Compton | |
---|---|
Church of St. Nicholas, Compton. | |
Location within Surrey | |
Area | 8.43 km2 (3.25 sq mi) |
Population | 1,154 (Civil Parish 2011) [1] |
• Density | 137/km2 (350/sq mi) |
OS grid reference | SU9546 |
Civil parish |
|
District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | Guildford |
Postcode district | GU3 |
Dialling code | 01483 |
Police | Surrey |
Fire | Surrey |
Ambulance | South East Coast |
UK Parliament | |
Compton is a village and civil parish in the Guildford district of Surrey, England. It is between Godalming and Guildford. It has a medieval church and a close connection to fine art and pottery, being the later life home of artist George Frederic Watts. The parish has considerable woodland and agricultural land, and the undeveloped portions are in the Metropolitan Green Belt. The village is traversed by the North Downs Way and has a large western conservation area. Central to the village are the Watts Gallery, the cemetery chapel commissioned by his wife for him, two inns and the parish church.
The village is just off the Compton junction of the A3 road and is crossed parallel to its linear street by the North Downs Way. Compton contains the Watts Mortuary Chapel, built to the memory of Symbolist painter George Frederic Watts, a resident of the village. Development can be classed as ribbon development around the through road. The 2001 census gives a population of 972 living in 384 households. The maximum elevation is on the Hog's Back at 152m, the minimum at a small brook flowing east of the village centre, at its lowest on outflow at 45m above sea level. [2]
The western part of the village forms a conservation area (as well as a very small eastern part between The Avenue and Compton Wood). [3]
Relics from the structure of the tower of the village's church, St Nicholas', suggest that the area was settled during the period of Roman occupation of Britain. Compton appears in Domesday Book of 1086 as Conton(e). It was held by Walter, son of Othere. Its domesday assets were: 11 hides; 1 church, 9 ploughs, 7 acres (28,000 m2) of meadow. It rendered £9. [4]
St Nicholas' Church contains one of the oldest surviving carved Norman screens. The basic structure, including the tower, is Anglo-Saxon, but it has been much altered over the centuries. For example, the influence of the Normans can be seen in the arches, the timber roofing (thought to date back to 1165) and the unique carved wooden screen in the chancel. Other features were added in the generations that followed, such as the spire (14th century), the pulpit and the clock (17th century). The church is grade I-listed. [5]
On the outskirts of Compton is the 16th century stately home Loseley Park. The Great Hall contains panelling taken from Henry VIII's palace at Nonsuch Park.
The Withies Inn is one of the oldest buildings in the village. Just off the main road, it was built in the 16th century. [6]
The manor of Field Place was bought in 1709 by the London publisher Samuel Manship (1665-1720), passing to his widow Anne and then their son John. His son John only had one child Anne, who eloped, and the manor was sold. [7]
The ashes of Aldous Huxley were brought from the US on 27 October 1971 and interred in his parents' grave at Watts Cemetery. [8]
One of Compton's most decorated residents by his profession was the artist who was primarily a painter, George Frederic Watts, who lived his later life at a house he called "Limnerslease", [10] close to which is the early 20th century Watts Gallery, dedicated to his work. The gallery is open to visitors. After his death, Watts Mortuary Chapel and cloister designed by his wife Mary Seton Watts were built on a hill overlooking the village. Among his subjects were Hope (part of his "House of Life" cycle), Orpheus and Eurydice and Dante Gabriel Rossetti .
The Compton Potters' Arts Guild was formed in 1899 by Mary Fraser-Tytler (her name before marriage to G. F. Watts) and initially used a source of local clay discovered during the building of Limnerslease. It continued until 1954.
Artist and historian Mary Wondrausch lived and worked in the parish [11] at the site of a former brickworks. Made of local clay from the foundations of the pottery of Mary Wondrausch, sculptor Jon Edgar's Compton Triptych [12] was unveiled in November 2011. The three terracotta heads celebrate the parish of Compton and the diverse figures who have contributed to this community.
