Witley
Village
Typical houses in Petworth Road, Witley
Witley Location withinSurrey
Area	27.76 km2 (10.72 sq mi)
Population	8,130 (Civil Parish 2011)[1]
• Density	293/km2 (760/sq mi)
OS grid reference	SU947398
• London	33.5 miles (53.9 km)
Civil parish	Witley and Milford
District	Waverley
Shire county	Surrey
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Godalming
Postcode district	GU8
Dialling code	01428
Police	Surrey
Fire	Surrey
Ambulance	South East Coast
UK Parliament	Godalming and Ash[2]
List of places UK England Surrey 51°09′00″N0°38′46″W / 51.150°N 0.646°W /51.150; -0.646

Witley is a village in thecivil parish of Witley and Milford in theWaverley district inSurrey, England. It is centred 2.6 miles (4 km) south west of the town ofGodalming and 6.6 miles (11 km) southwest ofGuildford. The land is a mixture of rural (ranging from woodland protected by theSurrey Hills AONB including a small part of the forestedGreensand Ridge to cultivated fields) contrasting with elements more closely resembling a suburbansatellite village. In 2011 the parish had a population of 8,130.

The civil parish includes the small town ofMilford in the north. Occupying its hills in the south-west areSandhills andBrook. On 1 April 2023 the parish was renamed from "Witley" to "Witley and Milford", at the same time part was moved toHaslemere andPeper Harow.^[3][4]

Witley Common is a wide expanse of land, owned by theNational Trust, crossed by theA3 road. The village is served by two stations on thePortsmouth Direct Line:Witley station, to the south in nearbyWormley, and, to the north,Milford station, which is more or less equidistant between Milford and Witley. Its church dates to the pre-Norman Conquest period of theKingdom of England. The village has the private, but charitableco-educational boarding and day schoolKing Edward's School founded in Westminster in 1553 byKing Edward VI and bishopNicholas Ridley – supported by theCity of London Corporation.

Witley appears in theDomesday Book of 1086 asWitlei. Its domesday assets were held by Gislebert (Gilbert), son of Richere de L'Aigle. It rendered: 12hides; 1 church, 15ploughs, 3 acres (1.2 ha) ofmeadow,woodland worth 30hogs, in theGodalming Hundred and rendered £16.^[5]

In 1848,Samuel Lewis's "topographical dictionary of England" describes Witley as

A parish, in theunion of Hambledon ... containing 1488 inhabitants ... situated on the road fromGodalming toPetworth, and comprises 6,324 acres (2,559 ha), of which 3,150 acres (1,270 ha) are arable, 900 acres (360 ha) pasture, 1,100 acres (4.5 km²) wood, and 1,174 acres (4.75 km²)waste (infertile land). A pleasure-fair is held on 23 April. Theliving is a discharged vicarage^{[n 1]}, with that ofThursley annexed, valued in theking's books at £17. 15. 10.; patron and incumbent, theRev. J. Chandler; the greattithes of Witley have been commuted for £13, and the small for £200. The church is a cruciform structure, principally in the early English style, with a central tower surmounted by a spire, and contains monuments to the Chandler and Webb families, and some ancient brasses. A district church, dedicated to St. John the Evangelist, was built at Milford in 1836: theliving is in the gift of the Brodrick family. There is a place of worship forCalvinists.

In 1911H. E. Malden, historian and factfinder for theVictoria County Histories, turned toSurrey, and wrote about theadvowson, of minimal notability given general forfeiture in favour of each diocese appointing its own clergy. There were sevenmanors, which owned virtually all of the land in the medieval period, of which three were senior as they had nobility living in, or owning, them.^[6] These senior manors are summarised below. The other four wereWytley Chesberies or Wytley Cheasburies Manor,Mousehill Manor,Rake Manor andRoke or Roakeland Manor.^[6]

Earl Godwin, father ofHarold Godwinson, was thelord of the manor before theNorman Conquest. According toDomesday Book, Witley was held by Gislebert (Gilbert), son ofRichere de L'Aigle, in 1086.^[7] In the 12th century, Richer de Aquila forfeited his land to the crown for complicity in the rebellion ofWilliam Clito against the crown. Malden reveals the legal term then used, one still used today,escheat.

William de Warenne, 5th Earl of Surrey, Gilbert's nephew by marriage, was granted it, who died in 1240.^[8] However, this was to no effect, as he gave it back. It reverted to the King, who then granted it to Peter de Rivaulx, who similarly suffered adeprivation in 1234. In 1246Gilbert Marshal, 4th Earl of Pembroke was awarded it, and surrendered it; then still termed part of thehonour of Aquila,Peter of Savoy and later Earl of Richmond, uncle ofQueen Eleanor, received this land;homage stopped, rents rose and, on the baronial victory in 1264, Peter of Savoy having fled from the country, this manor was briefly in the custody ofGilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford and Earl of Gloucester. After his success atEvesham in 1264, Eleanor was seized, who granted the tenants a release from the oppressive exactions of her predecessor on condition that they should cause a yearly service to be held in Witley Church for the souls of her husband and of Peter of Savoy.^[6]

