| Tilford | |
|---|---|
 Tilford Green andLutyens' Tilford Institute | |
 Tilford Green and the Barley Mowpub, 2007 | |
  Tilford Location withinSurrey | |
| Area | 9.87 km2 (3.81 sq mi) |
| Population | 799 (Civil Parish 2011)[1] |
| • Density | 81/km2 (210/sq mi) |
| OS grid reference | SU875434 |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Farnham |
| Postcode district | GU10 |
| Dialling code | 01252 |
| Police | Surrey |
| Fire | Surrey |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| UK Parliament | |
| 51°10′59″N0°44′53″W / 51.183°N 0.748°W /51.183; -0.748 | |
Tilford is a village andcivil parish centred at the point where the two branches of theRiver Wey merge inSurrey, England, 3 miles (4.8 km) south-east ofFarnham. It has half ofCharleshill, Elstead in its east, a steep northern outcrop of theGreensand Ridge at Crooksbury Hill onCrooksbury Common in the north and Farnham Common (woodland) Nature Reserve in the west, which has theRural Life Living Museum. As the Greensand Ridge in its western section is in two parts, theGreensand Way has a connecting spur here to its main route running east–west to the south.
The name "Tilford" appears to identify theOld English name Tila, as Tila'sford" or "Tilla's ford".[2] Several substantial farm houses date from the 16th century. Tilford House was built in 1727 and its chapel in 1776.[3] In the mid eighteenth century the village was owned by Elizabeth Abney, daughter ofLady Mary Abney; and her detailed local survey map has survived to this day in theBritish Library. During the second world war, Cdr D J L 'Tim' Foster (RN Rtd), who later lived in the village, brought back from northern Russia a reindeer (named Minsk) in his submarine HMS Tigris.[4]
The land reaches 163mOD on the boundary withSeale, with a marked 180° south-facing panorama onOS maps and other guides, taking in much ofAlice Holt Forest and theGreensand Ridge. This has contributed to the inclusion wholesale of Tilford into theSurrey HillsArea of Outstanding Natural Beauty[5] The centre of the parish on the River Wey is at 49-50m OD.[6]
All Saints Church of England Infant School[12] occupies an attractive site overlooking the green. Waverley Abbey Church of England school is in the village. The name is derived fromWaverley Abbey.[13] Tilford, hosts a team in thesport of cricket, which in 2014 won a local village league.[14] TheTilford Bach Festival founded by Denys Darlow has been held in the village since 1952.[15]
| Output area | Detached | Semi-detached | Terraced | Flats and apartments | Caravans/temporary/mobile homes | shared between households[1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Civil Parish) | 184 | 53 | 15 | 26 | 5 | 0 |
The average level of accommodation in the region composed of detached houses was 28%, the average that was apartments was 22.6%.
| Output area | Population | Households | % Owned outright | % Owned with a loan | hectares[1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Civil Parish) | 799 | 283 | 36.4% | 36.7% | 987 |
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 percentage is made up of rented dwellings (plus a negligible percentage of households living rent-free).
The village centres on a triangular green used forcricket in the summer.
Beside the green is a well-known tree, the Tilford Oak. In the early 21st century the tree was estimated to be at least 800 years old. In 1908 Eric Parker wrote about the Tilford Oak inHighways and Byways in Surrey:
William Cobbett made a curious mistake about the Tilford Oak. He and his son were riding through Tilford to Farnham on an autumn day in 1822:—
- "We veered a little to the left after we came to Tilford, at which place on the Green we stopped to look at an oak tree, which, when I was a little boy, was but a very little tree, comparatively, and which is now, take it altogether, by far the finest tree that I ever saw in my life. The stem or shaft is short; that is to say, it is short before you come to the first limbs; but it is full thirty feet round, at about eight or ten feet from the ground. Out of the stem there come not less than fifteen or sixteen limbs, many of which are from five to ten feet round, and each of which would, in fact, be considered a decent stick of timber. I am not judge enough of timber to say anything about the quantity in the whole tree, but my son stepped the ground, and, as nearly as we could judge, the diameter of the extent of the branches was upwards of ninety feet, which would make a circumference of about three hundred feet. The tree is in full growth at this moment. There is a little hole in one of the limbs; but with that exception, there appears not the smallest sign of decay."
Visitors to Tilford can amuse themselves with trying over Cobbett's measurements. I could not reach to measure it ten feet from the ground; but at five feet I made its girth, in July 1907, twenty-four feet nine inches. Probably it was not much less when Cobbett was a little boy. That independent, combative mind would not accept another's measurements, and if he remembered the tree as a little tree, then a little tree he was right in remembering. Since his day the signs of decay have set in; the oak is still superb, but a Jubilee sapling has been planted as a neighbour. Centuries hence the sapling, perhaps, will be the King's Oak again.[19]
Parker measured the girth again in 1934 and found it to be 1 foot more.[20] The tree's branches have been lopped in recent years and the trunk is patched with iron sheets.
There are three other "British Oaks" nearby, planted at each corner of the triangular green, to commemorate:
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Thesouth branch and the combined branches of the River Wey are spanned by bridges at the village green. Dating from themedieval period, they were likely built by the monks ofWaverley Abbey. Both areGrade I listed buildings, andscheduled monuments.[21][22][23][24]
Authority control databases: National |
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