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More About Weybridge was once a small village seemingly bypassed by the bustle of London only a few miles away. That was until Henry VIII made the place fashionable by building a palace here for Anne of Cleaves. At Thames Lock the Wey finishes its long and eventful journey as it joins Britain's premier river. |
Wey WEY EXPENSIVE Weybridge is highlighted (2007) as one of the top three most unaffordable places for key workers to buy property in the UK. The others are Gerrards Cross and Kensington & Chelsea. aboutproperty.co.uk 13th April 2007 The Halifax ranked Weybridge as the most expensive town in Britain (2007) with average property prices slamming in at £543,064 timesonline.co.uk 28th December 2007 Mouseprice in February 2008 listed the following Weybridge streets amongst the highest priced in the UK (average prices in brackets). & WEY CHEAP WEY LIFE WEY HISTORICAL WEY POETIC WEY GHOSTLY Lambert had a few months prior to his death broken the land speed record at the track achieving a speed of 103.84 mph (167.11 kph). MORE ON BROOKLANDS
WEY ADVENTUROUS Hempleman-Adams is not a novice when it comes to do and daring. He became the first person in history to reach the geographic and magnetic North and South Poles as well as climb the highest peaks in all seven continents. He also already holds a number of other ballooning records, including staging the highest formal dinner party, at 24,262ft, in a specially-designed hot-air balloon in 2005.And in January he broke the 26-year-old world hot-air balloon altitude record, by ascending to 32,500ft over Alberta, Canada. Source: telegraph.co.uk 4th July 2007 WEY LIFE WEY OBSESSIVE " My screams alerted the others and after an electric silence, Barry, my ex grabbed me under the armpits from behind and started to pull. There was a sudden ripping noise and we all shot backwards through the open door and landed in a heap, me on top with legs in the air, my glass of champagne intact, and knickers on, thank God! My skirt had mercifully ripped, and Ollie was circling his cage waving his bit of stolen material aloft and banging the bars with his other arm." Blogger: Sylvan Mason 7th January 2007 "... the famous- 'Weybridge Cyclone' and 'Weybridge Tornado' - both of whom flew 500 miles seven times as big winners. And to name another of many - 'Weybridge Tempest '- who flew in the National, 550 miles, three years in a row..." Liam O Comain 'The Old Codger - Old Hand', Elimar Pigeons November 2006 WEY LIFE WEY BLOG WEY LITERARY "We remained at Weybridge until midday, and at that hour we found ourselves at the place near Shepperton Lock where the Wey and Thames join. Part of the time we spent helping two old women to pack a little cart. The Wey has a treble mouth, and at this point boats are to be hired, and there was a ferry across the river. On the Shepperton side was an inn with a lawn, and beyond that the tower of Shepperton Church–it has been replaced by a spire–rose above the trees. "Here we found an excited and noisy crowd of fugitives. As yet the flight had not grown to a panic, but there were already far more people than all the boats going to and fro could enable to cross. People came panting along under heavy burdens; one husband and wife were even carrying a small outhouse door between them, with some of their household goods piled thereon. One man told us he meant to try to get away from Shepperton station." H G Wells. War of The Worlds 1898 WEY BLOG WEY LIFE WEY MANSIONS WEY SQUASH WEY WALRUS Another story goes that Paul McCartney in the spring of 1966 was driving from London to meet up with Lennon at his Weybridge house when the idea of Paperback Writer came to him. “I told John I had this idea of trying to write off to a publishers to become a paperback writer, and I said I think it should be written like a letter," said McCartney. "I took a bit of paper out and I said it should be something like ‘Dear Sir or Madam, as the case may be...' and I proceeded to write it just like a letter in front of him, occasionally rhyming it. And then we went upstairs and put the melody to it. John and I sat down and finished it all up. I had no music, but it's just a little bluesy song, not a lot of melody. Then I had the idea to do the harmonies and we arranged that in the studio.” Source: timesonline.co.uk 11th April 2008 WEY RAVENOUS WEY SCHOOL DAYS "The boarders at St. Maur's Convent had a mystique surrounding them. There was Shirley, whose parents lived on the Gold Coast in Africa. Then there was Marie, whose parents lived in