Newsletter, January 2006

The Gunpowder Mills in Winter

Parish Conference

On 26th May a Parish Conference was held in Albury Village Hall and was attended by delegates from Albury, St Martha and Wonersh Parish Councils. The purpose of the conference was to establish strong lines of communication among the Parish Councils which could lead to joint action on common issues which cross parish boundaries and which can be well-served by joint consultation and action. Issues discussed included the increasing volume and size of motor traffic in our parishes, road safety, and also the proposed development of the Albury Gas Field.

Proposal to Drill for Gas on Blackheath

Following a request by St Martha PC to be kept informed about the gas extraction proposal, at our last meeting of the Parish Council on 9th January 2006 there was a presentation by Star Energy who have submitted a planning application to develop an appraisal well site on Blackheath. This proposed activity is to investigate the extent of natural gas reserves with a view to commercial extraction. There was considerable public interest in the presentation and the meeting was exceptionally well attended by people from both within the Parish and beyond, and who were interested to learn more about the proposals.

For more information see: www.saveblackheathcommon.com.
Comments about the proposal can be emailed to Roger Hargreaves of SCC at mwcd@surreycc.gov.uk or sent to Roger Hargreaves, Head of Planning & Countryside, Room 385, County Hall, SCC, Kingston, KT1 2DY, before 10th February, 2006, quoting reference: GU05/02357.

Proposed Residential Development at Hayward's Yard

An ongoing planning issue is the proposed residential development at Hayward's yard, opposite the Percy Arms. The initial plan, which was rejected by Guildford Borough Council, then went to appeal. This was followed by an amended plan which is currently being considered. While supporting redevelopment of brownfield sites for housing, (and particularly for affordable housing) the Parish Council expressed concern on a number of points including: the design of the dwellings is not in keeping with the locality, the eastern end of the site is outside the settlement area, the high density of dwellings proposed for the site is twice that recommended by government, and there are already parking problems near the station and along this stretch of Dorking Road which would be exacerbated.

Network Rail and the Highways Department are currently trying to solve problems connected with parking near the station green and at the level crossing, following a number of dangerous incidents which included at least one car driving along the railway line.

Posts and Fencing Along Local lanes

Guildford Borough Council has recently made a splendid job of replacing the old post and rail fencing along Lockner Lane beside the Tillingbourne. However this has caused a problem for horse riders who can no longer access the stream to water their horses. The Parish Council is currently trying to negotiate a solution to this problem but this has been hampered by someone who took matters into their own hands and caused damage by sawing up and removing a section of the new fencing.

The recent insertion of some new posts in Halfpenny Lane by the Highways Department in consultation with Surrey Hills AONB and the Parish Council has been contentious and following a recent site meeting with interested parties, the Parish Council is currently trying to negotiate a more satisfactory outcome.

30 Years of Service to St Martha Parish Council

We would like to thank Councillor John Peake, who in May this year will have served on St Martha Parish Council for 30 years. John is Vice Chairman of the PC and is its longest-serving member. His first meeting as a Councillor was on 19th May 1976 and throughout these years John has served with dedication and commitment to St Martha Parish.

Coincidentally it is also 30 years since Harold Wakeford first began to care for the Garden of Remembrance at the War Memorial. Over the years, H Wakeford & Sons have made an excellent job of maintaining the garden for us.

Chilworth Manor

A Brief History of Chilworth Manor

By Chris Karney

The known history of Chilworth Manor could be said to start after the Norman Conquest when the church of St Martha-on-the-Hill and the surrounding lands, including the Manor site, came into the possession of Odo the warrior bishop of Bayeux, the half brother of William the Conqueror. By 1224 the twelfth century Norman church of St Martha was in the possession of the Austin Canons (not monks but priests living as a community) of Newark Priory near Ripley whose local priory was built on what was later to be the site of the Manor.

The 1537 Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII saw the demise of the Black Canons in England. The crown acquired the church land which was later sold by Elizabeth I and subsequently passed through a number of private owners until inherited by gunpowder-miller Vincent Randyll in the 1650's. Randyll then built his manor house on the old priory/monastery site. No trace of religious occupation is left today except for the two fish ponds which are reputed to be the monastery's stew ponds (an important source of protein in times when meat was a luxury and often forbidden by religious practice, such as during Lent). The legend of a tunnel between the church and the manor house may just be a folk memory of the linkage of the two sites, though Lady Heald claimed to know the location of the tunnel entrance at the Manor end.

The Randyll mansion is a sober building, of tawny coloured stone dressed in red brick, in keeping with a gentleman of those Puritan times. Seventy-five years later in 1725 the house was owned by Sarah Duchess of Marlborough who took time off from furnishing Blenheim Palace to order extensive building works at the manor.

The key to understanding the architecture of the manor is to realise that there was not one manor house but two quite separate buildings. The building built by Lady Sarah was to the north of the existing Randyll building. Almost perfectly rectangular, the new building had harmonious proportions and an elegant façade, which was embellished on the northern side with stuccoes and Ionic pilasters. There was no physical connection between the two buildings until the 1870s when a corridor (the Green Passage) was built together with an East Wing for a kitchen and servants' quarters. The original house became the Randyll Wing and the eighteenth century house the Marlborough Wing. Lady Sarah also built a walled garden to the north of her house alongside the existing seventeenth century garden.

