132-520: Camberley / ˈ k æ m b ər l iː / is a town in northwest Surrey , England, around 29 miles (47 kilometres) south-west of central London . It is in the Borough of Surrey Heath and is close to the county boundaries with Hampshire and Berkshire . Known originally as "Cambridge Town", it was assigned its current name by the General Post Office in 1877. Until the start of the 19th century,
264-426: A decline in footfall and increases in vacancies as shoppers in affluent areas move their spending online and towards leisure and experience activities as opposed to traditional retail. Major employers include Siemens , which moved its UK headquarters to the area in 2007. Burlington Group who moved into Watchmoor Park in 2009 and Sun Microsystems , until they were taken over by Oracle in 2010, whose UK headquarters
396-454: A documented history of use as a blue dye and medicinal plant. Its genus name, Isatis , derives from the ancient Greek word for the plant, ἰσάτις . It is occasionally known as Asp of Jerusalem . Woad is also the name of a blue dye produced from the leaves of the plant. Woad is native to the steppe and desert zones of the Caucasus , Central Asia to Eastern Siberia and Western Asia but
528-845: A dye shop with remains of both woad and madder have been excavated and dated to the 10th century. In medieval times, centres of woad cultivation lay in Lincolnshire and Somerset in England, Jülich and the Erfurt area in Thuringia in Germany, Piedmont and Tuscany in Italy, and Gascogne , Normandy , the Somme Basin (from Amiens to Saint-Quentin ), Brittany and, above all, Languedoc in France. This last region, in
660-412: A few years later at least part of it was subject to Mercia, since in 673–675 further lands were given to Chertsey Abbey by Frithuwald , a local sub-king ( subregulus ) ruling under the sovereignty of Wulfhere of Mercia . A decade later Surrey passed into the hands of King Caedwalla of Wessex, who also conquered Kent and Sussex, and founded a monastery at Farnham in 686. The region remained under
792-662: A junior school again in 1994. The Royal Albert Orphan Asylum was founded in Camberley in 1864 and the first 100 children were admitted in December of that year. Originally a mixed institution, girls were not admitted after 1903. It was renamed the Royal Albert School in 1942 and its management was merged with that of the Royal Alexandra School in 1948. The following year, an Act of Parliament was passed to formally amalgamate
924-566: A national average of 11.8% and as such is one of the few counties not to recommend new woodlands in the subordinate planning authorities' plans.In 2020 the Surrey Heath district had the highest proportion of tree cover in England at 41%. Surrey also contains England's principal concentration of lowland heath , on sandy soils in the west of the county. Agriculture not being intensive, there are many commons and access lands, together with an extensive network of footpaths and bridleways including
1056-492: A purpose-built theatre was constructed, opening in May 1960. Much of the rest of the school was rebuilt during the 1970s and the new buildings were opened by Princess Margaret in 1979. The school relocated to Birmingham in 2004, with the aim of providing professional dance training outside of the southeast of England. The former school site in Camberley was redeveloped as Elmhurst Court. Surrey Surrey ( / ˈ s ʌr i / )
1188-550: A raiding force at Thanet , but suffered heavy losses including their ealdorman , Huda. In 892 Surrey was the scene of another major battle when a large Danish army, variously reported at 200, 250 and 350 ship-loads, moved west from its encampment in Kent and raided in Hampshire and Berkshire. Withdrawing with their loot, the Danes were intercepted and defeated at Farnham by an army led by Alfred
1320-566: A residence for the Bishop of Winchester , while other stone castles were constructed in the same period at Bletchingley by the de Clares and at Reigate by the Warennes. During King John 's struggle with the barons , Magna Carta was issued in June 1215 at Runnymede near Egham . John's efforts to reverse this concession reignited the war, and in 1216 the barons invited Prince Louis of France to take
1452-436: A seed impression on an Anglo-Saxon pot. The authors theorize that vitrum could have actually referred to copper(II) sulfate 's naturally occurring variant chalcanthite or to the mineral azurite . A later study concluded the amount was "not of sufficient magnitude to provide convincing evidence that the copper was deliberately applied as paint". Woad was an important dyeing agent in much of Europe and parts of England during
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#17328451192141584-518: A tattoo pigment have claimed that it does not work well, and is actually caustic and causes scarring when put into the skin. It has also been claimed that Caesar was referring to some form of copper - or iron -based pigment. Analysis done on the Lindow Man did return evidence of copper. The same study also noted that the earliest definite reference to the woad plant in the British Isles dates to
1716-602: A woad mill model, photos and other items used in woad production. A major market for woad was at Görlitz in Lausitz. The citizens of the five Thuringian Färberwaid (dye woad) towns of Erfurt , Gotha , Tennstedt , Arnstadt and Langensalza had their own charters. In Erfurt, the woad-traders gave the funds to found the University of Erfurt . Traditional fabric is still printed with woad in Thuringia, Saxony and Lusatia today: it
1848-562: Is a ceremonial county in South East England . It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the west. The largest settlement is Woking . The county has an area of 1,663 km (642 square miles) and a population of 1,214,540. Much of the north of the county forms part of the Greater London Built-up Area , which includes
1980-473: Is a non-metropolitan county with eleven districts. The county historically included much of south-west Greater London but excluded what is now the borough of Spelthorne , which was part of Middlesex . It is one of the home counties . The defining geographical feature of the county is the North Downs , a chalk escarpment which runs from the south-west to north-east and divides the densely populated north from
2112-408: Is a late 1980s development anchored by rent free stores such as Sports Direct subsidiary House of Fraser . The High Street has a number of shops as well as bars and clubs, many of the latter being more recent additions. There are a number of secondary shopping streets including Park Street, Princess Way and parts of London Road, including the "Atrium" development. Camberley's town centre is suffering
2244-533: Is at the Woking Borough Council offices. Camberley Fire Brigade was founded in May 1889 and was initially equipped with a hand-operated Merryweather pump. In 1900, the brigade moved to The Avenue and relocated to the current station in London Road in 1967. In 2023, the local fire authority is Surrey County Council and the statutory fire service is Surrey Fire and Rescue Service . An ambulance service
