59-677: Great Bookham is a village in the Mole Valley district, in Surrey , England, one of six semi-urban spring line settlements between the towns of Leatherhead and Guildford . With the narrow strip parish of Little Bookham , it forms part of the Saxon settlement of Bocham ("the village by the beeches"). The Bookhams are surrounded by common land , and Bookham railway station in Church Road, Great Bookham, serves both settlements. The villages are astride
118-737: A Non-League football club Bookham F.C. who play at the Chrystie Recreation Ground in the Surrey Elite Intermediate Football League. The club was founded before the First World War. Bookham Commons includes the two commons in Great Bookham and Little Bookham. Great Bookham Common was bought by local residents in 1923 to save the oak woodlands, then given to the National Trust . Little Bookham Common
177-642: A Power which they hate —WE serve a Monarch whom we love—a God whom we adore...They call on us to barter all of Good we have inherited and proved, for the desperate Chance of Something better which they promise .—Be our plain Answer this: The Throne WE honour is the PEOPLE'S CHOICE—the Laws we reverence are our brave Fathers' Legacy—the Faith we follow teaches us to live in bonds of Charity with all Mankind, and die with Hope of Bliss beyond
236-581: A charter c.675, the original of which is lost but which exists in a later form, there were granted to the Abbey twenty dwellings at Bocham cum Effingham . This was confirmed by four Saxon kings; King Offa of Mercia and of the nations roundabout in 787; King Æthelstan who was "King and ruler of the whole island of Britain" in 933 confirmed the privileges to the monastery ; King Edgar , "Emperor of all Britain" in 967 confirmed "twelve mansiones" in Bocham, and King Edward
295-688: A house since at least 1336. The current house dates from the 17th century, and was bequeathed by its last owner, the Hon. Mrs. Greville , a legendary Edwardian hostess, to the National Trust in 1942. When the Grevilles purchased the property in 1906, they extensively remodelled the house with the help of Mewes and Davis, architects of the Ritz Hotel, London . There are large walled and formal gardens, an orchard and croquet lawn, as well as extensive farmland. The property and its 1,400-acre (5.7 km) estate are open to
354-419: A poor actress. In 1775 Sheridan's first play, The Rivals , was produced at London's Covent Garden Theatre . It was a failure on its first night, and John Lee 's performance as Sir Lucius O'Trigger was criticised for rendering the character "ridiculous and disgusting". Sheridan rewrote the play and presented it again a few days later, with Laurence Clinch replacing Lee in the role. In its reworked form it
413-595: A private house, the manor was used by the Canadian military in World War II, and was also a school called Southey Hall, before being demolished for redevelopment. The original gates to the house stand just west of Eastwick Park Avenue on Lower Road. To the west of the Bookhams lies the village of Effingham ; further west on the road to Guildford lie the similar villages of East and West Horsley and East and West Clandon . To
472-610: A private tutor, Lewis Ker, to direct his studies in his father's house in London, while Domenico Angelo instructed him in fencing and horsemanship. In 1772, aged 20 or 21, Sheridan fought two duels with Captain Thomas Mathews, who had written a newspaper article defaming the character of Elizabeth Ann Linley , whom Sheridan intended to marry. In the first duel, they agreed to fight in Hyde Park , but finding it too crowded they went first to
531-542: A third of the council (one councillor for each ward) elected each time for a four-year term of office. Surrey County Council elections are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no district council elections. Most of the district lies within the Mole Valley constituency , the exception being Ashtead which is within the Epsom and Ewell constituency . The council is based at Pippbrook on Reigate Road in Dorking, which
590-819: Is an unparished area , as is the majority of the former Dorking Urban District. The rest of the district is covered by civil parishes : A Legatum Prosperity Index published by the Legatum Institute in October 2016 showed Mole Valley as the second most prosperous council area in the United Kingdom, after the nearby Borough of Waverley . Mole Valley is served by these emergency services: 51°18′57.68″N 0°29′37.31″W / 51.3160222°N 0.4936972°W / 51.3160222; -0.4936972 Richard Brinsley Sheridan Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan (30 October 1751 – 7 July 1816)
649-529: Is considered one of the greatest comedies of manners in English. It was followed by The Critic (1779), an updating of the satirical Restoration play The Rehearsal . Having quickly made his name and fortune, in 1776 Sheridan bought David Garrick 's share in the Drury Lane patent, and in 1778 the remaining share; his later plays were all produced there. In 1778 Sheridan wrote The Camp , which commented on
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#1732872636166708-744: Is the main community centre, regularly used for staging amateur dramatics productions and hosting parties and receptions. There are two primary schools in the village: Eastwick Junior School in Eastwick Drive and Great Bookham School (formerly The Dawnay School) in Griffin Way. There are three infant schools in Great Bookham: Polesden Lacey Infant School in Oakfield Close, Eastwick Infant School in Eastwick Drive, and Great Bookham Infant School in Griffin Way. Great Bookham has
