Camberley
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Camberley | |
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| Population | 30,155[1] |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| District | Surrey Heath |
| Shire county | Surrey |
| Region | South East |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Camberley |
| Postcode district | GU15, GU16, GU17 |
| Dial code | 01276 |
| Police | Surrey |
| Fire | Surrey |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| UK Parliament | Surrey Heath |
| European Parliament | South East England |
| List of places: UK • England • Surrey | |
Camberley is a town in Surrey, England, situated 30 miles (48 km) south west of central London, in the corridor between the M3 and M4 motorways. The town lies on the border of both Hampshire and Berkshire; the boundaries intersect on the western edge of the town where all three counties converge.
Contents |
[edit] History
A settlement which became known as Yorktown grew up around the gates of the Royal Military College at Sandhurst in the 19th century. The college was renamed in 1947 the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.[2]
During the 19th century, Camberley grew in size. This was given added impetus with the arrival of the branch-line railway (the main-line passes through nearby Deepcut but there is no stop).
Later, the Staff College was established to the east of the Academy, and a property speculator built the nearby Cambridge Hotel. The surrounding area became known as Cambridge Town, but was renamed "Camberley" in 1877 to avoid confusion with Cambridge in Cambridgeshire.
Camberley was mentioned in the black-and-white film Lord of the Flies, loosely based on the William Golding novel. In this, the character Piggy correctly states that Camberley was formerly known as Cambridgetown,[3] but changed its name following confusion with the town of Cambridge. He claims that the new name consisted of three parts; "Cam" taken from the original name of Cambridgetown, "ber" taken from the name of a nearby river (in fact there is no such river but there is a stream called The Cam which flows underground through much of the town), and "ley" because it is a common ending for English town names (as in neighbouring Frimley).
Camberley grew to become the largest town in the area, and Yorktown is now regarded as part of Camberley.
[edit] Today
Most of Camberley's town centre is host to the The Mall shopping centre in the Main Square. This is a late 1980s development anchored by stores such as House of Fraser and Woolworths. The most memorable feature of the Main Square in Camberley is the large clock found in the centre of the complex which also houses a lift up to a café which is opposite the newly opened Primark store. The High Street has a number of high street shops as well as bars and clubs, many of the latter being more recent additions. There are a number of secondary shopping streets including Park Street, Princess Way and parts of London Road.
The town has its own public library, theatre (Camberley Theatre) and is home to the Surrey Heath Borough Council offices. The town's only cinema, owned by Robin's Cinemas, and situated on London Road some distance from the town centre, closed in 2003. The Arena, a sports/leisure centre and pool facility, is found nearby.
After much debate and delay (plans having been discussed for over half a decade), construction started in May 2006 on a new seven acre mixed-use development west of Park Street. Named 'The Atrium', the new development will include residential, leisure and retail facilities, as well as a 900 space car park. There will be 217 'design-led' apartments divided into three areas within the complex (named Centro, Aspect and Courtyard). Fourteen new retail units will face directly onto Park Street, opposite the Main Square shopping centre. The intention is to pedestrianise and landscape Park Street for the new development. Leisure facilities are to include a nine-screen cinema, bowling alley, a health and fitness club, cafés and restaurants. The first phase of The Atrium is due to be completed by December 2007.
The Old Dean is a council housing estate on the outskirts of Camberley, most of which was built in the 1950s on the "Old Dean Common" for residents of heavily bombed Surrey-areas homeless after World War II. Many of the roads on that half of the Old Dean are named after those areas (the others are named after places on the common). There is a recent development which has expanded the Old Dean and provides more affordable housing. The Old Dean is home to Camberley's largest educational institute - Collingwood College.
Camberley and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst are featured in a Doctor Who comic story entitled "The Warkeeper's Crown".
Sun Microsystems have their UK headquarters in Camberley, just off the M3.
