Chiddingfold

Coordinates: 51°06′41″N 0°37′42″W / 51.1113°N 0.6282°W / 51.1113; -0.6282

Chiddingfold
Chiddingfold Village Green
Chiddingfold  Chiddingfold shown within Surrey
Population	<3,000
OS grid reference	SU961355
District	Waverley
Shire county	Surrey
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Haslemere
Postcode district	GU8
Dialling code	01428
Police	Surrey
Fire	Surrey
Ambulance	South East Coast
EU Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	South West Surrey
List of places: UK • England • Surrey

Chiddingfold is a village and civil parish in the heart of The Weald in the Waverley district of Surrey, England. It lies on the A283 between Milford and Petworth. Chiddingfold Forest is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) lying nearby.

History

The name of Chiddingfold "Chadynge's fold", "Chiddingefoulde", is derived from the Saxon, probably meaning the fold (enclosure for animals) "in the hollow".^[1]

Chiddingfold became famous for its glass-making - during the reign of Elizabeth I, there were no fewer than eleven glass works on the green. Chiddingfold glass was used in some of the finest buildings in the land, including St Stephen's Chapel, Westminster, and St George's Chapel, Windsor.

The Guy Fawkes festivities has an interesting past. In 1887 the village policeman had his house attacked by a mob, and was transferred, following suspicion he had set the bonfire alight early.^[2] 1929 saw similar, with wider unrest, culminating a week later with a rumour of apprehending the innocent Sgt Brake and ducking him in the pond being met by 200 officers from all over Surrey in specially requisitioned buses; the village pubs were ordered to close and a JP was on hand to read the Riot Act should it have proved necessary.^[3]

Chiddingfold has opened an archive which shows the history of Chiddingfold and the previous owners of Chiddingfold houses.

The French-born abstract artist François Lanzi lived in Chiddingfold from 1971 until his death in 1988.

The Crown Inn

The Crown Inn

The Crown is one of the oldest inns in England. Built as a rest house for Cistercian monks on their pilgrimage from Winchester to the shrine of Thomas Becket in Canterbury, it claims to have been established in 1285 with the earliest recorded reference to the present building dated 1383; probably when the alehouse (the Halle) expanded to include accommodation, thus becoming an inn. Subsequently it merged with the adjoining alehouse through common ownership. The Crown has seen many distinguished visitors down the years. On 21st 1552, Edward VI, the "boy king", attended by high officials of state, courtiers, peers and some 4000 men encamped on the village green. It is reputed that in 1591 his elder sister, Queen Elizabeth I, "sojourned there for refreshment" en route from Loseley Park to Cowdray Park, West Sussex: her expense roll for the journey showing two sillings being paid for a tonne of wine to be transported to the village from Ripley.^[4][5]

Today

A church (St Mary's), 14th-Century pub (The Crown Inn), forge, pond, shops and cottages lie on three sides of a large village green. There was also a brick works. In late 2007, The Crown Inn went into receivership and the pub closed. The Surrey Advertiser reported that a number of families arriving for their Christmas lunch found the pub closed; despite having paid for their meal in advance.^{[citation needed]} The pub has now been refurbished and has re-opened under new management.

The village is known for its torchlit procession, bonfire and fireworks display on a Saturday evening closest to November 5 (Guy Fawkes Day). The bonfire takes weeks to build and is generally as big as a block of flats. A village festival is also held every year on the village green on a Sunday in June. There is an art festival in the village hall over a weekend in September or October. Chiddingfold Horticultural Society holds competitions.

The Chiddingfold Scout Group is very active with about 100 boys and girls as Beavers, Cubs and Scouts.

The Chiddingfold doctors' surgery serves an area of about 100 square miles.^[6]

Media links

The punk-associated group The Stranglers, then called The Guildford Stranglers, were based in Chiddingfold during their key formative period in the mid seventies, sometimes using the name "The Chiddingfold Chokers" and frequenting "The Crown".^[7] The rock band Genesis built their studio The Farm in the parish in the early 1980s; they also rehearsed at the Chiddingfold Ex-Servicemen's Club and side-project Mike + The Mechanics shot the video for their 1995 hit, Over My Shoulder, on the village cricket green.

Chiddingfold is referred to in a Mr Cholmondley-Warner sketch from Harry Enfield's TV series, in which a newsreel - supposedly from 1940 - looks forward to "life in 1990" and predicts that the United States would have come back under British rule, with New York City renaming itself "Chiddingfold-on-Sea".

The pop band XTC referred to Chiddingfold House under their moniker 'The Dukes Of Stratosphear' in their song The Mole From The Ministry.

See also

• Viva Seton Montgomerie

References

1. ^ St Mary's Church history
2. ^ [Chiddingfold: The Village and History of The Parish Church of St. Mary, compiled by H.R.H. White, 1986]
3. ^ [1]
4. ^ [2]
5. ^ [Chiddingfold: The Village and History of The Parish Church of St. Mary, compiled by H.R.H. White, 1986]
6. ^ Chiddingfold doctors' surgery
7. ^ [3]

External links

• Chiddingfold Village official website
• Chiddingfold Archive
• Stained Glass Windows at St. Mary, Chiddingfold, Surrey
• Stained Glass Windows at St. Teresa (RC), Chiddingfold, Surrey