Queen Isabella, Queen toEdward II of England, surrendered it with her other lands in 1330 and it formed part of next QueenPhilippa of Hainault's dower in January 1330–31. After an intriguing further incidence of exhortation^{[n 2]}, many years later Sir Bryan Stapilton held it for life, followed byJames Fiennes, 1st Baron Saye and Sele, soldier and politician. He was put to death during the Kentish rebellion ofJack Cade, and the Manor passed to the King's brotherJasper Tudor (created Duke of Bedford, Earl of Pembroke); when theWars of the Roses raged theEarl of Kent was awarded it, followed by the soon-to-be executedGeorge Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence. Then we see still more royal holding, withstewards Sir George Brown, Sir William Fitz William, Sir Anthony Browne and Henry VIII's server of the chamber, Thomas Jones. In 1551 newBaron Saye and Sele (dubious, per Malden)Edward Clinton, 1st Earl of Lincoln sold the estate toRichard Sackville (escheator) for Surrey, who madeWilliam More of Loseley steward.Elizabeth I had it within her powers by the time of her accession to just grant the manor, possibly due to the internal wars of religion and Sir Francis Wolley (see his daughterHannah Woolley), to Sir George More in 1605. He later sold the park to Sir Edward More, and the title of the manor to Henry Bell of Rake manor. After this time the manor was never again held by nobility.

The site of the house now called Witley Manor, opposite Witley Church, was sold by its owner Richard Ede to his son-in-law John Chandler in 1673.^[9] It was then associated for many generations onwards with the Chandler family of local clerics, including John Flutter Chandler (1762-1837),John Chandler (1806-1876), John Brownlow Chandler (died 1894) andBishop Arthur Chandler (1859-1939).^[10]

The early history of Lea Park (renamed Witley Park during the 20th century) is entwined with that of Witley Manor. Specific frequent appointments to the office of keeper occur in thePatent Rolls, sometimes in conjunction with that of Ashurst Park: in 1514, for example, to Thomas Jones and also to his son.^[6] In 1656 Edward More, grandson of Sir Edward, sold it to Thomas Russell; it was probably already broken up into farms, andJames Cecil, 4th Earl of Salisbury had half of it via marriage. By heirs expiring of the othermoiety,James Cecil, 6th Earl of Salisbury received the remaining (as some is thought to have been sold off) whole of Lea park in 1730. His son sold it to a William Smith ofGodalming in 1791. Allen Chandler sold it to theEarl of Derby in 1876.^[6] It was subsequently sold toWhitaker Wright (see below) for £250,000.^[11]

This was withinPeper Harow Park, but in the parish of Witley, and was early held by Richer de Aquila and subsequently his grandson heir Gilbert. It was included in theDissolution of the Monasteries grant ofWaverley Abbey to Sir William Fitz William, with which it descended toAnthony Browne, 1st Viscount Montagu who died seised of amessuage called Oxenford, 9 October 1592. Similarly to the above, Sir George More of Loseley in 1609, Oxenford passed to Bartholomew Hone and heir John Chesterton of St. Giles in the Fields in 1619. In 1667 Antony Covert and his son conveyed their third to John Platt of Westbrook and his heirs; his son Sir John Platt and a John Smith sold it to prominent parliamentarianDenzil Holles, 1st Baron Holles; the other third was sold by the Fox family toGeorge Brodrick, 4th Viscount Midleton c. 1822; his son employedAugustus Welby Northmore Pugin to build an imitation 13th century farm here.^[6]

• The oldest parts of All Saints' Church date from the early-mid eleventh century, shortly before the Norman Conquest.^[12][13] The south wall, west wall and part of the north wall are from this period and are constructed from sandstone rubble, with some of the masonry laid in a herringbone pattern.^[14] The church building was transformed by theNormans and enlarged into a cruciform shape towards the end of the 12th century, when the tower was also erected. The church contains an inscribed stone, set in the chancel wall, bearing the name of theDuke of Clarence (see below), which is believed to be part of an unfinished memorial to one of his bailiffs.^[15][16] The church is a Grade Ilisted building.^[17] The graveyard has 13 war graves administered by theCWGC.^[18]

• Witley Park, the home ofWhitaker Wright, was built in the 1890s at a cost of £1.85 million. It was one of the most lavish private residences in the world. The grounds included a series of three interconnecting lakes and an underwater billiard room. The main building burnt to the ground in 1953. Today the grounds and remaining buildings are private family homes.
• Old Cottage and Step Cottage, dating from the 15th and 16th centuries, are close to the church.
• White Hart, the villagepublic house, is mostlyElizabethan and is said to stand on the site of a Saxon inn.

