Limpsfield
Encyclopedia
Limpsfield is a village and parish in the east of the county of Surrey
, England
near Oxted
at the foot of the North Downs
. It lies between the A25
to the south and the M25 motorway
to the north, near the Clackett Lane service station
. It is near three important national rights of way: Vanguard Way
, Pilgrims' Way
and Greensand Way
.
administrative division of Tandridge
hundred
.
Limpsfield appears in Domesday Book
of 1086 as Limenesfeld. It was held by the Abbot of Battle
Abbey, Sussex
. Its domesday assets were: 1 church, 1 mill
worth 2s, 19 plough
s, 1 fishery
, 4 acres (1.6 ha) of meadow
, woodland
worth 150 hogs, 2 stone quarries
, 3 nests of hawk
s. It rendered £24.
The parish church of St. Peter was constructed in the late 12th century. There are over twenty medieval buildings within the parish.
The composer Frederick Delius
is buried in the churchyard of the Norman
parish church of St. Peter's, as is his wife Jelka. The English
orchestra conductor, Sir Thomas Beecham, is also buried there, only a few metres from Delius, whose music he supported and promoted. Another nearby grave is occupied by the cellist Beatrice Harrison
, who lived locally in Oxted, and who worked closely with both Delius and Beecham.
land including Limpsfield Common. Staffhurst Wood is also within the parish boundaries and is notable for its bluebells
in spring. Limpsfield Chart
, a hamlet to the south east of the village has a golf course and cricket club. Limpsfield itself has a cricket club that is now merged with nearby Oxted, a soccer team and a tennis club.
The village is served by Oxted railway station
.
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
near Oxted
Oxted
Oxted is a commuter town in Surrey, England at the foot of the North Downs, north of East Grinstead and south-east of Croydon.- History :The town lay within the Anglo-Saxon administrative division of Tandridge hundred....
at the foot of the North Downs
North Downs
The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. The North Downs lie within two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty , the Surrey Hills and the Kent Downs...
. It lies between the A25
A25 road
The A25 road is one of the three cross-country two-digit numbered roads in the southeast of England, the others being the A26 from Newhaven to Maidstone and the A27 along the south coast. It carries traffic from Guildford in Surrey through Dorking, and thence eastward along the southern edge of the...
to the south and the M25 motorway
M25 motorway
The M25 motorway, or London Orbital, is a orbital motorway that almost encircles Greater London, England, in the United Kingdom. The motorway was first mooted early in the 20th century. A few sections, based on the now abandoned London Ringways plan, were constructed in the early 1970s and it ...
to the north, near the Clackett Lane service station
Clacket Lane services
Clacket Lane services is a motorway service station on the M25 motorway in Surrey, United Kingdom that is owned by RoadChef. Services are located on either side of the motorway between Westerham, Kent and Limpsfield, Surrey....
. It is near three important national rights of way: Vanguard Way
Vanguard Way
The Vanguard Way is a long distance walk of around 66 miles from East Croydon in outer London to Newhaven on the south coast of England. It passes through the counties of Surrey, Kent and East Sussex, between Croydon and Newhaven, East Sussex...
, Pilgrims' Way
Pilgrims' Way
The Pilgrims' Way is the historic route supposed to have been taken by pilgrims from Winchester in Hampshire, England, to the shrine of Thomas Becket at Canterbury in Kent...
and Greensand Way
Greensand Way
The Greensand Way is long distance walk of in southeast England, from Haslemere in Surrey to Hamstreet in Kent. It follows the Greensand Ridge along the Surrey Hills and Chart Hills. The route is mostly rural, passing through woods, and alongside fruit orchards and hop farms in Kent and links...
.
History
The village lay within the Anglo-SaxonAnglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
administrative division of Tandridge
Tandridge (hundred)
Tandridge was a hundred in what is now Surrey, England. It includes the borough of Tandridge.It includes the parishes of Bletchingley, Caterham, Chelsham, Crowhurst, Farleigh, Godstone, Horne, Limpsfield, Lingfield, Oxted, Tandridge, Tatsfield, Titsey, Warlingham and Woldingham.The hundred has...
hundred
Hundred (division)
A hundred is a geographic division formerly used in England, Wales, Denmark, South Australia, some parts of the United States, Germany , Sweden, Finland and Norway, which historically was used to divide a larger region into smaller administrative divisions...
.
Limpsfield appears in Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086 as Limenesfeld. It was held by the Abbot of Battle
Battle
Generally, a battle is a conceptual component in the hierarchy of combat in warfare between two or more armed forces, or combatants. In a battle, each combatant will seek to defeat the others, with defeat determined by the conditions of a military campaign...
