| Grayshott | |
|---|---|
 Parish church of St Luke | |
  Grayshott Location withinHampshire | |
| Population | 2,413 (2011 Census)[1] |
| OS grid reference | SU872353 |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Hindhead |
| Postcode district | GU26 |
| Police | Hampshire and Isle of Wight |
| Fire | Hampshire and Isle of Wight |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| UK Parliament | |
| 51°06′37″N0°45′16″W / 51.11031°N 0.75437°W /51.11031; -0.75437 | |
Grayshott is a village andcivil parish in theEast Hampshire district ofHampshire, England. It is on theHampshire /Surrey border 4 miles (6.4 km) northwest ofHaslemere by road, and 46 miles (74 km) southwest of central London. The nearest rail link isHaslemere railway station.
The present village consists of houses and shops on either side of theB3002 Headley Road, which leads from theA333 atHindhead toHeadley Down,Headley andBordon, and Crossways Road which runs south east from the centre of the village. East of the village centre, joining these two roads, is Boundary Road, which marks the boundary between Hampshire and Surrey.
Originally, the name referred to a hamlet a mile west of the present village.
Grayshott was part ofHeadley parish until 1901 (ecclesiastical parish) and 1902 (civil parish). The present civil parish is part ofEast Hampshire District.
The earliest reference to Grayshott found by Jack Hayden Smith, a Grayshott inhabitant and local historian, is in Winchester Bishopric records as Gravesetta (1185) and Graveschete (1200). In 1533 it was called Graveshotte, and the named changed to its current spelling probably in the 18th century. J H Smith's book was republished in 2002 by John Owen Smith.[2] A detailed survey of the area made in the reign ofEdward VI (1547–53) used the name Graueshot and describes large areas of "waste". Theshott suffix in local names refers to springs flowing from the sandstone rock strata.[3]
The village is mentioned in the Headley Parish Register of 1564 as Grashott, and as Grayshott in 1584.[4] At this time the name applied to a hamlet about a mile to the west of the present village; the latter, apart from a few isolated dwellings, did not begin to develop until the 19th century when wealthy incomers began to settle there and encourage development. Previously, the area had a reputation for lawlessness.[2]
At the earliest census, 1841, Grayshott had 114 inhabitants, increasing gradually over the rest of the century and then more than doubling between 1891 (238) and 1901 (666). This was the result of the growing popularity of the Hindhead area's healthy climate, the accessibility afforded by the railway coming to Haslemere in 1859 and the subsequent rise in trade to accommodate this popularity.[5]
Two notable murders took place in the early 20th century. In 1901, postmaster Walter Chapman stabbed to death his wife Emily and was found guilty but insane and committed toBroadmoor Hospital.[6] In 1915 Lieutenant Codere murdered Sergeant Ozanne (both of the Canadian Rifles stationed atBramshott Camp) at Codere's billet in Crossways Road. Codere was found guilty and sentenced to hang, but the sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment on the grounds of insanity.[7]
St. Luke's Church, whose tower and spire (added in 1910) combined are 100 feet tall, was begun in 1898 and consecrated in 1900.[8] It is a part of theGuildford diocese. St Joseph's Roman Catholic Church was built in 1911.[9]
Grayshott CE Primary School traces its origins to the 19th century. The National School was founded in 1871 on land provided by the architectEdward I'Anson, who had moved to the village ten years earlier. His descendants maintained a close connection to the area (his son made funds available for the construction of the church) and many of these are buried and memorialised in its churchyard.[10]
Grayshott Village Hall claims to be the largest in the county,[11] and the village has its ownretained fire station. A village square and two village greens are close to the centre.
To the west of the village there is a recreation ground with cricket pavilion, football club, skate park and tennis club.
There is a long history ofamateur drama in the village, beginning before World War 1 and continuing to the present day. The Grayshott Stagers have held this mantle since 1951.[12]
The Grayshott area is popular with walkers, including nearbyWaggoners Wells.Ludshott Common, one mile to the west, is an area of heathland and woodland and part of the East Hampshire Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty;[13] one mile to the east isHindhead and theDevil's Punch Bowl, asite of special scientific interest, and to the north is the Golden Valley, a densely wooded valley between the B3002 andA287 roads.[14]
In School Road is Grayshott Pottery (formally known as Surrey Ceramics), which has been making Englishstoneware since 1956. It now incorporates Dartington Pottery which originated in Devon.[15]
There is one public house in the village, theFox and Pelican. It was opened in 1899 by shareholders of the Grayshott & District Refreshment Association, one of whom was George Bernard Shaw, under the guidelines of the national Refreshment House Association, atemperance-based organisation.[16] In 1914 the landlord was James Ashbrooke Holme, a lay reader from Bishopstoke, Hampshire. His wife Charlotte had been one of the survivors of theTitanic sinking.[17] The pub was taken over byGales Brewery in the 1950s.
The Grayshott Village Archive website has a page on notable former village residents with biographical and historical detail.[18]
From 1898 to 1900Flora Thompson,[19] author ofLark Rise to Candleford, was assistant postmistress in Grayshott and lived in The Avenue. Among her customers wereArthur Conan Doyle, who lived atUndershaw (which became the Undershaw Hotel, now a school for pupils with special needs) next toHindhead crossroads, andGeorge Bernard Shaw, who lived at Blen Cathra, Boundary Road, nowSt Edmund's School, Hindhead.
DameAgnes Weston (1840–1918), philanthropist and founder of the Royal Naval Sailors' Rests, lived in Crossways Road for a number of years.[20] The Anglo-Dutch performer andsilent film actressMargie Morris (1892–1983) died in Grayshott.[21]
Towards Headley Down is the health farm Grayshott Spa. This building, known as Grayshott Hall, is on the site of a small farm whichAlfred Tennyson and his family rented in 1867 while he had Aldworth built nearby inHaslemere.
Grayshott is the birthplace of actorColin Firth, best known for his appearances in films such asBridget Jones's Diary,Mamma Mia!,A Single Man andThe King's Speech.[22]
Musician Alexander O’Connor, known professionally asRex Orange County is from Grayshott.[23]
Former England table tennis playerAlison Broe resides in Grayshott.[24]
Authority control databases: Geographic |
|---|