Arthur Conan Doyle's novels Sir Nigel and The White Company refer to certain characters as being buried in Compton Church. [13]
Compton is the home village of characters described in Freeman Wills Crofts' 1933 murder mystery The Hog's Back Mystery . [14] [15]
The proportion of households in Compton who owned their home outright was 8% above the regional average. The proportion who owned their home with a loan was 3.6% lower than the regional average; social housing formed 13.7% of homes, providing overall a greater proportion of social rented housing and lower proportion of privately rented housing relative to the average of Surrey, the district and of the United Kingdom.
Output area | Population | Households | % Owned outright | % Owned with a loan | % Socially rented | hectares [1] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Compton (CP) | 1,154 | 386 | 40.4 | 31.9 | 13.7 | 843 [1] |
Output area | Detached | Semi-detached | Terraced | Flats and apartments | Caravans/temporary/mobile homes | shared between households |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(Civil Parish) | 173 | 113 | 51 | 49 | 0 | 0 |
The average level of accommodation in the region composed of detached houses was 28%, the average that was apartments was 22.6%.
Compton is in Guildford (UK Parliament constituency), which since its inception has fluctuated between political parties. Local government is administered by Guildford Borough Council and Surrey County Council.
At Surrey County Council, one of the 81 representatives represents the area within the Shalford division. [16]
At Guildford Borough Council small wards of the borough are deemed appropriate to be best represented under the current constitution of councillors by two councillors. [17]
Election | Member [17] | Ward | |
---|---|---|---|
2010 | Neil Ward | Shalford | |
2010 | James Palmer | Shalford |
Election | Member [18] | Electoral Division | |
---|---|---|---|
2013 | George Johnson | Shalford |
East Horsley is a village and civil parish in Surrey, England, 21 miles southwest of London, on the A246 between Leatherhead and Guildford. Horsley and Effingham Junction railway stations are on the New Guildford line to London Waterloo. The two-halves of ancient Horsley are similar in having substantial woodland and some chalky lower slopes, in the south, of the North Downs.
Bramley is a village and civil parish about three miles (5 km) south of Guildford in the Borough of Waverley in Surrey, south east England. Most of the parish lies in the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Ockham is a rural and semi-rural village in the borough of Guildford in Surrey, England. The village starts immediately east of the A3 but the lands extend to the River Wey in the west where it has a large mill-house. Ockham is between Cobham and East Horsley.
Hambledon is a rural scattered village in the Waverley borough of Surrey, situated south of Guildford. It is dominated by a buffer zone of fields and woodland, mostly south of the Greensand Ridge escarpment between Witley and Chiddingfold, having no dual carriageways or railways; however, it is bordered to the west by the Portsmouth Direct Line, and many of its small population are London commuters or retirees. Its main amenities are a church, a village pub, and the village shop and post office.
Shackleford is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Guildford, Surrey, England centred to the west of the A3 between Guildford and Petersfield 32 miles (51 km) southwest of London and 5.2 miles (8.4 km) southwest of Guildford. Shackleford includes the localities of Eashing, Hurtmore, Norney and Gatwick.
Stoke d'Abernon is a village and former civil parish in the borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England. It is on the right bank of the River Mole contiguously south of Cobham, a larger settlement which is a post town and is east-southeast of Oxshott a large village founded in the 19th century from the higher, sandy forested part of its formerly expansive area. It shares a railway station with Cobham and is inside the M25 motorway. Cobham Training Centre, the training ground of Chelsea F.C., is within its traditional boundaries.
Bletchingley is a village in Surrey, England. It is on the A25 road to the east of Redhill and to the west of Godstone, has a conservation area with medieval buildings and is mostly on a wide escarpment of the Greensand Ridge, which is followed by the Greensand Way.
Claygate is an affluent suburban village in Surrey, England, 14 miles southwest of central London. It is the only civil parish in the borough of Elmbridge. Adjoining Esher and Hinchley Wood to the west and north respectively, and bordered by green belt land to the south and east, Claygate lies within the Greater London Built-up Area.
Shere is a village in the Guildford district of Surrey, England 4.8 miles (7.7 km) east south-east of Guildford and 5.4 miles (8.7 km) west of Dorking, centrally bypassed by the A25. Located on the River Tillingbourne it is a small still partly agricultural village chiefly set in the wooded Vale of Holmesdale between the North Downs and Greensand Ridge. As of 2011 the village had a population of 1,032.