France. We all wore the same uniforms, but Marie always looked more elegant, and her hair was curled in a hundred little blonde curls held together with little black velvet bows, and on her little feet she wore shiny black patent leather shoes. "When we went home after a day at school, they (the boarders) stayed in the convent all weekend. How lucky they were. What did they do at the school at the weekends? They were the elite. "It took the Luftwaffe to bring about a change in my status. After a German bomb hit the nearby Hawker Hurricane airplane factory, my father said to his brood of seven, hiding under the dining room table: "We are moving to Edinburgh. There are no targets there." Source: Therese McKenzie, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette USA. 11th September 2007 WEY THIEF WEY MILLIONS WEY CHOCS WEY FOLLICLES WEY MINDLESS WEY UNLEADED Churches have become a favourite target with the Ecclesiastic Insurance Group reporting 17,000 claims nationwide totalling £5.2m last year relating to stolen metal. St Peter's Church in nearby Hersham has had lead flashing removed from store houses in the churchyard. Source: Surrey Advertiser 22nd January 2008 WEY QUIET WEY OBJECTOR "One of the most persistent of conscientious objectors is Gerald Ross Whichelo, a gentlemanly looking, black haired man about 25 years of age. He was formerly an assistant at a boys school in Eastbourne carried on by an ultra-patriotic principal. Relinquishing his scholastic work Mr. Whichelo went to work on a farm at Weybridge in Surrey. " District Court Martial was held at Stoughton Barracks, Guildford, the depot of the Queen’s (Royal West Surrey) Regiment, on Thursday, when Mr. Whichelo was charged with refusing to obey the command of his superior officer to undress for medical inspection at the Barracks on September 23. He pleaded guilty. "He had asked for exemption on condition that he undertook work of national importance but the East Sussex Appeal Tribunal dismissed his application. He then obtained work on the land and applied for the variation of his certificate, but the application was dismissed with the result that he appeared there a day later as a prisoner. He was not a soldier before the eyes of God, and in view of all the circumstances he asked to be released and allowed to continue his civil work. Prisoner was found guilty and the sentence will be known in due course.” Eastbourne Gazette 18th October 1916 sourced from outofbattle.blogspot.com WEY APIARISTS WEY POTTY The judge granted leave for the disputing neighbour to appeal but then berated both parties with a stinging attack against the entire legal action. "This is another of that hideous form of litigation called the boundary dispute, a form of litigation which is best not pursued," said Lord Justice Ward. "Just how much is this stupid piece of land worth? What you are arguing over is a few rhododendron bushes. If you live in St George's Hill you've got money to throw away, presumably. But why throw it away like this? You're all potty. Disputes of this kind are a most hateful form of litigation. Go away and sort it out." Source: thisislondon.co.uk 17th April 2008 WEY STEAM WEY ACE WEY OLYMPIC WEY DODGER WEY LEADERS WEY TRANQUIL "I've lived in Burwood Park, near Weybridge, for 14 years now; in fact, I've actually got two houses here. It's a private gated estate with a golf course and a lake set in the grounds of one of King Henry VIII's deer parks. My partner Jo and I get the best of both worlds here because the whole area is handy for town and the airports, but is still only a few minutes drive from picturesque farms and villages. It is an ideal location for me because I like the greenery and wouldn't live in London if you paid me." Source: independent.co.uk 21st May 2008 WEY UNFORGIVING Adventure racing might have been dreamt up by a masochist. Races are multi-discipline events in which mixed teams run, mountain-bike and kayak around remote locations, navigating between checkpoints with a map and compass and eating only the high-energy supplies they can carry on their backs. Source: Tarquin Cooper telegraph.co.uk 21st June 2008. THE WEY VALLEY HAS THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF ANGSt - IT'S OFFICIAL ALSO ON THIS PAGE:
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Henry VIII makes Although difficult to believe today Weybridge was once a small hamlet. Real growth started in the 16th century, the building of Oatlands Palace by Henry VIII in 1538 for his fourth wife, the German born Anne of Cleves (1515 - 1557) acting as the catalyst.