2376-560: Is described in The History of Woad and the Medieval Woad Vat (1998) ISBN 0-9534133-0-6 . Woad is biodegradable and safe in the environment. In Germany, there have been attempts to use it to protect wood against decay without applying dangerous chemicals. Production of woad is increasing in the UK for use in inks , particularly for inkjet printers , and dyes. In certain locations,
2508-523: Is divided in two by the chalk ridge of the North Downs , running east–west. The ridge is pierced by the rivers Wey and Mole , tributaries of the Thames, which formed the northern border of the county before modern redrawing of county boundaries, which has left part of its north bank within the county. To the north of the Downs the land is mostly flat, forming part of the basin of the Thames. The geology of this area
2640-659: Is dominated by London Clay in the east, Bagshot Sands in the west and alluvial deposits along the rivers. To the south of the Downs in the western part of the county are the sandstone Surrey Hills , while further east is the plain of the Low Weald , rising in the extreme southeast to the edge of the hills of the High Weald. The Downs and the area to the south form part of a concentric pattern of geological deposits which also extends across southern Kent and most of Sussex, predominantly composed of Wealden Clay , Lower Greensand and
2772-604: Is known as Blaudruck (literally, "blue print(ing)"). In the Marche region, the cultivation of the plant was an important resource for the Duchy of Urbino in Italy. To fully understand the importance of the ford industry in the State of Urbino , it is enough to read the comprehensive Chapters of the art of wool in 1555, which dictated prescriptions regarding the cultivation and trade of woad, whether in loaves or macerated (powdered). Testifying to
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#17328451192142904-415: Is linked by bus to local destinations in west Surrey, northeast Hampshire and southeast Berkshire. Companies operating routes through the town include: Thames Valley Buses to Bracknell; Arriva Guildford & West Surrey to Guildford via Woking; Stagecoach South to Aldershot and Farnborough; and White Bus to Ascot and Staines . The M3 runs to the south of Camberley and is accessed via junction 4 at
3036-505: Is linked to Deepcut via the B3015. A £1.2M shared cycle and footpath between Blackwater station and Watchmoor was completed in 2017 and a new bike-parking facility opened in Princess Way in the town centre in 2021. In the same year, Surrey County Council consulted on a scheme to improve local cycling infrastructure, focused on a route between Camberley and Frimley. The first school to open in
3168-527: Is now also found in South-Eastern and Central Europe and western North America . Since ancient times, woad was an important source of blue dye and was cultivated throughout Europe, especially in Western and Southern Europe. In medieval times, there were important woad-growing regions in England, Germany and France. Towns such as Toulouse became prosperous from the woad trade. Woad was eventually replaced by
3300-616: Is recorded in Camberley in 1898. Initially it operated with a horse-drawn vehicle, but the service was equipped with a motorised ambulance during the 1920s. Patients were charged a fee for using the service, which was affiliated to the St John Ambulance and the British Red Cross . In 2023, the nearest ambulance station to Camberley is at Farnborough. In 2023, the nearest hospital is Frimley Park Hospital around 1.4 mi (2.3 km) from Camberley. There are three GP surgeries in
3432-613: Is the Thames , which historically formed the boundary between the county and Middlesex . As a result of the 1965 boundary changes , many of the Surrey boroughs on the south bank of the river were transferred to Greater London , shortening the length associated with the county. The Thames now forms the Surrey– Berkshire border between Runnymede and Staines-upon-Thames , before flowing wholly within Surrey to Sunbury , from which point it marks
3564-501: Is used as an herbal medicinal tea in China for colds and tonsillar ailments. Used as a tea, it has a brownish appearance and (unlike most Chinese medicines) is mildly sweet in taste. The dye chemical extracted from woad is indigo , the same dye extracted from "true indigo", Indigofera tinctoria , but in a lower concentration. Following the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India by
3696-637: The Nox gaga and Oht gaga peoples in the Tribal Hidage may refer to two groups living in the vicinity of Surrey. Together their lands were assessed at a total of 7,000 hides , equal to the assessment for Sussex or Essex . Surrey may have formed part of a larger Middle Saxon kingdom or confederacy, also including areas north of the Thames. The name Surrey is derived from Sūþrīge (or Suthrige ), meaning "southern region" (while Bede refers to it as Sudergeona ) and this may originate in its status as
3828-540: The A30 ) was known as a haunt of highwaymen , such as William Davies – also known as the Golden Farmer – and Claude Duval . The land remained largely undeveloped and uncultivated due to a sandy topsoil making it unsuitable for farming. In A tour thro' the whole island of Great Britain , written between 1724 and 1726, Daniel Defoe described the area as barren and sterile; "a mark of the just resentment shew'd by Heaven upon
3960-597: The Battle of Hastings , the Norman army advanced through Kent into Surrey, where they defeated an English force which attacked them at Southwark and then burned that suburb. Rather than try to attack London across the river, the Normans continued west through Surrey, crossed the Thames at Wallingford in Berkshire and descended on London from the north-west. As was the case across England,
4092-577: The Battle of Lewes in Sussex. Although the rebels were victorious, soon after the battle royal forces captured and destroyed Bletchingley Castle, whose owner Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Hertford and Gloucester , was de Montfort's most powerful ally. By the 14th century, castles were of dwindling military importance, but remained a mark of social prestige, leading to the construction of castles at Starborough near Lingfield by Lord Cobham , and at Betchworth by John Fitzalan , whose father had recently inherited
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4224-505: The College of God's Gift in Dulwich with an endowment including an art collection, which was later expanded and opened to the public in 1817, becoming Britain's first public art gallery . Isatis tinctoria Isatis tinctoria , also called woad ( / ˈ w oʊ d / ), dyer's woad, dyer's-weed , or glastum , is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae (the mustard family) with
4356-551: The Hochdorf Chieftain's Grave and Hohmichele contained textiles dyed with woad. Melo and Rondão write that woad was known "as far back as the time of the ancient Egyptians, who used it to dye the cloth wrappings applied for the mummies." Skelton states that one of the early dyes discovered by the ancient Egyptians was "blue woad (Isatis tinctoria)." Lucas writes, "What has been assumed to have been Indian Indigo on ancient Egyptian fabrics may have been woad." Hall states that
