Blackheath, Surrey
| Blackheath | |
| Surrey | |
|---|---|
| |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TQ031461 |
| Data | |
| Local Government | |
Blackheath is a woodland hamlet in Surrey, in the form of a linear settlement running east-west along the Wonersh road, which comes to a stop in the woods. A lane comes up from the Tillingbourne through here, heading south toward Shamley Green. There is a single pub in the village, The Villagers, which in Queen Victoria's day was named The Volunteer after the volunteer riflemen who mustered here.
The hamlet is often "Blackheath Village" in order to distinguish it from the heathland in which it sits and from which it is named, and it serves to distinguish it from Blackheath in Kent.
Heath and hundred
The village takes its name from the surrounding heath, which also gives its name to the Blackheath Hundred.
Much of the heathland is owned by the National Trust.
History
The village does not appear appears in the Domesday Book as such but the Blackheath Hundred is here, as Blacheatfeld. The village itself was built in the Victorian Age as heathland settlement with pioneering Arts and Crafts movement buildings by Harrison Townsend. One its church with remarkable stained glass, is a listed building.
In 1864, Queen Victoria reviewed the volunteer soldiers on Blackheath; the event was featured in The Illustrated Times with several illustrations. For the occasion a grandstand was erected on Rosemary Hill and an area set aside for spectators along Littleford Lane. A mock battle was staged; the attacking troops were to come from Albury against defenders formed up just to the east of what is now the cricket ground. The proceedings got somewhat out of hand and there were a number of accidents caused by the audience getting between the two sides, and finally, whilst firing a volley one man had left his ramrod in the barrel and this shot and killed the vicar, the Rev W Earle.
The local pub was named The Volunteer after these weekend soldiers.
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Blackheath, Surrey) |