With Henry's favourite home Hampton Court Palace only 4 miles (6.4 km) away the site for Oatlands was perfect for a home for his new queen, and it is rumoured that the king may have secretly married his next queen, Katherine Howard, in its chapel. The king around this time had also created the Chase of Hampton Court which effectively enclosed most of the villages and land within an area today known as Elmbridge. The Chase was to serve as a hunting park for the royal household and unsurprisingly was extremely unpopular with the local population at the time. The land was returned to the people in 1547 after Henry's death. The palace was built on what Henry knew as Chertsey Meads from part of his childhood at Byfleet and from where he had hunted. It is said that Henry had forced one John Rede to exchange Oatlands for the Manor of Tandridge in Sussex to enable the king to start his grand construction. The palace was constructed in red brick with buildings surrounding open courtyards each connected by gateways flanked by octagonal towers. The palace sprawled over nine acres of land. The palace in reality was rarely visited by the king or queen, although it was later used at various times by Elizabeth I who spent time and money on enhancing the property. James I made Oatlands a favoured home with his queen Anne of Denmark and it was there as part of a major redevelopment of the gardens and vineyards that James established The King's Silk Works where silk worms were kept to provide silk for weaving.
Charles I enjoyed staying at Oatlands and his queen lived here whilst Charles was away doing battle with the Scots in various campaigns. It was at Oatlands that their son Prince Henry was born and in 1647 Charles was imprisoned at the house by the Parliamentarians during the English Civil War. Oatlands Palace was eventually demolished in 1649 at the end of the Civil War having been sold to one Robert Turbridge of St. Martin-in-the-Fields for £4,023 18s 0d. Much of the fabric of the building was used in new building projects throughout the Valley, and bricks from the palace have been found lining some of the locks built when the Wey Navigation was being constructed from 1651. Apart from a single gate in the form of a brick archway little remains of the palace today. After the Restoration, Oatlands reverted to the Crown. In 1689 the diarist John Evelyn records that Sir Edward Herbert, the Lord Chief Justice, was living in a house on the estate of the demolished palace. This house had been recorded in the Parliamentary Survey of the estate in 1652 and it seems that the surveyors had recommended that it should not be pulled down but let as it would raise a higher income than being sold off as rubble. Sir Edward retired into exile with James II and his estate was forfeited to the crown and the house was to become the home of Lord Torrington who was the Admiral in command of the English and Dutch Fleets at the Battle of Beachy Head. Although the disastrous naval engagement resulted in Torrington being court martialled he was granted the house by William III as a gesture of royal support. Sir Edward Herbert was Lord Torrington's brother - his family name being Arthur Herbert. In the early 18th century Oatlands House and the surrounding park was constructed by the ninth Earl of Lincoln on the former royal estate. The Earl was later to become the Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyme. The Duke of York bought the house in 1788 and was to exploit the Enclosure Acts of 1788 to significantly enlarge the Oatlands Estate. Although the house was burned down in 1794 it was rebuilt in the popular Gothic style of the period. An Act of Parliament was passed in 1804 to enable the Duke to acquire the freehold of the estate from the Crown. The Duke sold Oatlands in 1824 after the death of his wife to Edward Hughes, popularly known as 'The Golden Ball' in recognition of his notoriously decadent ways, and who quickly fell into financial difficulties. After a quick succession of short lets the estate was broken up into 46 lots and sold off in 1846. The house itself was bought by the South Western Hotel Company and became the Oatlands Park Hotel (GR: TQ086653) in 1856 marked by the building of the brick lodge at the entrance from Monument Green. The hotel is set in landscaped gardens on the banks of Broad Water Lake and was used during the First World War to treat injured ANZAC (1) troops. It is said that the cedar tree that stands in the grounds was that which was planted by Charles I to commemorate the birth of his son Henry. It is also believed that this and other Cedar of Lebanon trees planted in the grounds of the original Oatlands Palace were the first to be imported into England. In 1922 the council built the Oatlands House Estate on part of the site. The hotel today is owned by Oatlands Investments who acquired it in 1986 and undertook significant restoration and refurbishment. The grounds are listed in the Register of Gardens and Parks of Special Historic Interest. (1) ANZAC - Australian and New Zealand Army Corps Famous guests at the South Western Hotel included Fanny Kemble (actress and author), Emile Zola (French novelist), Charles Dilke (politician and writer), Anthony Trollope (satirist) and Edward Lear (poet and artist) who stayed at the hotel to use the magnificent cedar trees planted there as reference for his nine feet (2.7m) wide painting Cedars of the Lebanon.