4488-529: The Hôtel d'Assézat . One merchant, Jean de Bernuy, a Spanish Jew who had fled the Spanish Inquisition , was credit-worthy enough to be the main guarantor of the ransomed King Francis I after his capture at the Battle of Pavia by Charles V of Spain . Much of the woad produced here was used for the cloth industry in southern France, but it was also exported via Bayonne , Narbonne and Bordeaux to Flanders,
4620-538: The Neolithic period. The seeds have been found in the cave of l'Audoste, Bouches-du-Rhône , France. Impressions of seeds of Färberwaid (Isatis tinctoria L.) or German indigo, of the plant family Brassicaceae , have been found on pottery in the Iron Age settlement of Heuneburg , Germany. Seed and pod fragments have also been found in an Iron Age pit at Dragonby, North Lincolnshire, United Kingdom. The Hallstatt burials of
4752-571: The North Downs Way , a scenic long-distance path . Accordingly, Surrey provides many rural and semi-rural leisure activities, with a large horse population in modern terms. The highest elevation in Surrey is Leith Hill near Dorking . It is 295 m (968 ft) above sea level and is the second highest point in southeastern England after Walbury Hill in West Berkshire which is 297 m (974 ft). The longest river to enter Surrey
4884-695: The River Eden , a tributary of the Medway , are in Tandridge District , in east Surrey. The River Colne and its anabranch , the Wraysbury River , make a brief appearance in the north of the county to join the Thames at Staines. Like the rest of the British Isles , Surrey has a maritime climate with warm summers and cool winters. The Met Office weather station at Wisley , about 6.5 miles (10.5 km) to
5016-478: The Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst , in 1812. A settlement known as "New Town" grew in the area around the college which in 1831 was renamed Yorktown, after Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany . At this time, the population was 702. In 1848, the first parish church of St. Michael, Yorktown was built by Henry Woodyer , in an area formerly part of Frimley , itself only a chapelry of Ash . Later,
5148-482: The Staff College was established to the east of the academy, and a property speculator built the nearby Cambridge Hotel. During the 19th century, Camberley grew in size. This was given added impetus with the arrival of the branch-line railway and railway station in 1878 and a reputation for healthy air, due to the vast number of pine trees, which were said to be good for those suffering from pulmonary disorders . By
5280-491: The de Clare family. In 1088, King William II granted William de Warenne the title of Earl of Surrey as a reward for Warenne's loyalty during the rebellion that followed the death of William I . When the male line of the Warennes became extinct in the 14th century, the earldom was inherited by the Fitzalan Earls of Arundel . The Fitzalan line of Earls of Surrey died out in 1415, but after other short-lived revivals in
5412-469: The suburbs within the M25 motorway as well as Woking (103,900), Guildford (77,057), and Leatherhead (32,522). The west of the county contains part of built-up area which includes Camberley , Farnham , and Frimley and which extends into Hampshire and Berkshire. The south of the county is rural, and its largest settlements are Horley (22,693) and Godalming (22,689). For local government purposes Surrey
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5544-455: The "Old Dean", "Parkside", "St Michael's", "St Paul's", "Town" and "Watchetts" wards. The Brough of Surrey Heath is twinned with Sucy-en-Brie , France and with Bietigheim-Bissingen , Germany. The average level of accommodation in the region composed of detached houses was 28%, the average that was apartments was 22.6%. The remaining households not accounted for above were temporary/caravans and shared households. The proportion of households in
5676-459: The 15th century the title was conferred in 1483 on the Howard family , who still hold it. However, Surrey was not a major focus of any of these families' interests. Guildford Castle , one of many fortresses originally established by the Normans to help them subdue the country, was rebuilt in stone and developed as a royal palace in the 12th century. Farnham Castle was built during the 12th century as
5808-460: The 16th century and collapsed in the 17th, harmed by falling standards and competition from more effective producers in other parts of England. The iron industry in the Weald, whose rich deposits had been exploited since prehistoric times, expanded and spread from its base in Sussex into Kent and Surrey after 1550. New furnace technology stimulated further growth in the early 17th century, but this hastened
5940-661: The 16th-century Dissolution of the Monasteries . Now fallen into disuse, some English counties had nicknames for those raised there such as a 'tyke' from Yorkshire , or a 'yellowbelly' from Lincolnshire . In the case of Surrey, the term was a 'Surrey capon', from Surrey's role in the later Middle Ages as the county where chickens were fattened up for the London meat markets. Under the early Tudor kings, magnificent royal palaces were constructed in northeastern Surrey, conveniently close to London. At Richmond an existing royal residence
6072-470: The 1980s, and the actress, Simone Ashley , who was born in the town in 1995. There are several works of public art in Camberley, including The Concrete Elephant , which was installed in 1964 on the London Road, having been commissioned for the Lord Mayor's Show of the previous year. Into Our First World , a sculpture by Ken Ford , is on display outside the borough council offices on Knoll Road. Camberley
6204-594: The A30 national route and M3 motorway (junction 4 exit). It is at the northern edge of the Blackwater Valley conurbation, 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Farnborough , 8 miles (13 km) south of Bracknell and 17 miles (27 km) east of Basingstoke . The town of Blackwater , 3 km (1.9 mi) to the west is identified by the Government Statistical Service (including its ONS office) as within
6336-461: The Basingstoke Canal company agreed that the water company could abstract up to 910,000 L (200,000 imp gal) per day from the canal, at a cost of 1 penny per 4,500 L (1,000 imp gal). In 2023, the drinking water supply for Camberley is provided by South East Water . Initially, wastewater from Camberley was disposed of in cesspits or discharged to local streams. In
6468-549: The Britanni used to colour their bodies blue with vitrum , a word that means primarily ' glass ' , but also the domestic name for the woad ( Isatis tinctoria ), besides the Gaulish loanword glastum (from Proto-Celtic * glastos ' green ' ). The connection seems to be that both glass and the woad are "water-like" ( Latin : vitrum is from Proto-Indo-European *wed-ro- , ' water-like ' ). In terms of usage,
6600-714: The Camberley Built-up-Area but is in the Hart District of Hampshire and has its own town council (both take in Hawley ). Camberley primarily lies on the Bagshot Beds , deposited in the Eocene . This sandy layer contains seams of clay and areas of pebble gravel. Before the 19th century, the area now occupied by Camberley was referred to as Bagshot or Frimley Heath. An Iron Age fort, among many examples known as Caesar's Camp,
