One of the aims of this blog is to uncover the mystery behind our little village. After some scouting I found an excerpt from a document: The Beare Green Community Plan, where Chris started a project to inject some interest into Beare Green. Here is the story from his website:
Taking its name from Walter de la Bere, a local landowner in the 13th century, the original hamlet of Beare Green lay in a boggy woodland area where wild boar ran freely, four miles south of Dorking. With its area stretching from north of Capel village to South Holmwood, bounded by Newdigate to the east and Ockley to the west, the small community literally surrounded the village green. The present settlement called ‘Beare Green’ owes its current location to the coming of the railway and the opening of Holmwood station in 1867. This shifted the focus of development to the north west of the original village green, with the A24 dual carriageway now separating the two. From the outset, the railway service provided extremely efficient links to London [and the rest of the country] and, to a lesser extent, still does.
The railway also acted as a catalyst for some speculative development during the 19th century and encouraged the wealthy to establish country mansion houses. Otherwise, the local economy was predominantly agrarian based, augmented by employment in the local brickfields, with a multiplicity of small retail and service businesses attending to the needs of the inhabitants. Despite its rural location and small population, the basic infrastructure included a local school, post office, public houses and various shops. As road transport developed between the two World Wars, Beare Green was found to be conveniently situated between the Metropolis and the South coast, leading to the expansion of the “White Hart” public house, the construction of the “Red Arrow” café and a petrol filling station to accommodate the needs of the day trippers.
The electrification of the railway in 1938, and its improved service, encouraged some further sporadic development but this was immediately halted at the outbreak of the Second World War. The effects of the Blitz and the reliability of the train service made Beare Green a popular destination for those wishing to escape the bombing. This led to irregular “homesteading” in what is now Highland Road.
As part of the initial post-War regeneration, the general area around Holmwood station was identified as a potential area for “overspill” housing. However the refinement of the “Green Belt” policy and the conception of the “New Town” philosophy moved this expansive development to Crawley. The traffic congestion on summer weekends between Dorking and Beare Green resulted in substantial road works in the late 1960s that made the A24 into a dual carriageway and which effectively severed all the settlements either side of it from each other.
During the last four decades of the 20th century there was a rapid sequence of building work in the area of Beare Green south of Holmwood station, on both “greenfield” and “brownfield” sites or on backland created by the A24 road improvement works. Based on 2001 census figures, the current population of this main part of Beare Green is estimated to be 1,800.
Thank you for the history. I can now speak with authoriety of the origins of our little village.
I knew that it had to be famous for more then just being on the way to Leith Hill !!
If you find any more interesting facts, I would be gratefull if you shared them with me.
Thanks again,
John
Hi John,
I have been building the Capel Parish Council web-site recently of which Beare Green is part. Can I put a link to your web-site in it and would you do the same in your web-site.
http://www.surreycommunity.info/capelpc
Hi Stuart,
Sounds like a great idea. I’ve taken a few words from your website and inserted them (with a link) to the amenities page.
Cheers.
– Rob
Hello to the residents of Beare Green. I came across this website after searching for some information on my deceased father who was brought up in your village. My father passed away in 1985 and was living in the North East of England – he had met my mother through a friend of his in the Royal Navy – my mother was from County Durham. They married in 1947 and my father never did get the chance to return to his native Surrey although he longed to. I live in Northumberland and have visited Beare Green and the surrounding area. A great Aunt of mine lived in Abinger Bottom and an Uncle lived in Brockham. I have 2 cousins in Mid Holmewood and Reigate. The only surving member of the Harris family is an Aunt who is 90 and lives in Teddington in West London. Not sure when my father moved to Beare Green but guess it was around 1926 and he left in 1937 to join the Royal Navy as a young lad of 15. His father (my grandfather) was a local council foreman and they lived in a property owned by the local council. We did get the chance to vist back in 1975 and actually went to the house he was brought up in as well as a trip to Leith Hill (was this not famous (or infamous)) for being a place where allegedly some of the money from the Great Train Robbery was hidden? I have a newspaper cutting from the Dorking News? that shows all the family bar one that served in the forces – my Grandfather being in the 1st World War and my Uncle and father in the 2nd. My Aunt was a WREN during the war. Might be of interest to the residents of Beare Green but not sure where I could sent it to include on the website.
Thanks for reading. Really enjoyed looking through the webiste and I know my Aunt in Teddington will be delighted to read about it also.
Hi, does anyone know if the Depot Cottages in Beare Green are still there. I put some comments on webiste a few weeks ago about my Father who lived in Beare Green and have now found out he lived in 2 Depot Cottages.
