]

References

Notes

References

External links

• History of Chelsham Village
• Chelsham & Farleigh Parish Council website

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chelsham.

v t e District of Tandridge Towns, villages, neighbourhoods and hamlets Caterham Caterham on the Hill Caterham Valley Chaldon Whyteleafe Woldingham Godstone Godstone East Grinstead Felbridge Felcourt Horley Horne Burstow Lingfield Crowhurst Dormansland Lingfield Newchapel Smallfield Oxted Hurst Green Limpsfield Limpsfield Chart Oxted Tandridge Titsey Redhill Bletchingley Nutfield Warlingham Chelsham Farleigh Fickleshole Hamsey Green (part) Warlingham Westerham Tatsfield Grade I Anglican and other most notable places of worship Church of St John the Baptist, Outwood London England Temple (Mormon or LDS Church) List of places of worship in Tandridge (district) Education Caterham School De Stafford School Hazelwood School Oakhyrst Grange School Oxted School Warlingham School Woldingham School Transport Railway stations Caterham Dormans Godstone Hurst Green Lingfield Nutfield Oxted Upper Warlingham Whytleafe Roads A22 A25 M23 M25 Other North Downs Way/Pilgrims' Way Greensand Way Buildings and structures Heritage buildings and grounds Bletchingley Castle Titsey Place Spectator sports Lingfield Park Racecourse Theatre Orpheus Centre, Godstone Lakes, watersports and wildlife Hedgecourt Lake Nature Reserve, Felbridge Wire Mill Recreational Lake, Felbridge Mercers Park Country Park, Nutfield Marsh Sport Football Farleigh Rovers F.C. Lingfield F.C. Warlingham F.C. Whyteleafe F.C. Cricket Caterham Cricket Club While the administrative centre of the district is Oxted the largest town is Caterham. Five of the nine post towns are in the district: Caterham, Godstone, Lingfield, Oxted and Warlingham which does not denote these are necessarily towns. This list include localities not notable as encyclopedic articles, arranged by post town.