Seale, Surrey
| Seale | |
| Surrey | |
|---|---|
.jpg) 18th century houses in Seale | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SU934477 |
| Location: | 51°13’16"N, 0°39’47"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 907 (2001) |
| Post town: | Farnham |
| Postcode: | GU10 |
| Dialling code: | 01252 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Guildford |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Guildford |
Seale is a village in Surrey, sitting on the steep slope and foot of the south side of the Hog's Back (a westerly section of the North Downs between Farnham and Guildford) as well as a large hill which exceeds it – as such is part of the ‘Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’.
At the top of a short dry valley, at the foot of the steep Hog's Back, is the parish church of St Laurence, Seale. 900 yards down the valley is a spring, whose stream leads to Cutt Mill and hence to the Wey. The north of the parish is marked by the crest of a long range of hills known as the Hog's Back.
Name
The name ‘Seale’ may derive from the Old English word for "hall" or, alternatively, for "willow".[1]
The nearby hamlet of ‘Sands’ has a relatively new name, first recorded in Tudor period records, and derives from the quantities of Bargate sandstone and sand present in the far north-west of the Greensand Ridge especially in its high uplands, crowned here by the highest point in the parish, Crooksbury Hill.
History
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The manor of Seale was held form the Middle Ages by the Bishops of Winchester. Successive bishops retained right of free warren and other manorial privileges into the 19th century. Much of the land in the village and for miles around was owned by the Bishop of Winchester: the bishops owned much of far-west Surrey since the early holder of that position Henry (of Blois) or Winchester, who used his power and status to build Farnham Castle.
The parish church and rector served equally Tongham to the north until 1866.
From the Tudor period, as evidenced by memorials in Seale church, the main landowner was the Woodroffe family (of whom two, David and Nicholas, father and son, were Sheriffs of London in 1554 and 1573 respectively), and later, by descent through a female line, the Chester family. They were seated at Poyle, Tongham, on the other side of the Hog's Back, which was originally part of the parish of Seale; their landholdings also extended south of the Hog's Back into what remained of the parish of Seale after Tongham was split off into a separate parish in 1866. As late as 1899, Henry Chester objected to being asked to give up his pew in Seale Church when a new plan was circulated by the churchwardens. The mansion at Poyle Park is now demolished and its lands subdivided in the twentieth century – an interior from Poyle Park is on display in the Museum of London.
Hampton Lodge (below) was originally a hunting lodge, occupied by the wealthy Long family. In the 19th century, it passed through a female line into the hands of a branch of the Howard family of the Dukes of Norfolk (and Earls of Surrey) who took up residence and enlarged their estate by acquisition until it became, from about 1918, the largest landholding in the parish of Seale. The Hampton Estate was sold by the Howard family to the Thornton family in 1929 and remains in the hands of their descendants.
'Wood' Lane, which runs from the nucleus of Seale up to the top of the Hog's Back, shares its name with that of the family who leased Seale Manor Farm.
Parish church
The parish church, St Laurence’s, was established in the 12th century as an outpost of Waverley Abbey. The bell tower houses a peal of six bells, the oldest and largest cast in the 16th century. The church was extensively restored and enlarged in about 1860.
The parish is served by a Rector, who now also has care of the adjacent parishes of Puttenham and Wanborough. These three parishes were formally merged in 2004, although they retain their separate places of worship. Tongham was originally part of the parish of Seale, but it became an independent parish in 1866.[2]
About the village
A village hall provides regular events, near the old school and hosts parish council meetings.
In the west of the parish, associated with The Sands which is immediately south-east of it, is Farnham Golf Club. The first five holes start in parkland after which there is a sudden change in scenery as the pine trees close in and the heather replaces the grass.[3]
The oldest building, apart from the church, is The Lyttons, a Grade II listed house which stands next to the churchyard but away from the road. This was originally an open hall house as shown by blackened rafters and the oldest parts of the fabric have been dated to the early 1500s.[4] A brick chimney was inserted and the open hall was divided into an upper and lower storey by the insertion of an upper floor in the 1600s.
The next oldest building is nearby East End Farm,[5] another Grade II listed building[6] which dates from the later part of the 1500s: about 1560-1580 compared with the Lyttons' dating of circa 1520-1550.[7]
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Seale, Surrey) |
- Parish of Seale Puttenham and Wanborough
- Hampton Estate
- Stained Glass Windows at Stained Glass Records: St. Laurence Seale, Surrey
References
- ↑ Gover, J. E. B.; Mawer, A.; Stenton, F.M.; with Bonner, A.: 'Place-Names of Surrey , Part' (English Place-Names Society, 1934)
- ↑ St Laurence's, Seale: A Church Near You
- ↑ Farnham Golf Club English Golf Courses (directory with reviews) Retrieved 10 November 2013
- ↑ Howard, G. E. (1999). Domestic Buildings Research Group (Surrey) report no. 4593 "Seale and Tongham, The Lyttons (Seale)..
- ↑ "East End Farm, Seale, Surrey". Royal Institute of British Architects. https://www.architecture.com/image-library/ribapix/image-information/poster/East-End-Farm,-Seale,-Surrey/posterid/RIBA42043.html. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
- ↑ National Heritage List 1029593: East End (Grade II listing)
- ↑ Dugmore, R (1971). The Lyttons, East End Farm, Monks Well, Seale.
- Anonymous: 'The Church of St. Laurence Seale: A Short Guide and History' (Parish of St Seale)