Artington is a village and civil parish in the borough of Guildford, Surrey, England. It covers the area from the southern edge of the built-up centre of Guildford and steep Guildown, the start of the Hog's Back and part of the North Downs AONB, to New Pond Farm by Godalming and the edge of Peasmarsh. It contains Loseley Park, a country estate with dairy, and the hamlet of Littleton.
Ash is a village and civil parish in the far west of the borough of Guildford, Surrey. Ash is on the eastern side of the River Blackwater, with a station on the Reading-Guildford-Gatwick line, and direct roads to Aldershot, Farnham and Guildford. The 2011 census counted the residents of the main ward of Ash, which excludes Ash Vale, as 6,120. It is within the Aldershot Urban Area and adjoins the riverside in the east of that large town; Ash has a small museum in the local cemetery chapel, a large secondary school and a library.
Worplesdon is a village 3.1 miles (5.0 km) NNW of Guildford in Surrey, England and a large dispersed civil parish that includes the settlements of: Worplesdon itself, Fairlands, Jacobs Well, Rydeshill and Wood Street Village, all various-sized smaller settlements, well-connected by footpaths and local roads. Its area includes Whitmoor Common, which can be a collective term for all of its commons.
Farleigh is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Chelsham and Farleigh in the Tandridge district of Surrey, England. It is located in the North Downs AONB and the Metropolitan Green Belt, 4.5 miles (7.2 km) south east of Croydon, 13.4 miles (21.6 km) south of London and 25 miles (40 km) WNE of Surrey's county town, Guildford. In 1961 the parish had a population of 1285.
West Horsley is a semi-rural village between Guildford and Leatherhead in Surrey, England. It lies on the A246, and south of the M25 and the A3. Its civil parish ascends to an ancient woodland Sheepleas Woods which are on the northern downslopes of the ridge of hills known as the North Downs in the extreme south of the village, and cover about a tenth of its area, 255 acres (1 km2). The bulk of its land is north of the Surrey Hills AONB; the rest is within it.
Wanborough is a rural village and civil parish in Surrey approximately 4 miles (6 km) west of Guildford on the northern slopes of the Hog's Back. Wanborough lies between Puttenham and Normandy. Wanborough village grew around and to service Wanborough Manor which is on the site of ancient springs.
Puttenham is a village in Surrey, England, located just south of the Hog's Back which is the narrowest stretch of the North Downs. Puttenham is about midway between the towns of Guildford and Farnham, and can be accessed from the A31 trunk road which runs along the spine of the Hog's Back. Villages nearby include Wanborough, Shackleford and Compton.
Nutfield is a village and civil parish in the Tandridge District of Surrey, England. It lies in the Weald immediately south of the Greensand Ridge and has a railway station at South Nutfield which is one stop from Redhill, on the Redhill to Tonbridge Line. It includes a watersports park and picnic destination, Mercers Country Park.
The Watts Cemetery Chapel or Watts Mortuary Chapel is a chapel in a Modern Style version of Celtic Revival in the village cemetery of Compton in Surrey. While the overall architectural structure is loosely Romanesque Revival, in the absence of any appropriate Celtic models, the lavish decoration in terracotta relief carving and paintings is Celtic Revival, here seen on an unusually large scale. According to the local council, it is "a unique concoction of art nouveau, Celtic, Romanesque and Egyptian influence with Mary's own original style".
Mary Wondrausch was an English artist, potter, historian and writer, born in Chelsea. She trained as a potter at Farnham School of Art, latterly West Surrey College of Art and Design.
Richard Jefferies was curator of the Watts Gallery for two decades from 1985–2006. His role led to his becoming an acknowledged expert on the Victorian painter and sculptor G. F. Watts. Jefferies's uncle had been chief assistant to Mary Seton Watts in the last ten years of her life, and Richard was born on a visit by his parents to his aunt and uncle at Compton in 1945. He started as Custodian at the Gallery on 1 February 1969 after an earlier discussion with the then Curator, Wilfrid Blunt. He provides the foreword for Hutchings's book on Watts's sculpture.