Abbey, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
. Its domesday assets were: 1 church, 1 mill
Mill (grinding)
A grinding mill is a unit operation designed to break a solid material into smaller pieces. There are many different types of grinding mills and many types of materials processed in them. Historically mills were powered by hand , working animal , wind or water...
worth 2s, 19 plough
Plough
The plough or plow is a tool used in farming for initial cultivation of soil in preparation for sowing seed or planting. It has been a basic instrument for most of recorded history, and represents one of the major advances in agriculture...
s, 1 fishery
Fishery
Generally, a fishery is an entity engaged in raising or harvesting fish which is determined by some authority to be a fishery. According to the FAO, a fishery is typically defined in terms of the "people involved, species or type of fish, area of water or seabed, method of fishing, class of boats,...
, 4 acres (1.6 ha) of meadow
Meadow
A meadow is a field vegetated primarily by grass and other non-woody plants . The term is from Old English mædwe. In agriculture a meadow is grassland which is not grazed by domestic livestock but rather allowed to grow unchecked in order to make hay...
, woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
worth 150 hogs, 2 stone quarries
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
, 3 nests of hawk
Hawk
The term hawk can be used in several ways:* In strict usage in Australia and Africa, to mean any of the species in the subfamily Accipitrinae, which comprises the genera Accipiter, Micronisus, Melierax, Urotriorchis and Megatriorchis. The large and widespread Accipiter genus includes goshawks,...
s. It rendered £24.
The parish church of St. Peter was constructed in the late 12th century. There are over twenty medieval buildings within the parish.
The composer Frederick Delius
Frederick Delius
Frederick Theodore Albert Delius, CH was an English composer. Born in the north of England to a prosperous mercantile family of German extraction, he resisted attempts to recruit him to commerce...
is buried in the churchyard of the Norman
Norman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
parish church of St. Peter's, as is his wife Jelka. The English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
orchestra conductor, Sir Thomas Beecham, is also buried there, only a few metres from Delius, whose music he supported and promoted. Another nearby grave is occupied by the cellist Beatrice Harrison
Beatrice Harrison
Beatrice Harrison was a British cellist active in the first half of the 20th century. She gave first performances of several important English works, especially those of Frederick Delius, and made the first or standard recordings of others.-Early training:Beatrice Harrison was born in Roorkee,...
, who lived locally in Oxted, and who worked closely with both Delius and Beecham.
Today
The village is in a conservation area and some of the surrounding area is National TrustNational Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
land including Limpsfield Common. Staffhurst Wood is also within the parish boundaries and is notable for its bluebells
Common Bluebell
Hyacinthoides non-scripta, commonly known as the common bluebell, is a spring-flowering bulbous perennial plant. -Taxonomy:...
in spring. Limpsfield Chart
Limpsfield Chart
Limpsfield Chart is a village near to Oxted in Surrey, just south of the A25.The High Chart to the east of Limpsfield is a large area of woodland owned by the National Trust and has a large network of footpaths. Within this area is the small settlement of Limpsfield Chart...
, a hamlet to the south east of the village has a golf course and cricket club. Limpsfield itself has a cricket club that is now merged with nearby Oxted, a soccer team and a tennis club.
The village is served by Oxted railway station
Oxted railway station
Oxted railway station is a relatively busy interchange station and terminus located in Surrey, in the South East region of England. At present, all train services are provided by Southern. The station is the busiest suburban station on the Oxted Line and is a terminus for some services on the...
.
Notable residents
Over time, the parish has been home to a number of notable residents:- Colin CowdreyColin CowdreyMichael Colin Cowdrey, Baron Cowdrey of Tonbridge, CBE , better known as Colin Cowdrey, was the Captain of Oxford University, Kent County Cricket Club and the England cricket team in a career that lasted from 1950 to 1976...
, former England cricket captain, resided in the village for many years. - The book illustrator Arthur RackhamArthur RackhamArthur Rackham was an English book illustrator.-Biography:Rackham was born in London as one of 12 children. At the age of 18, he worked as a clerk at the Westminster Fire Office and began studying part-time at the Lambeth School of Art.In 1892 he left his job and started working for The...
lived and died in Pains Hill (a small hamlet to the south of Limpsfield village). - The big brother host, Davina McCallDavina McCallDavina McCall is an English television presenter and actress, most notable as the presenter of the UK version of Big Brother up until its move to Channel 5.- Early life :...
, spent much of her childhood in Limpsfield.
External links
- Limpsfield parish council
- Limpsfield parish council - history
- Limpsfield from Victoria County HistoryVictoria County HistoryThe Victoria History of the Counties of England, commonly known as the Victoria County History or the VCH, is an English history project which began in 1899 and was dedicated to Queen Victoria with the aim of creating an encyclopaedic history of each of the historic counties of...
- Delius' Gravestone