6732-602: The Camberley area, a National school , was established in 1818. Originally housed in a cottage close to the Royal Military College, one of its early pupils was the composer, Arthur Sullivan . In 1871, it moved to a site adjacent to the St Michael's Church vicarage. By 1872, there was a second school in Yorktown, which may have been a school for nonconformists , although its origins are uncertain. The first Cordwalles School
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#17328451192146864-401: The Catuvellauni died and war broke out between his sons and King Verica of the Atrebates. The Atrebates were defeated, their capital captured and their lands made subject to Togodumnus , king of the Catuvellauni, ruling from Camulodunum ( Colchester ). Verica fled to Gaul and appealed for Roman aid. The Atrebates were allied with Rome during the invasion of Britain in AD 43. During
6996-548: The Earldom of Surrey. Though Reigate and Bletchingley remained modest settlements, the role of their castles as local centres for the two leading aristocratic interests in Surrey had enabled them to gain borough status by the early 13th century. As a result, they gained representation in Parliament when it became established towards the end of that century, alongside the more substantial urban settlements of Guildford and Southwark. Surrey's third sizeable town, Kingston, despite its size, borough status and historical association with
7128-434: The East Saxon diocese of London , indicating that it was under East Saxon rule at that time, but was later transferred to the West Saxon diocese of Winchester . Its most important religious institution throughout the Anglo-Saxon period and beyond was Chertsey Abbey , founded in 666. At this point Surrey was evidently under Kentish domination, as the abbey was founded under the patronage of King Ecgberht of Kent. However,
7260-417: The Englishmen's pride… horrid and frightful to look on, not only good for little, but good for nothing". A brick tower was built on top of The Knoll in the 1770s, by John Norris of Blackwater. It may have been used for communications but there is no firm evidence. The remains are now known as The Obelisk . The town as it now stands has its roots in the building of The Royal Military College, which later became
7392-478: The Great 's son Edward, the future King Edward the Elder , and fled across the Thames towards Essex. Surrey remained safe from attack for over a century thereafter, due to its location and to the growing power of the West Saxon, later English, kingdom. Kingston was the scene for the coronations of Æthelstan in 924 and of Æthelred the Unready in 978, and, according to later tradition, also of other 10th-century Kings of England. The renewed Danish attacks during
7524-447: The Kentish rebel army. In 1082 a Cluniac abbey was founded at Bermondsey by Alwine, a wealthy English citizen of London. Waverley Abbey near Farnham, founded in 1128, was the first Cistercian monastery in England. Over the next quarter-century monks spread out from here to found new houses, creating a network of twelve monasteries descended from Waverley across southern and central England. The 12th and early 13th centuries also saw
7656-474: The Latin vitrum is more often used to refer to glass rather than woad. The use of the word for the woad might also be understood as "coloured like glass", applied to the plant and the dye made from it. Gillian Carr conducted experiments using indigo pigment derived from woad mixed with different binders to make body paint. The resulting paints yielded colours from "grey-blue, through intense midnight blue, to black". People with modern experiences with woad as
7788-419: The Low Countries, Italy, and above all Britain and Spain. After cropping the woad eddish could be let out for grazing sheep. The woad produced in Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire in the 19th century was shipped out from the Port of Wisbech , Spalding and Boston , both the last to northern mills and the USA. The last portable woad mill was at Parson Drove , Cambridgeshire, Wisbech & Fenland Museum has
7920-409: The Main Square shopping centre. Park Street has been pedestrianised and landscaped as part of the development. Leisure facilities include a nine-screen cinema, a bowling alley , a health and fitness club, cafés and restaurants. Various elements of The Atrium was opened during 2008, with the final elements, the main cinema and bowling alley, opening in October and November 2008, respectively. In 2009,
8052-476: The Midlands in the mid-17th century, but the manufacture of paper and gunpowder proved more enduring. For a time in the mid-17th century the Surrey mills were the main producers of gunpowder in England. A glass industry also developed in the mid-16th century on the southwestern borders of Surrey, but had collapsed by 1630, as the wood-fired Surrey glassworks were surpassed by emerging coal-fired works elsewhere in England. The Wey Navigation , opened in 1653,
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#17328451192148184-447: The Mortimer School of Dancing in 1923. It adopted its current name in 1947, taken from Elmhurst House in Camberley, where it was based. During the Second World War, Sadlers Wells and Rambert Schools were evacuated to Elmhurst and the pupils of all three schools performed to entertain soldiers billeted locally and to raise money for the war effort. After the end of the war, pupil numbers began to expand (from 60 in 1933 to 240 in 1947) and
8316-401: The Old English lee meaning "shelter" or lea meaning "pasture" or "meadow"). As Cambridge Town, the settlement was originally named for Prince George, Duke of Cambridge , who laid the foundation stone of the Staff College in December 1859. Similarly, Yorktown (sometimes spelled York Town), to the west of Camberley, was named for Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany , who authorised
8448-436: The Roman era, the only important settlement within the historic area of Surrey was the London suburb of Southwark (now part of Greater London ), but there were small towns at Staines , Ewell , Dorking , Croydon and Kingston upon Thames . Remains of Roman rural temples have been excavated on Farley Heath and near Wanborough and Titsey , and possible temple sites at Chiddingfold , Betchworth and Godstone . The area
8580-416: The Surrey–Greater London border as far as Surbiton . The River Wey is the longest tributary of the Thames above London. Other tributaries of the Thames with their courses partially in Surrey include the Mole , the Addlestone branch and Chertsey branch of the River Bourne (which merge shortly before joining the Thames), and the Hogsmill River , which drains Epsom and Ewell . The upper reaches of
8712-475: The Unicorn (1495–1505), though typically it is the dark blue of the woad that has lasted best. Medieval uses of the dye were not limited to textiles. For example, the illustrator of the Lindisfarne Gospels ( c. 720 ) used a woad-based pigment for blue paint. As does the late 13th century North Italian manual on book illumination Liber colorum secundum magistrum Bernardum describe its usage. In Viking Age levels at archaeological digs at York ,
8844-413: The ancient Egyptians created their blue dye "by using indigotin, otherwise known as woad." A dye known as סטיס , satis in Aramaic , is mentioned in the Babylonian Talmud . Celtic blue is a shade of blue, also known as glas celtig in Welsh , or gorm ceilteach in both the Irish language and in Scottish Gaelic . Julius Caesar reported (in Commentarii de Bello Gallico ) that
