128-574: Runfold is a village in Surrey , U.K. , about 2 mi (3.2 km) ENE of Farnham . Runfold lies on the ancient trackway known as the Pilgrims' Way and on the former route of the A31 road , which has by-passed the village since the early 1990s. Loss of through traffic has made the village safer and quieter but has affected the village economy, with the loss of the service station , post office and "Alf's Café",
256-408: A Local Nature Reserve . The Mole Gap forms part of a Special Area of Conservation and is an SSSI of European importance. The river has captured the imagination of several authors and poets , particularly since in very hot summers the river channel can become dry between Dorking and Leatherhead, most recently in 2022. In John Speed 's 1611 map of Surrey, this stretch of the river is denoted by
384-576: A Special Area of Conservation and is an SSSI of European importance. The stretch of river between Thorncroft Manor (1 km [0.6 mi] south of Leatherhead ) and River Lane in Fetcham has been designated a Local Nature Reserve. Although much of the surrounding land has been taken by residential and commercial development, this section of the Mole supports 20 different mammal species, 20 butterfly species and 15 species of dragonfly . The geology of
512-571: A Grand Imperial Ship Canal from Deptford to Chichester passing through the Mole Gap, however he was unable to attract sufficient financial interest in his scheme. Today the Mole is navigable for the 400 m (440 yd) from the confluence with the River Thames to Molember Weir at East Molesey where there is a private mooring facility. The river may be paddled all year by canoe between Brockham and Fetcham with an appropriate licence from
640-498: A diverse fish population, including chub, dace, roach, bleak , large pike and barbel. At the confluence of the Mole and the River Thames at Hampton Court Palace it is possible to catch a wide variety of coarse fish species. The geographical distribution of many species of invertebrate in the river reflects the geology of the catchment area. Viviparid snails and water scorpions (of the genus Nepidae ) are commonly found where
768-412: 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
896-643: A flat-bottomed dug-out canoe were found at the confluence of the Mole and Thames in 1877 by a local boatman. The canoe is preserved at the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford . The Mole Gap and North Downs do not appear to have been settled until the late Stone Age: A large axe, typical of a "rough-out" axe produced during the Neolithic period, which was discovered in 1952 during building work in Westhumble, A flint mine of
1024-627: A gravel spawning area to encourage chub and dace in addition to roach . In 1974 zander , a non-indigenous coarse fish native to Europe, were introduced legally to Old Bury Hill Lake which supplies the Pipp Brook. Zander have been caught in the Lower Mole below Dorking since the 1980s. In the Mole Gap between Dorking and Leatherhead the river supports populations of chub, dace, barbel , and brown trout. Both barbel and brown trout are extremely sensitive to water quality and pollution. Below Leatherhead
1152-416: A lower flood plain, which broadens as the river turns in an axehead meander. At the east end of Painshill Park, the flood plain narrows into a trench about 60 m (66 yd) wide, in which the river runs northwards for 6.5 km (4.0 mi) towards Hersham, where the river enters the flood plain of the River Thames. Between Cobham and Esher, the Mole's historic courses have deposited gravel on top of
1280-616: 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
1408-594: A north-easterly direction via Richmond to meet the proto-Thames near Ware in Hertfordshire . Today the Mole and Wey are less than 2 km (1.2 mi) apart at their closest point near Painshill Park. During the Middle Pleistocene period, a large ice sheet built up across much of the East of England, reaching as far south as St Albans and Chelmsford , blocking the path of the proto-Thames. Glacial meltwater from
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#17328519110651536-455: A notable transport café . One pub remains; the Princess Royal , which has recently expanded and now offers hotel accommodation; the former Jolly Farmer has now become a Chinese restaurant. The village has been seriously affected by mineral extraction, subsequent infilling of the resultant sand and gravel pits, and the heavy vehicle movements associated with that industry. Runfold Manor
1664-550: 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
1792-566: 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