767-626: The American War of Independence . He refused the offer. In December 1815 Sheridan became ill and was largely confined to bed. He died in poverty. However, dukes, earls, lords, viscounts, the Lord Mayor of London , and other notables attended his funeral, and he was buried in the Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey . In 1825 the Irish writer Thomas Moore published a sympathetic two-volume biography, Memoirs of
826-456: The Ton (le bon ton) , Sheridan drank heavily and was a gambling addict, gambling most nights with money he did not have. Whilst most of his fellow gambling addicts attempted to pay their creditors, Sheridan pointedly never paid his debts, as he believed paying his creditors "only encourages them." Sheridan's behaviour towards women in particular was dishonourable. A rake and professional storyteller, he
885-590: The 18th century was social ruin for women, and Harriet narrowly escaped such calamity only when Duncannon's father William Ponsonby, 2nd Earl of Bessborough and the powerful Cavendish clan sided with Harriet, making divorcing her social suicide. Whilst attempting to win back his wife Eliza , one of multiple similar occasions, he conceived a child with a governess named Caroline Townsend in 1789. Sheridan's friends, Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire and Henrietta Ponsonby, Countess of Bessborough helped him arrange for Caroline to go abroad to deliver, and adopted
944-467: The 21-year-old Richard eloped and set up house in London on a lavish scale. Sheridan had little money and no immediate prospects of any, other than his wife's dowry . The young couple entered the fashionable world and apparently held up their end in entertaining. Sheridan was a patron of Margaret Cuyler and she was his presumed mistress. As his protégée she appeared at Drury Lane in January 1777, despite being
1003-465: The A246, which is the and direct route between the two towns. Once two distinct villages, the Bookhams have long been interconnected with residential roads which give the impression of one large village. On the southern edge of the village is Polesden Lacey , a country house surrounded by more than 1,000 acres (4.0 km) of grounds. It is owned by the National Trust and open to the public. According to
1062-510: The Confessor , King of the English, in 1062 confirmed twenty mansae at Bocham cum Effingham, Driteham and Pechingeorde. Great Bookham lay within the Anglo-Saxon administrative district of Effingham half hundred . The Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey for taxation purposes, makes the first known distinction between the parishes of Great and Little Bookham, if it is assumed that there
1121-572: The French. Along with Charles James Fox , Lord Moira and other radical Whig grandees, he testified on behalf of Arthur O'Connor . O'Connor was acquitted. His companion, Father James Coigly was hanged. During the invasion scare of 1803 Sheridan penned an 'Address to the People': THEY, by a strange Frenzy driven, fight for Power, for Plunder, and extended Rule—WE, for our Country, our Altars, and our Homes.—THEY follow an ADVENTURER, whom they fear—and obey
1180-641: The Grave. Tell your Invaders this; and tell them too, we seek no Change; and, least of all, such Change as they would bring us. He held the posts of Receiver-General of the Duchy of Cornwall (1804–1807) and Treasurer of the Navy (1806–1807). Sheridan was noted for his close political relationship with the Prince of Wales , leading a faction of his supporters in the Commons. By 1805 when
1239-582: The Hercules Pillars tavern (on the site where Apsley House now stands at Hyde Park Corner ) and then on to the Castle Tavern in Henrietta Street, Covent Garden . Far from its romantic image, the duel was short and bloodless. Mathews lost his sword and, according to Sheridan, was forced to 'beg for his life' and sign a retraction of the article. The apology was made public and Mathews, infuriated by
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#17328726361661298-692: The Life of Richard Brinsley Sheridan , which became a major influence on subsequent perceptions. A Royal Society of Arts blue plaque was unveiled in 1881 to commemorate Sheridan at 14 Savile Row in Mayfair. Another plaque is in Stafford. He was twice married. He and his first wife Elizabeth had a son: Elizabeth also had a daughter, Mary, born 30 March 1792 but fathered by her lover, Lord Edward FitzGerald . After Elizabeth's death, Sheridan fulfilled his promise to look after Thomas and FitzGerald's baby daughter. A nurse
1357-601: The Navy from 1806 to 1807. Sheridan died in 1816 and was buried at Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey . His plays remain a central part of the Western canon and are regularly performed around the world. Sheridan was born in 1751 in Dublin , Ireland, where his family had a house on the then fashionable Dorset Street . His mother, Frances Sheridan , was an Anglo-Irish playwright and novelist. She had two plays produced in London in