Any information would be of great interest to me.
Thanks
Hi Robert,
The depot cottages are still there. My Grandadfather -in-law used to live in the one on the left!
Jan
They are on the ‘non village’ side of the A24 next to the southbound carriageway right behind the Esso petrol station. I have a photo taken probably in the 1960′s which shows an aeriel view of both the Depot Cottages.
Hi Jan, thanks for the information. Have looked through Google street map but cannot locate the cottages – any idea where i might find them?
thanks again
Robert
my nan lived in beare green for quite some years,i went to beare green school,nan used to work at the white hart pub.remember the red arrow cafe,remember the half way cafe my mum used to work there,i quite often went with her,there were only a few bunalows built there my great grand dad levett used to live in one,there was no houses at all only wat i can remember trees and fields,you see my g.grands bungalow from the road,grand dad levett cut the hedges for the white hart pub,it was a very busy one summer was best.
I remember the halfway cafe beare green, I use to work there when i was 13,
Sue Humphreys (Calvert)
Hi, interested in the last post from Jennifer Webb nee Edser. My father who lived in Depot Cottages in Beare Green in the 1920/1930s was called John Edser Harris. The name Edser is unusual and after doing some research I found out it is an old Sussex surname. have never come across anyone else called Edser before. My oldest son is James Edser. My father told me it was a family name hence this being his 2nd name.
thanks for reading.
Robert Harris
I and some other members of the family were evacuated to Beare Green in WW2 from London .Does anyone have any info.about Starmount Villas and also The Ramblers as they were in the 1940,s.Its possible they have been demolished re:the A24 road.Would appreciate photos.
Hi
My granny and grandad lived at The Ramblers beare green. There surname was also called green. When my granny died in 1966. The bungalow was pulled down.
From Susan Humphreys
Beautiful.
Thanks to Jan for the post on June 10th for locating Depot Cottages. My son is moving to Albury soon so hoping to visit the surrounding area.
Robert
I know how much effort has gone into your website/blog and I thank you for it. My mother, Harriet Leadbetter was born in Beare Green and went to school there and at Capel. She had an aunt who lived at a house called The Well House, This was early in the 1900′s- I am wondering if it is still there (sorry I do not know the road) and if anyone knows any Leadbetter or Bacon family members who could be related.
I know her brother John Leadbetter was killed in the First World War. Thanks again
Ken Bourne
BC Canada
Hi to the residents of Beare Green. Have now visited your beautiful village and went to see the Depot Cottages where my father used to live as a child. Long way down from Northumberland but worth the trip. Always thought my father was born in Beare Green but found out on my trip that he was actually born in a small village called Gomshall but lived in Beare Green until 1937 when he left home to join the Royal Navy. Also visited many of the small villages nearby to see all the places he used to talk about. Looking forward to my next trip.
Hi, I have visited your village on a number of occasions in recent years for activities held in the village hall, I thought what a lovely well kept village. To my surprise I discovered that my GGrandfather Charles Ansell lived in one of two White Hall Cottages (next to the White Hart Inn) with his father Levi and mother and at the time 2 siblings. I was hoping that somebody might have information relating to the cottages and if they were still standing.
Hi, been on another trip to Surrey and visited Gomshall and took one of my sons to Beare Green to see where his Grandad used to live. Went to see my Aunt (Dad’s sister) who now lives in Teddington and she said my Dad wasn’t born in Gomshall but couldn’t remember where he was born. My poor Aunt in now 92 and finds it difficult to remember so far back so I contacted Surrey County Council for a copy of his birth certiicate and he was actually born in a place called Broadmoor Cottages in Wooton? found Wooton on the map but not the cottages – anyone can tell me where they are located as i am due to travel back down in March to see my son in Albury. Thanks
I think that you will find the cottages that you are looking via the google maps link.
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?rls=com.microsoft:en-US&oe=utf8&redir_esc=&q=Broadmoor+Cottages,+Wotton,+Surrey&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x4875dd5e13568881:0xf8e9b3c34b9e6b61,Broadmoor+Cottages,+Broadmoor,+Abinger+Common,+Dorking+RH5+6JY&gl=uk&ei=DR9IT-G1Fcnt8QPF4Y2bDg&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CGUQ8gEwAA
Thanks peter. Now visited broadmoor cottages and what a beautiful place. Quite a way down the lane from wooton. Told my aunt about it and she remembered living there and having to walk up and down the lane to school. Looking forward to another trip soon and my cousin in redhill plans a day out going around all the many villages in the area.