The owner in the 1920s, Mr Alfred Mildmay, carried our extensive renovations. He rebuilt the linking corridor and associated east wing in a style which echoed the original 17th century architecture of the Randyll Wing, with tawny stone and red bricks throughout.

In the 1940s the house was bought by Sir Lionel and Lady Heald and is today owned by Graham and Mia Wrigley who are currently planning to carry out renovation and restoration work. Chilworth Manor is an important and historic feature of this Parish. For most of its history it has been a family home cared for and loved by its occupants and it is very fortunate that it will continue to remain a family home for the foreseeable future.

Vera's Path

By John Peake

This is a now a Public Footpath, number 578, which runs from the gap in the bungalows in Halfpenny Close, through the Southern edge of the Gunpowder Estate to the wooden bridge over the Tillingbourne Stream and then turns right to join the Dorking Road by the Infant School.

Prior to the establishment of this path as a Public Right of Way, it was partly a Permissive Right of Way and partly an unauthorised path. It ran over land owned by Wey Ltd. and Guildford Borough Council. Wey Ltd. owned a 44 metre section through the empty plots in Halfpenny Close and Guildford Borough Council owned the main section of 530 metres. This meant that these landowners could close the path at any time and refuse access to the public.

The change came due to the work of Miss Vera Edwards, a long-time resident of Halfpenny Close and, in her younger days, a keen and active member of the Rambler's Association. She knew that under the Highways Act of 1980, “a particular way may be presumed to be a highway if it can be shown that there have been 20 years of uninterrupted use by the public as of right, and that landowners have not taken steps to rebut this presumed dedication during the relevant period”. The establishment of a Public Footpath was opposed by Wey Ltd. and Guilford Borough Council raised concern about the possible detrimental effect of excessive use on the local flora and fauna.

Miss Edwards was active in collecting the required Public User Evidence and then presented it to Surrey County Council. A total of 39 public user evidence forms were completed showing that 45 claimants could give evidence of pedestrian use of the path from 1958 onwards. The users claimed that they had used the path for walking their dogs, going to school, shopping and for recreational purposes. (Do you remember Mrs. Stroud's shop by the school? It was a general food store with a little separate sweet shop at the side.) Twenty-eight of the claimants stated that they had known the path for 20 years or more. Later, at a meeting of Surrey County Council's Guildford Area Partnership Highways Sub-Committee on 22nd May 1991 a Map Modification Order was made establishing this new Public Footpath. There was then some delay due to objections from Wey Ltd. and the path was not officially inaugurated until after Miss Edward's death, reported at our meeting in July 1992.

I was interested in getting recognition for Miss Edward's efforts and had noted the naming of a number of paths on Exmoor. For instance, these include Dicky's Path near Dunkery Beacon, and Flora's Ride near Horner. Consequently I suggested the naming of our new Public Footpath at the meeting of St Martha Parish Council in July 1992. The idea was accepted, passed to the relevant authority and the path was then officially named ‘Vera's Path’ in her honour. Since that time the path has been very well used, with appropriate naming signposts placed at each end.

Chilworth Gunpowder Mills Group - 10th Annual Meeting

The 2005 meeting of the Gunpowder Mills Group was held on 3rd November at Chilworth Village Hall. The Gunpowder Mills are of great historic importance in the Parish and the annual public meeting always attracts much interest. Speakers this year included: Alison Davidson, Design and Conservation Manager at Guildford Borough Council; Andrew Norris, a member of the Gunpowder Mills Group; Chris Matcham of Surrey Wildlife Trust; and Professor Alan Crocker who has a special Interest in the Gunpowder Mills.

Alison Davidson referred to important findings uncovered by working parties during the year, including some at the site of the incorporating mills. She also spoke about wildlife conservation and efforts which are being made to protect buildings of historic interest to the west of Blacksmith Lane. Andrew Norris gave an illustrated presentation including an update on the condition of some of the Gunpowder Site structures, such as the magazines. He outlined a number of future activities including a memories recording week.

Chris Matcham spoke about nature conservation and the growing threat from the invasive and ever-encroaching Himalayan Balsam (Impatiens glandulifera). This is a shallow-rooted annual which grows to over 1m high. It is planned to organise a working party to pull it in June.

Prof. Alan Crocker gave a history of the short-lived Chilworth Wire Works to the west of Blacksmith Lane and details of the components and properties of metals used for wire drawing. He then gave a splendid demonstration of a wire drawing technique which required the man drawing the wire to be harnessed into a swing while holding pincers which gripped the wire. Alan's demonstrations are always entertaining and have previously included the making of gunpowder and also paper.

New Noticeboard

The Parish Council has recently had a new noticeboard installed in the bus shelter opposite the Percy Arms. We have now replaced two of our three noticeboards with updated designs which protect our notices and eliminate the clutter caused by unofficial posters etc.

The Parish Precept

St Martha Parish has traditionally prided itself on setting the lowest precept (Parish rate) of all the parishes in Guildford Borough with last year's Parish share at less than 1% of the Borough rate. It is with considerable regret that, faced with rising costs and depleted reserves, the Parish Council has had to make a substantial increase in its precept for 2006/2007. The additional revenue will enable the Council to meet its statutory obligations and to fund a number of projects for the benefit of all residents.

Dates of Forthcoming Parish Council Meetings for 2006

Meetings are held approximately every two months on Monday evenings at Chilworth Church of England Infant School at 7.15pm. Future meeting dates during 2006 are: 13th March, 15th May, 10th July, 11th September and 13th November.