The area around the site of the palace is today known as Oatlands. The Parish of Oatlands is served by St Mary's Church which was built alongside an Iron Age burial ground. Dotted around the town in plots that were originally set in parkland are a number of buildings that were built to serve as hunting lodges for Henry VIII and his entourage. One, the Lincoln Arms (now The Minnow) in Thames Street, was owned by the Earl of Lincoln, and the king was entertained there quite frequently. The King’s Manor located in Oatlands Chase also served as a hunting lodge, and local historians claim that the king had a number of his extramarital dalliances here with Anne Boleyn whilst married to Catherine of Aragon. MORE ON WEYBRIDGE HISTORIC ESTATES Weybridge's Military Connections Weybridge has had a good number of worthy residents in its time. These include Arthur Herbert, the Earl of Torrington (1648-1716) who lived at Oatlands Park, and who as Admiral was court-martialled for signalling his Anglo-Dutch fleet to retreat in the Battle of Beachy Head (1690) when defeated by the French. He was acquitted. Admiral Sir Thomas Hopson (d1717), became a national hero when at the Battle of Vigo Bay (1702) he used his ship The Torbay to break through a nine foot (2.7 metres) thick boom the Spanish had laid down allowing passage into the bay and on to victory. His house stood where the hospital now is. Sir Home Riggs Popham (1762 - 1820), is attributed with implementing the Semaphore Telegraph Stations (referred to as Popham’s Semaphore) in 1816. A line of semaphore towers were constructed between London and the coast to allow urgent naval messages to be sent up the line by the use of two signalling arms that allowed a combination of 48 characters to be transmitted. The author John Austin (1790 - 1859) was an intellectual who made considerable contribution to the study of legal philosophy. The Plight of America's Slaves Fanny Kemble (1809 - 1893) was a highly successful actress from a renowned theatrical family who toured the stages of Britain and America. In America she met and married a wealthy planter, and having joined him to live on one of his estates was horrified to see with her own eyes the suffering of slaves that provided the basis of his wealth. She played an important part in publicising their plight with her Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation which was widely distributed by slavery abolitionists in 1863. Theatre & Books Local man R.C. Sherriff (1896 – 1975) became immortalised through his gripping account of life in the trenches on the Western Front in the First World War. Journey’s End was his seventh play written in 1928, and we can thank nearby Kingston Rowing Club for kick-starting his playwrighting skills as he wrote his first play to help raise funds for the club. Always preferring to bill himself as ‘RC’ I can reveal here that his full billing would have been Robert Cedric. Another writer adopting the habit of hiding behind his initials was E.M. Forster (1879 - 1970) who wrote A Passage to India, Howard’s End and A Room with a View at his house on Weybridge Green near the Ship Inn.
The D’Oyly Carte Opera Company has its headquarters on Eyot Island (GR: TQ076660) on the Thames approachable by a footbridge. Richard D’Oyly Carte (1844-1901) was a theatrical manager and theatre owner famous at the end of the 19th century for his productions of Gilbert & Sullivan’s operas which were hugely popular at the time. D’Oyly Carte was the brainchild behind the Savoy Theatre which he had built to his own specifications.
