Wonersh
Wonersh is a village and civil parish in the Waverley district of Surrey, England and Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It contains three Conservation Areas and spans an area three to six miles SSE of Guildford.
In the outer London commuter belt, the village is southwest of London. Wonersh's economy is predominantly a service sector economy. Three listed churches are within its boundaries as are a number of notable homes such as Frank Cook's 1905 hilltop mansion, which is a hotel, business and wedding venue.
Etymology
State records show the name as Wonherche, ; Ognersh and Ignersh,. The form Woghenersh, in a Charter roll of 1305, indicates the formation wogan ersce, 'at the crooked field'.History
Pre-Roman settlement
Finds have been found in the hamlet and forest of Blackheath of Mesolithic flint implements and near Chinthurst Hill.Middle Ages
Based on foundations and core of the church, a settlement has existed in Wonersh village centre since Anglo-Saxon times.Wonersh is not named in the Domesday Book of 1086. All the six manors: Tangley or Great Tangley; Little Tangley; Halldish; Losterford/Lostiford above the intact mill and mill house by the village; Rowleys and; Chinthurst were later built on lands then in Bramley and Shalford. Great Tangley Manor in 1582 became the residence of John and Lettice Carrill and descended to their grandson John Carrill and his widow Hester, who secondly married Sir Francis Duncombe.
The church of Wonersh was formerly a chapel, and as such the advowson was in the presentation of the King who later transferred it to St Mary without Bishopsgate in London; after this it was held by a line of nobles until bought in the 19th century by the lord of the manor. As a chapel, the great tithes were commuted for £700 and the lesser for the vicar for £17.
Post Renaissance
Until Charity Commission amalgamation in 1908, Wonersh had charity endowments paying out for its poor: John Austen of Shalford left money for poor relief in 1620. Henry Chennell of Wonersh left land whose produce was to be devoted to putting six poor boys to school from 1672. A Mr Gwynne of London gave land and bank stock in 1698 to put four poor boys to school and to distribute bread to fifteen poor persons every Sunday after service. Manorial fortunes became more muted from 1700 to 1900 during the Industrial Revolution – seeing almost all of their farm lands being sold for lack of scale or produce.Wonersh was one of the flourishing seats of the clothing trade in West Surrey. The special manufacture was blue cloth, dyed, no doubt, with woad, licence to grow which was asked in the neighbourhood in the 16th century.
Wonersh Park was a lightly wooded park now public Green in front of and beside the church. Through the park runs a small stream and its 17th century stone gatehouse houses a protected species of bat. Wonersh Park, a 17th-century mansion, was demolished in 1935. Owners were: the original owner of the demolished building Richard Gwynn, who died in 1701, and it passed by issue's marriage to 1710 Sir William Chapple, serjeant-at-law and later judge who probably rebuilt it; later passing in 1741 to Fletcher Norton, 1st Baron Grantley of Grantley in Yorkshire, leading government lawyer created Lord Grantley in 1782. His family held Wonersh Park until 1884 on a sale to Mr. Sudbury.
In 1848 Cranleigh Waters here was used for coal, building materials and agricultural produce as part of the Wey and Arun Canal and the west boundary formed an economic draw for the village. Northbrook's mill was a fulling mill, used for dressing leather for making saddles, straps, bags and garments. Shamley Green was formed into a parish from Wonersh in 1881 at which time the 1st Baron Ashcombe did not part with the advowson of Shamley Green, but did of Wonersh, to Selwyn College, Cambridge.
In 1905 Barnett Hill was chosen to be built on for the first time, by Frank Cook, the grandson of Thomas Cook, who lavished £35,000 on constructing a Queen Anne-style mansion. The house later passed to the Red Cross who owned it until 2006 – today, it is a hotel, conference and events venue managed by the Sundial Group. The house is now Grade II* listed.
Geography
Flanked by two round hills, Chinthurst Hill north west of the village and Barnett Hill east of the village, the village centre ranges between above sea level. Two-thirds of the pine heath and mixed forest-covered high ground Blackheath is included in Wonersh as are the settlements/neighbourhoods of Shamley Green, Blackheath, Ridgebridge Hill, Whipley, Plonk's Hill, Woodhill, Lordshill Common and Norley Common.Spanning SSE of Guildford. and in the outer London commuter belt, the centre of the village is southwest of London.
Grassy expanses of Smithwood Common in the south and Wonersh Common in the north are in the civil parish; over of the southeast is Winterfold Wood and Heath an ancient forest part of the Weald, with parts managed by Surrey Wildlife Trust.
