| Sandhurst | |
|---|---|
 Daffodills in Ambarrow Court | |
  Sandhurst Location withinBerkshire | |
| Population | 20,383 (2021 Census) |
| OS grid reference | SU836618 |
| Civil parish |
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| Unitary authority | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | SANDHURST |
| Postcode district | GU47 |
| Dialling code | 01344 01276 01252 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Royal Berkshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| UK Parliament | |
| 51°20′56″N0°48′00″W / 51.349°N 0.800°W /51.349; -0.800 | |
Sandhurst is a town andcivil parish in theBracknell Forestborough inBerkshire,England. It is in the south eastern corner of Berkshire, and is situated 32 miles (51 km) west-southwest ofLondon, 3 miles (4.8 km) north west ofCamberley and 5 miles (8.0 km) south ofBracknell. Sandhurst is known worldwide as the location of theRoyal Military Academy Sandhurst (often referred to simply as "Sandhurst", "The Academy" or "The RMA"). Despite its close proximity to Camberley, Sandhurst is also home to a large and well-known out-of-town mercantile development. The site is named "The Meadows" and has aTesco Extrasuperstore and aMarks & Spencer, two of the largest in the country.[2][3] A largeNext clothing and homeware store is open on the site of the oldHomebase.[4]
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Sandhurst is inSouth East England near the junction ofBerkshire,Hampshire, andSurrey. The town has four main districts, from west to east:Little Sandhurst, Sandhurst (central), andCollege Town, withOwlsmoor to the northeast. North of the town areEdgbarrow Woods and aSite of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) calledSandhurst to Owlsmoor Bogs and Heaths which includes thenature reserve of Wildmoor Heath.[5][6] To the east isBroadmoor Bottom, an expanse of heathland together withfir tree plantations. This backs onto the high-securityBroadmoor Hospital.
Sandhurst is bordered, on the south, by theRiver Blackwater, and several of theYateley Lakes along its course are within theparish, notably Trilakes with itscountry park. This is also the county boundary withHampshire atBlackwater. The town ofCrowthorne is to the north, the village ofFinchampstead to the west, andCamberley, across theSurrey county boundary, is on its southeastern side. This is the closest sizeable town, though Sandhurst is also only 9.5 km (5.9 mi) south of thenew town ofBracknell. The soil issandy, with asubsoil of sand andgravel.
Sandhurst lies just off theA30, which is 3.4 miles (5.5 km) away from junction 4 of theM3 motorway. It is also located 10 miles (16 km) from theM4, via theCrowthorne bypass (A3095) toBracknell and theA329(M) towardsReading.
Sandhurst railway station is a stop on theNorth Downs Line; trains are operated byGreat Western Railway. Services run betweenGatwick,Guildford andReading.[7]
Stagecoach South operates bus route 3 betweenYateley andCamberley every 15 minutes except on Sundays; alternate services extends to and fromAldershot.[8]
Sandhurst has representation through several tiers of government –town council,unitary authority, and parliamentary (UK). Its Town Council is divided into four wards, Central Sandhurst,Little Sandhurst,College Town andOwlsmoor, all represented by twenty-fourcouncillors. It is also part of theBracknell Forest District. The ancientparish of Sandhurst also coveredCrowthorne, until this became an ecclesiastical parish in its own right in 1874 and acivil parish in 1894. The currentmayor of Sandhurst is Councillor Parm Panesar.[9]
The name of the village isAnglo-Saxon and originates from the sandy soils and the hurst (a wooded eminence) of the area.[10] In early 14th century records, Sandhurst appears as part of the township ofSonning, a largeminsterparish spreading over much of easternBerkshire,[10] which later became ahundred when its villages obtained their own churches.[11] These lands belonged to theBishops of Salisbury. There were twomanors in Sandhurst: ‘Hall’ in the grounds of what is now theRoyal Military Academy and ‘Sandhurst’ on the site of Sandhurst Lodge.[10] Nothing remains of the original buildings. The first mention of the village of Sandhurst is to be found in the Exchequer Rolls ofHenry II in 1175 where the receipt of one mark for theVillata de Sandhurst is recorded.[12]
In the early modern era, Sandhurstparish was a small farming community on the very edge ofWindsor Forest, Sandhurst Walke being an important forest division subject to forest laws.[11] Locals had the right to cut turf, bracken, heather and wood that was primarily cultivated to feed the forestdeer. These were hunted by Royal parties from ahunting lodge in the vicinity of Hart's Leap Road.[11] A number of disputes are on record, showing how Sandhurst people sometimes took more resources than was allowed. Farming has always remained a major part of village life here and some defunct farms are still remembered in the names of housing estates, roads and even a restaurant: Sandhurst Farm, Snaprails, Caves Farm, Ambarrow Farm, College Farm, Rectory Farm, Beech Farm and Rackstraws Farm. In the mid-16th century,William, Lord Sandys, theLord Chancellor to KingHenry VIII, owned a supposedmanor called 'Buckhurst' in the area betweenCollege Town and Central Sandhurst.[citation needed]
Life changed very little in Sandhurst until the 19th century when large sections of land were sold for the building of theRoyal Military College, which moved fromMarlow in 1813.[10] The railway arrived in 1849 and a number of largecountry residences were subsequently erected in the area: amongst them, Harts Leap,[10] Forest End, St Helens, The Uplands, The Warren, Longdown Lodge, Ryefield, Snaprails, and Ambarrow Court. Sandhurst Lodge was erected in about 1858 byRobert W. Gibson and leased toJohn Walter, ofthe Times Newspaper, and then Sir William Farrer, solicitor toQueen Victoria[10] andThe Duke of Wellington. Perry Hill and The Ceders came later. Only a few remain today.[10] The others have been demolished and land developed.
Such large houses and institutions, including theBroadmoor Hospital andWellington College in nearbyCrowthorne, led to a great expansion of the local population as people moved into the area looking for work. Further residential housing was erected for these workers, as well as more schools for their children, more places of worship and other community resources. Until Sandhurst Comprehensive – nowSandhurst School – was built in 1969 inOwlsmoor, Secondary-age pupils were sent toEdgbarrow School in Crowthorne,Forest Grammar School for boys inWinnersh or Holt School for girls inWokingham. From the late 1950s to the 80s, large housing estates have been built creating the conglomerate town of today from the original four villages ofCollege Town, Central Sandhurst,Little Sandhurst and Owlsmoor.
St Michael'sChurch of England School,Little Sandhurst, was opened in 1862 and other schools followed in quick succession:
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