1920-446: A series of hills accompanied by the legend "The river runneth under". However the river's name is unlikely to have derived from this behaviour: The Oxford Dictionary of English Place Names suggests that Mole either comes from the Latin mola (a mill) or is a back-formation from Molesey (Mul's island). Domesday Book lists twenty mills on the river in 1086, of which Sidlow Mill
2048-537: A small lake at Baldhorns Park, before running eastwards through a largely rural area towards Crawley. The first tributaries to join the young river drain the northernmost part of St Leonard's Forest , between Horsham and Crawley, although much of the forest is in the catchment area of the River Arun . The Mole skirts the northern suburbs of Crawley where it is joined by its first major tributary, Ifield Brook, which drains Ifield Mill Pond . The first gauging station on
2176-467: A smaller 50-metre (160 ft) cliff at Ham Bank in Norbury Park . The sudden change from impermeable Weald Clay to permeable chalk and the increased gradient of the river, allow the water table to drop below the bed of the river. Water is therefore able to flow out of the river through swallow holes in the bed and banks, decreasing the volume of water carried in the main channel. The course of
2304-459: A survey in 1958, the geologist C. C. Fagg identified 25 active swallow holes between Dorking and Mickleham ; the majority were only a few centimetres in diameter and were located in the vertical banks of the river below the water line. Most holes were difficult to observe in times of normal or heavy flow and were susceptible to silting up as new holes were continually being formed. A few much larger swallow holes were also observed separated from
2432-562: 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
2560-473: 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
2688-492: Is a "charming Surrey steam" and "If Lord Lytton went to fish in the River Mole – and there are still angling clubs there – he would find that he would still be able to catch a trout ". Highly polluting discharges have become less common but have taken place since 2000. In 2003, Gatwick Airport Ltd pleaded guilty to charges of allowing chemical pollution to enter the River Mole after a detergent, used to clean rubber and oil from
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#17328519110652816-509: Is a large house in the east of the village, at the foot of the Hog's Back . Much of the contents were auctioned in 2005 when the owners decided to move away. John Henry Knight , a former resident of Barfield House in the village, built "The first petroleum carriage for two people made in England". Barfield School, an independent mixed gender Primary School, is now located there; Mike Hawthorn , Britain's first Formula One motor racing World Champion
2944-524: Is also found along the river, and the downy emerald ( Cordulia aenea ) is found between Box Hill and Leatherhead. The Mole is one of only three locations in England where the river shingle beetle ( Meotica anglica ) is found. A nationally scarce species which is locally common on the River Mole is the greater dodder ( Cuscuta europaea ), a parasitic plant . The Mole catchment area includes twelve Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) that include wetland habitats, The Mole Gap forms part of
3072-523: 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
3200-659: 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
3328-758: Is first recorded in the Red Book of Thorney in AD 983 as Emen and in the AD 1005 Cartulary of the Abbey of Eynsham as both Emen and Æmen . Variations in the name are recorded throughout the Middle Ages and the river appears as Amele in the Domesday Book of 1086, and subsequently as Emele in 12th- and 13th-century Court Rolls. This name is probably derived from the Old English word æmen meaning misty or causing mists , and
3456-512: Is measured at a fourth gauging station, located at Castle Mill (39 m [128 ft] above OD). At Pixham the Mole meets the Pipp Brook , a tributary draining the northeastern slopes of Leith Hill. Between Dorking and Leatherhead the Mole cuts a steep-sided valley (the Mole Gap) though the North Downs , carving a 170-metre-high (560 ft) river cliff on the western flank of Box Hill and
3584-613: 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
3712-686: Is used. In common with much of the rest of the Weald, the earliest evidence of human settlement along the Upper Mole is from the Mesolithic Period (20,000–7000 BC). Mesolithic sites at Wonham, Flanchford and Sidlow. Finds at Wonham include arrowheads and a plano-convex knife. The Lower Mole appears to have been settled during the same period and a flint axe dating from Mesolithic period found on spit of land close to River Mole in Cobham in 1965. Remains of
3840-637: 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
3968-597: 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,