Elevations, geology and soil
The parish rises from west to east up the eroded basin of Cranleigh Waters holding the villages to the flint, clay, greensand and sandy soil topped Greensand Ridge. Elevations vary from AOD by the Bramley/Wonersh bridge over the stream to at the car park on Winterfold Hill, Winterfold Heath.Geologically the landscape demonstrates the contrast between the retention of the top of the Greensand Ridge from coastal deposition followed by avoiding sea rise changes and the formation of the lower Weald because of water erosion on the three-county-sized calciferous and sandy beds south of this ridge. The Ridge forms the highest hills in the south east, excluding the southwest Berkshire Downs.
Soil is slowly permeable loamy/clayey slightly acid but base-rich soil except for the higher ground including Blackheath which is slightly acid only freely draining sandy soils containing small areas of wet impeded drainage heathland soil.
Demography and housing
The average level of accommodation in the region composed of detached houses was 28%, the average that was apartments was 22.6%.| Output area | Population | Households | % Owned outright | % Owned with a loan | hectares |
| 3,412 | 1,375 | 48.7% | 33.8% | 1,718 |
The proportion of households in the civil parish who owned their home outright compares to the regional average of 35.1%. The proportion who owned their home with a loan compares to the regional average of 32.5%. The remaining % is made up of rented dwellings.
In 2001, Wonersh parish contained 3,297 residents of which 19.8% were aged over 65; 5.2% of the population were in full-time further education; 75.5% of all men were economically active whereas 2.2% were unemployed, 4.8% worked part-time; 57.6% of all women were economically active whereas 1.7% were unemployed, 34.8% worked part-time.
Wonersh has a predominantly service economy, reflected in the official categorisation table of occupation, compiled from the 2001 census:
| Category | Number of adults in category in 2001 | Percentage of those aged 16–74 |
| Lower supervisory and technical occupations | 93 | 3.9% |
| Semi-routine occupations | 160 | 6.3% |
| Routine occupations | 94 | 4% |
In this census, 34.6% of the population worked in middle or higher professional occupations.
Economy
Wonersh has a predominantly service sector economy, with its access to Shalford and Guildford stations and road links to the Compton interchange of the A3 road from Shalford it is part of the London Commuter Belt.Culture and community
Many of the societies and clubs in the villages of Wonersh and Shamley Green are community-run, such as amateur dramatics and sports clubs. Cricket grounds, paths, commons and some events are organised by village associations or Wonersh Parish Council. Shamley Green has two village halls for private and community events.Sport
Wonersh village green is where local teams play football, cricket and stoolball. The sports pavilion has a bar, meeting room and changing facilities.Wonersh Bowling Club was founded in 1925 and is situated in the heart of the village behind the Memorial Hall. The club is affiliated to both the English and Surrey Bowling Associations. The bowling green has six full sized rinks. The pavilion has, in addition to changing rooms and dining area, a kitchen and licensed bar. The bowling season runs from the beginning of April through to the end of September.
Societies
Wonersh Players are an amateur dramatic society that has existed since 1982. They write, produce and perform their own pantomimes, performed at the Wonersh Memorial Hall, usually during the February half term holiday.In 1993 Wonersh History Society was formed to preserve and build on a quantity of historical material and notes gathered over many years by the late Anthony Fanshaw.
A social club named Wonersh Village Club, which was founded over a hundred years ago. It provides a venue for playing snooker, billiards, darts and all manner of card games.
There is an active Wonersh U3A, a Gardening Club and a scout group.
Localities
Wonersh is situated in a gap between two steep hills in front of Cranleigh Waters: Chinthurst Hill with wooded paths and land managed by Surrey Wildlife Trust which had a manor and has a folly and a listed farm at its foot and Barnett Hill.The St John the Baptist Church of England church has a 12th-century bell tower, 13th-century chancel, 15th-century north chapel and 1793 south aisle including transept. It had tower crenellations added in 1751.The ecclesiastical parish is joined with Blackheath and lies within the Guildford diocese.
There is also a United Reformed church which overlooks the village common. There is a large college built in 1891 for the training of Roman Catholic priests, built in the Italian Renaissance style.
Wonersh has a village shop and post office which is owned by a village co-operative. There is a small art gallery next door. The Grantley Arms is the central pub/restaurant, which is often used for functions and also has a bar food menu. Both the shop and the pub are situated in the centre of the village by the pepper pot, which is a small shelter.
The area's doctors surgery is opposite the post office. Its purpose-built right wing was opened in 1972 and extended in 1982.