A passenger ferry operates during the summer months across the Thames just upstream of Eyot Island. The York Column An imposing memorial to Frederica, Duchess of York stands at Monument Green at the east end of Weybridge High Street. The history behind this column is an interesting one. In 1694 a monument was erected at the converging point of seven streets in St Giles, London. Constructed by the sculptor Edward Pierce the column was commissioned for the Seven Dials rebuilding in the area after the Great Fire of London (1666). On the pinnacle of the column was a Dial Stone with six facets each engraved with a sundial. The column was dismantled and sold in 1773 and removed to the Addlestone home of one James Paine, a stonemason and architect. Frederica, Duchess of York (1767 - 1820) who had a residence in Oatlands, Weybridge was a high profile figure in high society circles and had become a popular benefactress. She was the only daughter of King Frederick William II of Prussia and married Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany in 1791 whereupon she moved to Oatlands. The marriage was shortlived although the Duchess continued to live in Oatlands for thirty years. The Duchess was buried in Weybridge Old Church. Her tomb today can be found on the left-hand side of the path linking Church Street to St James Church. The monument was re-erected in Weybridge in 1822 by voluntary subscription after the death of the Duchess of York two years previously. The Dial Stone, now deemed to be too heavy to be returned to its original position at the top of the column, was replaced with a ducal coronet.
The Dial Stone became neglected and was used at one time as a mounting block for horse riders before being displayed at the old premises of the Weybridge Council Offices. It was moved finally to Weybridge Library. Monument Green, with the historic Ship Inn (now a hotel) was originally called Bull Ring Square up until the end of the 18th century in recognition of the bull-baiting (1) that took place on the Green. Rocque's map of c1770 shows the Green with a large expanse of open ground alongside much of which was parkland and estates owned by the Earl of Portmore and the Duke of Newcastle. A village pump stood by the green to the front of the Ship Inn. (1) Bull-baiting involved setting game dogs upon the unfortunate animal which had been enraged by the blowing of strong pepper up its nose. The 'sport' was not banned until the Cruelty to Animals Act of 1835.
Monument Green had been identified in 1990 as a conservation area by Elmbridge Borough Council under the definition: “an area of special architectural or historic interest the character or The area which lies around the greens was proposed for conservation because of its distinctive character straddling what was once the main access from the village to the confluence of the River Wey and the Thames. Buildings within the conservation area date mainly to the 19th century with only one modern structure, no. 5 Monument Green which dates to the 1960s. Apart from the Ship Inn the oldest is The Old House (no. 23) which is late 17th century. The area is surrounded by suburban housing of the late 19th and 20th centuries. Monument green is also designated as an Area of High Archaelogical Potential.
The Ship Inn retains some of the original 16th century fabric although most of the building was constructed in the 18th. It's name possibly derives from the medieval term 'shippin' which referred to a cattle shed. At the time of the Manor of Byfleet and Weybridge being granted to the Duke of Newcastle in 1760 the Inn was used for meetings of the manorial courts. Historic records show that cockfighting (2) was organised in a shed behind the Inn. The Ship was a busy coaching inn acting as a terminus and providing stables for a daily coach service to London with departures at 8.15 am and arrivals at 7.15 pm. During the Napoleonic Wars in the early 19th century the Inn was used as a recruitment centre for the army. (2) Cockfighting was a blood sport which involved a fight between two gamecocks (roosters) upon which wagers were placed on the outcome. The birds were specially bred for their aggression and stamina. Cockfighting was banned in England in 1849.