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4096-577: 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
4224-671: The British Canoe Union . During the Second World War several sites along the course of the Mole were fortified for the defence of London against invasion from the south. GHQ Line B ran along the North Downs from Farnham and Guildford, crossing the Mole Gap to the north of Dorking and following the river to Horley. Between Betchworth and Box Hill, the north bank of the River Mole was stabilised and made steeper to prevent wheeled vehicles from crossing. At Boxhill Farm, where access to
4352-563: 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 . River Mole The River Mole is a tributary of the River Thames in southern England . It rises in West Sussex near Gatwick Airport and flows north-west through Surrey for 80 km (50 miles) to
4480-525: The Island Barn Reservoir near Molesey : the northern (and smaller) branch continues as the River Mole and the southern branch is known as the River Ember . The two rivers flow either side of the reservoir, before running side by side in a northeasterly direction, merging 400 m (440 yd) before the confluence with the River Thames, on the reach above Teddington Lock . (For the purposes of
4608-571: 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
4736-695: 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
4864-434: The Thames at Hampton Court Palace . The river gives its name to the Surrey district of Mole Valley . The Mole crosses the North Downs between Dorking and Leatherhead , where it cuts a steep-sided valley, known as the Mole Gap, through the chalk. Much of the catchment area lies on impermeable rock (including Weald Clay and London Clay ), meaning that the river level responds rapidly to heavy rainfall. During
4992-467: The Wey Gap is significantly higher than might be expected from natural rainwater percolation alone. It has been suggested that a proportion of the excess water originates from the Mole Gap. At Leatherhead the river leaves the chalk bedrock, moving onto London Clay . The river meanders across an alluvial plain between 400 and 800 m (440–870 yd) wide towards Cobham, where it begins to descend to
5120-491: 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
5248-469: 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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5376-459: 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
5504-412: 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
5632-661: 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
5760-645: The Anglian ice sheet caused the Thames to divert southwards and flood the valley of the Mole–Wey river, thus adopting its present route through London . Standard water quality of Mole and its tributaries has improved markedly since the 1990s. In 1990 the Environment Agency assessed 23% of the watercourses as Grade B (good) or better. In 2002 this figure was 60%. Investment in the Sewage Treatment Works in
5888-558: 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
6016-650: 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
6144-458: The Earlswood Brook. From Sidlow, the Mole turns northwest towards Brockham . A number of minor tributaries join the river from the west and are typically second order streams draining the woodland and arable land between Horsham and Dorking. The 18th-century weir at Betchworth was modified in 2004 to facilitate the installation of two 27.5 kW low-head hydro turbines . About 90% of
6272-593: 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,
6400-624: 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
6528-497: 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
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#17328519110656656-487: The London Clay. The depth of the deposits generally varies from 2.5 to 7 m (8–23 ft); the lower layers are generally highly compacted and cemented together with brick-red iron oxide, whereas the upper layers are loosely packed with angular flints and sand. Remains of a further gravel terrace, containing cherts and flints to a depth of 4 m (13 ft), line the east side of St George's Hill . The river
6784-527: 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,
6912-469: The Mole catchment is located on the Gatwick Stream 3 km (1.9 mi) upstream of the confluence with the Mole: Crawley STW discharges 15,000 m (530,000 cu ft) of water per day, and in prolonged dry periods it accounts for up to 75% of the flow of the Mole downstream of the confluence. The mean flow measured at Horley gauging station (52 m [171 ft] above OD) is 1.40 m /s (49 cu ft/s). The Mole passes Horley to