On Bannicle or Bannack Hill stood an Admiralty telegraph station which was built in 1822 as part of asemaphore line between the Admiralty in London and Portsmouth. It was about 30 yards east of Hill House,51°08′11″N0°39′32″W / 51.1365°N 0.6588°W /51.1365; -0.6588 but no trace remains.^[19]William Cobbett inRural Rides, in which he pursues his hallmark restraint of empire and government views, referred to the station when travelling through the hills ofHambledon. "On one of these hills is one of those precious jobs, calledsemaphores. For what reason this pretty name is given to a sort of Telegraph house, stuck up at public expense upon a high hill; for what reason this outlandish name is given to the thing, I must leave the reader to guess; but as to the thing itself; I know that it means this; a pretence for giving a good sum of public away every year ..."^[20]

Witley is a village andcivil parish in theBorough of Waverley in Surrey 2.6 miles (4 km) south west ofGodalming and 6.6 miles (11 km) southwest of the county town,Guildford. The village lies just east of theA3 from London toPortsmouth betweenGuildford andPetersfield; London is 33.5 miles (53.9 km) northeast as the crow flies.^[21]

Witley Civil Parish contains the large village ofMilford (arguably a small town to the north, which also has the next railway station on the line to London, however, which is closer to Wheelerstreet and Witley historic village along than to Milford)^{[n 3]} and the localities set out in this article, all of which, apart from Culmer, Wormley, Sandhills and Brook arecontiguous, linked by unbroken paved roads and development forming a wide arc surrounded by Witley Common or by the Witley Stream, Enton lakes and ponds.^[22] The census area Waverley Middle Layer Super Output Area 12 (which excludes Milford but adds most ofHambledon,Thursley andHascombe) gives a population of 6,619 in 2001, whereas the civil parish had a population of 7,703.^[23] If the population of Thursley CP (654) is subtracted and those of Hascombe (241) and Hambledon CPs (765) from Area 12, Witley's habitually resident population, excluding the major settlement of Milford stood at 4,959.

Witley & Milford Parish Council consists of 16 councillors; and the rest of Waverley is likewise entirelyparished, each parish charging a small annual precept oncouncil tax.^[24] Among their tasks is the management of the recreation ground, allotments, upkeep of village halls and organisation of annual community events.

Witley Common, which belongs to the National Trust, directly adjoins many localities of the village.^[25] It is bisected by theA3 dual carriageway.

Five settlements form a loosecluster, though some smallholdings and playing fieldsbuffer them: Cramhurst, Wheelerstreet, Crossways, Witley (historic centre) and Culmer.

Also in the parish areSandhills,Brook and most ofWormley.

• Witley Infants School, opposite the church, is a fine example of a 19th-century school, constructed in 1836.
• King Edward's School is a private school due south of the village centre.

• The village is served byWitley railway station, although those living in the northern part of the village are closer toMilford railway station. Both are on thePortsmouth Direct Line.

• Peter II, Count of Savoy (1203–1263), Lord of the Manor of Witley.
• Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence (1338–1368), brother ofEdward IV, waslord of the manor of Witley. Other owners includedGodwin, Earl of Wessex, father ofKing Harold; Peter of Savoy; andEdward I's wife, Queen Margaret, who commissioned oak from the village to make shingles for the roof ofthe King's Hall at Westminster.
• John Chandler (1806–1876), vicar of Witley, compiler ofThe Hymns of the Primitive Church
• Herbert Pease (1867–1949), British politician, was created Baron Daryngton, of Witley in the County of Surrey, in 1923.
• David Lloyd George (1863–1945), prime minister, had a houseTimbers, to which he could retreat to escape the stress of high office.^[26]
• Terry Scott (1927–1994), comedian who starred in theBBC domestic sitcomTerry and June withJune Whitfield, lived in the village.
• Myles Birket Foster (1825–1899), artist, is buried in the churchyard.
• Whitaker Wright (1846–1904), mining entrepreneur, was found guilty of fraud at theRoyal Courts of Justice and committed suicide shortly afterwards. He is buried in the churchyard beneath an imposing marble slab.
• George Eliot (1819–1880), English novelist, spent her final years in the village.
• Gertrude Mary Tuckwell (1861–1951), trade unionist, social reformer and author, lived the last years of her life in Little Woodlands, Combe Lane.
• James John Joicey (1870–1932), amateur entomologist and owner of the Hill Museum.
• Frederick Williamson (1835–1900), visual artist known for his paintings of landscapes featuring sheep, is buried in the churchyard.
• Raymond Frederick Brown, founder ofRacal and arms merchant for the British government.
• Tony Banks (born 27 March 1950 inEast Hoathly, Sussex, England), founding member and keyboardist of theprogressive rock groupGenesis.

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

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).

James Bond's visit to Shrublands health farm inThunderball was inspired by authorIan Fleming's own 1956 stay at the Enton Hall Natural Health Resort in Witley.^[27][28]

Enton Mill was the subject of a painting,Sheep washing, by the 19th century artist,William Hull.^[29]

• List of places of worship in Waverley (borough)

Notes

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related toWitley.

• Witley & Milford Parish Council
• Photo gallery by Witley Parish Council

• Villages in Surrey
• Borough of Waverley
• Former civil parishes in Surrey
• Lakes of Surrey

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