Estates of Note One of Britain’s most exclusive residential estates nestles to the south of the town in a wooded landscaped setting with its own golf course, one of the first developments in Britain to provide this as a feature. St George’s Hill (GR: TQ080625), established in 1911 by a local developer W. G Tarrant to provide 'country retreats for the wealthy gentlemen of London', attracts the rich and famous and is home to Sir Cliff Richard. John Lennon bought Kenwood in 1964 for an estimated £20,000 and lived there with his first wife Cynthia.Their son, Julian, at the age of five went to school at nearby Heath House. A bootleg (1) CD Lost in Weybridge featuring unreleased John Lennon sessions recorded at the house in 1968 was circulating in 2003. Other notables include Tom Jones and Ringo Starr, who lived in his mansion Sunny Heights with a large bar he'd named The Flying Cow. It is often said that the rich and famous settling in St George's Hill are dismayed to learn that simply owning a house on the estate doesn't automatically entitle them to membership of the exclusive St George's Golf Club. (1) A bootleg is an illegally made recording by unauthorised parties. The 900-acre estate has managed to develop a reputation for exclusivity and provides for a secure and private enclave with manned security gates. Each property is of at least an acre in size, a stipulation written into law by an Act of Parliament which also states that buildings can occupy no more than one fifth of the plot of land it stands in. Land on the hill is now (2007) commanding prices of around £3m per acre. One recently constructed (2005) mansion, Hartlands, now retains a market value of £14.5m for its seven-bedroom and five-reception room facilities. The house also boasts Europe's largest privately-owned sauna through which pure oxygen is reportedly pumped. Another new house, Waverley, currently (2007) being constructed has at its heart a 1,400 sq ft (130 sq m) kitchen, approximating to the size of a standard three-bedroomed house. The new mansions tend now to have as standard home cinemas, wine cellars and vaulted halls. One such property described by the estate agent handling the sale (March 2008) as an "individually designed luxurious family and entertaining home incorporating an array of the latest state of the art facilities" is Medomsley. The house provides its owners with a 'passive' infrared security system and CCTV, a 'seven speaker' cinema room, plasma screens, a 'temperature control bath', surround-sound system and 'ouside speakers'. The property also boasts an all-weather tennis court, hot-tub on the terrace and 'enjoys pleasant views towards St George's Hill golf course' - just as well given the price tag of £4,950,000. Nearby to the east is Whiteley Village (GR: TQ094625) a model village constructed in the early 1900’s by millionaire store owner William Whiteley as an idealised village to offer retirement homes to the less well off. The village is a self contained community having its own shop, pub and church, and the village is regarded of such architectural importance that the whole site is Grade II Listed.
An estate of 65 houses today remains a unique example of radical 1960's architecture that focused on cutting-edge design and sixties optimism. Templemere (GR: TQ087654) in Oatlands Village is set in 16.5 acres of lush gardens with a lake at its focal point. Designed in 1963 by architect Eric Lyons these Span houses are set in the grandest of the development company's developments in London and the South East and were designed to sit in harmony with their environment.
The houses were very high-tech for their time, as the son of one of the architects on the design team explains.
Another private residential estate in a picturesque setting is that built in the grounds of Harduemont House. Lakeside (GR: TQ090657), as the name implies, has at its focus Broadwater Lake above which a development of 19 town houses were erected by Span Developments and were put up for sale for £8,900 in 1965. The original house was built in the 1800s. The cedar tree standing by the entrance to Lakeside is said to be one of the original trees remaining from Oatlands Palace at the time of Charles I. Broadwater Lake or Broad Water (GR: TQ085654) as it is known locally was created and landscaped by the Duke of Newcastle in the 18th century. It is nearly a mile in length and was designed to mimic the look of a river although its original shape has been changed in ensuing centuries. The lake became severely polluted in the 19th century by discharges made from Weybridge's town sewage, although by 1875 an Inspector of Nuisances report indicates that the problem had been corrected. In colder times the lake was popular with ice skaters and today is a haven for wildlife. Backing on to Broad Water is an exclusive enclave of houses in Oatlands Mere (GR: TQ088655). Of two newly-built properties, which both have their own woodland and a private jetty on the lake, one was being marketed (June 2008) for £1,595,000. The three-storey house, which is set in just over half an acre, boasts 'a long woodland walk of approximately 330ft (100m) leading to a superb ten acre stretch of water boasting a mature head of carp'. A French King in Exile In Heath Road behind St. Charles Borromeo Church sits the original 19th century chapel built by one James Taylor. A curious looking building, with a dome wedged between four turrets, it was used by the exiled French king Louis-Philippe who used to worship here when staying at nearby Claremont near Esher. Louis was temporarily interred here along with his queen until their bodies could be safely disinterred to Dreux in France.