7040-417: The Mole is south of Gatwick Airport (57 m [187 ft] above OD ). The mean flow is 0.33 m /s (12 cu ft/s) and the river ran dry at this point for the first time in the summer of 1995. The Mole runs under the airport runway in a culvert completed in 1985. The course of the Mole within the airport perimeter has been altered several times since commercial flights began in 1945; however
7168-412: The Mole leaves the chalk and turns northwestwards to flow across impermeable London Clay , winding towards Cobham. The water table rises at this point and much of the water which drained out of the channel through the chalk returns through springs in the riverbed. The aquifer at Fetcham is the only one in the entire catchment area. The next major tributary, The Rye , (which drains Ashtead ) joins to
7296-407: The Mole was used for navigation in the past: In the late 13th century, Thorncroft Manor (south of Leatherhead) purchased a shout , a type of boat up to 16 metres (52 ft) in length used to carry produce to market and it has been suggested that stone cut from quarries in Reigate was transported to London via the river. During the 17th century, two bills came before parliament to make sections of
7424-410: The River Mole in 2019: The marsh frog ( Pelophylax ridibundus , a non-native species introduced from Europe in the 1930s) is now commonly found in the upper Mole and its tributaries around Newdigate and Gatwick. There is no evidence that the presence of the frogs has had a deleterious effect on indigenous amphibians. A second non-native species, the edible frog ( Pelophylax kl. esculentus )
7552-436: 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
7680-416: 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
7808-422: The bed and banks. The amount of water lost from the river is significant and in very hot summers the channel can become dry between Mickleham and Thorncroft Manor; this was recorded most recently in 1949, 1976 and 2022. At Leatherhead , the river leaves the chalk and flows across impermeable London Clay . At this point, the water table rises enough for the water to flow back into the main river channel. In
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#17328519110657936-413: The canalisation of a short stretch of the River Mole between Betchworth and Dorking to facilitate the movement of chalk from quarry to market. In 1810 the engineer John Rennie proposed a canal linking the River Medway to Portsmouth which was to have a branch to London following the Mole for much of its length. Between 1825 and 1828 the architect and civil engineer Nicholas Wilcox Cundy proposed
8064-408: 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
8192-400: The catchment area has improved the quality of the discharges into the river, and modifications to the runway and apron drainage systems at Gatwick Airport mean that surface water is diverted to aerated pollution control lagoons and balancing ponds for treatments, including acid/alkali neutralisation, before release into the river. In 1972 a sub-debate on the future cleanliness of the Mole
8320-445: 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
8448-405: 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
8576-463: 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
8704-411: 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
8832-422: The cutting at the south end of Box Hill & Westhumble railway station , suggesting that even in its early history, the river had swallow holes. The author Daniel Defoe , who attended school in Dorking and probably grew up in the village of Westhumble , described the swallow holes in the River Mole in his book A tour thro' the Whole Island of Great Britain (first published in 1724): ...the current of
8960-484: 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
9088-402: 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
9216-523: The energy generated is fed into the regional electricity grid , while the remainder is used to supply the Betchworth Park Estate, where the weir is situated. The river leaves the Weald Clay at Brockham, passing Betchworth Castle and flowing briefly across greensand and Gault Clay to Pixham , 1 km (0.6 mi) northeast of Dorking . A mean flow of 3.74 m /s (132 cu ft/s)
9344-402: The entry to the Mole Gap. Above Meath Green (near Horley ), the terrace corresponds to the flood plain of the river, however from this point downstream to Brockham, the river cuts a narrow trench no more than 150 m (160 yd) wide. A similar trench is runs up several of the Mole's tributaries, notably along Deanoak Brook which follows a local strike . The presence of the trench protects
9472-438: 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
9600-458: 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
9728-447: The impermeable Weald Clay . From the source to Dorking , the river drains an area of 340 km (130 sq mi), of which approximately 60% is on Wealden or Atherfield Clay, 20% is on Tunbridge Wells Sand and 20% is on greensand . Brickearth deposits are common in the valley around Betchworth and east of Dorking. The upper Mole catchment is dominated by a single broad terrace, which runs continuously from Tilgate Forest to
