Whether you’ve recently moved to England’s largest village, or have lived here all your life, you cannot help but be fascinated by the history of Cranleigh. It’s intriguing for anybody with even the vaguest interest in our country’s roots, but even more so for those of us who love Cranleigh so well. So how much do you know about our treasured village? Here’s some interesting facts that might surprise you:
1. Until the mid-1860s, Cranleigh was spelt ‘Cranley’. However, it was changed by the post office to avoid confusion with nearby Crawley… as if anyone these days could make such a mistake!
2. St Nicolas’ Church is the oldest building in the village, having been erected by the Norman knights of William the Conqueror. The church as it stands today dates back to the mid-14th century, with the first building on the site recorded from about 1170.
3. Speaking of St Nicolas’ Church, did you know that a gargoyle on a pillar inside the church was the inspiration for Lewis Carroll to create the Cheshire Cat?
4. During World War II, two separate bombings hit Cranleigh. The first was dropped on the infant school, but luckily it was on a Sunday morning when no children were present. The Rector, however, in his garden nearby, suffered some injuries from the blast. The second bomb hit the gas works dome, destroying a nearby cottage and killing its occupant.
5. Cranleigh School was originally called ‘The Surrey County School’, and was opened in 1865.
6. Cranleigh appears in Douglas Adams and John Lloyd’s novel ‘The Meaning of Liff’. In the book, experiences that do not yet have a word associated with them are given the names of places. Cranleigh, in the novel, means “a mood of irrational irritation with everyoneand everything”. Make of that what you will…
7. In prehistoric times, the area we now know as Cranleigh was the bed of an inland freshwater lake, and part of the vast Wealden forest, an uninhabit-able, inhospitable environment for human life. How things change!
8. Cranleigh was once a small and isolated agricultural community, until the early 1800s when a turnpike road was built to allow the Prince Regent to travel easily from Windsor to his beloved pavilion in Brighton.
9. Though there’s no supporting evidence, many believe that the prefix ‘Cran’ in ‘Cranleigh’ originated after the Norman conquest. It is believed that, in those days, cranes were bred on farms in the district, to be served as delicacies for Kings.
10. The Cranleigh railway line was erected in 1865, overtaking the once-prosperous canal as the main transport link with neighbouring Horsham and Guildford. The canal closed in 1870, having lost all its business to the railway. The railway was sadly demolished in 1965, with the station giving way to Stocklund Square. If you look behind the shops, however, you can still see some of the old platform levels.
How many of these did you know already? And how many are news to you? Why not drop us an email and let us know!
The was another bomb attack on Cranleigh that was in 1942 when a bomber being chased by English fighters jettisoned his 4 bombs as it flew above the Horsham Road. One bomb caused fatalities to a police house and one failed to detonate (delayed action device possibly) the other two I am unsure about. It was a V1 (doodlebug) that destroyed the infant school while a further V1 hit the Cranleigh Gas Works and one lady was killed.
I was IN the house in Mount Road when the bomb fell and I was a pupil of the infant school when it was hit and my classes were held in the village hall.
Dear Gerald,
I now live in Hobart in Mount Road. I am trying to find out the history of the house and the Bomb.
I would be very interested to hear more about it. If that is at all possible. Thank you
Do you know what year St Cuthberts Mayne school opened, please?
Do you know what year St Cuthberts Mayne school opened, please?
Hello David.
Sorry about the delay in replying to your request – I have only just read it!!!
It was my maternal grandparents who lived at “Hobart” during the war and I was on one of my frequent visits there when “the bomb” dropped. I was then 5 years old but my cousin was a little older and was war savvy, coming from Portsmouth. We had the adult zinc bath set up outside the back door on two dining room chairs and were floating ships in it when my cousin Ron Grant recognised the whistle of a falling bomb. He rushed me into the cupboard under the stairs, together with my grandmother. The bomb landed just outside the front door but failed to detonate (delayed action or a dud bomb – I don’t know) We escaped out the back door and went round the back of the house to Mrs Ansell (?) in the other half of the house.
We eventually were taken to some rooms over a pub on Ewhurst Green (not the Bull) where we stayed until the house was repaired.
My grandparents were Charles Albert Longhurst 1882 – 1956 and Jane Martha nee Dacombe 1885 – 1960.
The house comprised a seldom-used front room with a fireplace, bay window and gas lighting. I still have some of the ornaments from that room. A living room with a black-leaded coal range and gas lighting. A kitchen/scullery with a gas gooker, corner in-built wash cauldron, a deep sink with just a cold water tap and of course gas lighting. Outside was a built-on toilet and coal storage area – no lighting at all. Upstairs to the left of the stairway was the main bedroom and to the right a second bedroom and then a small room at the end of the passage. No lighting upstairs but each bedroom had a fireplace.
Outside the back door was a Bramley apple tree and at the end of the garden there was a Quince tree. Grandad kept a ferret up there – and it smelt!
I must go but if there is anything else – just ask.
Regards Gerry Warrington