Hascombe

Hascombe
Hascombe village, looking towards St Peter's church and The White Horse public house
Hascombe  Hascombe shown within Surrey
Population	307 (2011 Census)
OS grid reference	SU997397
District	Waverley
Shire county	Surrey
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Godalming
Postcode district	GU8
Dialling code	01483
Police	Surrey
Fire	Surrey
Ambulance	South East Coast
EU Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	South West Surrey
List of places UK England Surrey

Hascombe is a village in Surrey, England. It contains a cluster of cottages and country estates, St Peter's church, the village green, a fountain, pond, one centrally located public house and is surrounded by steep wooded hillsides.

Residents

Surrey has the highest GDP per capita of any British county except for Greater London. Hascombe is in a ward, Bramley, Busbridge and Hascombe, which has much higher than average home ownership. Current and former residents include the film star Dirk Bogarde; Russian businessman Boris Berezovsky; former member of The Jam, Bruce Foxton; television presenter Anthea Turner; actress Billie Piper; boss of McLaren F1 Formula One racing team, Ron Dennis; and broadcaster/producer Chris Evans.

It was during a stay at Hoe Farm in 1915 that statesman and future Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill learned to paint.

History

Above the village is Hascombe Hill which is the site of a ruined hillfort built by the ancient Britons and occupied by them during the 1st century BCE. The word "combe" is derived from cwm meaning "valley" in the Welsh language and this may indicate that the population of Hascombe remained predominantly Brythonic for some time after the surrounding areas had been populated by Anglo-Saxon settlers.

The name of the village is thought to come from Hægscombe meaning valley of the witch or "hag" in Old English. The village was not mentioned by name in the Domesday Book and it is thought to have been part of the manor of Bramley.

"Whosoever will let him take the water of life freely". Inscription on the fountain at Hascombe built in 1877 by Edward Lee Rowcliffe in remembrance of his brother Henry.

Landmarks

Church and pond

St Peter's church was rebuilt during the mid-19th century, but retains its medieval screen, made from Jerusalem olive trees and featuring elaborate carvings, and a font dating back to 1690. Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman described the church as "a Tractarian work of art". The damming of a stream in the 15th Century created the Church Pond.

Public house

The public house, The White Horse, a 16th or 17th century building with many later extensions, constructed from the local Bargate stone, a local term for the hard masonry material which is a type of limestone with traces of greensand.

Animal pound

A short walk along the main street into the semi-rural southern part of the main street a metre-high, 4 metre square pound appears to the west, a stone 15th century construction according to English Heritage, and which is listed for its uniqueness in the county.

Geography

Hascombe's natural fresh-water spring attracts many visitors: the fountain itself was commissioned in 1887 by local landowner Edward Lee Rowcliffe as a memorial to his late brother.

Hills

A promontory that adjoins Hascombe Hill from 1796 to 1816 Hascombe hosted a station in the shutter telegraph chain which connected the Admiralty in London to its naval ships in Portsmouth.

Hascombe has the following summits in the large Surrey Hills AONB:

Hill	Elevation	Rank within Surrey	Range
Hascombe Hill	197m	14th	Greensand Ridge
Breakneck Hill	189m	15th	Greensand Ridge
Hydon's Ball	181m	16th	Greensand Ridge

References

A History of Hascombe – A Surrey Village by Winifred Ashton

External links

• Official website

Next station upwards	Admiralty Shutter telegraph line 1795	Next station downwards
Netley Heath	Hascombe	Blackdown