9856-414: The land from flooding, rendering it suitable for agriculture . Between Dorking and Leatherhead the Mole cuts a steep-sided valley through the North Downs, creating a 170-metre-high (560 ft) river cliff on the western flank of Box Hill. The bedrock is permeable chalk and the water table lies permanently below the level of the riverbed, allowing water to drain out of the river through swallow holes in
9984-440: 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
10112-523: The local area is complex, since the river leaves the chalk of the Mole Gap at this point and flows over gravel and clay, creating a patchwork of different habitats including scrub , woodland , hedges , banks, and meadows as well as the water itself. The river also provides a corridor for wildlife through the centre of Leatherhead. The West End Common forms part of the Esher Commons , owned and managed by Elmbridge Borough Council . The River Mole forms
10240-595: The main river by a channel of about a metre. About six of these larger swallow holes were found to the west of the Burford Bridge Hotel , along the course of the A24 Mickleham Bypass during its construction in 1936. Initially the surveyors tried to fill the holes with rubble to prevent the foundations of the new road subsiding. However this proved to be impractical and they were instead covered by concrete domes, up to 18 m in diameter, each fully supported by
10368-464: The meanders visible on the 1839 tithe map in the 1.5 km (0.93 mi) stretch immediately north of the runway were reinstated in 1999, in a £1.2 million project to facilitate airport expansion. The Mole enters Surrey to the south of Horley, where it meets the Gatwick Stream , a tributary draining Worth Forest to the southeast of Crawley. The second-largest Sewage Treatment Works (STW) in
10496-404: 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
10624-509: 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
10752-447: 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
10880-609: The name of the River Ember probably has its origins in this name. The name Mole does not appear until the 16th century, first occurring as Moule in Harrison's Description of Britain of 1577. The antiquarian William Camden uses the Latinized form Molis in the 1586 edition of Britannia and Michael Drayton is the first to use Mole in his poem Poly-Olbion published in 1613. In John Speed 's 1611 map of Surrey this stretch of
11008-583: 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
11136-488: 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
11264-408: The north of Leatherhead, before the river is crossed by the M25 motorway . At Cobham the river swings round in a pronounced axehead meander skirting Painshill Landscape Garden , where a 11-metre (35 ft) diameter waterwheel raises water 5 metres (16 ft) from the river to feed the ornamental lake in the park. From Painshill Park the river flows northeastwards to the Thames, passing to
11392-488: 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
11520-658: 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
11648-579: 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
11776-462: 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
11904-527: The remainder of this article, the River Mole and the River Ember are treated as a single entity.) Prior to the last ice age , the River Thames followed a more northerly route to the North Sea , from Reading via Marlow , Chorleywood , St Albans , Hertford and along the present Suffolk – Essex border. During this period, the Mole is thought to have merged with the River Wey near Byfleet and then flowed in
12032-491: The river navigable . The first, in 1663, was passed by the House of Commons but was defeated in the House of Lords . During the following year (1664), an act was passed by both Houses of Parliament to make the River Mole navigable from Reigate to the River Thames, but was never executed. The only Surrey river to have been made fully navigable is the combined lower section of the River Wey . In 1798 William Marshall advocated
12160-476: The river being much obstructed by the interposition of those hills, called Box Hill ... it forces the waters as it were to find their way through as well as they can; and in order to do this, beginning, I say, where the river comes close to the foot of the precipice of Box-Hill, called the Stomacher, the waters sink insensibly away, and in some places are to be seen (and I have seen them) little channels which go out on