8976-412: The area was a sparsely populated area of infertile land known as Bagshot or Frimley Heath. Following the construction of the Royal Military College at Sandhurst in 1812, a small settlement grew up to the south and became known as Yorktown (also spelled York Town). A second British Army institute, the Staff College , opened to the east in 1862, and the nucleus of Cambridge Town was laid out at around
9108-493: The borough council notes that rail journey times to London from Camberley are slow ( c. 72 – c. 80 minutes) and that many local residents choose to drive to Brookwood , Farnborough (Main) and Sunningdale for faster, direct services. Blackwater railway station is immediately to the west of Yorktown and is managed by Great Western Railway , which operates all services. Trains run to Reading via Wokingham and to Gatwick Airport via Guildford. Camberley
9240-408: The capital boosted the wealth and population of the surrounding area, but urban development elsewhere was sapped by the overshadowing predominance of London and by the lack of direct access to the sea. Population pressure in the 12th and 13th centuries initiated the gradual clearing of the Weald , the forest spanning the borders of Surrey, Sussex and Kent, which had hitherto been left undeveloped due to
9372-445: The chalk of the Downs. Much of Surrey is in the Metropolitan Green Belt . It contains valued reserves of mature woodland (reflected in the official logo of Surrey County Council, a pair of interlocking oak leaves). Among its many notable beauty spots are Box Hill , Leith Hill , Frensham Ponds , Newlands Corner and Puttenham & Crooksbury Commons . Surrey is the most wooded county in England, with 22.4% coverage compared to
9504-486: 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). Camberley's town centre is host to The Square shopping centre (previously called The Mall), controversially purchased by Surrey Heath Borough Council for £110 million in 2016. This
9636-405: The conquest of England by Cnut. Cnut's death in 1035 was followed by a period of political uncertainty, as the succession was disputed between his sons. In 1036 Alfred , son of King Æthelred, returned from Normandy , where he had been taken for safety as a child at the time of Cnut's conquest of England. It is uncertain what his intentions were, but after landing with a small retinue in Sussex he
9768-561: The construction of the M3 motorway and the Blackwater Valley relief road. The area has a strong links to the performing arts - Camberley Theatre was opened in 1966 and Elmhurst Ballet School was based in the town until 2004. Among the former residents are the Victorian composer, Arthur Sullivan , who attended Yorktown School as a child, the musician Rick Wakeman , who lived in Camberley during
9900-665: The construction of the Royal Military College in December 1802. The dukes were commanders-in-chief of the British Army at the times when the two colleges were founded. The inns, the Duke of York and The Cambridge Hotel, were among the first buildings to be constructed in Yorktown and Camberley respectively. Several of the street names in Camberley and Yorktown are named for early local landowners, including Teckels Avenue (after John Teckel, builder of Teckels Castle), Stanhope Road (after
10032-514: The control of Caedwalla's successor Ine in the early 8th century. Its political history for most of the 8th century is unclear, although West Saxon control may have broken down around 722, but by 784–785 it had passed into the hands of King Offa of Mercia. Mercian rule continued until 825, when following his victory over the Mercians at the Battle of Ellandun , King Egbert of Wessex seized control of Surrey, along with Sussex, Kent and Essex. It
10164-530: The county administration was moved to Newington in 1791 and to Kingston upon Thames in 1893. The county council's headquarters were outside the county's boundaries from 1 April 1965, when Kingston and other areas were included within Greater London by the London Government Act 1963 , until the administration moved to Reigate at the start of 2021. Before Roman times the area today known as Surrey
10296-525: The destruction of foxes and other wildlife. After debate and delay (plans having been discussed for over half a decade), in 2006, a 7-acre (2.8 ha) mixed-use development west of Park Street named The Atrium was built of residential, leisure and retail buildings with wide pedestrianised areas and 683 public parking spaces. Its 217 mid-rise apartments split into courtyards in the Barcelona style. Fourteen new retail units face directly onto Park Street, opposite
10428-539: The development of a chemical process to synthesize the pigment, both the woad and natural indigo industries collapsed in the first years of the 20th century. The last commercial harvest of woad until recent times occurred in 1932, in Lincolnshire , Britain. Small amounts of woad are now grown in the UK and France to supply craft dyers. The classic book about woad is The Woad Plant and its Dye by J. B. Hurry, Oxford University Press of 1930, which contains an extensive bibliography. A method for producing blue dye from woad
10560-484: The difficulty of farming on its heavy clay soil. Surrey's most significant source of prosperity in the later Middle Ages was the production of woollen cloth, which emerged during that period as England's main export industry. The county was an early centre of English textile manufacturing, benefiting from the presence of deposits of fuller's earth , the rare mineral composite important in the process of finishing cloth, around Reigate and Nutfield . The industry in Surrey
10692-498: The disastrous reign of Æthelred led to the devastation of Surrey by the army of Thorkell the Tall , which ravaged all of southeastern England in 1009–1011. The climax of this wave of attacks came in 1016, which saw prolonged fighting between the forces of King Edmund Ironside and the Danish king Cnut , including an English victory over the Danes somewhere in northeastern Surrey, but ended with
10824-433: The end of the century the population had reached 8,400. Since then, the town has absorbed the original settlement of Yorktown, which is now regarded as part of Camberley. The Southern Scott Scramble, the first known motorcycle scrambling event, took place on Camberley Heath on 29 March 1924. The event, won by A.B. Sparks, attracted a crowd in the thousands and is considered to be the first instance of what later developed in
10956-544: The end of the war. The site was used by Ballard School in the 1950s. Barossa Secondary School began teaching its first pupils in September 1963, although the official opening ceremony did not take place for another two years. The secondary modern school , on the Old Dean estate, was constructed on a site adjacent to the former Ballard School. Frimley and Camberley Grammar School opened in 1931 on Frimley Road. The school moved to
