Pyrford
| Pyrford | |
| Surrey | |
|---|---|
 Wheelers Farm, Pyrford | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TQ041583 |
| Location: | 51°18’53"N, -0°30’23"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 5,022 (2011) |
| Post town: | Woking |
| Postcode: | GU22 |
| Dialling code: | 01932 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Woking |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Woking |
Pyrford is a village in Surrey, on the left bank of the River Wey, around two miles east of the town of Woking and just south of West Byfleet. The M25 motorway courses by to the north-east of the edge of the parish.
The village sits on raised mixed heath soil, and has historical links with the abbey at Westminster, in whose possession it remained between the Norman conquest in 1066 and the Dissolution of the Monasteries nearly five hundred years later.
History
The current village name 'Pyrford' is derived from the Old English "Pyrianford",[1] which scholarly research into Old English asserts means 'pear tree ford'.
King James I and Anne of Denmark stayed with Sir Francis Wolley at Pyrford on 10 August 1603.[2] Famous residents include the poet John Donne, and Jack Brabham who used to live on Forest Road.
H. G. Wells mentions Pyrford in The War of the Worlds, as being near the landing site of the third of ten Martian invasion cylinders.
The Rowley Bristow Hospital from 1928 to 1992 was in Pyrford in the area now occupied by St Martin's Mews and St Nicholas Crescent.
Early in the Second World War, due to the risk of enemy air attack, the Vickers Armstrongs aircraft factory at nearby Brooklands had a dispersed facility known as Depot No. W95 in Lower Pyrford Road with two aircraft hangars used for 'aircraft salvage' purposes until at least 1944. After the War, these hangars became a factory making electrical switches and may also have been used as a temporary store for historic aeroplanes by the Science Museum until 1958; these premises were finally demolished and redeveloped for new housing in the late 1980s. Pyrford Court was also listed as wartime Depot No. W40 and used for 'aircraft dispersal' - presumably for Vickers Wellington bombers moved there by road before completion and delivery to the Royal Air Force from Brooklands.
About the village
Pyrford Common offers a large open space, car parking and a playground for children. The common is surrounded by a large wooded area.
The village is served by shops such as: The Bakery (cooked breakfast, hot drinks, pastries, freshly baked bread and sweet treats), The Co-op convenience store, a wine shop, a hairdresser, a family-run butcher and a veterinarian clinic.
Owing to restrictive covenants on the lands of the village, Pyrford has no public house, but there are a few such establishments quite close by. The Anchor pub, by Lock Lane, lies on land once part of Wisley parish. The Inn at Maybury is sited alongside the junction of Old Woking Road and Maybury Hill. The third location for drinking is The Yeoman, a Harvester pub-restaurant, on the Old Woking Road in the neighbouring village of West Byfleet. Instead, two social venues in Pyrford are the Pyrford Social Club, a membership club, next to the cricket club and the Traditions golf club situated on Pyrford Road and open to the general public. These are both licensed for alcohol.
Leisure
The River Wey Navigation, to the south-east and east of the village, marks the boundary between Pyrford and Wisley. The area has marked trails for ramblers. A public bridleway going east-west, connects the village to the canal, parallel to unpavemented Lock Lane on the far side of the golf course; following this the path connects to three others: one south via the Anchor to Wisley, to the north-east to Byfleet and to the north along the towpath to New Haw, Coxes Lock, Addlestone and a large island at Weybridge which connects with the pavement of Thames Street, in turn connected to the Thames Path. Pyrford Marina by the Dodds Bridge footbridge, and with its own access road, on the Pyrford canalside enables people to hire and own boats; it faces the named public house.
July 2012 saw Pyrford's inclusion in what has become the standard version of the London-Surrey cycle classic used in the Summer Olympic Games.
Sport
- Cricket: Pyrford Cricket Club, founded in 1858, making it one of the oldest cricket clubs in Surrey
- Football: Pyrford F.C.
- Golf: the village has three golf courses:
- Pyrford Golf Course,
- Wisley Golf Course
- Twisted Stone
London 2012 Olympic Games
On 28 July (men) and 29 (women), 2012, Pyrford hosted a section of the London 2012 Cycle road race. The race passed through on Coldharbour Road, up onto Upshot Lane and south east on the B367 towards Ripley. Around 8,000 fans lined the route through Pyrford, the focal point being Pyrford Cricket Ground that hosted an Olympics themed fete.
Parish church
The Church of St. Nicholas is less than a quarter of a miles north of Newark Priory along a mediæval lane and was built around 1140 – it is a fine example of a complete Norman church and is one of the significant minority of mediæval churches to be Grade I listed.[3]
It is thought likely that Queen Elizabeth I would have worshipped at St. Nicholas Church. She reputedly donated a silver chalice to the church in 1570.
Original frescoes, painted in red ochre, were uncovered during renovations in 1869 and 1967. There are two sets of drawings from different periods with subjects including scenes from Christ's Passion and an illustration of pilgrims preparing to set sail in a pilgrimage to Spain.
The church grounds and the surrounding lands are designated a conservation area, having special architectural and historical importance.
About the village
Rowley Bristow Hospital, an orthopaedic hospital in Pyrford, was founded in 1928. It was formed from St Martin's home for crippled boys and the St Nicholas Hospital Home. Originally named St Nicholas' and St Martin's Orthopaedic Hospital Homes and Special School of Recovery. It was renamed in 1948 as the Rowley Bristow Orthopedic Hospital after a well known orthopaedic surgeon, and surgical director of St Nicholas, Rowley Bristow. It closed in 1992.[4]
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Pyrford) |
References
- ↑ A History of the County of Surrey - Volume 3 pp 431-436: Parishes: Pyrford (Victoria County History)
- ↑ John Nichols, Progresses of James the First, vol. 1 (London, 1828), pp. 170-1.
- ↑ National Heritage List 1044721: Church of St Nicholas (Grade I listing)
- ↑ "The National Archives | Search the archives | Hospital Records| Details". http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/hospitalrecords/details.asp?id=1606&page=49.