12288-488: The river from the north bank was required for the herd of dairy cows, a row of twelve concrete cylinders were cast as an anti-tank measure. Gun mounts were also installed to protect both Boxhill and Deepdene bridges and several pillboxes were installed. An anti-tank ditch was dug from the Stepping Stones eastwards across the fields belonging to Bradley Farm (now Denbies vineyard ). The river crossing at Sidlow Bridge
12416-411: The river has historically supported larger predatory fish including chub, perch , pike , and eels, however in recent years chub and eel numbers have begun to decline. North of Esher the old river channel is dominated by floating pennywort , a highly invasive weed, which cuts off all light to the river bed, reducing oxygen levels and resulting in a poor habitat for fish. The Ember flood relief channel has
12544-401: The river is denoted by a series of hills accompanied by the legend "The river runneth under". However the river's name is unlikely to have derived from this behaviour: The Oxford Dictionary of English Place Names suggests that Mole either comes from the Latin mola (a mill) or is a back-formation from Molesey (Mul's island). In John Rocque 's 1768 map of Surrey, the name Moulsey River
12672-564: The river runs over the London Clay . Crayfish are common in areas associated with high alkalinity , particularly around Brockham, and the tributaries which run over the Weald Clay provide an excellent habitat for stoneflies , caddisflies , fast swimming mayflies and riffle beetles . The beautiful demoiselle ( Calopteryx virgo ) disappeared from the River Mole during the 1960s owing to deteriorating water quality, but has since recolonised. The white-legged damselfly ( Platycnemis pennipes )
12800-572: The river through Norbury Park was partially straightened when the Epsom to Horsham railway was built in 1837, with the removal of a small meander north of Westhumble . The meander was reinstated in 1997, in an attempt to enhance this area of the Park, although it has since become blocked by silt . The entirety of the Mole Gap lies within the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty . At Leatherhead,
12928-518: The runway, was washed into Crawters Brook by airport workers. The Environment Agency estimated that up to 5200 fish of 14 different species were killed as the pollution drained downstream. The airport was fined £30,000 by Lewes Crown Court . In May 2003, sewage leaking from a pump operated by Thames Water leaked into the Stanford Brook, killing coarse fish in the Gatwick stream. Water quality of
13056-477: The same period has been discovered at East Horsley along with Neolithic flakes of flint at Fetcham and Headley Heath . Significant Bronze Age finds include a bronze sword found close to the river north of Amberley Farm near Charlwood and a small hoard of weaponry consisting of two palstave axes and a scabbard chape was discovered in 2003 in Norbury Park close to Ham Bank. It is not clear to what extent
13184-431: The second half of the 20th century, pollution levels in the river were high; however, since 1995 the water quality has improved dramatically and the Mole now boasts the greatest diversity of fish species of any river in England. Twelve Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) that include wetland habitats are located within the Mole catchment area , and the stretch of river through Leatherhead has been designated
13312-488: The sides of the river, where the water in a stream not so big as would fill a pipe of a quarter of an inch diameter, trills away out of the river, and sinks insensibly into the ground. In this manner it goes away, lessening the stream for above a mile, near two, and these they call the Swallows. Not all of the water removed from the river by the swallow holes is returned to the channel at Leatherhead . The chalk aquifer also feeds
13440-471: 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
13568-520: 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
13696-548: The southwest of Dorking . There is only one aquifer in the drainage basin, at Fetcham , which means that the majority of the water in the river is from surface drainage, particularly from Gatwick Airport and the urban areas of Horley and Crawley, and that the flow rate responds rapidly to rainfall. The Mole rises in Baldhorns Copse 700 m (0.4 mi) to the south of the village of Rusper in West Sussex . It flows initially southwards for 1 km (0.6 mi) to
13824-503: The springs at the southern end of Fetcham Mill Pond, which have never been known to run dry. A survey in March 1883 estimated that the Fetcham springs were producing about 3.6 million imperial gallons (16,000 m ) every day. A second survey in 1948 estimated that the same springs were yielding about 5 million imperial gallons (23,000 m ) a day. The water table in the chalk of
