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Features
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Articles
Guildford Development excludes Riverside Access
Developers of a new office build in central Guildford have ignored
a request to allow public access to a riverside path along the Wey
(November 2010)
Spielberg's War Horse on Location at Wisley Airfield
The World War 1 story of a farm horse sold to the army for active service on the Western Front started filming at Wisley Airfield in September 2010.
(October 2010)
Garden Mammals Recorded in Latest RSPB Wildlife Poll
The RSPB included a tally of mammals visiting domestic gardens in Surrey in their second summer survey with surprising results . . .
(September 2010)
Lethal River Invaders - American Crayfish
Introduced as an alternative crop for British farmers in the 1960 the American crayfish has since proven to be an invasive and highly destructive pest that is decimating wildlife in our rivers. A Wey Valley ecologist
has been monitoring the alien crustacean for over twenty years. He has however found one benefit - and regularly supplies the creature to a local restaurant much to the delight of its regular diners.
(September 2010)
Elstead School Eco First
A primary school in Elstead is the first in the county to install a boiler designed to run on wood pellets produced from surplus trees felled locally by Natural England.
(September 2010)
Guildford Pre-war Air Displays
During the 1920s and 1930s Guildford residents enjoyed a series of displays with the latest in aeronautical technology on show, and members of the public were able to join the pilots for joyrides - for a fee of course.
(September 2010)
Birds of Prey Safest in Surrey
The latest RSPB report into crime committed against wild birds in Britain reveals that Surrey is the safest place for birds of prey.
(September 2010)
Wartime Albury
The Surrey Advertiser published excerpts from a resident in the village of Albury near Guildford recording village life during the First and Second World Wars.
(May 2010)
Bourne Woods - International Film Set
The Wey Valley is no stranger to film crews and Bourne Woods near Farnham has provided the sets for everything from battle scenes in Gladiator to a jungle setting for It Ain't Half Hot Mum. Various villages and a French castle were built there for scenes from Scott Ridley's Robin Hood with Russell Crowe (2010 release).
(May 2010)
Hydon's Ball
Hydon's Ball is one of Surrey's highest points and is a preferred location for pre-dawn pagan celebrations on May Day. Octavia Hill, one of the founder's of the National Trust, is commemorated here with a memorial.
(April 2010)
The Surrey Research Park & Technology Centre
The University of Surrey as part of its obligations to the government in establishing the campus in Guildford was to open a centre for the
"carrying out of research, development and design activities, in any science, including the social sciences that is complimentary to the activities of the University of Surrey". The result was the Surrey Research Park which today employs over 2,700 people and contributes £500m to the regional economy.
(April 2010)
Baden Hall Farncombe
The church hall built to provide a centre for the Farncombe community in 1892 has fallen into such disrepair that the scouts and guides who currently occupy the building fear that it may have to close.
(April 2010)
The Ghost Tour of Guildford
If you want to keep up with all of the paranormal activity buzzing around Guildford Philip Hutchinson's Ghost Tour is highly acclaimed and has been featured widely on television and in the press.
(March 2010)
The Hamlet of Binscombe
The little hamlet of Binscombe has somehow managed to retain its own identity despite attempts by local planners to absorb it into the massive housing development undertaken over several decades since the 1950s. 17th-century houses jostle for position along a busy rat run with many drivers undoubtedly not aware of Binscombe's close history with the Quakers.
(March 2010)
The Royal Surrey - Seven Ages of Britain
The acclaimed television series Seven Ages of Britain, written and presented by David Dimbleby, chose the Royal Surrey Hospital in Guildford to represent a typical surgical hospital in a portrayal of the creation of the NHS. Dimbleby is filmed during a liver operation in theatre.
(March 2010)
St John's Church, Farncombe
Built in the mid 19th century St John's was a response to the needs of a rapidly growing population encouraged to the area by the arrival of the railways. Research into church records by the authors of a book commemorating the church's 150th Anniversary have revealed some fascinating
facts about the village's everyday life.
(March 2010)
The State of Surrey's Green Belt
The first ever national report into the current condition of the green belt has highlighted issues of concern although on the whole these open areas in the Wey Valley are intact and serving their intended purpose. Although . . . in Guildford the green belt is under severe threat through housing development and the local MP might just have managed to get the government to climb down on some of their housing targets for the area.
(February 2010)
Farncombe Public Houses
Farncombe was once served by a good many drinking establishments, some rowdier than others. One of the oldest, The Three Lions on Meadrow, still survives today and brags an interesting past including serving as a temporary morgue to lay the bodies of those souls unfortunate enough to suffer at the hands of the local hangman.
(February 2010)
Aldro School, Shackleford
The independent boy's boarding school, situated in part on the site of an Italian POW camp in Shackleford, was founded in the 19th century and until the 1970s followed a military-style discipline. The more relaxed modern school achieved great popularity under the headmastershp of Crispin Hill who after his retirement founded the unique Skillway Charity in Godalming that provides vocational help for young people struggling in mainstream education.
(February 2010)
The Godalming Music Festival
Founded in 1947, with the enthusiastic support of local resident and eminent composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, the Godalming Music Festival provides people of all ages the opportunity to perform in public and to win hotly contested competitions. Today the festival is one of the largest and longest running performing arts festivals in the south-east of England.
(February 2010)
Jacobs Well Wartime Aircrash - The Lilly Bell II
In 1944 a USAAF Dakota crashed in a field in the outskirts of Guildford on its way to a mission across France. All four crew died in the accident. Local historian Frank Phillipson's exhaustive research has unearthed
witnesses and the crash site itself.
(January 2010)
Let's Face It - a Community Art Project
Over a seven-month period in 2007 the artist in residence of the Watts Gallery in Compton coordinated a community art project in Farncombe, Godalming to bring together local residents with the aim of producing a snapshot of life in the local community. The artworks produced are still on show (2010) in St John's Church.
(January 2010)
Larry Halliday - Lengthsman on The Wey
The National Trust published a short piece in their quarterly newsletter featuring the working life of one of their lengthsmen responsible for the upkeep of a stretch of the river between Burpham and Ripley.
(January 2010)
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