1416-810: The North Downs. There are stations on the London – Worthing and Reading – Gatwick Airport railways, and in the northern third, a commuter stopping-service pattern line, London – Guildford (via Epsom) line. The A24 road and the M25 motorway are the main thoroughfares and relative to London the incidence of car ownership is high. The area hosts hill-focussed sub-laps of the London–Surrey Classic cycling tour each year. The neighbouring districts are Epsom and Ewell , Reigate and Banstead , Crawley , Horsham , Waverley , Guildford , Elmbridge and Kingston upon Thames ,
1475-584: The Prince was cooling on his previous support of Catholic Emancipation Sheridan, George Tierney and others announced their own opposition to it. When, after 32 years in Parliament, he lost re-election in 1812, his creditors closed in on him and his last years were harassed by debt and disappointment. On hearing of his debts, the American Congress offered Sheridan £20,000 in recognition of his efforts to prevent
1534-420: The assault: "...when I defied [his] threat he took another most extraordinary method – I was told one day that a servant had brought a message which he would deliver to no one but myself, and before I could order him to be admitted, in entered Sheridan, wrapped up in a great watchcoat, and after my servant had quitted the room he rushed up to me and with a ferociousness quite frightful bit my cheek so violently that
1593-458: The author's identity as Sheridan's from his handwriting. Sheridan accosted Harriet in public and made a scene any chance he could, reproaching her for not loving him enough and declaring his undying love for her. Despite his cruelty towards her, Harriet was kind to him on his deathbed in 1816. In return, Sheridan grasped her hand hard and told her he would haunt her after his death. Harriet, petrified, asked why, having persecuted her all his life, he
1652-414: The baby, whom they named Fanny Mortimer. Fanny "grew up at Devonshire House as a sort of foundling, inhabiting a nether world between the servants' quarters and the nursery. After Georgiana died in 1806, Harriet sent Fanny to private school and eventually saw her marry quite well. Fanny always suspected that either Harriet or Georgiana was her mother and never quite recovered from learning that her true mother
1711-472: The blood ran on down my neck – I had just enough sense to ring the bell and he withdrew." By 1802, Sheridan's despicable behaviour took an even more sinister turn, and he began harassing one of his few remaining friends, Harriet Spencer, Henrietta Ponsonby, Countess of Bessborough . In 1805, Sheridan had escalated his harassment of Harriet to anonymously sending her threatening letters; as they had been longtime friends and former lovers, Harriet quickly deduced
1770-412: The council since 1974 has been as follows: The leaders of the council since 2012 have been: Following the 2024 election the composition of the council was: The next election is due in 2026. Since the last boundary changes in 2023 the council has comprised 39 councillors representing 13 wards , with each ward electing three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, with
1829-612: The country, Edmund Burke made a speech in which he claimed there were thousands of French agents in Britain ready to use weapons against the authorities. To dramatically emphasise his point he threw down a knife onto the floor of the House of Commons. Sheridan shouted, "Where's the fork?", which led to much of the house collapsing in laughter. In April 1798 he appeared at the trial in Maidstone of United Irishmen accused of treasonable conspiracy with
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1888-399: The district are covered by civil parishes , which form a third tier of local government for their areas. The council has been under Liberal Democrat majority control since 2019. The first elections to the council were held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of
1947-526: The early 1760s, though she is best known for her novel The Memoirs of Miss Sidney Biddulph (1761). His Irish father, Thomas Sheridan , was for a while an actor-manager at the Smock Alley Theatre in Dublin, but following his move to England in 1758, he gave up acting and wrote several books on the subject of education, especially the standardisation of the English language in education. His elder brother
2006-518: The early 18th century, once owned by the Dawnay family. It is now converted into apartments, with coach houses built in its now one-acre (0.40 ha) grounds. The manor's original large estate covered the surrounding roads up to Dorking Road, and Groveside, and had grounds to the front, running down to the Guildford Road. When the land was sold for development in 1947, the shops and car park were built in
2065-454: The field with a portion of his antagonist's weapon sticking through an ear, his breast-bone touched, his whole body covered with wounds and blood, and his face nearly beaten to jelly with the hilt of Mathews' sword'. Mathews escaped in a post chaise . Eight days after the bloody affair the Bath Chronicle was able to announce that Sheridan was out of danger. Later that year, Elizabeth and
2124-485: The grounds to the front of the house. Another surviving part of the estate is the stables, on the corner of Dorking Road. Eastwick Park, a beautiful manor in the village, was lost in 1958. The house stood within the area of roads now known as the 'Eastwick area', and its very large private estate included Great Bookham Commons, which were saved by the village and given to the National Trust. After ceasing to be used as
