Ockley

Coordinates: 51°08′52″N 0°21′46″W / 51.1477°N 0.3627°W / 51.1477; -0.3627

Ockley
Ockley Green
Ockley  Ockley shown within Surrey
Population	852 [1]
OS grid reference	TQ146399
District	Mole Valley
Shire county	Surrey
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Dorking
Postcode district	RH5
Dialling code	01306
Police	Surrey
Fire	Surrey
Ambulance	South East Coast
EU Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	Mole Valley
List of places: UK • England • Surrey

For other uses, see Ockley (disambiguation).

Ockley is a historic village in Surrey, built on Stane Street, a Roman Road stretching from Chichester to London. Situated between Dorking and Horsham, close to the Sussex/Surrey border, Ockley nestles in the shadows of Leith Hill, the highest point in South east England. Neighbouring villages include Capel, Ewhurst Green and Rusper. It is a linear settlement running along the A29 and lying about 3 km west of the A24. Ockley is also a civil parish covering 1,374 hectares (5.3 sq mi).^[2]

There are four pubs in Ockley: Cricketer's Arms, Inn on the Green, King's Arms and Bryce's Restaurant (also known as the Old School House). In addition to the pubs, Ockley has a Post Office & village shop and garage, and a local veg shop out towards the station. There is also a golf course called 'Gatton Manor' on the outskirts of the village.

The village is served by Ockley railway station which lies over two miles to the East of the settlement. Yet the trains are few and far between with absolutely no trains on a Sunday. With no bus stop, the public transport in Ockley is poor.

Nicholas Culpeper, the famous Herbalist, was born here on 18th October 1616.

Ockley could be the location of a battle described in the entry for the year 851 of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. According to the chronicler, king Æthelwulf and his son Æthelbald, together with the West-Saxon army, fought against an invading Danish army of 350 ships that had plundered London and Canterbury previously, and had also put king Beorhtwulf of Mercia to flight. The chronicler refers to the battle field as Aclea, Oak Field, and the Danish army was defeated suffering “the greatest slaughter… we have heard tell of up to this present day”.

Ockley appears in Domesday Book of 1086 as Hoclei. It was held by Radulf (Ralph) from Richard Fitz Gilbert. Its domesday assets were: 1 hide. It had 5 ploughs, woodland worth 20 hogs. It rendered £3 10s 0d.^[3]

References

1. ^ Census data
2. ^ Surrey council census data
3. ^ Surrey Domesday Book

External links

• Ockley organisation