[edit] Transport
Camberley railway station is situated south of the town centre on the Ascot to Guildford line. It is connected to London Waterloo, Guildford and Ascot by South West Trains. Nearby Blackwater station (situated perpendicular to the A30 on the border of Hampshire, Surrey and Berkshire) on the North Downs Line has direct services to Reading, Gatwick Airport and, again, Guildford.
The town is served by the following bus routes:
- First No.194
- Arriva Nos. 35,34
- Stagecoach Nos. 1,2,3
- Dickinsons Travel Nos. 500,501
Camberley can be reached by the A30 and lies between Junction 3 and Junction 4 of the M3 motorway.
There are two small airports nearby Farnborough Airfield at Farnborough and Blackbushe Airport. Farnborough Airfield is well known for its International Air Show. Heathrow is 30 km (19 miles) away.
The A30 leaving Camberley to the north for Bagshot has the large roundabout on it called the Jolly Farmer.
[edit] Education
There are a number of schools in Camberley. Collingwood College is famous for being one of the largest in Surrey with over 2000 pupils. Kings International College (formerly France Hill School) is also situated in Camberley. Other schools include Tomlinscote School and Sixth Form College, Ravenscote Junior School, Watchetts Junior School, Crawley Ridge Junior School,[4] Bristow First Infants School, Lorraine Infants School and Nursery, Cordwalles Junior School and The Grove Primary School.
The nearest universities are Royal Holloway, University of London which is situated 18 km (11 miles) east of Camberley in Egham, with the University of Surrey (at Guildford) and the University of Reading both being 25 km (16 miles) to the southeast and northwest respectively.
[edit] Nearby
The smaller town of Frimley, being so close to Camberley, is often thought to be a part of the town by many visitors to the area, although the two are clearly separated by the M3 motorway. Frimley has its own town centre, a major regional hospital (Frimley Park) and extensive suburban areas. In the 19th century, Yorktown and Camberley were in the Ecclesiastical Parish of Frimley. The neighbouring town of Blackwater, 3 km (2 miles) to the west is also considered by some to be a suburb of Camberley, however, it is actually situated in the Hart District of Hampshire.
[edit] Suburbs
Camberley's suburbs include Crawley Hill, Heatherside, Yorktown, Old Dean and Frimley Road district
[edit] Famous People Past and Present
- Bros, late-1980s boy band who attended Collingwood school.
- Five Star, 1980s pop group (this band live near Blackwater).
- Sam Brown, 1990s pop singer.
- Mark Kobayashi-Hillary
- George Edward Lodge
- Graham Wynne, who appears on the BBC programme, Changing Rooms.
- Anthony Wall
- Donna Williams (Neopets)
- Rick Wakeman, solo artist and ex-keyboard player with progressive rock band Yes.
- Spice Girls, who lived together in Camberley for a while.
- Hundred Reasons, alt rock band.
- Reuben, rock/metal band.
- Graham Parker, pop singer.
- 5ive, boy band 1997-2001. They were the subject of the television programme 'Neighbours From Hell' whilst living in Camberley
- Paul Gross, Canadian actor (Due South).
- James Shaw, New Zealand footballer.
- Richard Stilgoe, lyricist and musician.
- The Members, punk rock band famous for the hit 'Sound Of The Suburbs'.
- Tim Sills, professional footballer currently playing for Hereford United.
- Darren Barnard, professional footballer currently playing for Aldershot Town. Has also played football for Wales.
[edit] See also
- Camberley Theatre
- Camberley railway station
- Staff College, Camberley
- Frimley and Camberley
- Camberley Town F.C.
[edit] References
- ^ Surrey County Council census data
- ^ History of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
- ^ Film script for Lord of the Flies
- ^ Crawley Ridge Junior School
[edit] External links
- Camberley On The Net — The OFFICIAL Camberley Guide
- Camberley Business Directory — A directory of Camberley based businesses.
- Surrey Heath Council — Camberley's Local Council
- Surrey Heath Museum — Situated in Camberley