2183-535: The latter being a London borough . The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 , covering three former districts which were all abolished at the same time: The new district was named after the River Mole , which flows through the area. Mole Valley District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Surrey County Council . Parts of
2242-507: The north-east lie Fetcham and Leatherhead, north of which the area becomes increasingly urban heading towards central London, which is only 23 miles (37 km) away. To the south-east, across the North Downs , are the village of Westhumble and the market town of Dorking . The village has a short high street at its centre, which has a butcher, a family-run fishmongers, one bakery, a greengrocer and two small supermarkets. Rayleigh House, at
2301-488: The northern third of the district. Most of the district is on the escarpments of or adjoins the Surrey Hills , a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty , which cover parts of the North Downs and Greensand Ridge , including locally Leith Hill , Polesden Lacey and Box Hill . Denbies Wine Estate , the largest vineyard in the country, is on the hills north-west of Dorking. The Pilgrims' Way footpath runs along
2360-455: The number of cottages in Bookham and Effingham remained constant, that the later charters must have been copies of earlier charters which were not revised to accord with the actual number of cottages at any one time. In 1951 the civil parish had a population of 7885. On 1 April 1974 the parish was abolished. A regency villa on the southern edge of the village, Polesden Lacey has been the site of
2419-408: The ongoing threat of a French invasion of Britain. The same year Sheridan's brother-in-law Thomas Linley , a young composer who worked with him at Drury Lane Theatre, died in a boating accident. Sheridan had a rivalry with his fellow playwright Richard Cumberland and included a parody of Cumberland in his play The Critic . On 24 February 1809 (despite the much vaunted fire safety precautions of 1794)
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2478-496: The public, and is one of the National Trust's most visited properties. The house is also the National Trust's Southern Region head office. The future King George VI and his bride spent part of their honeymoon at Polesden Lacey , as guests of Mrs. Greville. The poet and playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan was a previous owner of the property from 1804. To the south side of the High Street stands Bookham Grove Manor, built in
2537-542: The publicity the duel had received, refused to accept his defeat as final and challenged Sheridan to another duel. Sheridan was not obliged to accept this challenge but could have become a social pariah if he had not. The second duel, fought in July 1772 at Kingsdown near Bath, was a much more ferocious affair. This time both men broke their swords but carried on fighting in a 'desperate struggle for life and honour'. Both were wounded, Sheridan dangerously, and he had to be 'borne from
2596-465: The rare Great Crested Newt . The five largest ponds are man-made, formed for fish production in the 17th century. Great Bookham is served by these emergency services: Mole Valley Mole Valley is a local government district in Surrey , England. Its council is based in Dorking , and the district's other town is Leatherhead . The largest villages are Ashtead , Fetcham and Great Bookham , in
2655-474: The side of the American Colonials in the political debate of that year. He is said to have paid the burgesses of Stafford five guineas apiece to allow him to represent them. As a consequence, his first speech in Parliament was a defence against the charge of bribery. In 1787 Sheridan demanded the impeachment of Warren Hastings , the first Governor-General of India . His speech in the House of Commons
2714-475: The theatre burned down. On being encountered drinking a glass of wine in the street while watching the fire, Sheridan was famously reported to have said, "A man may surely be allowed to take a glass of wine by his own fireside." Sheridan was the manager of the theatre for many years, and later became sole owner with no managerial role. In 1780, Sheridan entered the House of Commons as the ally of Charles James Fox on
2773-729: The top of the high street, originally built as the Victoria Temperance Hotel by Mary Chrystie, now contains an estate agents. There are two public houses in Great Bookham: The Anchor, The Royal Oak and one in Little Bookham, Ye Olde Windsor Castle. Currently the Crown pub is closed. A loose association with the latter is that the Ranger of Windsor Great Park was often appointed from the area by King Henry VIII . The Old Barn Hall
2832-623: Was Charles Francis Sheridan . His paternal grandfather was The Rev. Thomas Sheridan from County Cavan , who was a close friend of Jonathan Swift . While his family was in Dublin, Richard attended the English Grammar School in Grafton Street . In 1758, when he was seven years old, the Sheridans moved permanently to England. He was a pupil at Harrow School from 1762 to 1768. At the end of his 1768 school year, his father employed