11088-438: The establishment of Augustinian priories at Merton , Newark , Tandridge , Southwark and Reigate. A Dominican friary was established at Guildford by Henry III's widow Eleanor of Provence , in memory of her grandson who had died at Guildford in 1274. In the 15th century a Carthusian priory was founded by King Henry V at Sheen . These would all perish, along with the still important Benedictine abbey of Chertsey , in
11220-458: The extinction of the business as the mines were worked out. However, this period also saw the emergence of important new industries, centred on the valley of the Tillingbourne , south-east of Guildford, which often adapted watermills originally built for the now moribund cloth industry. The production of brass goods and wire in this area was relatively short-lived, falling victim to competitors in
11352-549: The family of Griselda Stanhope, Teckel’s wife) and Sparvell Walk (after David Sparvell, a town alderman). Watchetts Drive takes its name from a former manor field (Watchetts is derived from woad scaet , meaning land where woad grows). Osnaburgh Parade is named after Osnaburgh , an estate in Fife held by Prince Frederick. Camberley is in the far west of Surrey, adjacent to the boundaries of Hampshire 's Hart district and Berkshire 's Bracknell Forest district. It lies directly between
11484-574: The former Ballard School, adjacent to the then new Barossa Secondary School in 1967. The original site was then used as an annex for France until 1971. The buildings have since been used for Watchetts School, now South Camberley Primary and Nursery School. Kings International College was opened as France Hill Secondary School in 1947. For the first eleven years, it was based at Franz Hill House, which had been built c. 1840 . The school moved to its current location on Watchetts Avenue in 1959 and adopted its present name in 2001. Collingwood College
11616-534: The importance that this crop had in the economy in addition to the archival documents was the identification of a hundred millstones surveyed by Delio Bischi in the province of Pesaro and Urbino, the original use of which had become completely unknown as their memory had been lost. The woad plant's roots are used in Traditional Chinese medicine to make a medicine known as banlangen ( bǎnlán'gēn 板蓝根 ) that purports to have antiviral properties. Banlangen
11748-440: The largest landowners in Surrey (then Sudrie ) at the end of Edward's reign were Chertsey Abbey and Harold Godwinson , Earl of Wessex and later king, followed by the estates of King Edward himself. Apart from the abbey, most of whose lands were within the shire, Surrey was not the principal focus of any major landowner's holdings, a tendency which was to persist in later periods. Given the vast and widespread landed interests and
11880-578: The medieval period. However, dye traders began to import indigo during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, which threatened to replace locally grown woad as the primary blue dye. The translation of vitrum as woad may date to this period. Woad was one of the three staples of the European dyeing industry, along with weld (yellow) and madder (red). Chaucer mentions their use by the dyer ("litestere") in his poem The Former Age : The three colours can be seen together in tapestries such as The Hunt of
12012-555: The mid-1880s a drainage system was installed, leading to a sewage farm at Yorktown. Following a report in 1902, which condemned the state of the town sewers, new pipework was installed and a new wastewater treatment works opened in Yorktown in 1907. In 2023, Camberley Sewage Treatment Works is operated by Thames Water . The postal service to Yorktown began in 1844 and the first postmaster was appointed in 1890. The telephone service to Camberley commenced in April 1897. The first police station
12144-458: The monarchy, did not gain parliamentary representation until 1832. Surrey had little political or economic significance in the Middle Ages. Its agricultural wealth was limited by the infertility of most of its soils, and it was not the main power-base of any important aristocratic family, nor the seat of a bishopric. The London suburb of Southwark was a major urban settlement, and the proximity of
12276-484: The more colourfast Indigofera tinctoria and, in the early 20th century, both woad and Indigofera tinctoria were replaced by synthetic blue dyes. Woad has been used medicinally for centuries. The double use of woad is seen in its name: the term Isatis is linked to its ancient use to treat wounds; the term tinctoria references its use as a dye. There has also been some revival of the use of woad for craft purposes. The first archaeological finds of woad seeds date to
12408-509: The more rural south; it is pierced by the rivers Wey and Mole , both tributaries of the Thames . The north of the county is a lowland, part of the Thames basin. The south-east is part of the Weald , and the south-west contains the Surrey Hills and Thursley, Hankley and Frensham Commons , an extensive area of heath . The county has the densest woodland cover in England, at 22.4 per cent. Surrey
12540-447: The mouth of the Thames in a fleet of about 350 ships, which would have carried over 15,000 men. Having sacked Canterbury and London and defeated King Beorhtwulf of Mercia in battle, the Danes crossed the Thames into Surrey, but were slaughtered by a West Saxon army led by King Æthelwulf in the Battle of Aclea , bringing the invasion to an end. Two years later the men of Surrey marched into Kent to help their Kentish neighbours fight
12672-583: The national and international preoccupations of the monarchy and the earldom of Wessex, the Abbot of Chertsey was therefore probably the most important figure in the local elite. The Anglo-Saxon period saw the emergence of the shire's internal division into 14 hundreds , which continued until Victorian times. These were the hundreds of Blackheath , Brixton , Copthorne , Effingham Half-Hundred , Elmbridge , Farnham , Godalming , Godley , Kingston , Reigate , Tandridge , Wallington , Woking and Wotton . After
12804-488: The native ruling class of Surrey was virtually eliminated by Norman seizure of land. Only one significant English landowner, the brother of the last English Abbot of Chertsey, remained by the time the Domesday survey was conducted in 1086. At that time the largest landholding in Surrey, as in many other parts of the country, was the expanded royal estate, while the next largest holding belonged to Richard fitz Gilbert , founder of
12936-440: The navigator Vasco da Gama in 1498, great amounts of indigo were imported from Asia. Laws were passed in some parts of Europe to protect the woad industry from the competition of the indigo trade. It was proclaimed that indigo caused yarns to rot. This prohibition was repeated in 1594 and again in 1603. In France, Henry IV , in an edict of 1609, forbade under pain of death the use of "the false and pernicious Indian drug". With
13068-488: The north of the county, extending to Guildford, is within the Greater London Built-up Area . This is an area of continuous urban sprawl linked without significant interruption of rural area to Greater London. In the west, there is a developing conurbation straddling the Hampshire/Surrey border, including the Surrey towns of Camberley and Farnham . Guildford is often regarded as the historic county town , although
