North Holmwood
| North Holmwood | |
| Surrey | |
|---|---|
 The village pond, North Holmwood | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TQ168471 |
| Location: | 51°12’43"N, 0°19’44"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 6,136 |
| Post town: | Dorking |
| Postcode: | RH5 |
| Dialling code: | 01306 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Mole Valley |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Mole Valley |
North Holmwood is a residential village attached to the southern outskirts of Dorking in Surrey, to which it is attached and contiguous but for the passage of the A24 Dorking Bypass. The village's historic heart is the road named Spook Hill, from which the village has spread eastwards.
The census data for the area Holmwoods shows a population of 6,136.
The village is accessible from the A24, which forms the Dorking Bypass here that cuts between Dorking and North Holmwood. The nearest railway station is Dorking, 2½ miles north. There is also a station called Holmwood which is the station on the far side of South Holmwood, over 4 miles away.
The village
The village has a main street called Spook Hill, on which there are the local shops and services. The other main built up roads reach eastwards, making the village larger than it first appears. The residential area of Stonebridge in the east is linked by residential roads to Spook Hill, as is Chart Downs across Bent's Brook. There is a village hall, a clinic and a local sports and social club. The village pond sits on the common along Spook Hill.
The Deepdene north of Chart Downs includes Chart House, built by wealthy banker, connoisseur and collector Thomas Hope, extended to include Chart Park, an immense mausoleum with commanding views to his son and the house itself came to inspire Osborne House. The grade II* grounds have been converted, since 1897, into Dorking Golf Club.[1] This long-established course and now wider venue is closer to Chart Downs and Stonebridge neighbourhoods than Dorking and is a source of local employment.
The main estate in North Holmwood occupies the former site of Dorking Brickworks, which was a major local employer from the 1930s until its closure in 1983. The brickworks used up the clay surrounding it, ran out of space in the 1950s and extended south of Inholms lane in 1961. The clay supply was exhausted and the brickworks closed in 1983. After demolition, the brickworks land north of Inholms lane was used to build residential housing, while the smaller excavation south of Inholms lane was designated a nature reserve, now the Inholms clay pit LNR, open to all and accessed by a tunnel under Inholms lane.[2]
There are two King George V Playing Fields serving the community of North Holmwood, alongside Deepdene Avenue (the A24) and at Chart Downs.
The parish church
A parish of Holmwood was created from parts of Dorking and Capel parishes in 1839.[3] The parish church was built of flint in Early English style and consecrated in 1875.[4] The tower contains two bells and a clock. The east window of the chancel has stained glass from 1874 made by Messrs Powell of White Friars. The west windows of the chancel have glass designed by Charles Eamer Kempe from 1891 showing the four Fathers of the Western Church.[3][5]
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about North Holmwood) |
- St John’s, North Holmwood – parish history
- Sports and Social Club
- History of Holmwood Common and the surrounding villages - eminent residents and key sites of architectural interest
- Dorking Golf Club
References
- ↑ National Heritage List 1000143: North Holmwood The Deepdene/Chart Park
- ↑ Inholms lane clay pit / nature reserve.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 St John the Evangelist Church website Retrieved 2009-11-23
- ↑ exploring Surrey's past website Retrieved 2009-11-23
- ↑ National Heritage List 1228416: North Holmwood St John's Grade II listed building entry