The Elmbridge Museum located above the library in Church Street is a great source of information on Weybridge and the area around it. The Diggers in Weybridge The location today of some of the grandest houses in the country was once the site where a radical new group of social reformers was formed. During the English Civil War in 1649 an English group of political agitators based themselves at St George's Hill in Weybridge, then an area of common land, and began to plant vegetables. The group, founded by Gerrard Winstanton as the True Levellers, was inspired by their belief in economic equality and wanted to instigate far-fetching social change by 'levelling' property and turning it over to small egalitarian rural communities who were focused on a simple agrarian lifestyle. The activists became known as 'The Diggers' due to the way they started to cultivate the land not owned by them.
The Diggers' radical activities came at a time of great social unrest in England with an ongoing struggle between Charles I and his supporters and those of the Parliamentarians under Cromwell, and food prices having risen to an all-time high, was leading to starvation amongst the poorest families all across the country. The Diggers pulled down all enclosures on the land they occupied and invited the local people to join them and their cause.
At first their activities attracted a lot of support with thousands of people rallying to their cause and The Diggers started to occupy other sites including Little Heath in nearby Cobham, and at locations in Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire. However very quickly the authorities and local landowners began to react, alarmed by the anarchist basis of the group's beliefs. The True Levellers contended that if all the common people of England would group into self-supporting communes the ruling classes would collapse and be forced to join them, or starve as there would be no-one left to work on their fields or pay them rent. Under severe pressure by local landowners the commander of the New Model Army, Sir Thomas Fairfax, arrived at St George's Hill and apprehended Winstanley and his right hand man William Everard. Fairfax withdrew once he had ascertained that the group were doing no physical harm to the local population and directed the landowners to use the courts to evict The Diggers.
The local Lord of the Manor however took the law into his own hands and in an effort to drive them from the land organised gangs to attack the group and destroy the shelters they had built. The group were finally taken to court and in a one-sided trial where they were not allowed to speak in their own defence, were found guilty and ordered to leave the land.
Some of the evicted Diggers moved to nearby Little Heath and at first seemed to be ignored by the Lord of the Manor. Eventually however they were again forcibly driven from the land, where they had managed to successfully cultivate 11 acres harvesting winter crops and building six communal houses. By April 1650 there were no Diggers active in the area. Today St George's Hill with its exclusive estate of private houses stands almost in defiance of its original history. Enthusiasts have established a Diggers Trail that provides key points of interest relating to the short-lived movement in Surrey. SEE DIGGERS TRAIL WEBSITE HERE
Beatle John Lennon's The house in the exclusive St George's Hill estate where Lennon worked on his songs in the attic using a system of tape recorders is for sale (November 2006) at £6m. Lennon lived at the house Kenwood with his first wife Cynthia and raised their young son Julian there for four years. Lennon bought the 17-room mock Tudor house for £20,000 in 1964 but moved out in 1968 when he started his affair with artist Yoko Ono. It has seven bedrooms, six bathrooms, a sauna and swimming pool. Source:
Official EU Bird Flu Laboratory Many of the health scares you read about in the press are either confirmed or denied through the work of a world-leading laboratory in New Haw just outside Weybridge. The Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA) has international reference laboratory status for a wide range of infectious and non-infectious diseases in farm animals. The lab is the EU's official reference source for avian influenza, the dreaded Asian or bird flu we seem to hear so much about nowadays, and are the experts that other science laboratories throughout Europe and South East Asia turn to for consultancy, advice and reagents. The VLA, founded in 1995, recently (2005) opened new state-of-the-art laboratories in the Stewart Stockman Building which have provided a ground-breaking service in enhancing the UK's contingency readiness for major animal disease outbreaks. The latest European outbreak (February 2007) this time in the UK in which 2,600 turkeys died at a poultry farm in Suffolk was confirmed after samples were analysed at the laboratory identifying the virus as the deadly H5N1 avian flu. 160,000 turkeys had to be destroyed in order to contain the outbreak. Defra has taken the step (November 2007) in a post-F&M Britain to announce that the laboratory is completely safe and will not be the source of any leaks like those seen at Pirbright in Surrey (MORE ON FOOT & MOUTH HERE). The statement was made following the latest outbreak of bird flu in Suffolk, and from where samples of culled animals are transported to the VLA for testing.
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