13200-658: The north-east of Guildford, has recorded temperatures between 37.8 °C (100.0 °F) (August 2003) and −15.1 °C (4.8 °F) (January 1982). From 2006 until 2015, the Wisley weather station held the UK July record high of 36.5 °C (97.7 °F). Surrey has a population of approximately 1.1 million people. Its largest town is Woking with a population of 105,367, followed by Guildford with 77,057, and Walton-on-Thames with 66,566. Towns of between 30,000 and 50,000 inhabitants include Ewell , and Camberley . Much of
13332-579: The period, armies from Kent heading for London via Southwark passed through what were then the extreme north-eastern fringes of Surrey during the Peasants' Revolt of 1381 and Cade's Rebellion in 1450, and at various stages of the Wars of the Roses in 1460, 1469 and 1471. The upheaval of 1381 also involved widespread local unrest in Surrey, as was the case all across south-eastern England, and some recruits from Surrey joined
13464-462: The rebels heading for London briefly occupied Guildford and fought a skirmish with a government detachment on Guildown outside the town, before marching on to defeat at Blackheath in Kent. The forces of Wyatt's Rebellion in 1554 passed through what was then northeastern Surrey on their way from Kent to London, briefly occupying Southwark and then crossing the Thames at Kingston after failing to storm London Bridge. Surrey's cloth industry declined in
13596-563: The same time. The two settlements grew together over the following decades and are now contiguous. Much of the town centre dates from the late 20th and early 21st centuries, including The Atrium, a retail, entertainment and residential complex, opened in 2008. Transport links through the area began to improve with the opening of the London- Basingstoke turnpike in 1728, now the A30 London Road. The Basingstoke Canal , which runs to
13728-471: The social control exercised there by the local authorities of Surrey was less effective and restrictive than that of the City authorities. Bankside was the scene of the golden age of Elizabethan and Jacobean theatre , with the work of playwrights including William Shakespeare , Christopher Marlowe , Ben Jonson and John Webster performed in its playhouses. The leading actor and impresario Edward Alleyn founded
13860-508: The south of Camberley, was completed in 1794 and the wharf at Frimley was used to supply building materials for the Royal Military College. Blackwater station , on the Reading to Guildford line , opened to the west of Yorktown in 1849 and Camberley station , on the Ascot to Aldershot line , followed in 1878. In the second half of the 20th century, improvements to the road network in the area included
13992-520: The southern portion of the Middle Saxon territory. If it ever existed, the Middle Saxon kingdom had disappeared by the 7th century, and Surrey became a frontier area disputed between the kingdoms of Kent , Essex, Sussex, Wessex and Mercia , until its permanent absorption by Wessex in 825. Despite this fluctuating situation it retained its identity as an enduring territorial unit. During the 7th century Surrey became Christian and initially formed part of
14124-573: The southwestern corner of the town. The stretch of the motorway through the Borough of Surrey Heath was upgraded to a smart motorway in 2017. The other major roads in the town are the A30, which runs roughly parallel to the motorway between Hounslow and Basingstoke, and the A331 Blackwater Valley relief road. Yorktown and east Camberley are linked to Frimley by the B3411 and A325 respectively. Old Dean
14256-692: The sport of motocross . During the Second World War , the Old Dean common was used as an instruction camp of the Free French Forces . The Kremer prize was conceived in the Cambridge Hotel in Camberley in 1959 after Henry Kremer toured a Microcell factory. The defunct Barossa Golf Club, on Barossa Common, was founded in 1893 and continued until the Second World War. The Old Dean housing estate
14388-513: The throne in 1042. This hostility peaked in 1051, when Godwin and his sons were driven into exile; returning the following year, the men of Surrey rose to support them, along with those of Sussex, Kent, Essex and elsewhere, helping them secure their reinstatement and the banishment of the king's Norman entourage. The repercussions of this antagonism helped bring about the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. The Domesday Book records that
14520-449: The throne. Having landed in Kent and been welcomed in London, he advanced across Surrey to attack John, then at Winchester , occupying Reigate and Guildford castles along the way. Guildford Castle later became one of the favourite residences of King Henry III , who considerably expanded the palace there. During the baronial revolt against Henry, in 1264 the rebel army of Simon de Montfort passed southwards through Surrey on their way to
14652-416: The town's households were named by Experian as having the highest carbon footprint in the UK, estimated at 28.05 tonnes per household per year (compared to 18.36 tonnes for the lowest, South Shields). Camberley is in the parliamentary constituency of Surrey Heath and was represented at Westminster from May 2005 to July 2024 by Conservative Michael Gove . After stepping down in the 2024 election Gove
14784-409: The town, on Upper Gordon, Park and Frimley Roads. Camberley railway station is immediately south of the town centre and is managed by South Western Railway , which operates all services. Trains run to Ascot via Bagshot (extended to and from London Waterloo during peak periods) and to Aldershot via Frimley (a few trains continue to Guildford ). A 2017 infrastructure assessment commissioned by
14916-522: The triangle created by Toulouse , Albi and Carcassonne , known as the Lauragais , was for a long time the biggest producer of woad, or pastel , as it was locally known. One writer commented that "woad […] hath made that country the happiest and richest in Europe." The prosperous woad merchants of Toulouse displayed their affluence in splendid mansions, many of which still stand, as the Hôtel de Bernuy and
15048-458: The two institutions, creating The Royal Alexandra and Albert School . Pupils from both schools were transferred in stages from their original sites to new accommodation at Gatton Park between 1848 and 1954. The former school buildings in Camberley were damaged by fire in 1987 and were demolished in 1994. The grounds were split in two by the construction of the M3. Elmhurst Ballet School was founded as
15180-609: The works began to supply the Royal Military College at Sandhurst. In 1904, a short branch line was laid from the South Eastern Railway south of Blackwater station, enabling the coal required to be supplied by train. The works came under the control of the Southern Gas Board in 1949 and closed in 1969. The electricity supply to the area was authorised by Act of Parliament in 1909. Unlike most towns in Surrey, Camberley did not have its own power station and instead, electricity
15312-578: Was a founding shareholder of the East India Company who became the company's Governor and later Lord Mayor of London . Southwark expanded rapidly in this period, and by 1600, if considered as a separate entity, it was the second-largest urban area in England, behind only London itself. Parts of it were outside the jurisdiction of the government of the City of London , and as a result the area of Bankside became London's principal entertainment district, since