13952-464: The surrounding chalk and provided with a manhole and access shaft to allow periodic inspection. In the late 1960s the domes were reopened and inspected and the alluvium in the largest swallow hole was observed to have subsided by 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) under the centre of one of the domes. When the Dorking to Leatherhead railway was constructed in 1859, a fossilised swallow hole was discovered in
14080-513: 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
14208-449: 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
14336-585: The west bank of the Mole, west of the Island Barn Reservoir. The Heath is an area of rough scrubland and, despite its name, is a reclaimed landfill site hence its large but artificial mound and small plateau. The site is a rich habitat for birds including the redshank and little ringed plover . The Mole rises south of Rusper in West Sussex, where an outcrop of the Hastings Beds sandstone dips below
14464-454: The west of Esher Commons and then forming the boundary between Hersham and Esher , where the mean flow of the river is 5.43 m /s (192 cu ft/s). In response to heavy flooding of East Molesey and Thames Ditton in September 1968 , the river was modified downstream of Albany Bridge to the Thames and new flood defences were constructed. Finally the Mole splits into two branches at
14592-499: The west, flowing north towards Sidlow and entering a largely rural area. 0.7 km (0.4 mi) south of Sidlow the mean flow is measured as 2.21 m /s (78 cu ft/s) at Kinnersley Manor gauging station (48 m [157 ft] above OD). The Earlswood Brook, a tributary draining the urban area of Reigate and Redhill , joins the Mole at Sidlow. The largest STW in the Mole catchment (Reigate STW) discharges up to 118,500 m (4,180,000 cu ft) per day into
14720-458: The western boundary of the common, flowing past a steep sandy area known locally as The Ledges . Plant species typical of ancient woodland are found in this area, including bluebells ( Hyacinthoides non-scriptus ), marsh marigolds ( Caltha palustris ) and golden saxifrages ( Chrysosplenium sp.). large bittercress ( Cardamine amara ) and the non-native Himalayan balsam ( Impatiens glandulifera ). Molesey Heath Local Nature Reserve lies on
14848-578: 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
14976-489: Was educated here. Runfold, along with a number of other villages in the Surrey and Sussex Weald (such as Alfold , Dunsfold , Durfold, Kingsfold and Chiddingfold ) comprise the " Fold Villages ", the suffix probably relating to the clearance of forest and its use as pasturage for sheep or cattle in Saxon times . [REDACTED] Media related to Runfold at Wikimedia Commons Surrey Surrey ( / ˈ s ʌr i / )
15104-555: 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
15232-531: Was had by the House of Lords , involving a member of the South-East Strategic Committee of the Thames Conservancy (succeeded by the Environment Agency ) and four others. In this it was said, "...I can see no future for [The Mole]. The Mole Valley has been polluted. The Mole where I used to tickle trout in my youth is a drain, and it will remain a drain." Rebuttals included that the Mole
15360-457: Was heavily defended and a line of pill boxes was constructed on the north bank of the river. Concrete anti-tank dragon's teeth were built on both sides of the river, a short distance upstream of the bridge, as an obstacle to armoured vehicles . The North Downs Way crosses the river at Box Hill via seventeen hexagonal stepping stones , which are frequently submerged after heavy rainfall. The current stones were dedicated in September 1946 by
15488-512: 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
15616-413: Was introduced to a site at Newdigate in the early 1900s. It has in 2008 been recorded in tributaries of the River Mole at Capel and Brockham . The River Mole has the most diverse fish population of any river in England. The Gatwick Stream is dominated by coarse fish such as brown trout , brook lamprey , and eel . In 2003, the upper River Mole near Meath Green Lane, Horley, was enhanced to create
15744-474: 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
15872-455: 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 ,
16000-687: 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
16128-459: 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 ,
16256-465: Was the oldest, dating from Saxon times . The drainage area of the Mole is 477 km (184 sq mi) and forms 5% of the River Thames 's catchment area above Teddington . The catchment area receives 761 mm (30.0 in) of rain each year; the greatest average level of rainfall is 800 mm (31.5 in) around Crawley . The Mole catchment reaches a maximum elevation of 265 m (869 ft) above Ordnance Datum at Leith Hill to
16384-514: 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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