Whyteleafe

Whyteleafe

Typical landscape of Whyteleafe along the
dry valley from the A22

Part of the shopping area on Godstone Road near to Whyteleafe and Upper Warlingham railway stations
Whyteleafe
 Whyteleafe shown within Surrey
Area  2.17 km2 (0.84 sq mi)
Population 3,900 (Civil Parish)[1]
   – density  1,797/km2 (4,650/sq mi)
OS grid referenceTQ336583
Civil parishWhyteleafe
DistrictTandridge
Shire countySurrey
Greater London
RegionSouth East
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town Caterham
Postcode district CR3
Dialling code 020
01883
Police Surrey
Fire Surrey
Ambulance South East Coast
EU Parliament South East England
UK ParliamentEast Surrey
List of places
UK
England
Surrey

Coordinates: 51°18′32″N 0°05′00″W / 51.308860°N 0.083390°W

Whyteleafe is a village on the narrow facing slopes of a dry valley of the North Downs in Surrey, England, with three railway stations (on two parallel lines) and a shopping/services area in the district of Tandridge. Four streets in Whyteleafe are partly inside the southern edge of the London Borough of Croydon. Neighbouring villages and towns include Woldingham, Caterham, Coulsdon, Warlingham, and Kenley. To the west are Kenley airfield, Kenley Common (owned by the Corporation), Coxes Wood, and Blize Wood. To the east are Riddlesdown, the Dobbin, and Marden Park. The churchyard contains graves of airmen who died during WW2, stationed at RAF Kenley nearby.

History

The village name comes from White Leaf field due to [hornbeam] trees growing in it, which was donated by a benefactor, Mr Glover for the building of the church, as with Kenley the history of its land before that being that of other parishes, in this case Caterham and to a lesser extent Warlingham and Coulsdon. The central land was bought by Mr. Glover in 1855 as a site for a house in a then scarcely inhabited valley.

Its first primary school was built in 1892, enlarged in 1900 and again in 1907.

In 1911 the population of Whyteleafe was "now larger than that of Warlingham village...A county council secondary school for girls has been set up in this year (1911)."[2]

Amenities

Whyteleafe has: a large pub, a newsagent, general store, two petrol stations and an M&S food outlet, a Post Office, hairdresser, chemist, ladies' outfitter, baker, fish shop, barber and a computer store.

To the south of Whyteleafe are the headquarters of Gold Group International, the largest employer in the parish boundaries.[3]

Whyteleafe School, a county-supported primary school is at the bottom of Whyteleafe Hill. It makes use of the site of the former Whyteleafe Girls' Grammar School, vacated in the late 1970s. Warlingham School (secondary) is at the top of Tithe Pit Shaw Lane, on the edge of Whyteleafe in the east.

The C of E church of St Luke was built in 1866, founded as a new parish in the Diocese of Southwark.

Transport

Whyteleafe contains Whyteleafe South, Whyteleafe and Upper Warlingham railway stations. The Godstone road (A22) cuts through north to south. Buses 407 and 434 serve the area and run from Coulsdon, Croydon, Sutton, and Caterham. Whyteleafe village grew after the railway came on its way to Caterham in 1856. A second line, the Oxted Line following a slightly higher contour opened in 1884 to different destinations but also to the north runs to London Bridge or Victoria.

Sport and leisure

Whyteleafe F.C. is the main football club with various teams and has played in grounds in Church Road since 1959, when it moved from the field off New Barn Lane, used by adjacent Kenley School. Its adult men's team play in the Isthmian League.

Separate from its ground in the west of town is the large recreation ground below wooded hills in the east of town which has informal sports fields and a playground.[4]

Demography and housing

 2011 Census Homes
Output area Detached Semi-detachedTerracedFlats and apartmentsCaravans/temporary/mobile homesshared between households[1]
(Civil Parish)359 278 252 891 3 0

The average level of accommodation in the region composed of detached houses was 28%, the average that was apartments was 22.6%.

 2011 Census Key Statistics
Output area Population Households % Owned outright % Owned with a loanhectares[1]
(Civil Parish)3,9001,783 21.8% 43.6%217

The proportion of households in the civil parish who owned their home outright compares to the regional average of 35.1%. The proportion who owned their home with a loan compares to the regional average of 32.5%. The remaining % is made up of rented dwellings (plus a negligible % of households living rent-free).

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Whyteleafe.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Key Statistics; Quick Statistics: Population Density United Kingdom Census 2011 Office for National Statistics Retrieved 21 November 2013
  2. ↑ H.E. Malden (editor) (1912). "Parishes: Caterham". A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 4. Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  3. ↑ "Principal Employers in Tandridge" (PDF). Surrey County Council. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  4. ↑ Google map of recreation ground Retrieved 2014-01-01

External links