2891-482: Was a womanizer . He had recorded affairs with Frances Crewe, Lady Crewe (he dedicated his 1777 play The School for Scandal to her), and a disastrous affair with Harriet Spencer , beginning in 1789. Sheridan's affair with Harriet was disastrous for her, as the worst-case scenario actually happened: her abusive husband Viscount Duncannon walked in on Harriet and Sheridan having intercourse. Violently enraged, Duncannon immediately wanted to divorce Harriet. Divorce in
2950-581: Was a gifted apologiser and made promises to his wives and lovers he knew he would never keep. Sheridan sexually harassed and assaulted women. An example of this is his sexual harassment and then assault of Lady Webster, later known as Lady Holland, Elizabeth Fox, Baroness Holland . After falsely accusing her of having an affair with a man she "did not care for in the least", he threatened to ruin her by telling society of her imaginary affair. When Lady Webster did not submit to his advances, he retaliated by later assaulting her in her home. Lady Webster herself recorded
3009-543: Was a huge success, immediately establishing the young playwright's reputation and the favour of fashionable London. It went on to become a standard of English literature . Shortly after the success of The Rivals , Sheridan and his father-in-law Thomas Linley the Elder , a successful composer, produced the opera The Duenna . This piece, warmly received, played for seventy-five performances. His most famous play, The School for Scandal , premiered at Drury Lane on 8 May 1777. It
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#17328726361663068-465: Was a mere governess." To his contemporaries, Sheridan was as known for his dazzling wit, lively humour, and political acuity as for his duplicitousness, vindictive nastiness, and general profligacy. Sheridan was a social-climber who had no qualms about backstabbing friends to maintain his social status amongst actual aristocrats and to gain power in Whig society. Perhaps the best summary of Sheridan's character
3127-551: Was an Anglo-Irish playwright, writer and Whig politician who sat in the British House of Commons from 1780 to 1812, representing the constituencies of Stafford , Westminster and Ilchester . The owner of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane , in London, he wrote several prominent plays such as The Rivals (1775), The Duenna (1775), The School for Scandal (1777) and A Trip to Scarborough (1777). He served as Treasurer of
3186-414: Was by Sir Gilbert Elliot, Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Earl of Minto who observed to his wife: "He employs a great deal of art, with a great deal of pain, to gratify, not the proper passion in such affairs, but vanity; and he deals in the most intricate plotting and under plotting, like a Spanish play." By 1789, Sheridan's two-faced cunning made him despised by most of Whig society. Like most of
3245-529: Was described by Edmund Burke , Charles James Fox, and William Pitt as the greatest ever delivered in ancient or modern times. In Commons, Sheridan was known as an engaging, and often entertaining orator. His speeches at the Hastings impeachment were later published as a 59-page booklet. In 1793, during the debates on the Aliens Act designed to prevent French Revolutionary spies and saboteurs from flooding into
3304-495: Was employed to care for the child at his Wanstead home. The baby had a series of fits one evening in October 1793, when she was 18 months old, dying before a doctor could attend. She was interred beside her mother at Wells Cathedral . In 1795, Richard B. Sheridan married Esther Jane Ogle (1776–1817), daughter of the Dean of Winchester . They had at least one child: Charles Brinsley Sheridan (1796–1843). At one time Sheridan owned Downe House, Richmond Hill in London. Sheridan
3363-448: Was given to the Trust in 1924 by Mr H. Willock-Pollen, then Banks Common in 1925 by Mr R. Calburn. The London Natural History Society has been surveying Bookham Commons for more than fifty years, making it one of the best recorded sites for wildlife in southeast England. The common land consist of grassland (wet, low-lying meadows ), woodland , scrub and twelve ponds. The ponds are home to all three British species of newt , including
3422-595: Was no separate parish at the time of the charter of Edward the Confessor in 1062. Driteham and Pechingeorde are both referred to in the Domesday Book and appear to have been absorbed into the manors of Effingham and Effingham East Court. Great Bookham appears in the Domesday Book in the ancient hundred of Effingham as Bocheham . It was held by St Peter's Abbey, Chertsey . Its Domesday Assets were: 13 hides ; 1 church, 1 mill worth 10s, 20 ploughs , 6 acres (2.4 ha) of meadow , woodland and herbage worth 110 hogs . It rendered (in total): £15. It seems probable, as
3481-429: Was purpose-built for the council and opened in 1984. It was built in the grounds of a large Victorian house, called Pippbrook House, which had served as the headquarters of the old Dorking Urban District Council from 1931 and then as Mole Valley District Council's headquarters until the new building opened. The former Leatherhead Urban District, which included Ashtead , Fetcham , Great Bookham and Little Bookham ,
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