15444-567: Was assigned its current name on 15 January 1877 by the General Post Office . Previously, the settlement had been known as "Cambridge Town" and the change was made to prevent letters and parcels being misdirected to Cambridge in the East of England . The new name is a portmanteau of "Cam" (the name of a local stream), "Amber Hill" (an area of high ground identified in a survey of 1607 by the cartographer, John Norden ) and "—ley" (a suffix found in local toponyms, such as Frimley and Yateley , derived from
15576-517: Was built in the 1950s on the "Old Dean Common" for residents of heavily bombed Surrey-area's homeless after the Second World War. Many of the roads on that half of the Old Dean are named after areas of London, with the others named after places on the common. In 1969 there was an outbreak of rabies when a dog, just released from a six month quarantine after returning from Germany, attacked two people on Camberley Common. The scare resulted in restriction orders for dogs and large-scale shoots to carry out
15708-506: Was focused on Guildford, which gave its name to a variety of cloth, gilforte , which was exported widely across Europe and the Middle East and imitated by manufacturers elsewhere in Europe. However, as the English cloth industry expanded, Surrey was outstripped by other growing regions of production. Though Surrey was not the scene of serious fighting in the various rebellions and civil wars of
15840-420: Was formed in 1971 from the merger of Camberley Grammar School, Barossa Secondary School and Bagshot Secondary School. It became a self-governing Technology College in September 1994 and gained Foundation status in September 1999. The current Cordwalles School was founded in 1962 and was officially opened on 5 March 1963. Initially a primary and infants school, it became a middle school in 1971, before reverting to
15972-535: Was founded in Elliot Place, Greenwich , in 1805 and one of its early pupils was the future prime minister, Benjamin Disraeli . In 1875, it moved to Cordwalls Farm, Maidenhead , from which it acquired its name. The school merged with Kingswood School, Camberley, which had been established on part of the former Collinwood Estate in 1910. In 1939, the school was evacuated to Market Drayton, but did not return to Camberley at
16104-565: Was incorporated into Wessex as a shire and continued thereafter under the rule of the West Saxon kings, who eventually became kings of all of England. In the 9th century England was afflicted, along with the rest of northwestern Europe, by the attacks of Scandinavian Vikings . Surrey's inland position shielded it from coastal raiding, so that it was not normally troubled except by the largest and most ambitious Scandinavian armies. In 851 an exceptionally large invasion force of Danes arrived at
16236-598: Was located just across the Hampshire border in Minley next to the M3 motorway at junction 4a. Krispy Kreme UK are based in Albany Park, an industrial estate just outside Camberley in nearby Frimley. The York Town and Blackwater Gas Company was formed in 1859 and opened its gasworks at Yorktown in November 1862. Street lighting in Camberley was initially provided by oil lamps, but gas lamps were installed from 1900. In around 1903,
16368-474: Was met by Godwin, Earl of Wessex , who escorted him in apparently friendly fashion to Guildford . Having taken lodgings there, Alfred's men were attacked as they slept and killed, mutilated or enslaved by Godwin's followers, while the prince himself was blinded and imprisoned, dying shortly afterwards. This must have contributed to the antipathy between Godwin and Alfred's brother Edward the Confessor , who came to
16500-455: Was one of England's first canal systems. George Abbot , the son of a Guildford clothworker, served as Archbishop of Canterbury in 1611–1633. In 1619 he founded Abbot's Hospital , an almshouse in Guildford, which is still operating. He also made unsuccessful efforts to revitalise the local cloth industry. One of his brothers, Robert , became Bishop of Salisbury , while another, Maurice ,
16632-542: Was opened in 1892 on the corner of Portesbury Road and the High Street. In 1910, the local force had a total of eight officers. In 1971, the station moved to the east, but remained on Portesbury Road. The 1971 station closed in 2011. The building was demolished in 2016 for the construction of new houses and flats. In 2023, the nearest police station to Camberley is at Aldershot, operated by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary . The nearest counter service run by Surrey Police
16764-687: Was probably largely occupied by the Atrebates tribe, centred at Calleva Atrebatum ( Silchester ), in the modern county of Hampshire , but eastern parts of it may have been held by the Cantiaci , based largely in Kent . The Atrebates are known to have controlled the southern bank of the Thames from Roman texts describing the tribal relations between them and the powerful Catuvellauni on the north bank. In about AD 42 King Cunobelinus (in Welsh legend Cynfelin ap Tegfan ) of
16896-406: Was purchased on the wholesale market and was distributed locally. The gas and electricity companies merged in 1927. The Frimley and Farnborough District Water Company was formed in 1893 and began to supply Camberley four years later. Water was extracted from the chalk aquifer and was piped to a filtration plant at Frimley Green, before being pumped to a service reservoir on Frith Hill. In 1893,
17028-459: Was rebuilt on a grand scale under King Henry VII , who also founded a Franciscan friary nearby in 1499. The still more spectacular palace of Nonsuch was later built for Henry VIII near Ewell. The palace at Guildford Castle had fallen out of use long before, but a royal hunting lodge existed outside the town. All these have since been demolished. During the Cornish Rebellion of 1497 ,
17160-561: Was replaced by Al Pinkerton of the Liberal Democrats Surrey County Council, headquartered in Reigate , is elected every four years. Camberley is represented by three councillors - one for each of the "Camberley East", "Camberley West" and "Heatherside and Parkside" divisions. Elections to Surrey Heath take place every four years. Three councillors represent "Heatherside" ward and two councillors are elected to each of
17292-512: Was to the north of this area alongside the Roman road The Devil's Highway. The Intenarium Curiosum , published in 1724, describes a collection of Roman pottery around the area, and a further collection was discovered at Frimley Green in the late 20th century. In the Middle Ages , the area was part of Windsor Forest . In the 17th century, the area along the turnpike road through Bagshot Heath (now
17424-514: Was traversed by Stane Street and other Roman roads. During the 5th and 6th centuries Surrey was conquered and settled by Saxons . The names of possible tribes inhabiting the area have been conjectured on the basis of place names. These include the Godhelmingas (around Godalming ) and Woccingas (between Woking and Wokingham in Berkshire). It has also been speculated that the entries for
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