Woldingham
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Woldingham is a village in Surrey located 700 feet above sea level just within the M25, southeast of London. Situated high on the North Downs between Oxted and Warlingham, it is a village of 2,326 inhabitants (according to the Office for National statistics 2001 census). Central London can be reached in thirty minutes by train and the village is served by the East Grinstead line provided by Southern. Much of Woldingham's populace works in Croydon or central London, making Woldingham part of the London commuter belt.
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[edit] Background
The manor of Woldingham was first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1085 and it is home to one of the smallest churches in the country - St. Agatha's (it only seats 40 but it served as Parish Church of Woldingham until 1934 and is still in regular use). It was first mentioned in 1270, and it is the county’s smallest church with dimensions of 30 ft 3 in by 20 ft 2 in (9.2 by 6.1 m), and at 797 ft (243 m) above sea level is the third highest old parish church in Surrey. The Croydon and East Grinstead line was opened in 1884 and a long tunnel was built to take it under the village. There is a small parade of shops (known as “The Crescent”) in the centre of the village next to St Paul's Church, which was constructed in 1933 and there is an impressive view over Oxted and The Weald from the edge of the chalk pits. There is a train station, tennis courts as well as two golf clubs (Woldingham and North Downs).
From the nearby areas of high ground impressive views can be enjoyed - and from some places one can see as far as the Chilterns. The Marden Estate once owned much of the area and Marden Park (now Woldingham School) still stands in extensive grounds in the valley alongside the railway line.
The Garden Village is a former Army Camp. The bungalow called "Funny Neuk" was home to the Czechoslovak military intelligence radio station from 1940 to 1942, and was used for the communications for the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich. In 1942 the radio station later moved to Hockliffe, near Dunstable in Bedfordshire.
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[edit] Reference
- Neil Rees "The Secret History of The Czech Connection - The Czechoslovak Government in Exile in London and Buckinghamshire" compiled by Neil Rees, England, 2005. ISBN 0-9550883-0-5
