Frimley
| Frimley | |
| Surrey | |
|---|---|
 High Street | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SU875578 |
| Location: | 51°18’51"N, -0°44’19"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 12,739 (2001) |
| Post town: | Camberley |
| Postcode: | GU16 |
| Dialling code: | 01276, 01252 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Surrey Heath |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Surrey Heath |
Frimley is a small town in north-western Surrey, two miles south of Camberley, hard by the border with Hampshire. It is connected to the M3 motorway by the Blackwater Valley Road and the Frimley bypass.
The name Frimley is derived from the Old English name Fremman Leag, which means "Fremma's clearing".
The town
Frimley is a working town, in the Blackwater valley and attracting the technology industries which have settled in the valley, not least the defence companies looking across to Aldershot and Chobham.
The main shopping street includes a supermarket and some smaller shops, several restaurants, banks, charity shops, a post office, a number of estate agents, solicitors, opticians, betting shops, an insurance broker and two public houses, the Railway Arms and the White Hart. Frimley Park Hospital is situated in the town. One of the major employers in the town is BAE Systems, which occupies a building in Lyon Way. Siemens opened its main British headquarters in Frimley in 2007.
Frimley Business Park lies just to the west of the town on the A331 Blackwater Valley Relief Road. Frimley Business Park houses offices of the Environment Agency, and several large technology companies.
History
Frimley was not listed in Domesday Book of 1086. The land was owned by Chertsey Abbey from 673 until its dissolution in 1537. It was a farming village[1] until the great days of the stage-coaches, when it served as a coach stop on the main London to Portsmouth road.
Frimley lunatic asylum was opened in 1799; it catered for both male and female patients, and received four patients from Great Fosters. Magistrates visited in 1807 and ordered the proprietors to stop chaining the patients.[2]
An 1811 inventory from Frimley Workhouse has been published on the web by the County Archives department.[3]
The present St Peter's Church was built in 1837 replacing earlier buildings. The building has a balcony running around three sides of the interior. Dame Ethel Smyth once preached from the pulpit.[4]
In 1904, the Brompton Hospital Sanatorium was established in Frimley to treat tuberculosis patients; it closed in 1985. Dr Marcus Sinclair Paterson (1870–1932) was the first medical superintendent, and he developed a system of treatment called 'graduated labour' which generated a lot of interest from other health professionals. The treatment used controlled levels of physical activity.[5]
In 1959 the Cadet Training Centre at Frimley Park was formed following the 1957 publication of the Amery Report.[6]
Road and rail
Frimley railway station provides access to Guildford, Ascot and London Waterloo.
The town lies close to the junction of the A325 Farnborough Road and A331 Blackwater Valley Relief Road, which provides a link to the M3 motorway, junction 4.
Literary references
In one of the "Just William" books by Richmal Crompton, William visits an aunt in Frimley for a few days.
Charles Kingsley refers to "a series of Letters on the Frimley murder" in his Alton Locke, Tailor And Poet[7]
In The Reminiscences of Sir Henry Hawkins (Baron Brampton), chapter 18 tells of the trial of a bricklayer who, in a prize fight on Frimley Common, unfortunately killed his opponent. He appeared in court dressed as a young clergyman and was found innocent of the manslaughter charge because of doubts over his identity.[8]
References
- ↑ Surrey Heath Borough Council (2005). "History of Surrey Heath". surreyheath.gov.uk. http://www.surreyheath.gov.uk/tourism/AboutSurreyHeath/heritage.htm. Retrieved 2006-05-19.
- ↑ Andrew Roberts (2002). "Part of the Asylums Index: South East England". The Lunacy Commission, a study of its origin, emergence and character. Archived from the original on 2006-04-27. http://web.archive.org/web/20060427075849/http://www.mdx.ac.uk/WWW/STUDY/4Asylums.htm. Retrieved 2006-05-20.
- ↑ Frimley Workhouse records - Surrey County Council
- ↑ The Parish Office. "St Peter's Church". The Parish of Frimley. http://www.frimleyparish.org.uk/stpeters.htm. Retrieved 2006-05-20.
- ↑ Julie Tancell (2001). "National Heart and Lung Institute". AIM25: Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine. http://www.aim25.ac.uk/cgi-bin/search2?coll_id=2784&inst_id=3. Retrieved 2006-05-20.
- ↑ "History". Sussex Army Cadet Force. 2003. http://www.sussexacf.demon.co.uk/history.htm. Retrieved 2006-05-20.
- ↑ "Alton Locke, Tailor And Poet by Rev. Charles Kingsley et al. - Full Text Free Book (Part 1/10)". Fullbooks. http://www.fullbooks.com/Alton-Locke-Tailor-And-Poet1.html. Retrieved 2006-05-23.
- ↑ Brampton, Henry Hawkins (1904-08-17). "XVIII. The Prize-Fight on Frimley Common". in Richard Harris, K.C.. The Reminiscences Of Sir Henry Hawkins (Baron Brampton). http://www.gutenberg.org/files/10392/10392.txt. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Frimley) |