Byfleet

infobox UK place
country= England
official_name= Byfleet
map_type= Surrey
latitude = 51.38
longitude = -0.3526
population= 6,995 [ [http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/sccwebsite/sccwspublications.nsf/591f7dda55aad72a80256c670041a50d/1c602ea59c869c9180256e600054b26c/$FILE/Town%20populations.pdf Surrey Council census data] ]
shire_district= Woking
region= South East England
shire_county = Surrey
constituency_westminster= Woking
post_town= West Byfleet
postcode_district = KT14
postcode_area= KT
dial_code= 01932
os_grid_reference= TQ078648

Byfleet is a village forming a suburb of Woking in Surrey, England. It is in the east of the borough between the River Wey and the River Mole, and is on the inside of the M25 motorway.

Byfleet is centrally located close to the A3 and M25, and is located at the foot of the St George's Hill estate, just to the south of Weybridge, to the west of Cobham and to the east of West Byfleet. The village is served by Byfleet and New Haw railway station.

Civic history

The village lies within the Godley hundred, a Saxon administrative division. Byfleet appears in Domesday Book as "Biflet". It was held by Uluuin (Wulfwin) from Chertsey Abbey. Its domesday assets were: 2½ hides; 1 church, 1 mill worth 5s, 1½ fisheries worth 325 eels, convert|6|acre|m2 of meadow, woodland worth 10 hogs. It rendered £4. [ [http://www.gwp.enta.net/surrnames.htm Surrey Domesday Book] ]

Byfleet was an ancient parish, and was included as a civil parish in the Chertsey Rural District from 1894 to 1933, before then being added to the Woking urban district in 1933 under a County Review Order, thus extinguishing its parish council.

Byfleet constitutes a civil parish and so has a parish council. The current parish was formed in 1989. [ [http://www.woking.gov.uk/wbc/councillors/bpc Woking Borough Council] ]

In May 2003, a group standing under an "Abolish Byfleet Parish Council" banner won election to the Parish Council and proceeded to seek its abolition. [ [http://www.woking.co.uk/news/article/article_id=1102.html Woking News] ]

In June 2005 The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister refused to abolish the parish, despite its request. [ [http://www.wokinglibdems.org.uk/news/38.html Woking Lib Dems] ]

Today

Property values of Byfleet have been reasonable in comparison to its adjoining affluent neighbours of Weybridge and West Byfleet. This is unusual for a Surrey village located less than a mile away from Britain's wealthy estate of St George's Hill.

Lloyds TSB is the only bank present in Byfleet.

It has many garages notably the one that is in Duncan Hamiltons old racing workshop at 7 High Road, along with a second world war memorial commemorating the soldiers who died in the war and who came from the local community.

References

External links

* [http://www.byfleetonline.co.uk/ Byfleet News and Mail]
* [http://www.francisfrith.com/pageloader.asp?page=/search/photos/viewphoto.asp&neg=B265023&townid=B265&collectionid=10&start=1 Old photo of Byfleet High Road c.1955]

Jeff Waynes War of the Worlds